May 1 marked the 20th anniversary of employment at Ace Hardware for Robert Guel. Robert works Monday through Friday and begins his shift at 8 a.m. each morning.

“He does general cleaning of the store…works here for about an hour each day and loves spending time with the employees. If they don’t show up for work he’s asking about them,” said store manager Debbie Salinas. “On Thursday morning the most important thing to him is getting his weekly copy of The Sun Tribune. He does nothing else until that’s accomplished.”

Robert was presented the jacket you see him wearing to commemorate his 20 years of employment with Ace Hardware.

“He was in awe of his coat…kept repeating ‘I like my new coat,’” Salinas said.

Adams County Coordinator for Developmental Disabilities Cindy Doyle placed Robert at Ace through the Adams County Integrated Health Services satellite station in Othello.

“He came to us about 25 years ago,” Doyle said. “We reached out to the community to help find a position for him and found janitorial work at Ace Hardware and it seems to be a good match for him.”

Doyle said job placement is just the initial stage of the employment process her office provides for Robert and others with development disabilities.

“We offer him ongoing support…send someone to check on him and make sure all of his jobs are complete or if he needs help adjusting or with any of the jobs he’s doing,” she said. “Sometimes he forgets things and we are there to help him remember and see that the job gets completed.”

The folks at Ace Hardware like having Robert around and Salinas says she believes the feeling is mutual.

“Robert enjoys working here… we hope to have him here for many more years to come.”