Name: Susan Helms

Title: Bookkeeper

How long have you been at TARCOG and what do you do? I’ve been here nine years and nine months. I process the payroll for TARCOG and the Senior Employment Program — and all other things accounting related.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Exactly who I am now, working in the accounting field, wife, mother and grammy. I have been so blessed and I love my life.

What do you hope to accomplish within the next year? To spend as much time with my three grandbabies (and their parents) and maybe gain another baby or two!

Who is your hero and why? My high school sweetheart AKA my husband. He continues to support me in everything I do. He’s a good listener and gives the best advice. We love spending time together and now that our children are grown, it has been a blessing watching him be a “Poppy” to our grandbabies.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be? Probably just doing a much-needed project around my home. Checking things of my “to-do” list makes me happy.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you? I actually have two that I try to live by. The first one is if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right the first time and the second one is never put off doing something tomorrow that you can do today. Both of those can apply to my personal life and my professional life.

What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? This was not intentional, but while picking blackberries in a cow pasture several of us were chased by a Brahman bull, we had to wade a creek and cross under a bob-wire fence to return to our vehicle. I’m a farm girl and usually this type of thing does not scare me, but that day was very frightening!

Needless to say, we left our buckets of blackberries in the pasture and never returned for them!

Who knows you the best? I would say my husband of 40 years, we share everything.

What would you do if you won the lottery? You must play to even dream about winning and I’m too frugal to do so. I think I will just keep what I have worked for.

Congratulations Susan! Thank you for all that you do!

Name: Melissa Brinkley

Title: Medicaid Waiver Program Manager

How long have you been at TARCOG and what do you do? I’ve been here for 12 years.

Currently, I am the program manager for the Home and Community Based Waivers Program. I manage the day-to-day operations of the Elderly & Disabled Waivers, Technology Assisted Waivers, Alabama Community Transition Waivers, Gateway, and Hospital to Home Waivers. I am also a liaison with stakeholders — Alabama Select Network, Alabama Medicaid and Alabama Department of Senior Services. Additionally, I am a credentialed Person-Centered Thinking Trainer. I train case managers across the state monthly on person centered practices.

What did you want to be when you grew up? Police officer.

What do you hope to accomplish within the next year? Continue to grow as a person through self-development. Life is short and I plan to travel and enjoy family more.

Who is your hero and why? I don’t’ have a specific hero however, I have tremendous respect for anyone that stands up and fights on behalf of another person or a group of people for rights, dignity, and equality.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be? SPA day with friends and good food!

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you? It was in regard to raising my daughter — I was super worried about her going to school because of my fear kids would bully her because of a disability. However, a very wise woman told me that if I didn’t allow her to go to school with other kids, I would be pulling her out of life experiences forever. That advice changed my perspective and really affected how I raised my daughter and son. My daughter is a computer engineer now and if I didn’t adhere to that advice, I am not sure how her life would have been negatively affected.

What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Rappelled off a 40-foot tower — backwards.

Who knows you the best? My husband.

What would you do if you won the lottery? Share with my kids, buy investment properties, and save the rest.

Congratulations, Melissa! Thank you for all that you do!

Name: Carlie Morrison

Title: Medicaid Waiver Supervisor

How long have you been at TARCOG and what do you do?  I’ve been here three years. I supervise Case Managers and Personal Choice Counselors. I also assist with the Social Committee in making sure that there are engaging activities planned for each month.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A nurse.

What do you hope to accomplish within the next year? Within the next year, I would want to travel more, grow in my career and finish my master’s degree!

Who is your hero and why? My parents. They always support me and keep me focused and well-rounded.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be? Sit at the beach and do all my favorite things

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you? The best piece of advice that someone has given me is that the word “no” is a complete sentence.

What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? The most daring thing that I have done is moving to Huntsville for work and did not know anyone.

Who knows you the best? My best friend in Idaho and my parents.

What would you do if you won the lottery? I would pay off all my debt, my parents’ house, donate to a local charity, hire a financial advisor, and not tell anyone.

Name:  Emmitt Davis

Title: Community Services Coordinator

How long have you been at TARCOG and what do you do?  I have been at TARCOG for 10 years and currently have 25 service years in the social work field. As a program manager, I oversee our Nutrition, SenioRx, and Title III-D programs. Since March 2024, I have also been assisting the Medicaid Waiver Program with supervision as well as reviewing Redeterminations, Readmissions and Reinstatements to support one of TARCOG’s key programs.

What did you want to be when you grew up?  I wanted to be a professional basketball player. I was able to experience that dream by playing in Portugal.

What do you hope to accomplish within the next year?  To be done with Medicaid Waiver!! Seriously, by playing a strategic role in helping stabilize Medicaid Waiver and working toward helping them to become the Number One program in the state, just like our SenioRx Program.

Who is your hero and why?  Martin Luther King, Jr is my hero. Why? He led a nonviolent approach for civil rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and all victims of injustice through peaceful protests. Most importantly, he was not afraid to give up his life for what he believed in.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?  Go to all doctors’ offices in the TARCOG region and pick-up medial forms for our wonderful Case Managers to help them meet their Redetermination goals.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you?  My father, Emmitt Davis, Sr., always told me to treat others the way you want to be treated.

What is the most daring thing you’ve ever done?  In my younger days, my two close friends would go to a small creek on my parent’s land and catch small copperhead snakes. We would put them in a bottle and bring them back to the house where we played with them until my father saw what we were doing one day. I want to tell you in person what happened next!

Who knows you the best?  My brother, Kelvin Davis.

