Title
Recognize retiree Patty Fox for her retirement from the Chatham County Department of Social Services
Abstract
Introduction & Background: Patty Fox is retiring after an extraordinary 43 years of dedicated service to Chatham County, beginning her career on September 29, 1983. Working in the same social work position throughout her career, Patty is a true example of resilience and longevity.
As an adoptions social worker, Patty has worked on 208 adoptions and two guardianships, helping 210 children achieve legal permanence. She has helped 37 sibling sets remain together, including a set of four brothers, completed as many as 16 adoptions in a single year, and worked with 167 families to finalize their adoptions. Her impact extends far beyond these numbers. Over approximately 89,440 hours, Patty has traveled countless miles to visit children, transport them to appointments, attend school events and court dates, and be present for important milestones while they waited for their forever homes.
Patty’s kindness, empathy, patience, consistency, loyalty, and reliability made her someone children, families, and coworkers could always count on. She showed up day after day, year after year, supporting children and youth who often had no one else. She built lasting relationships with foster and adoptive parents, kinship families, group home staff, guardian ad litems, coworkers, and the children in her care, continuing to support families and preserve connections even after their official involvement with the child welfare system ended.
We thank Patty for her time, perseverance, and the countless big and little ways she has made life better for children and families. Her impact cannot be fully captured, but it will be felt for generations. There will never be another Ms. Patty, and she will be deeply missed. We wish her all the best as she begins this well-deserved new chapter.
Recommendation/Motion: Recognize retiree Patty Fox for her retirement from the Chatham County Department of Social Services.