Dot Meisenzahl - Back In The Workplace

Dot Meisenzahl is shown above in one of my file photos with her family at their 41st Anniversary Celebration back in 2006

The following article appeared in the Wednesday, January 30, 2008 St. Albans Messenger and was written by Julie Concannon, Messenger Correspondent

Back in the workplace

VATD workers find history in new jobs

By JULIE CONCANNON
Messenger Correspondent

ST. ALBANS CITY — A former coal bin in the basement of the St. Albans Historical Museum may seem an unlikely place to find a warm and cozy work environment for seniors.

However, the room now houses the research department of the museum and is one of many sites in Franklin County employing older workers with the assistance of Vermont Associates for Training and Development (VATD), a statewide nonprofit organization based in SL Albans.

Dot Meisenzahl and June Leach each work 20 hours per week through VATD in the research department of the St. Albans Historical Museum. Their duties include computer work, such as typing letters and data entry. Additionally, they do such tasks as organizing and filing photographs and documents, indexing, helping visitors and answering the phone.

Vermont Associates began in 1983 and now has nine satellite offices around the state. The organization's goal is to assist income-eligible workers over 55 who want to re-enter the workforce. To prepare for this, participants are placed in part-time training programs with local nonprofit organizations and government agencies.

Statewide, Vermont Associates currently has between 200-250 individuals placed at training sites, including between 20-25 individuals placed in Franklin County. The organization is able to provide these services through funding and support from the federal Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP).

In addition to placement at training sites, the program provides career resources for participants, such as help in learning to write a resume, training in job interviewing skills, and classes to become more computer literate.

Vermont Associate's SCSEP Project Coordinator Maureen Ross finds one of the challenges for participants is using computers.

"Some of them in this age bracket seem to be afraid of the computer. They need to get their confidence built up so they can work at a computer," she says.

For Dot, the St. Albans Historical Museum job is not only a way to earn money, but also an opportunity to learn about local history and the way a museum works. She is updating an index in the research room to include recently acquired documents.

"I never get bored. This is the most interesting job I've ever had in my whole life." she says.

June agrees with Dot that her experience at the museum is not just a job, but also a learning experience.

"I don't recall ever doing anything with history before I got here, but you just find something and you get right into it. You want to read everything there is to read about it," she says.

June especially enjoys her role evaluating and cataloging textiles acquired by the museum.

"If I wasn't here, I don't know that I'd even be working. I really need the support that Vermont Associates gives me," she admits.

John Denison is in charge of Special Projects for the SCSEP program. He sees the benefits to both the training site and the trainee.

"If a person gets in the program and is well matched with a training site, everyone wins. Frequently, participants regain confidence and self-esteem in the process," he says.

Often, people coming to Vermont Associates want a career change. One anonymous participant, "Abby," felt unsure of herself at the beginning of her training and unclear as to her career interests.

She enrolled in computer classes and trained at different sites as a custodian and a program aide at an adult day care center. Next, she tried another training position as an office assistant. Soon, her newfound computer skills and ability to solve problems on her own proved extremely valuable. After training in this position for about a year, she was hired by her training site. "Abby's" experience is considered a representative success of the SCSEP through Vermont Associates.

Although there are a variety of placement methods, VATD prepares participants for the working world in a time frame that averages about two years. This would not be possible without its many training sites in the nonprofit and government sectors, in addition to its partnerships with many local agencies such as Vermont Adult Learning. VocRehab Vermont and the Vermont Department of Labor.
Some of the local placement sites include the Missisquoi National Wildlife refuge, the Northern Tier Center For Health (NOTCH), and several libraries and town offices, with room for more.

"We are currently in the process of site development," Ross says.

Vermont Associates also has opportunities for employers in the private sector to take advantage of trained older workers. Through the On the Job Employment Program participants are matched with a local employer after a two-week training at one of VATD's sites. VATD then pays the participant's salary at the business for a period of 160 hours, after which the employer can pick up the worker on its payroll.

Dale Powers is the Director of the St. Albans Historical Museum and supervises Dot and June. She feels VATD and its workers have been a great help to her organization.

In addition to paying the participants, VATD also provides workers' compensation and a network of personnel to support the sites.

"I want to stress how wonderful it has been for me and how wonderful it can be for other people in the community if they open their doors to the older people and let them work," Powers says. "We are provided with a very conscientious worker that takes his job very seriously and takes great pride in his job. The workers don't realize how much they do for me. The museum wouldn't be the same without them."

Contact Vermont Associates at 524-3200 or drop by the office at 142 North Main St., St. Albans.