Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Sladich
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 1/29/2020
Sladich Retires After 45-Year Tenure (ADRC Dir. - 2020)
ARDC Director Sladich Retires After 45-Year Tenure
Mary Sladich (right) has retired after 45 and a-half years serving the county through the aging and nutrition program, most of those years as program director. A plaque was given to her at the June 12 county board meeting in recognition. It reads, “May you be proud of the work you have done, the person you are, and the difference you have made.” Lynne McDonald (left) is Sladich’s successor.
Valorie Brecht/Clark County Press
By Valorie Brecht
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me,’” reads sign that hung in Mary Sladich’s office.
Sladich has made it her mission to use her talents to help people, specifically individuals in the county who are elderly or have a disability and are in need of extra assistance. For 45-and-a-half years, she has worked for the county’s aging and nutrition program. She said her favorite part has been the people she has gotten to work with over the years.
“The program was initially developed by the program participants. Just the strength, you know. When it came on board, the participants were the volunteers and it was giving back to the program. It was building the program together. It was reaching out into the community and finding the resources to let the program grow.,” she said. “We had some people who worked into their nineties as volunteers. This was their program and they built it.”
Sladich is from Greenwood but has lived in Neillsville most of her life. Clark County’s Elderly Nutrition Program as established in 1973. Sladich started working for the program in November 1974 as an activity coordinator at the Greenwood site. Then she started helping with some home visits and home-delivered meals. After that, she got involved with some clerical and bookkeeping work in the office. In 1978, she became the nutrition director after her predecessor left. After that, aging service were added to the program and Sladich became the aging director. In 2009, Clark County collaborated with Buffalo and Pepin Counties to form a multi-county Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). In 2017, Clark County became an independent ACRC.
“It’s a great program because you can see the value of touching lives, providing an opportunity to keep people independent. Anyone, if they have a choice, they want to remain in their own home. And so, we try to tie in a lot of services with that,” she said.
Some of these services include a “change in seasons workday” in the fall and spring in which volunteers rake leaves, wash windows and perform other cleanup tasks for elderly people. The center also provides their transportation to grocery shopping and adult day care and educates people on topics such as nutrition and how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
The center also helps elderly people file their taxes and apply for governmental assistance programs and offers disability benefit counseling. The center runs the “Healthy Living With Diabetes” and “Stepping On” all prevention programs. Additionally, the center provides in-home respite care for homemakers and personal care assistants. Through the generosity of the community, the ADRC is able to maintain a food pantry as well as provide people other goods and supplies like quilts, bedding, clothes, dishes and equipment for people with disabilities.
“If it wasn’t for the community, we’d be in trouble,” said Sladich.
She said it’s important to get people the items they need, but to do so in a way that is respectful. “Always respecting the dignity of the person, that’s huge for us.”
The nutrition program is another big part of the ADRC. Sladich gave some statistics on the program on when she presented her annual report to the county board earlier this month. In 2019, 7,436 meals were served in a group setting and 45,944 meals were delivered. There are six nutrition centers and over 220 citizens receive meals five days a week. During the COVID-19 situation, all meals are being delivered, with no in-person contact. Through community donations, the meal program drivers distribute over 225 Christmas food boxes annually. Sladich is passionate about making sure people receive proper nutrition so they can be healthy and happy.
When you can se someone who’s really struggling and you see confusion, and they start getting meals and all of a sudden they perk right up because they were malnourished. … We often saw that,” she said. “And if you can start with a meal, and sometimes we’ll ‘just try one or two,’ you got your foot in the door. And then when they blossom and they’re getting that meal every day it’s just kind of that positive feeling because you know they’re getting that good nutrition meal, but more than that, someone’s checking on them to make sure they’re OK.”
She recalled a number of instances where the driver had gone to deliver a meal and the person receiving the meal had fallen down or was having some type of medical emergency and the driver was able to get help for the person.
Sladich said she was grateful to the county board for its support both professionally and financially over the years.
“The county board of supervisors has always been very supportive of the programs and that’s something that’s truly a gift,” she said.
She also said she was grateful to the community organizations, staff members, meal program drivers and the more than 200 volunteers that help the ADRC.
Sladich’s last day of work was June 19. In her retirement, Sladich plans to continue to volunteer for the ADRC and with her church. She also plans to enjoy gardening and spending time with her great-nieces and nephews.
Lynne McDonald
Lynne McDonald has taken over the position of ADTC director. She lives in the Sherwood area. She grew up in Auburn, AL. She moved to Wisconsin 12 years ago.
Her father, Charles Lair, was a grassroots researcher in the world of aging, so she grew up being exposed to that field.
Her senior year of college, McDonald decided to change her major to social work and took a course specialty in geriatrics. Since then, she has done a broad range of social work, including hospice care, helping people apply for senior programs and assisting people with disabilities.
“It is an honor to attempt to follow in Mary’s footsteps,” she said. “I feel like this job blended really well with my background and the legacy that my dad left me and the legacy that Mary built in this community.
Most recently, McDonald was the IRIS (Include, Respect, I Self-Direct) program supervisor for Clark, Wood, Adams and Portage counties and the surrounding areas. IRIS is a self-directed program for Wisconsin’s frail elders and adults with disabilities. The client decides what goods, support and services will help them meet their goals and then, using a budget, creates a support and service plan to meet their needs.
“I can’t imagine ever not doing social services. … It’s just in my blood. Quality of care has been vitally important for me my entire career, that people have the preservation of their rights and that they have services to make them independent and live a high quality o life with dignity,” said McDonald.
She said she’s looking forward to building on the great foundation that Sladich has built.
“The more informed people are of the services that are available, the better quality of life they can have and the happier our community is. It is a passion, to see your community thrive.”
