37 years and nearly 74,000 people later, it's time to retire

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - "Your paycheck comes from reaching out to people and making a difference in their lives," JoAnn Vorst said.

For 37 years, Vorst hasn't measured her career in paychecks. She's measured it in the number of people she's helped. Vorst is the founding director at the Lafayette Adult Resource Academy.

"We reach out to those people that need a career pathway, that need to update their work skills, that need their GED, that need basic skills, that need English as a second language," Vorst explained.

Throughout her career, Vorst has seen up to 2,000 people each year come through LARA. But when LARA was founded in 1976, the community doubted the need for an adult learning center.

"'It's impossible that as affluent as this community it is with our great University, as Purdue University, that we have an adult literacy program.' Well, if you look at our statistics, the first year we had to serve 250," Vorst said.

Vorst announced her retirement at a Lafayette School Corporation Board meeting Monday night. She said this summer, she donated a kidney to her husband and that served as a wake-up call. They are both doing well but she will still be missed by many.

"When you see the positive impact that JoAnn's had on the program, again, it's going to be difficult. But JoAnn is moving on and everyone's going to be thankful for all the opportunities that she's offered to many, many people," said LSC Superintendent Les Huddle.

But what will Vorst miss after she retires? She said nothing.

"I want to stay active with adult education and adult literacy. Most importantly, I'd like to share my gifts with the region, with region 4, with all the adult literacy programs in our region," Vorst explained.

Vorst plans to also stay active with LARA as well. She said there's no greater feeling than seeing people succeed.