‘Always willing to work’

She’s always on time. She’s always willing to help and never has a bad attitude with anyone.

That’s how co-workers describe Deloris Sisler.

The 71-year-old Sisler is a records clerk for the Independence Police Department.

She works full time, arriving at the department at 3 p.m. and leaving at 11 p.m.

Sisler on Thursday morning received recognition for being chosen as the outstanding Missouri Older Worker in Eastern Jackson County by the state.

A special reception was held at City Hall to honor Sisler. Mayor Don Reimal, IPD chief Tom Dailey, several police majors and officers and Sisler’s supervisors and colleagues attended the event.

“She’s never grumpy,” said Joanna Whitt, IPD records administrator, who nominated Sisler. “She always has a good attitude with everyone.”

Along with a strong work ethic, the lifelong Independence resident rarely takes sick leave.

Sisler was hired on May 26, 1998. Since then, she has used just 228 hours of sick leave – or about 28 days. “That’s an unbelievable statistic,” Whitt said. “She’s always there and willing to work.”

Mike Spaw, regional chairman for the outstanding older worker competition in Kansas City and Eastern Jackson County, sent out word to companies, asking for nominations for outstanding workers 65 years old and older. A regional committee reviews the nominations and selects a winner.

Sisler will travel to Jefferson City on Sept. 21 and 22 for events with the 13 regional winners in the state. They will have lunch at the Governor’s Mansion and a banquet, where an overall winner will be selected. The winner will serve as a goodwill ambassador, traveling around the state to various events.

“I’m suprised I won,” Sisler said. “I am so proud of the organization I work with. All the officers and all the girls I work with. They’re a great bunch.”

Here’s her advice to older workers: “Just do your job as a team and work together and try to help as much as you can.”

She has worked her whole life, starting as a part-time worker at her father’s grocery market on Truman Road. They built the store from a fruit stand.

“What a great honor,” Chief Dailey said. “I think we really miss the value sometimes of the wisdom of our workers who have a lot of life experiences. I can’t tell you how important that is. We’re very proud of her. I don’t know about you, but I’ve known people who have worked somewhere 10 years and they think everything’s wrong and this and that. I think its wonderful that she’s been able to maintain a great attitude. She’s a real credit to our organization.”

Dailey said when the public hears about the police, they think a uniformed officer.

But records clerks keep the department organized by keeping track of endless amounts of paperwork. “It’s a ton of work,” Dailey said.

Sisler retrieves police and accident reports for the public. She types narrative reports of police reports for officers. She audits and enters police records, protection orders and other information in computer databases.

“It’s a great job,” Sisler said. “I love it.”

Whitt recalled a story about Sisler.

An officer arrested a juvenile. They went to the station. Sisler was working.

As the officer wrote the report, Sisler typed it into the computer system. The juvenile and officer were talking. The juvenile admitted to doing wrong and said he would do better. The boy said he can speak and write Spanish.

Sisler praised his bilingual skill, telling him that knowing Spanish could lead to a job. But Sisler, pointing her finger at him, told him “you got to quit stealing.”

“You know, that probably made a big change in that juvenile’s life,” Whitt said.

Vivian Shaner, who supervises Sisler, said Deloris is “all about people.”

Shaner told a story about how Sisler and several colleagues pooled their money to get a woman and her two small children back to their hometown in Kansas after a domestic violence episode. The shelter at Hope House was filled, and the family had no place to go.