A look back and beyond: Kim Dodson celebrates 20 years with The Arc of Indiana!

Have you ever watched a TV commercial, whether it's for an insurance company, a bank or a new snack food and the commercial has happy smiling people and some fancy slogan, yet you think, "Wait, I don't remember that being my experience!" I can say with absolute certainty you will NEVER find that to be the case at The Arc of Indiana! I work with a team that is committed to serve others to the best of their ability and sticking with those they serve until the desired goal is accomplished! The woman in the drivers' seat heading up the daily operations is Kim Dodson. In 2018, Kim celebrated her 20 year work anniversary and to say that she's committed to doing her job well, is an understatement! She was hired and mentored by retired executive director John Dickerson in 1998, with no background in the disability field, but that didn't stop John from teaching, training and cultivating Kim's potential. She grew so much under John's watchful guidance, that 3 years ago when John retired, Kim became executive director. When I interviewed Kim about her years of service, I could tell just how deeply the relationship with John had affected her. She is such a genuine person, everything about Kim sparkles, shines and beams! She wants to leave you better than when you first walked in the door. That's why I came to the Arc of Indiana almost 9 years ago. John hired me, saw and cultivated my potential for growth, and now Kim carries that on, not only for me, but for all of us! We all feel loved, valued and appreciated! Our work atmosphere is "We work better together" and what we each bring to the table is embraced and refined, so we all continue to work as one great team!!  Happy 20 year Anniversary Kim! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Michelle Fischer is host of A View from My Window, a podcast produced by The Arc of Indiana

Read more about what drew Kim to work in the disability field here: http://www.townepost.com/indiana/broad-ripple/kim-dodson-a-hero-for-the-special-needs-community/

9 years hosting my podcast...How is it even possible?

My first podcast episode aired: December 22nd, 2009. There are a number of reasons why I've been able to host A View from My Window for nine years. There have been MANY people who have mentored me, trained me and listened to me. All of that was the perfect recipe to to start the fire burning and planting the seeds for my intense love of, wanting to be and eventually becoming a journalist. I'm a self-taught journalist who honed my craft by watching others in the field. I knew I needed to see and feel news in action. All the trips to WLFI News 18, WISH-TV and the relationships I have, even to this day, with everyone I met, especially at WLFI, made me know for a certainty that I needed to be a journalist! I really got to see firsthand that being in a TV job is much more than lights, camera, makeup, hair and nice clothes. Those things are certainly a part of the job, but the most important and lasting part is the person you are behind the camera. We're all human and have ''off'' days, but always remembering that you want to be a warm, caring, invested, engaged person to the people you interview, work with or meet. They deserve the gift you bring to them, because when you think about it, whoever is in front of you, is bringing a gift that they possess to you. The gift of telling you who they are and what drives them to do the work they are doing. All these things I keep in mind before recording an interview for my podcast and then I try to use those things while the interview is going on so that I can show them that I care about the things they have shared with me.  It's really the most beautiful gift that I can weave together a story so that listeners can get the full picture of who is being interviewed. That is the part that keeps surprising me, even after all these years! I'm grateful that The Arc of Indiana was the organization that was the one to say YES! Thank you to ALL the staff! I have the best co-workers! Thank you to my producer Sally Morris and my sound engineer Bryce Dickerson for helping me with questions, concerns, brainstorming and just plain ' ole fun and laughter!!! Thank you to my mom for always believing in me and never voicing any doubt, but always supporting me! For always being my "backbone"! Thank you to everyone who I have interviewed on the podcast, too! It truly has been a privilege to tell your stories, hear your backgrounds and get to know you better! Thank you goes out to retired executive director of the Arc of Indiana, John Dickerson for being the one to see my potential and RUN with it! You will always have a special place in my heart for how you made my dream a reality! Thank you to the current executive director Kim Dodson who has continued to make me feel valued and appreciated and is always up for an interview whenever we need her and is always such a bright spot whenever I come in the office! Yes, I have the best boss! Thank you to Paul Howell, who became my mentor when he worked as an anchor at WLFI... Thank you so much for getting the ball rolling all those years ago! You were the biggest cheerleader for my dreams back then and it was the strongest motivator to keep my dream alive! Thank you to Ken Oguss who was always ready for the ride! Along with your forward motion, you always helped me slow down and really hone my craft and explore what was possible!! For that I am ever grateful! My first interview where I was being interviewed was with Joe LePage! I was so nervous, because it was my first time being the one interviewed! Looking back on that interview in 2010, I was nervous, and you could see it, but Joe couldn't have been sweeter!! Thank you so much Joe!  You interviewing me back then is one of my favorite memories!!  It takes a village, and the people I have met that have become part of my village to accomplish my dream of hosting a podcast for 9 years... You ALL are the best! Thank you for coming along for the ride!  I am so glad to have come this far...and I can't wait to see the places we go!!

Michelle Fischer is the host of A View from My Window, a podcast produced by The Arc of indiana

There are more "doors of opportunity" that need the right "key" to open them!

The title of this blog was one of the first things John Dickerson said to me not long after the first episode of "A View from My Window" was done.  I was beyond thrilled!  I was actually doing the thing I thought I could only imagine doing or see being done on TV.  With ecstatic gratitude, I thanked him a thousand times over for giving me the job and he said, "Sometimes, you just need to find the right "key" to unlock your door of opportunity."  That statement rang so true.  I had been trying so hard to get noticed for my abilities as an anchor, writer and interviewer, that I told everyone and their brother about it.   I wanted to get my foot in the door of the broadcast journalism field.  When I met John, I was a clerical assistant at Wabash Center in Lafayette.  I was also the Honorary Spokesperson which allowed me to do various media work and TV spots for them.  Yes!  A stepping stone to my goal with the added bonus of gaining confidence in my ability to say how I really felt about my dream - that of being an anchor.  John and I started talking about my clerical job and several other subjects...and then the weighter matter: "So, what is your DREAM job?" John asks.  I remember pausing for a moment, trying to somehow avoid the subject, not wanting to hear, "Well, I really hope that happens for you" or "I wish you all the best in your endeavors."  I had always heard through my job search that it's all about the people you know and your connection with them.  At this point, I was unaware that John was the Executive Director of the Arc of Indiana!  So, I thought, "Maybe this guy knows the right people!"  If I didn't say something, I knew I would regret it.   So, I told him about my dream and felt happy I had talked to him about it, but then I put it out of my mind.  Two weeks later, I got an email from John saying that he really enjoyed meeting me and really appreciated me telling him about my dream of becoming a journalist.  He then explained that he had been thinking about doing a radio type program about issues facing people with disabilities.  I will never forget the very next sentence for the rest of my life..."I think you would be the perfect person to be the host".  I BURST into tears and couldn't contain my happiness!  I may have even screamed! That day, in November 2009, my life was changed.  As I got to know John and interview him over the past few years, I found that he has worked for decades, helping others like me, change their lives for the better!  We all love him for it, too!

So, now, it's my turn to be John's cheerleader as he goes on to accomplish more great things for people with disabilities in his next venture.  Being the "key" to many more doors of opportunity that need to be unlocked, and more hearts and lives being touched through his willingness to lend a hand to a person in need of a dream realized!


Michelle Fischer is host of A View from My Window, a podcast produced, by The Arc of Indiana