Aces of Trades: Holmes' positive energy is on display at OUC
CHILLICOTHE – She’s in the business to help.
“I was raised by my wonderful parents, Charlie and Kathy Sims,” declared Ann Holmes. “They provided an amazing childhood for me and my sisters. We traveled a lot and played sports. I dreamed of being a child psychologist or English teacher. Being a continuing education program coordinator never entered my mind.”
Today, Holmes is an administrative specialist in the dean’s office and continuing education at Ohio University in Chillicothe.
“I organize community workshops for continuing education,” she explained. “I organize Kids in College, assign all rooms for our academic schedule, I submit expense reports for staff/faculty, and step in anywhere I’m needed!”
Holmes was born and raised in Chillicothe, went to Southeastern High School for two years and graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1997. She later earned a Bachelor of Specialized Studies from OUC and a diversity certificate from Athens in spring 2020.
“I applied to OUC and was hired in 2009 as an administrative assistant,” she said. “At the time, I worked with class scheduling, payroll, etc. It wasn’t until 2017 I moved into continuing education after the previous coordinator retired.”
“I had always worked in an office setting,” she continued. “Since I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I did what I was good at, and that was data entry, etc.”
It’s the “etc.” that caught Tara Gillum’s attention. Gillum is the owner/operator of Steiner’s Speakeasy.
“Ann and I met during a college event my bar was hosting,” recalled Gillum. “She’s the kind of person that as soon as you meet her you feel her positive energy. That didn’t stop once we started working together on the mixology classes at OUC. I was nervous, I didn’t want to look silly or let her or the university down. She was right there with me with words of encouragement.”
“Calling her a leader feels underwhelming,” Gillum added, “because what she does for the community isn’t coming from a place of leadership, it’s more genuine than that. She really does care and take pride in not just what we do as instructors, but what the participants gain from attending.”
“I’ve met so many wonderful people in the community,” Holmes responded. “I love seeing people complete a project with their own hands and see the pride on their faces!”
For more information about Ohio University Chillicothe, log on www.ohio.edu/chillicothe.
About the Series
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at gaznews@nncogannett.com or 740-349-1110.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Aces of Trades: Holmes' positive energy is on display at OUC
