GREENVILLE — Kathy “Kat” Weaver, a resident care partner at Oakley Place in Greenville, became a finalist for the Argentum (formerly ALFA) Hero Award, after traveling to Chicago, Illinois, where she and other nominees were honored at Enlivant’s corporate office.

Weaver was chosen out of several submissions and represented the entire Midwest Division in Chicago on Jan. 27.

“They took all the nominees into account, and Argentum reviewed all of the information and chose Kathy for the nomination [to nationals],” said Debbie Baker, executive at Oakley Place.

The facility should know by the end of the month whether or not Weaver will be going on to the Senior Living Executive Conference in Denver, Colorado, in May for the national event.

Each year the Hero Awards recognize exceptional senior living team members from across the nation. Top nominees are selected from the hundreds of thousands of people serving at senior living communities. Five Hero Award winners will be selected by the public and honored at the event in May.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Weaver, who will begin her 18th year at Oakley Place on May 8. “I’m shocked I made it this far. “

While in Chicago, she said she sat in on a couple of sessions at the leadership conference.

“We got to see the corporate office,” she said. “On the night of the awards, we had a nice dinner and they called all of us up [on stage] and gave us our awards.”

Weaver, who just returned from a two-week vacation in Florida, learned of her latest accomplishment upon her return to Greenville last Monday. Baker told her about the phone call she received.

Weaver would surely like to be going to Colorado for the national event.

“I’m extremely proud of Kathy and all of her accomplishments,” said Baker. “She is a wonderful asset to Oakley Place and its residents. This has never happened in the history of Darke County.”

It was reported that Weaver has never missed a day of work. She has performed every position at Oakley Place during her tenure and as trained nearly 100 new employees and instills in them the compassion humility and teamwork needed to help them perform their jobs every day.

“When I started working here, I fell in love with some of the people,” Weaver said. “As I started working with the elderly, I felt it was something I was led to do. It’s a great fulfillment to me.”

“Kathy is always willing to assist every residents with anything they need, always making the residents’ needs her number one priority,” Baker said. “She is a true champion and role model to new staff to residents and their families. We believe that Kat’s passion and empathy have been the cornerstone for Oakley’s continued success. Her good-natured spirit and willingness to do the right thing are part of whom she is and it is evident in how she has made a difference in the lives of those she works with every day.”

Outside of work, Weaver is involved with the Alzheimer’s Association of Darke County. She also volunteers to go on outings with residents and has enjoyed many trips to go out to eat, go on a hayride or go see lights at Christmas.

Also having been associated with the American Cancer Society and the Red Cross, she belongs to the American Legion and the Moose Lodge.

Weaver, a 1982 Greenville High School graduate, was also selected as a 2015 recipient of Enlivant’s Mission-Vision-Values (MVV) Award. This annual awards program recognizes employees who embody the company’s values: Compassion, humility, integrity, excellence and fun.

She has been married to husband Dennis Weaver for 32 years, and they are the parents of our children, Beth Winger and Stacie, Keith and Zach Weaver. There are also nine grandchildren.

Now Baker and the facility are called all Facebook friends and anyone else who knows Weaver to help vote for Weaver online so she can receive the Hero award.

“One of my amazing employees has been chosen by our company Enlivant to be their representative for a national award,” Baker said. “Kat needs all of her friends, family and our friends to vote every day by using the instructions below. What an honor for Kat to be recognized in such a special way. She has touched many lives in her 17 years at Oakley and I’m asking for all of you to help by voting. You can vote every day starting today and ending March 4 at noon. Thank you in advance for helping with this.”

Baker said that if Weaver should win at the national level, Enlivant’s CEO Jack Callison, will make a personal visit to Oakley Place to make that announcement.