For Immediate Release:
January 31, 2008

Contact:
Nanci Gonder
Office of Public Information
573-751-6062

Governor Blunt and Health Department Announce Race Is On for Best Older Worker of 2008

Gov. Matt Blunt and the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) today announced the race is on for the best older worker of 2008.  Now in its 18th year, Missouri’s annual Older Worker of the Year contest seeks to crown a Missouri resident who is 55 years of age or older, employed at a Missouri job at least 20 hours a week, and displays dependability, loyalty, new skills and self-motivation on the job.  The winner and regional finalists will be recognized at a two-day awards ceremony with dignitaries in Jefferson City in April or May.

“I encourage all Missourians to think about their coworkers who go above and beyond their job description and consider nominating one of them for the Older Worker of the Year Award,” Gov. Matt Blunt said.

Javada Brown, 73, took the prize as 2007’s Older Worker of the Year.  She began as a temporary file clerk for the Kansas City-based company Cerner--a leading U.S. supplier of health care information technology that boasts clients in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia--and rapidly rose to expense auditor. Her aptitude and desire to learn financial and expense report software programs so impressed her boss that within a year of hire, Brown’s daughter was also recruited.  The two now share lunch every day and a love of numbers; Brown makes sure employees don’t spend too much on their expense reports while her daughter thrives on cash collections, making sure clients pay up.

Nomination forms for 2008’s Older Worker of the Year are available on the Department of Health and Senior Services’ Web site, http://www.dhss.mo.gov.  Completed nomination forms must be postmarked, faxed or e-mailed by March 14 to:  Missouri Outstanding Older Worker Contest, Division of Senior and Disability Services, P.O. Box 570, Jefferson City, MO  65102-0570, fax (573) 522-3024, e-mail Evelyn.Patino@dhss.mo.gov. A nomination form must also include a narrative as to why the nominee should be selected Older Worker of the Year.

The annual Older Worker of the Year recognition is sponsored by the Missouri Senior Employment Coordinating Committee, consisting of the AARP Foundation; Experience Works; Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph; MERS/Missouri Goodwill Industries; Department of Economic Development/Division of Workforce Development; and the Department of Health and Senior Services/Division of Senior and Disability Services.

For more information, please call 573-526-4542.  The 18th Annual Missouri Older Worker 2008 Nomination Form is attached.