Employees Make 2010 a Year to Begin Again
Employees share New Year’s resolutions in yearlong series
› Click image for more photos
Rebecca Williams, accounting clerk at North Fork Correctional Facility
With January now behind us, New Year’s resolutions are already a thing of the past for some. But three CCA employees have committed to keeping their resolutions through year’s end – and they’ve agreed to let InsideCCA track their progress throughout the year.
Lisa Riley, quality assurance manager at New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility, is on a quest to quit smoking; Rebecca Williams, accounting clerk at North Fork Correctional Facility, is striving to live a more eco-friendly life; and Patrick Jablonski, senior director, Quality Assurance and Research Analysis, plans to drop 20 pounds. InsideCCA spoke with these employees to find out what motivated them to make their resolutions and what they anticipate 2010 will bring.
Saying Goodbye to Smoking
Lisa Riley has smoked for 31 years but she’s decided that 2010 is her year to quit – for herself and her family.
“I’ve tried to quit over the years but never successfully,” Riley says. “I want to quit so that I can feel healthier and smell better. It’s so hard now trying to find a place to smoke and I feel like I’m in the minority. Plus, it’s so expensive to buy cigarettes.”
Riley started using the patch on January 4 but after talking with a friend, she decided to take a different route.
“On January 9 I had a lot of anxiety. I felt discouraged that I was so anxious even while using the patch,” she says. “While speaking with a friend, he asked me if I seriously wanted to quit and I told him yes. He suggested that I just get rid of the patch and do it on my own.”
Riley gave up the patch that day and has not smoked since.
“I’m finding now that I don’t know what to do with myself,” she says. “Smoking took up so much time.”
In spite of the challenges, Riley has high expectations for life after quitting.
“I can already tell the difference in the way my lungs feel,” she says. “I’m ready to feel better and have more energy; I have nine grandchildren and two on the way so I’m trying to keep up with them.”
Living Greener
Rebecca Williams has chosen to make 2010 her greenest year yet.
“I feel guilty about the shape we’re leaving the world in for our kids and grandkids,” Williams says. “They talk about it on TV a lot and nobody ever does anything. I’ve tried to reduce my carbon footprint a little but this year I’m trying harder to stop wasting so much.”
Although she knows the payoffs are big, Williams anticipates a year of difficult adjustments.
“It’s going to be hard at first,” she says. “My husband and I started replacing our light bulbs with the energy efficient ones - they’re not as bright, but it’s just a matter of getting used to something different.”
Williams has also found a resourceful way to help her garden grow. “We take vegetables, scraps and coffee grounds and dump them into a compost heap to put on our flower beds,” she says.
Knocking Off Pounds
“I need to lose weight and keep it off because I have a family history of heart attacks,” says Patrick Jablonski, senior director, Quality Assurance and Research Analysis.
For Jablonski, losing the weight isn’t the hardest part, but rather, keeping it off.
“In 2003, I dropped 25 pounds in six months,” he says. “Then my wife and I had a baby and I gained the weight back. Last year I did the same thing - I kept the weight off until April and then gained it all back.”
Jablonski anticipates facing the same challenge this year.
“I’ll probably reach my goal in late May but the key is what I do after that,” he says.
Keep an eye out for monthly InsideCCA updates from these three employees. Have you committed to a New Year’s resolution? Share your thoughts, experiences or encouraging words by sounding out.
By DeAndra Mack