The Lewis Mason Thurston Area Agency on Aging (LMTAAA) has been recognized by Lancaster Consulting with the Cultivating Leadership Business Award in February of 2020.
“We are very honored that the agency is being recognized. Part of what we’ve been working on these past couple of years is culture development trying to be anchored in what our vision, mission, and values are,” Nicole Kiddoo, executive director of LMTAAA said.
The LMTAAA is a local governmental organization that provides social services and resources to older adults, adults living with a disability and family caregivers in Lewis, Mason and Thurston County. The agency was established in the area in 1976 and currently offers services and resources to about 15,000 people throughout the three counties.
“It’s very important for us to service our clients and community to the best of our ability. A big part of what we do is try to keep people in their homes for as long as possible and to support choice and quality of life and so with that we have a lot of different services that we provide,” Kiddoo said.
Some of the services provided by LMTAAA include: meal delivery, transportation services, falls prevention, in-home personal care which provides help with daily activities such as bathing, eating, and dressing.
LMTAAA not only serves those over the age of 60 but also provides services to individuals 18 and older that are living with a disability.
“We serve a wide range of folks,” said Kiddoo. “Folks want to be in their home if they can be and we want to provide those services that allow them to do that. We really focus on the quality of life for folks,” she continued.
Kiddoo will have been in her position for two years in April and says that she has been focusing on making sure employees have opportunities for professional development and are well equipped to support clients.
The award is in recognition of LMTAAA’s “commitment to developing their work culture, living their values and cultivating their skills through leadership development. LMTAAA’s leadership philosophy is to prepare and provide the staff with opportunities that allow them to bring their best to serve their clients and communities with excellence each and every day,” stated a press release from LMTAAA.
LMTAAA employs about 70 individuals when they are fully staffed. Kiddoo said the agency has been spending a fair amount of time figuring out and implementing ways to invest in the staff to make sure he or she feels supported and making sure the culture and values of the organization are strong— one such way is a “leadership academy.”
“We have a leadership academy that we offer to our staff and that places some focus around leadership in terms of not just positional leaders but also emerging leaders and working on the retention component, working on our culture piece which is very important so that our staff feels very supported. We are very proud of the work we have been doing,” Kiddoo said.
