Goodwill

Janie Marsh

2009 Kenneth Shaw Graduate of the Year

“I am happy, content and excited about life.”

Watch a video about Janie's story.

She is the first to admit life lessons are not always easily learned.  As a 12-year-old girl, she snuck vodka out of the liquor cabinet and as a teenager she became a methamphetamine addict.  It was not until her 24th arrest on April 29, 2005, did Deborah “Janie” Marsh’s independence from addiction begin.

She says, “Freedom started when the handcuffs came on.” Unlike previous ones, the twenty fourth arrest was different because Marsh received a harsher and longer sentence.  Marsh, who was sick from malnutrition, alcohol and drugs admits, “I wasn’t even on this planet anymore.”

Marsh’s three-year sentence was the result of various criminal convictions, including illegal drug use, burglary and identity theft.  However, good behavior and successful completion of the prison’s alcohol and substance rehabilitation program shortened her prison term to one and a half years.  Upon release, Marsh returned home to McMinnville.

She hit the ground running. One of her probation requirements was to find employment within one month.  A determined Marsh met with Ina Darnell, of Goodwill’s McMinnville Job Connection program only a few days after being released from Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville.  A resume was the first step.
Surprisingly, Marsh had managed to remain employed even while using drugs.  She attributes her solid job history to being “somewhat functioning” during her early days as drug user.  However, Marsh had also relied heavily on the government to support her five children, and subsequently, her drug addiction.  She had willingly accepted the government issued food stamps, welfare checks, and the disability check she received for her daughter with a developmental disability.

But now, for the first time in years, Marsh was looking for a job without drugs muddling her mind.  With Darnell’s assistance, a focused Marsh, updated resume in hand, sat down with Joe Evers, owner of Oregon Green Landscape.  Her first job interview after prison was so successful she was hired that day. 

Evers smiles recalling their first meeting, because he says, Janie had all the requirements he could ask for.  “She was a fantastic interview. Her resume stood out. She was eager. I usually trust people first off. I wanted to give her a chance.”

Evers is grateful for the Job Connection program and the employee Goodwill sent his way.  “I have had this business 11 years.  Clients keep asking, “Who is that girl…she is amazing!”  Evers tells us everyone has to pull his or her own weight in the landscaping business. He says Marsh puts in 110 percent.   And, Marsh tells us she loves to start each day, rain or shine.  “I am happy, content and excited about life.”