Minnie's mighty feat
Thursday, February 1, 2007 3:51 AM EST
By Jon Gillooly Marietta Daily Journal
Staff Writer
retirement of Minnie Cupp, 67, who is the first
person to retire from a special program supported by the Cobb-Douglas Community
Services Boards.
After 18 years of service to the grocery store, Kroger staff gave Ms. Cupp and her friends a retirement party Wednesday.
"I'm going to miss her because she's such a joy to be around," said
Kroger's deli manager, Linda Warren of Kennesaw. "When I come in and
I'm feeling down and blue, all I have to do is go see Minnie. She's always
got a big smile on her face and a big hug for me. She's probably the happiest
person I know in this world."
The supported employment program is one of only a few
programs nationwide to receive U.S. Labor Department grants to help disabled
residents pursue employment training. The program helps residents such as Ms. Cupp become white-collar workers through computer training,
job training and continuous job coaching.
Program director Doug Crandell said Ms. Cupp is one
of 300 residents who are enrolled.
"Minnie could have decided to stay at home and not make a living, not pay
taxes and just live off Social Security," Crandell said. "Instead,
she made the decision to work and become a tax-payer and spend her money in a
way that creates economic development so everybody wins in this situation -
taxpayers, Minnie and companies like Kroger."
Nancy Brooks-Lane, another staffer with the Cobb-Douglas Community Services
Boards, said the program gives meaning to the lives of its participants.
"It also gives her a valued role, which I think we all seek in our life -
to have something that makes us wake up every morning and want to get
active," Ms. Brooks-Lane said. "So, to have a job gives her that
valuable role and that identity."
Ms. Cupp, who worked in the grocer's bakery, told
well wishers she was going to miss Kroger.
"I love it," she said. "I've got a lot of friends."
One of the retirement gifts was a brand new Kroger uniform,
which she had previously requested.
"I want to be buried in my Kroger uniform," she told the crowd.
Ms. Cupp's younger sister, Mary Kenagy
of
Ms. Cupp, who shares an apartment with a roommate, is
a member of the Voyagers Club with the Special Populations Department at the
On Sundays, Ms. Cupp attends Covenant Presbyterian
Church. She intends to enjoy her retirement by attending a daily support
program involving arts and crafts, food and other activities.
The Cobb-Douglas Community Services Boards provide mental health, developmental
disabilities and substance abuse services to more than 14,000 residents in Cobb
and Douglas annually.
Call
the access center at (770) 422-0202 for more information.
jgillooly@mdjonline.com