Gym named for longest-serving state employee
CONWAY — Ed Jennings, 80, retired once from the Conway Human Development Center, but he regretted it, so he went back.
Now as he nears the 56-year mark — making him the longestserving state employee, according to the Arkansas lieutenant governor’s office — the center’s gymnasium has been named in Jennings’ honor as he plans to retire this fall.
“I didn’t have a clue they were going to do this,” Jennings said.
He said employees were invited to a parent-appreciation banquet on a Saturday, and he was told he’d be recognized for his years of service.
“They showed it on the screen, and then I walked outside and looked at it, and I just couldn’t believe it. I was very emotionally touched by it,” he said.
Jennings said he guessed “they — whoever they are — thought it was fitting” to name the building for him.
Now a human-resources specialist, he started his career at the Conway Human Development Center as a teacher.
“When I went to the center, I was a physical education teacher, and the gym was not even there,” he said.
He started working at the Arkansas Children’s Colony, as it was called, in 1961 prior to the gymnasium being built in 1963.
“I worked in that building for two or three years. Prior to that, I was in another building that is still there, just a big auditorium,” he said.
Jennings was born in Leslie, but his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he and his twin sister, Edna, were babies. He came to Conway after high school to attend Arkansas State Teachers College, now the University of Central Arkansas. After graduating, he lived with his grandmother in Leslie and taught PE and science for two years in the Marshall School District.
“I wanted to come back to Conway,” he said. “I was single; there wasn’t a whole lot to do around Leslie.”
Jennings said the Arkansas Children’s Colony was for children with intellectual disabilities, but theirs were not as severe as those of the residents the center now serves.
“The group that we had out there — most we had at the time were quite capable. Today, most [have] more severe or profound [disabilities],” he said.
“Back then, there was very little special education — a few [classes] in larger schools. A lot of the small schools didn’t have special ed. We were the only place for some of [the students] to go.”
Jennings said the clients were taught basic academics, “a lot of
what we called functional and practical skills and things related to making it and getting by in this world,” he said.
“It was successful. We had quite a few who left there and went back to their homes and were able to get jobs,” he said.
Jennings also earned a master’s degree in principalship and physical education by taking night and weekends classes while he worked; plus he has additional college hours in special education.
After teaching for about five years, he was promoted to assistant director of education, which was like being the principal, Jennings said. He was promoted to director of education, which was “more like the superintendent,” and he oversaw the whole program.
As the field of special education evolved, school districts provided classes for students with developmental disabilities, he said, and the center’s focus changed.
“We began then to begin to accept [people with] more physical and severe mental issues,” he said. “It just progressed from what was then the educable to what we then would have called profound [disabilities].”
Residents of the Conway Human Development Center have severe intellectual delays and physical disabilities, he said.
“They need 24-hour nursing, medical-type care. The biggest number would be autistic,” Jennings said.
“We still have our school program. In the past few years, we’ve been getting students who are school age, and we have a special-education program with certified special-ed teachers,” he said.
Jennings was coordinator of staff development at the center for 20 years. Employees receive two weeks of “intensive training,” and he coordinated that training, he said, adding that the center now has about 1,200 employees.
About 15 years ago, when he was 65, he retired because “I just kind of thought it was time to go,” he said.
His retirement lasted about eight months.
“I thought I was ready to retire, and I really wasn’t. I enjoyed that kind of work,” he said. “I very, very much enjoyed my work. I’m a people person. I love people; I love to be involved with people. I didn’t want to just do nothing or fish, and I’m not that much of a traveler.”
He and his wife, Susan, do enjoy yard work, but there’s only so much of that one can do.
Jennings came back to the center first on a part-time basis, then full time.
In his human-resources role now, he does a lot of benchmarking, he said. “We have 50 applicants for a position, and I have to go through and pick out the five most capable or 10 most capable based on the criteria we’ve established.”
Jennings said technology has changed dramatically since he started working, and it’s not his favorite part of the job.
“I just do the basics,” he said.
His 56-year mark will be in August, and he plans to retire in October, he said. It’s been a good ride. “Based on my likes and my personality, working for the [Conway] Human Development Center has been a perfect fit for me because all of my work has been in helping, teaching people, encouraging people, which is my big thing. I’m a people person,” he said.
“It’s just like family there. My family teases me — we’ll be somewhere, and I’ll run into somebody I knew 20 years ago who worked at the center.
“I get along great with everyone; my supervisor doesn’t want me to leave.”
That’s true, said Jennifer Ethridge, human-resources analyst.
“I hate to see him leave,” she said.
Ethridge has worked at the center for 29 years and knew Jennings when he was in staff development.
“He’s the most kindhearted person. He just has so much knowledge of the center, and everybody goes to him, and he’s just a wonderful employee. He loves the center and loves the residents and the staff,” she said.
Ethridge said the fact that he’s the longest-serving state employee “says a lot about him.”
“He’s real dedicated to his job and the people he works with and the people we serve,” Ethridge said. “I’ve learned so much from him being his supervisor. He’s just an awesome mentor. I couldn’t have done it without him.
“He’s seen it all and gone through everything with the center.”
Jennings said he recently saw Gov. Asa Hutchinson in the lobby of the Conway Human Development Center. Hutchinson was introduced to Jennings and was told about Jennings’ long tenure. The governor congratulated him, and they had their picture taken together, Jennings said.
Along with the gym dedication, Jennings said Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin also sent him a letter.
“Thank you for your 56 years of service to the Conway Human Development Center,” Griffin wrote. “You have contributed immensely not only to the community and people of Conway, but also to the entire state of Arkansas. As the longest-working state employee, your work ethic and selflessness provide a great example of what it means to be a public servant. I congratulate you on your retirement and wish you the best in the years to come.”