‘We’ll miss you, Brenda:’ Beloved Valiant Living employee retires after 39 years
Valiant Living training specialist Brenda Grogan celebrated her final work day on April 25 after 39 years, a day she spent surrounded by residents eager to their appreciation.
“We’ll miss you, Brenda,” was a repeated phrase from the residents’ smiling faces during Grogan’s retirement party. Grogan smiled right back, giving hugs and promising future visits before sharing a commemorative cake with them.
This retirement party showcased Grogan’s deep connections with the many residents of Valiant Living, though in the grand scheme of her nearly four-decade career, those in attendance represented only a small portion of the lives she’s touched through her work.
For Grogan, building connections and improving lives have been the core missions of her career, which began in 1985 at a local group home. Originally from Humboldt, Grogan graduated from Dakota State University, where she studied criminal justice and social work.
While freshly married and working part time, one of Grogan’s friends recommended they apply at the Every Citizen Counts Organization (ECCO), known as Valiant Living since 2016, saying it was “a great place to work.” Grogan did just that, and the rest is history.
Grogan explained she was first drawn to social work after growing up witnessing her neighbor’s daughter, who was developmentally disabled.
“I was really interested in how she communicated, or the lack of communication, I should say,” Grogan said. “I was intrigued how that caregiving was done.”
While Grogan’s career would see her take on a myriad of roles, communication and care was always at the heart of her work.
“All behavior is communication, and that’s what we really strive to work with in the people we support, to learn through their behavior what they’re communicating, and that is the driving force on what we do here,” she explained.
Grogan said that many of the people she worked with were non-verbal, yet that in no way means they’re incapable of speaking their minds, or that they’re any less of a human being worthy of love and support.
“I just wanted to make sure that everyone was being treated as a person (first), disability second. I wanted to make sure people were seen and also heard,” Grogan remarked.
“It’s all about making sure that everyone is getting their best life as much as possible, wherever they live,” Grogan commented.
She noted it’s a bit of a misconception to say Valiant Living only provides assistance, as one of its main objectives is helping residents help themselves and fostering their sense of confidence. Grogan said everyone, disabled or otherwise, has different learning skills, and that the key to success is finding out which learning styles work best for a given individual.
One of the ways Grogan and others accomplish this is through creating adaptations, which can be as simple as color-coding a grocery list or labeling parts of a kitchen, yet these actions can have a massive impact on improving residents’ lives.
Grogan explained these adaptations allow residents an important feeling of independence. The goal is to encourage resident success stories, with Grogan noting how watching them play out in real-time is an incredible privilege.
“It’s the best thing ever,” she said, smiling.
Donna Uthe, Valiant Living executive director, described Grogan’s ability to develop adaptations as second to none and praised the results of her outside-the-box thinking.
“She can come up with those adaptations that another person may not have thought of,” Uthe said. “She knows people like the back of her hand, and she’s definitely been part of the success of Valiant Living.”
Grogan has spent time working in nearly every facet of the organization, from case manager to supervisor to council/committee member and beyond. At every step, the people she serves have always been first in her mind.
In her final role, Grogan worked to train new staff in the Valiant Living mission, passing on her knowledge from decades of experience to the next generation of caregivers. She said the most important lesson she teaches is the power of truly knowing the people.
“To care, you have to know,” Grogan remarked.
She added while the job has its challenges, she’s loved every minute of her career.
“Over the many years that I’ve been here, I’ve learned so much from them (the residents) too that it makes my life full that I’ve been able to assist people to make their lives full,” she said.
Grogan noted walking away from a career like this isn’t easy, yet knowing she’s leaving the residents in capable hands makes it a little easier. In her retirement, Grogan said she’s looking forward to spending more time with family, yet she still plans on making plenty of visits to Valiant Living. She added that in a variety of ways, those people are her family too.