Dusty Rhodes and At Your Service Contract Cleaners

 Dedication to a job is a prime example of how important the work of ACHIEVE Career Consultants is to the people they have found employment for over the years. Dusty Rhodes has been a member of the Allegany Arc janitorial staff and At Your Service Contract Cleaning for 11 years, keeping Allegany Arc's Shine facility clean for all who work and spend their day there. He feels he has achieved success maintaining his job as long as he has, explaining he used to sit at home when he was between jobs. Mr. Rhodes further explained that he likes to get up in the morning to go to work.

When he was first connected with Allegany Arc in 1992, Mr. Rhodes was employed at PWI's Babbitt facility where he counted and packaged lids. His Employment Specialist at the time connected him with a job doing the laundry at Highland Healthcare. He worked there until he was let go in late 1998. Though he stayed home for a couple months he was ready to get back to work when ACHIEVE referred him to At Your Service Contract Cleaning in May 1999; his employer ever since.

Mr. Rhodes sees his Employment Specialist Alan Clancy twice a month to talk about his job and how it's going. Mr. Clancy is pleased with Mr. Rhodes' work. "He gets along well with his co-workers and enjoys his job," he said. Mr. Rhodes arrives to work promptly at noon everyday ready for his duties such as mopping and sweeping the floors and washing the walls and windows in every office, room and bathroom. Other job duties include replacing the toilet paper and paper towel rolls, emptying recyclables and emptying garbage cans and replacing their bags.

Mr. Rhodes is adamant that returnable's always be placed in with recyclables and not in the garbage can and is dedicated to reminding people of this when he is working. Cleaning has become more than just a job for Mr. Rhodes who claims to be quite the cleaner at home, saying "I have to be." At home, he takes care of his wife and his house by mowing the lawn and washing the dishes. His favorite hobby is listening to 80's rock music including AC/DC and Meat Loaf. "It's coming back these days," he said.

Mr. Rhodes and his wife recently traveled to Maine to see the ocean and the beauty of the area which he says he thoroughly enjoys seeing when he's there. The last time he and his wife visited Maine was after they were married. After their trip Mr. Rhodes says he can't wait for the future when everything he and his wife own is paid off. Ten years from now, he sees himself still working and taking care of his wife. While he misses his job at Highland, Mr. Rhodes expressed his contentment with where he is now, saying he likes the people he works with.

*Written by Matthew Martinelli

Additional Success Stories:

* Doug George and Ade Dining Hall

* James Kuzara and Intergrow Greenhouses

* Liliet Washburn and Cuba Memorial Hospital