One of Us Says ‘Goodbye’

Part of what makes NHI such a great school is our low turnover rate – meaning we have to replace very little of our staff each year.  Mostly, we get the joy of adding new folks as the company grows.  As a manager, this sure beats having a lot of people quit on you or, worse yet, having to fire people.

Low turnover is especially true among our teachers.  At this campus, we haven’t seen a teacher depart in over a year when one retired after almost a decade of service.  But yesterday our streak came to an end.

Jan, Joe Bob, John & Amy share one last chocolate cake!

Our beloved Amy Atkins has bid us adieu.  Luckily, she didn’t quit and she wasn’t fired.  Instead, Uncle Sam came calling – or, rather, called up her husband.  He’s in the army and has been deployed to Kansas, where he will no doubt protect all Midwesterners from cyclones, munchkins, and flying monkeys.

Some of you may recognize Amy as “the face” of NHI.  Her image is plastered on our website, in our brochures, and even hangs on our walls.  Had she a better agent (or any agent) back when, she would now be living high off royalties since we’ve used her effigy so much.  But Amy was just a student in those days and had no idea for what she was volunteering.  Even we didn’t know at the time that her face would be used for years to come.  There was just something about it that spoke of the tranquility and love that is massage.

Amy graduated from NHI and went on to do well as a massage therapist both in Northern and Southern California.  Who knew that a few years later, NHI would open a campus near her in Los Angeles and that she would come back to teach.  It seems Amy and NHI are never too far apart.  So, it’s my expectation that eventually Amy will find her way back to us or we’ll simply have to open a campus in Kansas.

If you happen to see this face around, tell her that we love her, miss her, and wish her all the best!