What would you do if you won the lottery?  Take care of family and closest friends. Pay off the mortgage of my church at Fletcher’s Chapel. Increase the Davis Family sponsorship of the TARCOG Caregiver College Program.

Name: Ruby Banks

Title: IT Specialist

How long have you been at TARCOG and what do you do? I have been with TARCOG for two years and I am the onsite support for our technical support consultants.

What did you want to be when you grew up? A nurse.

What do you hope to accomplish within the next year? Take some additional IT courses for certifications.

Who is your hero and why? My parents, they laid the foundation for me with a roadmap to follow in a positive way.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be? Visit the Holy Land.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you? Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today.

What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? I did a safari in Florida on an open trolley train. The train stopped on the tracks and all the passengers had to get off and walk near the area where the hippopotamus’s and baboons were.

Who knows you the best? My daughter.

What would you do if you won the lottery? I would claim the prize anonymously if the winning state has that option. I’d donate to various foundations and organizations. Invest in a business opportunity I have been looking into, share with family, and set up accounts for my grandson’s future.

TARCOG appreciates the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission (SARPC) team who came from Mobile today to share an outreach training program for Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) to better serve residents in DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison and Marshall counties.

The overall goals of the training were to assist TARCOG staff:

• Increase participation of older adults in SNAP through community-based outreach and enrollment initiatives.
• Identify, analyze, and disseminate replicable, cost effective, and scalable strategies for senior SNAP enrollment.
• Increase public awareness of senior hunger as an issue of national and local importance, and of SNAP as an effective strategy for reducing food insecurity among older adults.

Julie McGee, director of the SARPC-AAA provided a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Outreach Project Overview with a focus on economic security and senior hunger initiatives.

Nancy Bledsoe, outreach coordinator of the SARPC-SNAP Outreach discussed SNAP Program goals, updates, reporting and community outreach activities, while James Roberson, the regional coordinator for SARPC’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), Senior Medicare Patrol and Senior Rx programs presented training on the importance and benefits of having a strong working relationship between the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and SHIP program.

Barbara Estes, public relations specialist with SARPC also delivered marketing guidance for the programs.

Participating in the training from TARCOG included: LeQuitta Gaskin, outreach manager, Amanda Randall, coordinator of the ADRC, Pamela Cratic, specialist with the ADRC, Jalyn Powell, specialist with the ADRC, Teresa Hazzard, resource specialist with SHIP program, and Lina Barnett, coordinator with the Senior RX program.

Name: Stephanie R. Jackson

Title: Administrative Assistant

How long have you been at TARCOG and what do you do?  I’ve been with TARCOG for 22 years, my official work anniversary is in April.

I provide administrative support to the Legal Assistance Program, Elder Law Attorney, LaTanya Rhines, and the Ombudsman Program, Lead Ombudsman Representative, Alicia Howard, and LTC Ombudsman Representative, Vernel Mitchell.  Both the Legal Assistance Program and the Ombudsman Program has expanded their growth in the over twenty years that I’ve been with TARCOG, due to baby boomers and the population growth of new businesses to our five-county region.

I receive all calls for the Legal Assistance Program and attempt to return calls within 48 – 72 hours, depending on the volume of calls.  I schedule all appointments for Madison County new clients seeking legal assistance and refer clients from our outlying counties to their county of residence to schedule the next available appointment.  I schedule appointments for Madison County clients to notarize their approved final documents or prepare the final documents to be mailed to the clients for outside execution.  I generate a monthly email to DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, and Marshall County requesting the current appointment list for the month, I review the lists and prepare any final documents needed for clients that are ready to execute their documents.

I serve as a default contact for the Ombudsman Program if a concerned resident, family member, or staff, have questions for the Ombudsman Representatives.  I generate an email to the social workers in our 26 nursing facilities for the Monthly Gateway to Community Living Facility Referral Report that I calculate and submit to the State Ombudsman Office.  I serve as the secretary for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Culture Change Task Force Advisory Council, recording and preparing minutes, generating emails to Advisory Council members on upcoming meeting dates or other requests made by Alicia, the chairperson.

As an administrative assistant, I serve as backup to the receptionists, as needed.  As a TARCOG team member, I offer my assistance as needed to all programs.

What did you want to be when you grew up?  A guitar player in an all-girls band!!

What do you hope to accomplish within the next year?  On a personal note, my sister and I hope to have my mother settled here in Huntsville as her caregivers.

Who is your hero and why?  My husband, Terence Jackson.  My husband has provided support to my family over the thirty-one (31) years of our marriage, quietly behind the scenes.  Making travel possible for my mother to be with her daughter and son during their time of medical emergencies and strength during their passing. His selfless love, devotion, and commitment is what makes a real hero.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?  Have a day at the beach, soaking up the sun, listening to the waves, eating some real good seafood, watching the sunset, and then the sunrise the next morning.

What is the best piece of advice someone has given you? Your character and moral values represent who you are as a person, not what you do for a living.

What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done? Rode one of those sky lifts in Gatlinburg, Tenn.  I prayed to God that if he allowed me to get down safely, I would never get on one of those things again. He did and I haven’t!!

Who knows you the best?  My best friend, my husband, Terence.

What would you do if you won the lottery?  I would make a financial blessing to my mother, my church, and ALS of GA in memory of my sister.  I would hire an investment advisor and setup full four-year college scholarships for my two grandchildren.  Take me and my husband on a long overdue quiet vacation for just the two of us!!  Make repairs to my home and put the rest in my rainy-day fund account.