This year on March 5, 2022, five Home Helpers® franchisees in the Greater Tampa Bay area collaborated at Hilton Garden Inn Tampa/Brandon/Riverview to celebrate staff at their 2022 Tampa Bay Area Home Helpers Exceptional Caregiver Awards Banquet. At this event, they announced their individual agencies' 2022 Exceptional Caregiver of the Year and chose an overall 2022 Exceptional Caregiver of the Year for the Tampa Bay region.
We are proud to announce that the Home Helpers of Bradenton 2022 Exceptional Caregiver of the Year is Deborah! Unfortunately, Deborah was unable to attend in person, but thankfully, one of the attendees captured the moment in the video that we share with you in this blog.
"Deborah - Once again, congratulations on winning the "Home Helpers of Bradenton 2022 Exceptional Caregiver of the Year Award. We could not have picked a person that was more deserving of this award than you. We are very proud to have you represent our agency and look forward to your many achievements in the future. Great job!" -Jonathan
To learn more about Deborah, check out a previous blog entry written about her: Meet Deborah – October 2021 Exceptional Caregiver of the Month.
Below is the transcript of the video:
So first, I just want to say thank you to all of the Home Helpers staff that are here tonight, all of you. So thank you so much for being here today.
I also wanted to speak directly to the Home Helpers of Bradenton staff. We can't do this without you, and I really appreciate you all that are here as well as those that are not here. I'm also especially grateful for your commitment during the pandemic. It wasn't always easy, and I will acknowledge that.
In moments I'm going to recognize our 2022 Home Helpers of Bradenton Exceptional Caregiver of the Year. It certainly wasn't an easy decision, right?
The person that I'm going to talk about, she had been described or she described caregiving as her calling. I remember last year she came into the office and I just happened to be there. And so we sat down and we talked for probably 30 to 45 minutes. And we talked a lot and she said some things that resonated with me. First thing she said was, "I just love bringing a smile to my client's faces each and every time I see them." Each and every time she sees them. And then, she also shared with me how she approaches life on a daily basis. She said, "I always try to stay positive. Even when things are not so great, I know something good will always come." So I was writing all this stuff down, profound stuff.
So when she was saying this, all of this made sense, right? We had so many compliments coming into the office about her quickly after she was hired. And I learned that one of her motivations had a lot to do with the care that her father received or lacked thereof when he was ill. He eventually passed away in 2018.
She's been described by clients as patient, reliable, compassionate, attentive, and simply a friend. And we have never received a complaint about her, nor has she ever missed a shift. So fortunately and unfortunately, she never missed anything until tonight.
She had a pretty serious family emergency that came up, and therefore she's not here with us today. And so, we pray for her and her family. So this is what we're going to do before I say her name. I want you guys to do this with me. So Jo right here is doing a video. And so when I say her name, I want you to do a loud round of applause because we're going to have this video for her. We're going to send it to her so she knows we're thinking about her.
So Deborah Cornwell, you are our 2022 Home Helpers of Bradenton Exceptional Caregiver of the Year!!
Thank you so much, everybody.