50 Years, 50 Stories - Caroline Siegfried

This week’s “50 Years, 50 Stories” comes from Caroline Siegfried, who began working at Imagine! back in 1985. Many families and individuals served by Imagine! still remember Caroline fondly for the many years she spent as a Direct Support Professional, so obviously she made a profound impact.

For the past few years, Caroline has served as Executive Assistant for my predecessor, John Taylor, and for me. It is no exaggeration to say that Caroline keeps Imagine! running.

Thanks for sharing, Caroline, and thanks for all you have done for the people Imagine! serves.

Plan To Build Resume Turns Into A Lifetime Of Service

By Caroline Siegfried

 

Caroline Siegfried (center), with June Wolosin (left) and Juli MacKenzie (right) in October, 1985, at the first anniversary party for Imagine!’s Adult Day Program

When Mark Emery and Steve Dawes hired me to be a substitute adult day program instructor/College for Living teacher in 1985, my goal was to stay with the Boulder County Board for Developmental Disabilities for five years. Having never been employed anywhere for more than 11 months, it seemed an impossible goal but one that had to be accomplished if I didn’t want to go through life with a sketchy resume. Twenty-eight years later, choosing one story to represent those years seems almost as daunting now as keeping the same job for a year seemed then. For example, I think about:

• Tulagi, The Broker Inn, The L.A. Diner and the excitement of community employment with the people in the adult day program—it wasn’t even Labor Source yet—despite the incredibly hard work of learning how supported employment might realistically occur in the world.
• The entire company standing huddled around our first new IBM computer, learning that FORMAT A: is not the same as FORMAT and nurturing a great respect for the uses of technology anyway.
• Sitting in the living room at 19th St. Group home in 1986, watching TV with the residents as the Challenger space shuttle exploded, and the feelings of devastation and support we shared.
• Negotiating the gray area between being an employee for and being friends/family with people who receive services.
• How for nearly 30 years and counting, an antique duck decoy united 30+ employees in supporting people with disabilities to become players in their communities, even though most of them, and the duck, went on to other things years ago.
• The many occasions of working hard and playing hard with a like minded cohort.
• Reading the state rules and regulations for the first time and reeling at my glimpse of the enormity of the tasks we were undertaking.
• The smart, dedicated, fascinating people who donate 8-12 years of their lives to volunteer as board members and how privileged we have been and are to have their wild diversity of talents to call upon.

and there are so many more possibilities, that, sketchy resume or not, I am unable to choose.

Are you interested in sharing your story for “50 Years, 50 Stories?” If so, contact Caroline Siegfried at caroline@imaginecolorado.org or 303-926-6405. We’d love to hear from you!