2023: Resolute in Achieving Our Mission

Gregory Miller
President/CEO Penn-Mar Human Services

I would like to begin my New Year message with a shout out to those team members who worked long hours during the holidays with the men and women at Penn-Mar who needed your support.  While many of us, including myself, had the luxury of getting away during this time, many of you did not.

Our business is not a typical one where things come to a crawl in late December. The people we support depend on us every day, no matter what the season. I cannot thank our DSPs enough for the commitment they bring to their jobs every day and the sacrifices they make to advance our mission to help people live courageously.

Now it’s time for all of us to recharge our batteries and be resolute in fulfilling that mission.

In 2023 we will be focusing on three prongs of our strategic plan that fit together in a way that is most beneficial for the people we support, the team that supports them, and best demonstrates to those who support us how effectively we run our organization.

These strategic drivers focus on: 

• Our team member experience and how we continue to recruit, retain and develop the best in them.
• Our commitment to a person-centered support process to help people gain control over their lives as much as possible.
• The development and management of a technology infrastructure to improve the experience of the people we are supporting. 

When people ask what is most important to me as the leader of Penn-Mar, my answer is always our mission: to support people to live courageously in pursuit of their best life.

Nothing supersedes that priority. But its success depends on our team members being healthy, well trained and motivated. If we are not firing on all cylinders, our ability to meet our primary mission effectively is compromised.

Our person-centered approach to employment, community inclusion, residential choice and so much more requires our team members to be fully engaged in their area of expertise. We all need to work purposefully to assist the people we support with what they need, when they need it.

In 2023, technology will be playing an ever-increasing role in helping us to run our business and advance our mission. You know what they say: Technology is not a problem until it is. Then it’s a big problem (just as Southwest Airlines)!

We have always recognized the value and importance of how we utilize technology. Our challenge is that we have so much information living in so many different places. The goal is not necessarily about getting more information, rather, how to manage and utilize the information we already have to be more effective and streamlined.

Technology will never be a replacement for person-to-person human contact but it is a catalyst for moving the value of our supports further, faster.

My hope is that this year we will be able to manage COVID instead of being managed by it.  Let’s instead put the focus on looking ahead, prioritizing what we need to accomplish:

• Ensuring a Person-Centered culture in all of our supports 
• Celebrating our differences through our new “Belonging” initiative;  
• Enhancing our technology infrastructure; 
• Continuing our advocacy for meaningful DSP wage increases. 
• Closing out our $7.5 million “Building Bold Futures” Campaign” at the 31st Annual Penn-Mar Gala in March 

All of these endeavors are necessary to support courageous living for the people we interact with each day. We can never lose sight of that goal.

My thanks for all of your contributions to Penn-Mar’s success in 2022 and a wish for good health, prosperity, and a balanced life in the New Year for you and your families.