At the April meeting of the Auxiliary, resident Ruth Boone noted that she thoroughly enjoyed reading the “Getting To Know” articles in the employee newsletter. Each month Saint Simeon’s recognizes a “STAR” employee for the accomplishments as nominated by their peers. So by special request, the “Quill of the Hill” will also include the employee feature articles for residents, families and friends to enjoy as well. To start this new feature, we have selected Paula Sampson as our first employee to highlight. It just so happens that Paula was the first employee to be featured in the very first employee newsletter as well.

This is going to be a regular feature in the Quill so we wanted someone really special in our first interview and without a doubt that is Paula Sampson. Paula has worked here 33 years – longer than anyone else has currently here and what stories she can tell!! She is a Nutritional Technician and when she is not working directly with residents, doing evaluations and assisting residents with eating she is in her office – the Residential Information Office, at the first circle drive. She provides invaluable assistance to residents, their families, guests, and all the rest of us.

Paula was born and raised in Tulsa and when she came to work here was a divorced mother with a ten year-old son, Richard. Her previous jobs were distributing samples of Punch Laundry Soap Powder all across the state and telemarketing for Humming Bird Hose.

She had gotten married in high school when she was one year short of graduation and was seeking a job as a Certified Nurse Assistant but needed the first job available and that happened to be a Dietary/Housekeeping Aide. Some of the things she remembers from when she first started working here are, “Back then no slacks at all were allowed for women and the hall outside the Common Room was a solarium.” After vacuuming the Main Lounge I would rake the carpet to remove the “lines” and each month I would defrost the ice cream freezer that was so deep that I would have to put aprons on front and back and hang upside down in it!”

Paula and her Mother have lived together since her divorce and her Mom is now 88 years old. Paula is much more than the very nice, gentle lady we all know. Would you believe that her gift to herself for her 50th birthday was to get her GED? The test lasted two days and it was her son, Richard’s Principal, who gave her the test. Richard attended the same schools Paula did – Emerson, Roosevelt, and Central.

For her 60^th birthday Richard gave her a hot air balloon ride even though she is afraid of heights. “I spent almost the first hour with my eyes shut tight, arms wrapped securely around some corner cables and legs wrapped around an air tank. After I had been in the basket for ten minutes or so, the pilot told me to open my eyes. We were already off the ground and I hadn’t felt the balloon lift off. The entire trip continued as smoothly as the lift off. As we drifted, we could hear the advanced signals of dogs barking our arrival into their neighborhoods.”

Paula has been a Housekeeper relief, Cook, Assistant Supervisor, Supervisor and since 1996, after completing the four year course of study at nights and on weekends at the OSU campus in Okmulgee, a Nutritional Technician. She is also the proud grandmother of Richard and his wife’s four children, boys age 13 and 6 and girls 4 and 12 years old. The children were given affectionate names by their Grandma Paula; Richard is Darling Dumpling, Nichlos is Jelly Bean, a different flavor everyday. The girls’ names are Rebecca, Princess Rosebud, and the baby is Sarah, Princess Sunshine. The family lives in Catoosa.