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Senior News September, 2004 Vol. 25. No. 9
Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.
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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues Table of Contents
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Celebrate older workers Sept. 12-18 Working takes on deeper meaning over the years by Ginger Campbell "I love my job and the people I work with, even after 10 years!" These are words that I love to hear. Arlene Ghera and her husband owned and operated the fishing vessel Sea out of Eureka for 40 years. After her husband passed away, Arlene decided that she needed to go to work and came to the AARP Foundation/Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) for direction. After six months in her first assignment working with children, which she also loved, a position opened at the Sequoia Park Zoo. It promised to turn into a permanent job, so Arlene transferred to the gift shop. That was 10 years ago, and she is still the energized person who you see as you shop. She got her wish to work with children because she is surrounded by them every day as the gift shop manager, helping customers choose the just right item to take as a remembrance of Bill, the zoo's chimpanzee, the Tamarin monkeys, the otter, the very favorite prairie dogs or the many other animals. "Everyone has a favorite animal," Arlene said. Arlene keeps a guest book, and in it are people from all over the world. "People love this zoo. Some people come every week with their children, and I have watched those children grow up. I also see old friends in the gift shop with their kids or their grandkids who I knew years ago - when they come back to live or to visit family. It's really neat. There are also many people who have visited Bill for years." She is an outdoor woman with many flowers and plants in her yard, three adult children and seven grandchildren. It keeps a person busy enough, but Arlene has no plans to retire. She is excited about the newly completed petting zoo and the almost-finished gift shop and interpretive center. The AARP Foundation/SCSEP is the number one project site in the nation for placing people in permanent jobs this year. Together we celebrate the National Employ the Older Worker Week, Sept. 12-18. For more information about this program in Humboldt/Del Norte, call 707-822-7027. Ginger Campbell is director of the Senior Community Service Employment Program. |
Senior News