Meet Bettina Horton!

As we celebrate National Older Workers Month, we wanted to share a story about one of our Senior Job Training and Employment participants, Bettina Horton. Bettina Horton, a 66-year-old, does not consider herself as a “Senior “citizen but a “Seasoned” citizen. Read more about Bettina’s experience from her personal point of view below!

As an active person, I found myself bored from retirement. It was May 2019 when I decided to put forth the effort to get back into the workforce.  I got on that trail to re-entering the life of the employed. I had plenty of experience in an array of positions. 10 years prior to retirement, I had spent time in a managerial position in Distribution. I thought now would be a good time to hone in on skills that I had not used in several years, but one thing held me back, age.  Thus, beginning with Meritan, a place where I could re-train and enhance those hidden skills that are in demand in today’s job market. I was assigned to a Host Agency (however, this was not the right fit for me). Next, I was assigned to an Agency as an Outreach Clerk, which afforded me the opportunity to brush up on my communication skills, customer service skills, and merchandising skills.

While with this Agency I attended a Participant Quarterly Meeting, and it was at this meeting that I was introduced to several resources that would prove to be helpful for me for the rest of my life, (Smile On 60+ and Lincoln Heritage Insurance).

I continued to grow in the program and was reassigned to a Host Agency that would really let me work on my interpersonal skills as a front desk receptionist.

Then COVID-19 hit, and all the agencies were closed down. This lasted a little over 3 months when I received a call from Meritan to conduct a survey. I jumped at this opportunity this allowed me to interact with others, enhance both communication and etiquette skills. After this was complete, Vera Kea, Program Director, asked me to stay on as a clerical support person.

We were in the process of transitioning into a new payroll system (Paycom). In my spare time, I took it upon myself to learn this system in and out. Little did I know this would lead to developing an instructional booklet for other participants and training them on how to use it. The booklet included detailed instructions with pictures from onboarding to making corrections. Since the onset of this system, two more items have been added and now, these have been included in the training. I even make on-site visits to train supervisors and set their systems up for our participants. I also make myself available to all who need help at any time of day or night.

It has been a harrowing 2 years, but I would not change a thing.  I love and respect the people that I am surrounded by and would not trade them for the world.

Thank you Bettina for your hard work at Meritan. We are so thankful for your dedication to our senior job training participants.