Sat Nov 07 2009
By JACK PALMER
Donna Polce capped her 40-year career with the Social Security Administration on Wednesday with her usual competence, kindness, grace and pleasant smile.
"Donna was our first female claims rep in the Defiance office in 1969, the year of the moon walk," said Steve Richards, Lima district manager. "Most people do not achieve that total number of years, let alone at the same office. She's an icon at Social Security."
Polce moved up through the ranks, advancing from claims representative to operations analyst to operations supervisor. In 1995, she was promoted to office manager and has served in that position ever since.
"The staff has been great to work with and I want to thank every one of them," she said. "With their help, my career has been a positive experience. I've enjoyed watching them develop and move ahead."
One of 56 SSA offices in Ohio, the 205 E. Second St. site covers Defiance, Henry, Paulding, Fulton and Williams counties.
"Most of the staff here was hired or promoted under Donna's leadership," said Richards. "She has been a very caring person who helps solve problems. At the same time, she has been a positive face of Social Security in the community."
Polce had served under four different office managers before assuming the position herself -- Bernie Gunter, Joe Rizzardi, Don Rank and John Stevenson.
"Donna was good for the office and good for me," said Stevenson, who now resides in Waterville. "She was very knowledgeable and had the trust of the people we served."
"I was there the first day Donna walked in the door," recalled former assistant office manager Jim Giesey, who now resides in Athens. "She had recently graduated from BGSU and completed training for 13 weeks in Cleveland. She was polite and knew what she was doing. She turned out to be my best friend in the office."
During her college years, she had planned on becoming a buyer for a large department store.
"They had career day when I was a senior, and they told us to check out at least one thing we didn't know much about. So I picked Social Security and I guess the rest is history."
"It's been a great career," added Polce. "It was recently rated as one of the top 10 places to work in the country."
Her pioneer role as a female claims representative did not go unnoticed by members of the public.
"I was a woman and really didn't know anyone at the Defiance office," she said. "People came in and said 'I want to talk to one of the men' -- and they got away with it."
When asked about her most memorable job-related event, she quickly pointed to the 1982 flood.
"I remember getting a call at 3 in the morning saying that we needed to vacate. The water was coming up and there was nothing we could do. We moved the office to the UAW Hall for two weeks. Those people were very helpful."
Along the way, the biggest change in operations has been technology.
"We started bringing in computers to the office in 1997. They used to send people away for four months for training, but now we do it through video conferencing."
When originally assigned to the Defiance office, her first reaction was, "Where's that?" Now she knows.
"I've never wanted to go anywhere else," she said. "I like the small-town environment and the people. It's a great place to live and raise a family."
She and her husband, Vince, are parents of three children: Lisa Becher, Defiance, vice president at Beilharz Consulting and co-owner of Putt-Putt Golf and Games; Erik Olsson, Baltimore, Md., intelligence consultant; and Jackie Olsson, Cincinnati, financial auditor with Fifth Third Bank. There are two grandchildren.
As Polce moves into the next chapter of her life, she will continue serving the public as the new reception desk coordinator at Defiance Regional Medical Center.
In addition, she is president of the Defiance College Women's Commission, co-chairman of the DASH annual fund-raising drive and actively involved at St. Mary Catholic parish and its food pantry ministry.
"It really doesn't seem like 40 years," she reflected. "I'll miss the job, but I plan to stay busy."
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