By Michael Mygind, Director of Marketing
In early February, our WestCare California family of programs bid a heartfelt farewell and wished a very Happy Retirement to a longtime member of our family and leadership, Lynn Pimentel!
While she has been employed with our organization for over 20 years, her history with WestCare goes back even further. In 1990, she was a client and in early 1993, a graduate of The Third Floor, a 48-bed residential treatment facility in Fresno, which we now affectionately know today as WestCare California.
After completing the program, she returned in July of 2002 as an Outpatient Substance Abuse Counselor. She was then promoted to Director of the Women and Children’s Program at MLK Residential in January of 2003. In 2006, she was promoted again to Director of MLK. A year later in 2007, she was promoted to the position of Clinical Director for WestCare California. Her rise through the ranks would continue in 2008 into the role of Deputy Administrator for WestCare California, in which throughout this 13+ year tenure, she would oversee all programs until transitioning to oversight specifically for our treatment and rehabilitation, Veterans services, housing opportunities, and education & prevention programs. She remained the Deputy Administrator until she began her transition into retirement, in which she worked with our organization on a part-time basis as a Special Projects Specialist, beginning January 1, 2022. Throughout her 20 years of service to our organization, she proudly touts that 387 clean and sober babies were born at our MLK Residential facility during her time with us.
On top of her leadership duties for the organization and commitment to the message of recovery as a proud alumni, her name has become synonymous with community involvement, collaboration, and advocacy. From her role as the co-founder of Community Partners 4 Recovery (CP4R) and the SoberStock event to her involvement with the Fresno Madera Continuum of Care (FMCoC) and role in planning various WestCare events ranging from treatment graduations to parades, the Fresno AIDS Walk, California alumni group gatherings, and more – she has embodied our mission and vision well beyond the confines of a regular working day. She lives it and she breathes it.
During her farewell party, she remarked, “This is my formal retirement from WestCare. I started with this organization in 1990 as a consumer and I’m retiring as a former Deputy Administrator. It was like working with family every day – changing lives, seeing babies born clean and sober, seeing clients who used to attend programs work for us now, seeing the change in the people we serve, seeing the growth of our agency, and seeing the lives that have been touched by housing and Veterans services. It just makes me very proud to be a WestCarian. I will be in your hearts always and you will hear my words when I say things like, ‘May the force be with you.’ Have a good life. I enjoyed every association with WestCare that I’ve had and appreciate their support throughout the years. Thank you.”
While she will remain with our organization by way of helping plan future WestCare events, there is no denying that we will miss her and her unbridled passion for recovery and the life-changing services that we are so fortunate to provide. On behalf of your WestCare family, those that we serve, and our countless alumni – we love you and wish you only the happiest of years ahead in your retirement.
