News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
New Executive Director for Pacesetters returns to his first interest, helping individuals with intellectual disabilities to live better lives.
Larry Rector spent much of his life serving individuals with mental disabilities as a psychiatric technician. Even after graduating from Tennessee Tech with an accounting degree he used his non-work hours to serve as a direct support professional for people with mental disabilities.
“What I enjoy being around them is they just, overall, they just enjoy loving life,” Rector said. “They make life a lot less complicated than, you know, sometimes I do. It’s just a joy being around them on that part.”
Rector said there were times he didn’t realize the effect of what the was doing. He said he was asked to take short shifts sometimes and he recalled being asked to take someone to ride their bike at the park.
“And I’d throw my bike into the car and his bike into the car and we’d go to Cane Creek Park and ride the bikes and stuff like that. And over time he ended up losing some weight and getting those strong bonds.”
Rector said Pacesetters has service locations including Macon, Overton, Putnam, White, and Warren counties. They provide independent living support for 100 people.
“We’ve got a vast range of individuals. Some may need 24/7 care. Some are very independent and may work 30-40 hours a week. We help with employment and supportive living. Our DSPs help but we like the individuals to do as much as they can for themselves.”
Rector said direct support is a tough environment right now. He said finding and keeping employees is a challenge everywhere. He said he aims to improve retention at Pacesetters.
“My thought process is if our employees are happy, they’re going to take better care of our individuals and help support them,” Rector said. “And they’re going to be happy there too in the end.”
