Jo Eddins, information and assistance specialist for the Caddo Council on Aging, will celebrate her 90th birthday in July and isn’t slowing down. Eddins stays busy and active in the community aside from her work. For almost two decades, Eddins has worked at the council. Her co-workers are like a part of her family.
Tell me about your job.
Eddins: There is such a need for what we do here at the Caddo Council on Aging. We work with seniors citizens. We are on the phone constantly with who are asking about our services. Many times, they don’t know who to turn to in their time of need.
Q: How long have you been there?
Eddins: I’ve been with the council for about 17 years.
Q: What attracted you to do what you currently do?
Eddins: Well, I had worked previously with Mary Alice [Rountree, executive director of the CCOA]. She called me one day saying, ‘Jo will you come work for me?’ And I told her, you know I don’t want to work full-time. I want to be able to go to the beauty shop. She said if I’d come work, she’d work around that. … I work full-time.
Q: What is your relationship like with Ms. Rountree?
Eddins: Well, I’ve been with her for a long time. She is a very good director, and she’s a good leader. She is very compassionate about working with the elderly. And she wants to do everything she can to help the seniors. As the cable guy says on TV, ‘We get in here and get her done!’
Q: What is a typical day like?
Eddins: There’s really no typical day. I come in early. I get here in time to make the coffee. And then the rest of the day, we are answering the phone primarily. We do research and make referrals.
Q: What do you love most about your job?
Eddins: We’re like a family here. Everyone does such a good job. Besides the people I work with, I love just knowing that I’ve helped someone that needed help. I enjoy helping people. I like to stay busy. And this is a busy place. I try to help people get what they need.
Q: is there any one client over the years who stands out to you?
Eddins: There are a number of people. It would be hard to confine that to one person. There are so many stories out there, people who need help. It just breaks your heart. It’s sad; it’s just heartbreaking. But it happens from time to time. It’s our job to get them the help they need. And it makes me so grateful for what I do have.
Q: Tell me about your Rolodex?
Eddins: That’s exactly it. No computer. When the computers go down, they all come to my Rolodex. Ms. Rountree started it around 1972. She was instrumental in that. I just keep it updated. I do have a typewriter. We just take things for granted these days, but I understand that’s what’s called ‘progress.’
Q: What do you enjoy to do outside of work? Clubs? Organizations? Volunteer work? Hobbies?
Eddins: Gardening. I love flowers. That’s my weakness.
Q: Any advice for the working woman?
Eddins: Stay active and involved. Stay busy. There’s the saying, ‘If you don’t stay on the move, old age is going to catch up to you.’ I’m real grateful to have a job and be healthy to do other activities like working in the yard, too.
Q: Any upcoming events at work the community should know about?
Eddins: There is a fan drive going on right now. Prior to that, we were doing farmers market vouchers, where we would give vouchers so seniors could go to the market and get fresh vegetables.
Q: Parting thoughts?
Eddins: It’s all about the seniors. There have been so many times I’ve hung up the phone in tears. It’s all about helping our seniors.
– Cori Anderson
“When the computers go down, they all come to my Rolodex. Ms. Rountree started it around 1972. She was instrumental in that. I just keep it updated ...
We just take things for granted these days, but I understand that’s what’s called ‘progress.’”
