After 40 years of service, Jerry F. Scheidler, long-time program director for SWIRCA & More, has decided to retire, leaving a legacy of community giving and advocacy spanning four decades with our agency. It is with much sadness that we say good-bye to a man who has been with SWIRCA from its infancy and helmed the creation and growth of a Nutrition Program that last year alone served over 266,000 meals to the Southwestern Indiana region. As only the second person to be employed by SWIRCA he has touched hundreds of thousands of lives through his direction culminating in a team of over 90 employees delivering direct services to over 11,000 people in our 6-county area, making SWIRCA & More an integral and vibrant member of Southwest Indiana. He stands as the longest serving Nutrition Director in the United States of America.
While these grand feats serve to illustrate the work ethic and passion Jerry has for his career they do not adequately portray the character of the man we have come to know and love. Jerry began his mission of serving others by physically serving others at his father’s side when he was a teenager. Every Wednesday, Jerry and his dad would deliver meals to the homebound clients of the Greensburg Senior Center. It is not without irony that Jerry applied for a position at SWIRCA & More and would go on to create a department that would eventually serve meals to a six county wide region. His heart for seniors was already firmly established as in his original job application, written 40 years ago, the 23 year old Jerry wrote, “I know a lot of senior citizens are forgotten. Many feel that their lives have virtually ended. This is a very sad situation. But Senior Citizens can be shown that they can still lead rich and full lives and that they are still very useful in our society.â€
Throughout his years with SWIRCA, Jerry has developed countless lasting relationships with seniors. There is not a week that goes by where Jerry does not visit one of the 26 meal sites to have lunch and fellowship with the individuals who come to eat not only for their daily meal but to socialize with others. Jerry has always has an insatiable curiosity of the ways others live their lives and to hear their stories. This curiosity has at times gotten into many an awkward and humorous situation.
Jerry’s passion for others has been evident in the role he plays as a mentor to his staff, a helping hand in their times of need and his attempts to bring humor to every situation (often referred to as “Jerryismsâ€). Many in his position would be content to rest on their laurels but not Jerry! You will find him, on any given weekend doing yard work and picking up trash at SWIRCA and the surrounding neighborhood, jobs that our agency does not have funding to pay for. His passion for helping even reaches the personal plights of our clients. He spends time helping several of them by mowing their grass and tending their yards in his free time at no cost.
Jerry is man of both great accomplishments and everyday kindnesses. It is rare to find someone who truly believes that all people deserve dignity, compassion and should be shown that they are valued.
He has truly shown that one man can make a difference.
