The lady behind the smile

Rhonda Flemmer was named the Clark Fork Valley Hospital employee of the year for 2017, and she has sure made an impact on her co-workers as well as her community.

Originally from Kansas, Flemmer entered the Marines in 1984. Now retired from the Marines, she worked in avionics as a tech and quality assurance inspector for an Air Wing squadron working on A-4s and F16s.

She met her husband, Paul, in Japan in 1988 before they moved to Montana in 1990, first being situated in the Bitterroot area before moving to Thompson Falls in 2006.

Together she and Paul have raised three kids and now have five grandchildren to dote on.

Flemmer was nominated by her colleagues at Clark Fork Valley Hospital for the 2017 employee of the year award.

“On a daily basis Rhonda has proven to be invaluable in her role as a member of the centralized scheduling staff,” said one of her nominees.

“We are repeatedly told here in the surgery department by patients of the help Rhonda provides coordinating their care and scheduling needs, and how exceptionally grateful they are for her help and expertise,” was also said.

“She clearly embodies the mission, vision, and values of the Clark Fork Valley Hospital and Family Medicine Network,” said another nominee.

Flemmer has been working at the hospital for five years, and said that it was in thanks to a couple of friends who had aided in opening up the door.

“They helped, and I couldn’t be more thankful to be working here,” said Flemmer.

“This place is like a big family. Everyone and every department works together and helps each other; it’s just a great place to come to work each day,” she added.

Flemmer said it was the a combination of the people and the Montana lifestyle that brought this Kansas City native to live in rural Montana.

“We [Flemmer and husband Paul] were living in California at the time because we were still in the service. Then we decided we wanted to get married in Montana,” she said.

She went on to say that he better not clock into another service because she wanted to stay in Montana. With a giggle and a smile, she then said that with the impending wedding, Paul was sent to the Gulf War two weeks before they were due to wed.

“We were the first couple since the Korean War to be granted a proxy wedding,” she said.

“We ended up having a party without the groom,” she giggled,” my family had already bought plane tickets from Kansas so we had to do something.”

She said that for the first year she and Paul were married he was serving in the Gulf and as soon as he was able to leave the service they moved to Montana and never looked back.

Raising their kids in Stevensville, she said they would come up to Sanders County between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek camping each year with the kids.

“We just kept coming back year after year,” she said.

Adding that there is something about this part of the state and it’s that combination of the lifestyle and the environment.

“In 2006 we decided to move to the ‘vacation’ spot that we fell in love with. Our youngest was still in high school and he was all for moving to Thompson Falls,” she said.

Having come full circle with her lifetime’s worth of achievements; Flemmer said that experiences learned from her time in the service have aided her in many aspects of her life.

“Every day I am helping someone. Whether it is someone who comes into the hospital or one of my colleagues,” she said.

“There are so many different life skills that haven’t left me from when I retired from the Marine Corps, and adding the lifestyle here in Sanders County I have found that great balance between skills, work and relaxation,” she added.

Not one to boast about her accomplishments, Flemmer is proud of her achievements both in and out of the local hospital.

Visiting with patients when they come in and also being able to help be a solid help between both patients and physicians is what she truly embraces.

“I just truly love what I do,” said Flemmer.