Cortland Standard .net

By COLLEEN SIUZDAK
Staff Reporter
csiuzdak@cortlandstandard.net
Joanne Sheely, 68, said Friday morning she has come to work every day for the past 49 years because of the people she gets to help daily.
Before an interview, a client of hers came into the office Friday to share his success story made possible with Sheely’s help: he went from being homeless to finding a job and an apartment.
“That made me feel so good on my last day,” Sheely said with a huge smile on her face. “It’s just ... what a way to end my day!”
Sheely’s love for helping all people started with her grandfather, Joseph Clark, who ran the social services program — called the relief program then — in the 1930s out of his home on Argyle Place in the city of Cortland.
Sheely’s mother, Gladys Smith-Clark, was adopted by Joseph Clark after she was given up by her birth mother. Sheely attributes her compassionate personality to her family roots, saying she feels fulfilled when her clients reach their goals.
“I’m so emotional because I have to find something outside of here, now, to fulfill me,” Sheely said, adding why she loved coming to work every day. “Because I can (always) help one more person.”
Billie MacNabb, social welfare manager, said Friday afternoon that Sheely’s dedication is apparent by how much she cares about her clients.
“She wears her heart on her sleeve,” MacNabb said. “A lot of times, her heart goes out to them and she takes all of that home with her at the end of the day.”
MacNabb, who worked with Sheely for the last 10 years, said that when Sheely was working for the Home Energy Assistant Program five years ago, Sheely tripped on her way to the printer. MacNabb said she did not think anything of it until later that night she saw Sheely’s wrist swollen and bruised and later found out Sheely broke her wrist. Sheely, however, continued to work because she just wanted to help everyone she could.
“We re-live that story every year about, take your time, don’t rush,” MacNabb said.
“She is by far one of the most dedicated people in this place.”
Sheely said working with HEAP was her “passion,” saying that she loved how through the program she knew she was keeping someone warm.
Sheely started as a permanent part-time typist in June 1966 and worked various jobs, retiring for the first time in December 2002, only to come back in January 2003 as a social welfare examiner. Her lifelong experience also gave her the opportunity to see the implementation of different programs such as food stamps, which she said is the most successful program with the county.
Sheely was also one of the first people who started with the county social services agency, which had 12 people in the third floor of the courthouse. DSS now has more than 120 employees who occupy the second floor of the County Office Building.
Department of Social Services Commissioner Kristen Monroe said in an email Friday morning Sheely is a person who “never has a bad day,” citing her dedication to keeping positive in her job.
“Joannie (Sheely) will never be forgotten for her genuine kindness and respect for those she served,” Monroe said. “She believed in what she was doing to help others and wanted to see everyone succeed.”
Sheely, who has four childrenand 14 grandchildren, said she does not want to retire, but she noticedrecently given her age she has started to stress about the people she has helped and this takes a toll on heremotionally.
Sheely emphasized that even through the agency is there to help those in need, people also need to take care of themselves before depending on others for help. She reminisced about a time when she was homeless for a few nights with her then 2-year-old daughter Bobbi Jo, and said the most important thing she did was never give up.
“You can do it, you can make a difference in your life by the choices you make,” Sheely said about people who are thinking about coming to get help. “It’s all about the choices.”