Wednesday's Woman: Jennie Deese

Thirty years ago, Jennie Deese of Snellville held a newly minted degree from Auburn University. The unemployment rate was soaring, so she took her bachelor's degree in child and family development and moved to Augusta, her sister’s hometown.

There she got her first job and realized her calling. Hired as a social worker in a nursing home, she “fell in love with working with older adults and their families,” Deese said.

Her then-fiancé, Les Deese, a graduate of Augusta State University, found a job nearby working at Plant Vogtle for Georgia Power. The pair married, and Jennie took a position as the director of social services for an Augusta hospital. A Georgia Power job transfer brought the couple and their new son, Eric, to Snellville where they’ve lived since 1986.

“We just fell in love with the small-town feel, and we met wonderful people and joined ” Deese said. “Our children went through and the Shiloh schools so we never wanted to move away because we loved the school system."

Soon daughter Ansley was born, and Jennie combined her love for her family with her advocacy efforts for seniors. She began working for the Atlanta Ombudsman Program, investigating complaints and concerns in nursing and personal care homes. She held the position for 16 years.

For her efforts, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council recognized Deese with the Eagle Award for Advocacy. The award was presented by John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted.

“It was pretty cool,” she recalled.

Deese said some days were stressful --  watching arrests, giving testimony, but that “you do what you have to do to get justice served.”

In 2002, Deese continued her career as the director of the GeorgiaCares program with the state’s Division of Aging Services. She was part of the launch of a new Medicare prescription benefit, and she led development of a hotline for people to get information about this program.

In the first month, the hotline fielded 30,000 phone calls. During her four years as the head of GeorgiaCares, the program won best practice awards from the American Association of Retired Persons, the states of Mississippi and Alabama, and the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Continuing to serve seniors and their families, Deese said her career “prepared me for the position I’m in now,” as the executive director of the Athens Community Council on Aging.

Now, she oversees 12 programs, including: Meals on Wheels, transportation, the foster grandparent program, the ombudsman program, GeorgiaCares and the Center for Active Living, for all 12 counties of northeast Georgia.

Her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Most recently, the Athens Community Council on Aging won the Helping Hands Award from the University of Georgia National Football Foundation and the Coca Cola Company for best practices in serving older adults in northeast Georgia.

A member of the Classic City Rotary Club, Deese is passionate about her work. And, this Sunday, the council is hosting its annual holiday tea, a fundraiser for the council’s programs and services.

In April, the council will host the second annual Ms. Senior Athens Pageant to celebrate the vitality of older women. The senior center has been rebranded to the Center for Active Living, and Deese has developed a new partnership with Bike Athens. 

“One of our missions is to help people age in place,” Deese said. “We’re working with community partners to create a livable community where people have access to services without barriers – shopping, health care, walkable streets and sidewalks, handicapped accessibility, appropriate housing.”

The council has also focused on its volunteers – there were 1,400 last year – and their employees. She instituted a program called A Great Place to Work, which honors the hard work of employees, and she's implemented the Disney Lessons from the Mouse management philosophy.

“People regard their customers as their clients,” she said, “but part of the customer base is the staff," she said. "Showing appreciation and allowing input in decision making is vital.”

A past president of the Georgia Gerontology Society and the current president of the Northeast Georgia Senior Provider Network, Deese is thankful for the opportunities she’s had. She still loves what she does, and the people she works with.

“I’ve had good bosses and good mentors, and I’ve been lucky because that matters,” she said.

In her spare time, Deese enjoys attending shows at the Fox Theater, playing Bunco, spending time with friends and shopping. She loves visiting her 86-year-old mother in Alabama. She gathers inspiration from her mom, as well as her mentor Maria Green, retired and former director for the Division of Aging.

She is looking forward to her son’s wedding and her daughter’s completion of a graduate degree from University of Georgia. And next year, her husband will complete 30 years with the Southern Company, owner of Georgia Power.

After so many years, she's become a living example of what she's been advocating -- aging well.

“Right now with the baby boomer population aging, it’s a prime market to educate people on programs and services that will help them live a more healthy life," she said.

“When I look in the face of an older adult, I think of my parents. Anytime I hear about a wrong or an elder person being scammed – they’re vulnerable and a trusting age group – I want to make sure that they’re protected, taken care of and appreciated."