Her Story
About Deby
I've been running a Meals on Wheels site in my community for 21 years, serving 6 counties as part of Meals on Wheels of East Texas. I started this journey by volunteering to help a friend who was running the site - I just helped her deliver one day. When she left, I inherited the position, and here I am. My main area of expertise is juggling a million things at one time. I have to schedule deliveries, have volunteers on hand, take care of assessments for clients, and order meals. It's a big package of things you do to ensure that your needy community members get the meals they need. I have about 24 or 25 very dedicated volunteers who take the meals out - four volunteers a day - and I make sure all clients are accounted for and get their right meals. It's sort of like being a mom or grandma on a bigger scale. Before Meals on Wheels, I was in local politics for about 10 years. I also served on numerous committees including the School Health Advisory Council - the positions that nobody wants, that you're not going to get paid for, but they're necessary.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Deby
01What do you attribute your success to?
The thing I'm the proudest of is gathering, being in contact, and being able to recruit the volunteers that I have. It's great for the volunteers - they come in, they may only want to do it one day, one time, and I've had several that have retired after 15 years of doing it. Once they get into it, they are so dedicated, and it's great to see them have that passion for the people in the community who really require that from someone. For volunteers or clients, it's just good on both sides. Every time you get frustrated and tired, and you feel like you don't want to do it anymore, that lasts about 7 minutes, because you kind of get hooked. I know my clients - I know their families, I know their kids, I know their grandsons. It's like having a big, giant, extended family.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I had a nursing teacher who told me, document, document, document. And no matter what job I've had, from aerospace tooling, to the current thing, to all the political offices I held, document, document, document. Write down everything, keep track of everything, because you never know when you're going to need that information. And I swear, it's saved my behind several times.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Meals on Wheels needs to be recognized, needs to, especially economically speaking now, it really needs to be recognized, so that people understand the importance of donating, not just their time, but money, food, whatever they can donate, because it's so sad to think that there are folks that their main meal comes from us. Nobody should be hungry. There are parts of Meals on Wheels all across the country, and it all needs recognition and participation by anybody.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I'm not into it for recognition, I'm not into it for validation, I don't need either of those things. But to make it be known that it's a need, that it's there, and it's every bit as important as being the CEO of company A, B, or C - it's every bit as important as anything else to give back to your community and help the people who cannot help themselves. Nobody should be hungry. If you come to my house, I'm gonna make sure you eat. You may not even be hungry, but I will make sure you eat, and that's how I feel about everybody in the community. Nursing school gave me the inspiration that I had to just help other people. I've always been in some sort of volunteer work, either with the kids in their school, or with city government - the positions that nobody wants, that you're not going to get paid for, but they're necessary.
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