Each month, Eagle Radio in Great Bend will recognize groups or individuals that make a big impact on our community. This Appreciation Month is highlighting the Barton County Health Department.
By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Mary and Mel Waite have four children and eight grandchildren, some in
Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas City. Mary creates scrapbooks for each
of their four children that documents their lives through the age of 30. She
gives each grandchild a scrapbook on their first birthday. Mary will have more
time to focus on scrapbooking and other hobbies soon as she’ll be retiring as a
registered dietician from the Barton County Health Department this December.
“It takes a lot of time and effort, but it was a lot of fun scanning those
pictures and reliving those memories,” said Waite.
Being in charge of projects comes naturally to Waite after growing up in Great
Bend with four other siblings. As the oldest of the five children, Waite had a
lot of babysitting responsibilities.
“It was fun being the oldest of five,” said Waite. “I entertained and was in
charge projects like cleaning the toy room. They always called me bossy, but
they needed someone to tell them what to do.”
Waite was always used to having someone around, sharing a bedroom with one of her
siblings growing up. Following two years attending Barton Community College,
Waite made her way to Manhattan to attend Kansas State University where she finally
had a room to herself.
“I lived in a scholarship house at K-State with 64 other girls,” said Waite. “There
were four of us in a room and we were trying to divide up the bedroom. I told
them I never had a bedroom by myself and they all said, ‘you get it.’”
Waite took general education courses while attending Barton but had to declare
a major once attending K-State. Based on her enjoyment of reading and an
interest in journalism, Waite chose English Education as her major.
“Some of the classes I was taking in journalism mentioned you might have to
cover a story in the middle of the night or travel,” said Waite. “I really
wanted to have kids and work part-time so I didn’t know how that was going to
work.”
At the end of her junior year at K-State, Waite switched majors to dietetics.
It was in Manhattan where she met her husband and the two would eventually get
married in 1979.
The two started their careers in Concordia where Mary worked at the hospital
and taught nutrition classes at Cloud County Community College. Following 13 years
in Concordia, Mary’s husband switched careers and had an opportunity to become
the city manager in Ellinwood.
“It was really hard leaving Concordia because we had a good friend base and
liked the town,” said Waite. “If we were going to have to leave it was nice
that we were going to be near my parents.”
Waite has enjoyed living in a small town such as Ellinwood where her family
became involved with the community, church, school and 4-H.
“When I visit my kids that live in the bigger cities, they spend a lot of time
in the car,” said Waite. “Our kids in Ellinwood could pretty much ride their
bikes or have someone drop them off quickly.”
Once their family moved to Ellinwood in 1993, Waite started her job at the Barton
County Health Department in a part-time role.
“I always liked nutrition and believe in exercise and good health,” said Waite.
“I believe that the secret of living better is if you can be healthy.”
Waite enjoys swimming during the summer to stay healthy and tries to walk each
day, even in the winter. She stated being outside helps clear her mind.
When she is not outside, Waite works with the Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
program at the health department. The supplemental nutrition program provides
federal grants to give low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women,
along with children ages birth to five, food and nutrition education.
“My job is to assess the WIC applicants’ overall health,” said Waite. “I’ll
check if they’re under or over weight and give them overall tips to improve
their health.”
As a registered dietician, Waite is required to have 75 hours of continued
education every five years.
The basic food package for the WIC program allows recipients to get foods like
milk, cheese, yogurt, cereal, fruits and vegetables, beans and peanut butter.
The allowance allows users to get items from all the basic food groups.
“The WIC program gives the participants a good baseline for their diet,” said
Waite. “We try to give them recipes to incorporate too.”
Being a professional dietician, many of Waite’s practices and expertise were
applied to her family while raising four children.
“My children thought they had a very restrictive diet,” joked Waite. “They did
not get the chips and Hostess Ding Dongs that they saw at their friends’
houses. Now that they are older, they have all thanked me.”
Waite will retire Dec. 1 and have plenty of "grandma time" for
her eight grandchildren. Waite sees herself volunteering a lot following
retirement and staying active within the community.
“I enjoy the things we have to offer,” said Waite. “I like to see people I know
when I go to the store. I always feel part of the community.”
Read the previous Appreciation Month stories by clicking HERE.