Another long-time staff member with Community Living Essex County (CLEC) is calling it a career.
Just two months after Leslie McLean retired after 45 years of service, CLEC is bidding farewell to Anne Garrod after 42 years of being with the agency.
A retirement party for Garrod was held at Channel Resource Centre in Amherstburg last Friday, where Garrod was based in her position as director of supports for the west area.
Friends, family and those supported by CLEC paid farewell to a person they clearly held dear.
“I’m feeling very humbled and very grateful,” said Garrod. “If I could sum it up, I walked into Community Living Essex County 42 years ago and thought I was going to change the developmental services world. I ended up learning more from the people we support than I ever gave or taught to them. I learned so much about courage and resiliency.”
Garrod stated she also learned a lot from families of those with intellectual disabilities.
“I learned about true, unconditional love and advocacy for their children,” she said.
Garrod added she ended up getting more out of the job than she ever thought possible, and it was the best job she could have ever had.
“Every person that I ever met taught me so much,” she said. “It’s the best part of my job.”
The people she worked with and those she helped support are what she will miss the most “hands down.” She said the people supported by CLEC are always genuine and speak from the heart.
Garrod started as a part-time support worker, moved up to full-time support worker, then became a manager and then became a director in 2004. She said she enjoyed working in the community and helping those CLEC supports become part of their communities.
“Community Living Essex County was the one agency I really wanted to work for,” she said. “The trajectory of my career is amazing.”
The non-profit agency has grown over the years from having one home in Amherstburg and day supports in Essex to homes across the county, three resource centres and more.
“It’s amazing how much we have,” she said.
Garrod encouraged others to look at the developmental services sector and CLEC to work in.
“It’s a career I think people should look at getting into,” she said. “You get to see people succeed. You get to see people grow. What an amazing opportunity. What an amazing job.”
The leadership of the agency is great as well, Garrod added, as the goal of everyone is to help the people they support.
As for retirement plans, Garrod plans day trips with her husband, catching up with friends and family, and helping her daughter plan her wedding.
Garrod said she will enjoy being able to go to lunch or visit with people without having to worry about any time limits.
Community Living Essex County supports over 700 people with intellectual disabilities and their families across the county.
For more information on the non-profit agency, please call 519-776-6483 or visit their website at www.communitylivingessex.org.
Long-time CLEC employee heads into retirement
By Ron Giofu
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