This month's Aging Well Award winner has dedicated over three decades of her life to educate the leaders of tomorrow. Denise Mereness has spent most of her career as an educator working for the St. Joseph School District at Mark Twain Elementary as a classroom teacher. However, her years of dedication to educating local youth did not end with her retirement. Daniel Siehndel who nominated Denise wrote, "Denise has continued to show up on almost a daily basis. She has been stepping into substitute jobs that have not been picked up for classrooms and covering paraprofessional positions, helping kids who need the one-on-one care on a daily basis."
Daniel continues to state that many of those positions would not be filled if Denise wasn't able to "jump in at the drop of a hat." He even remarks that most people looking in from the outside would think that Denise is still a full-time employee. At Freudenthal we think that kind of dedication just illustrates to the old adage "if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life." Denise clearly loves what she does and is continuing to share her special gifts in a wonderful way that truly benefits our community! Thank you for your dedication Denise Mereness and your willingness to go the extra mile for our community and the youth of St. Joseph!