July August Chamber Magazine FINAL
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The Retirement<br />
of Joan McLaughlin<br />
An unsung hero saving “throw-away”<br />
children of Fredericksburg<br />
Feature<br />
Story & Photos By Dawn Haun<br />
For 26 years, Joan McLaughlin has been<br />
passionate about “her children.” Not<br />
her biological children, but the hundreds<br />
of schoolchildren who walked the hallways<br />
of Employment Resources Inc. (ERI) and<br />
the Gladys Oberle School.<br />
McLaughlin, although modest about her<br />
accomplishments and success, is an<br />
illustrious hero whose dedication<br />
to helping troubled children no<br />
matter the situation makes a huge<br />
impact on many pupils and her loyal<br />
staff.<br />
McLaughlin retired last month<br />
as president of both ERI, Inc. and<br />
Gladys Oberle School, the brainchild<br />
of her and late business partner,<br />
Gladys Oberle. McLaughlin<br />
leaves behind an impressive business<br />
footprint.<br />
FIRST CAREER CHOICES<br />
McLaughlin attended nursing<br />
school at Lynn Hospital in Massachusetts.<br />
Her first job in 1960 was as a night nurse for<br />
geriatric women, which she recalls as “very<br />
rigorous.” Next, she worked as an ICU nurse in<br />
Boston. In 1969, she and her husband, David,<br />
moved to Fredericksburg in 1969, where she<br />
was employed as s insurance manager, later by<br />
INA Corporation.<br />
Joan McLaughlin hugs a staff member.<br />
She is proudest of her loyal employees.<br />
It took months for her to decide on her next<br />
career journey. “During that time, I started<br />
writing programs for the Rappahannock Service<br />
Corporation (now the Rappahannock<br />
Goodwill Industries),” she said. “I was offered<br />
a position doing job placements for three<br />
months while an employee was on maternity<br />
leave. I did it, and they kept me on for the next<br />
nine years.”<br />
ERI Inc. began in 1991 with its<br />
subsidiary, the STAR Center; a<br />
one-room center, with three desks,<br />
ten trashcans, and three used IBM<br />
computers. It relied on grants and<br />
donations to operate. The center<br />
grew to become a certified, accredited<br />
alternative school that served<br />
school-age youth.<br />
Of course, there are the typical<br />
difficulties of owning a business,<br />
and McLaughlin’s path hit a tragic<br />
curve in 1996 when her business<br />
JULY/AUGUST 2016 Fredericksburg Regional Business 11
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