By Nancy Pine, Case Manager
The VETcare Transitional Program in Salem, Oregon has nine full time staff members – many who are support staff. Our support staff includes our night monitors and kitchen staff. We would like to recognize their support of our facility and know that if they weren’t doing their jobs behind the scenes, our program wouldn’t be nearly as successful!
Denise Hoover, our Kitchen Manager, has been with our program for about a year and a half. She started off as a part-time cook and because of her amazing work ethic and skills in the kitchen, she was promoted to a full-time position and eventually to the manager position. Our kitchen provides three hot meals a day to our 30 residents and she ensures that not only are the meals nutritious, but they’re tasty as well.
Danny Klavinger, one of our two-night monitors, joined our team after being a resident of VETcare. Since he knows how our organization works, he has been essential to our nighttime team. He has a history in counseling and previously working with individuals who had substance abuse issues. He is a Veteran and knows how to communicate with his fellow Vets. Not only is he a night monitor, but he is a mentor for many of our residents.
Ian McGee, our most recent addition to VETcare, works as a kitchen staff. Ian decided to change his career path when he joined us. He was a certified welder working for a fuel tank manufacturing company. During his young adulthood he was trained in Job Corps to be a food service worker. He decided that his passion is cooking, so he decided to join our team. Ian has added spice to our kitchen and has proven himself to be a valuable asset to our team!
Kyle Read, our other night monitor, moved to our area from Arizona. He has his Bachelor’s in Psychology and is attending classes online to get his Master’s in Social Work. He is the son of a retired Air Force Veteran, so he understands Veterans and has been around them most of his life. His goal is to eventually work for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs as a Social Worker.
We thank all of our support employees for all that they do to make this facility run so smoothly! Without them, our facility wouldn’t be the success that it is today!
