Janet Brewer, associate vice president for human resources at National Park College, plans to be a "familiar face" even after her retirement on Dec. 31.
Brewer has "made significant contributions to the campus during her time here. Her work with our crisis planning, the risk management team, and our quality pay initiatives will leave lasting impressions for many years. We are grateful to her and wish her well in her retirement," NPC President John Hogan said in a news release.
"I'm deeply honored to be retiring from NPC. I have been (at the college) for almost 21 years, and so NPC has become who I am, and so it will be a huge change to be in the retiree status in January," Brewer said.
Brewer said she plans to spend time with her family, noting that a new grandson is expected in December.
Brewer and her husband own a small resort on Lake Hamilton. "I'm sure he will become my boss, and I will be spending much more time there (and) we'll be traveling more," she said.
She said she doesn't plan to leave NPC, but plans to help in different ways in her retirement years.
Brewer said that she feels that she is at the pinnacle of her career, and is proud of some of the things that she has been able to accomplish while at the college.
"I've been able to recruit and retain some of the best people ever. Under my leadership, we have hired most of everybody that works (at the college)," she said.
"In the past 21 years, we have been recognized nationally as one of the top 18 'Most Promising Places to Work,' and some of that is a result of some of the innovation and creativity that I've been allowed to have" in the position, Brewer said.
HR is the backbone of the college, she said, and without the proper people in place, and in the proper roles, the college would not have been able to do what it has done in the past year.
"I am proud to have served in that row, kind of a back-office role sometimes," Brewer said.
The HR department has a succession plan in place, which started because three of the five people in HR indicated that they plan to retire in the next few years, she said.
"I feel really good that we've left NPC in a place where our employees will be able to be served without interruption so that they can focus on important things like our students and the community," Brewer said.
She said that she is going to miss the day-to-day interactions with the employees and students. Many of the students are also the college's employees.
"I will miss serving them in the way that I have served for the past 21 years. It has always been my goal to take care of their needs, whether it be their insurance needs or their paycheck or whatever they needed," Brewer said.
She said when she came to NPC, there was no HR department. She was able to create that under the guidance of three "tremendous" presidents.
Brewer said she moved to Hot Springs in the 1980s when NPC was called Garland County Community College. She worked in a warehouse for several years. In the late 1990s, she saw a position opening for a bookstore manager at the college, noting that she didn't get it, but she was "bound" to work at the college.
"I bought 100% into the mission of lifelong learning. I still do, and I love to watch lives being changed. I have loved watching our employees' lives being changed through programs such as the Leadership Academy, and also students I've taught of adjunct and still follow my students to this day, they still come and visit me. It was extremely fulfilling to work at the college," she said.
"I could have gone and earned a whole lot more money somewhere else in my profession, but I considered it my mission to serve the people of the college, and so I have remained in that role, and so it was a very good decision to (make) 21 years ago," Brewer said.
She said that she is going to miss her position because she has had the privilege of developing the role over the years and making it what it is today.
Brewer said that she had a "tremendous" team that has done great work. She is proud to have served at the state level this past year as a member of the CUPA-HR organization, noting that the organization has HR leaders from two and four-year colleges and universities in Arkansas.
"I've been able to move up into a state level, and work with some tremendous people and bring back a lot of knowledge to our school (and) to make our programs even better. I will miss doing that on a daily basis," she said.
"I appreciate Hogan for allowing me to have a seat at the table, which has allowed me to make more changes in the college for the better, and that ultimately leads to better service for our students," Brewer said.
She said that she wants to thank the college for taking a chance on her in 1999 and through the years. Brewer has held five different positions at NPC.