There is a saying about long-time Blessing Health System employees - they bleed “Blessing Blue.” That is the exact shade of the life-giving substance coursing through Ann Awerkamp Dickson’s veins. She retires on December 31, 2025, after 43 years with Blessing, the last 22 years as administrative director of the Blessing Foundation.
“Blessing Health System truly captured my heart, mind, and soul — which is why it became my professional home for 43 years,” Ann said. “There was never a reason to seek employment elsewhere; the people and the mission met my needs in every way.”
She served as a pharmacy tech at Blessing for three months in early 1982, before leaving for a job opportunity out of town. The Quincy native from a family of 10 siblings returned and rejoined Blessing later the same year, first serving as assistant in the Public Relations Department, eventually becoming department director, and then administrative director of both the Public Relations and Communications Department and the Blessing Foundation. In January 2006, the two departments separated. Ann remained as administrative director of the Blessing Foundation.
“One of the most rewarding aspects of being at Blessing has been working as part of a team dedicated to something greater than ourselves — something positive and enduring for our community,” she said. “When your job becomes a career that adds value to your life and the lives of those around you, that is the true definition of success. Blessing has been more than a workplace; it has been a calling, a community, and a family. I will always carry that with me.”
Blessing is also where Ann met her husband, Bob, and more friends than is possible to count.
“Through the years, I have met so many lifelong friends here — including my spouse,” she continued. “What brought me to this point in my journey has been passion, purpose, hard work, strong organizational skills, and, most importantly, an understanding of the value of real, meaningful, and honest relationships.”
A graduate of Quincy Notre Dame, John Wood Community College, and Western Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication/public relations and journalism, Ann also completed a number of professional continuing education opportunities including the Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Michigan.
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Her professional affiliations and community involvements are many, including being a YWCA Woman of Achievement Award recipient and having been active with the Salvation Army, Quincy Notre Dame, Society of Fine Arts and the Boy Scouts Mississippi Valley Council Fox District, to name a few.
Of all Ann’s Blessing experiences, one from the summer of 2010 is seared into her memory. As administrative director of the Blessing Foundation, a pediatrician made her aware of a potentially deadly living situation involving one of her patients — a six-month-old child with a heart defect living in a trailer with a broken air conditioner. The temperature in the trailer would soar above 90 degrees during the day, endangering the sick child. Ann facilitated the purchase of two air conditioners with funds donated to the Foundation. The units were installed at no cost by a Blessing staff member. Ann was at the family’s side every step of the way.
“Once the installation was complete and we were headed back to work, I began sobbing uncontrollably,” she recalled. “The moment made me stop and realize that the basic necessities of life that so many of us have, some of the people we encounter at Blessing in our work do not.
When I look back, I see 11,180 days filled with passion, compassion, frustration, joy, fun, determination, and satisfaction - knowing that in some way I made a difference for Blessing’s patients, employees, and families,” Ann concluded.