As the West Virginia Health & Welfare Fund closes, we are grateful for the many years of service and dedication of staff members like Beth Duff
In her 23 years of working for the West Virginia UFCW Local 400 & Employers Health & Welfare Fund, Beth Duff found that it was more than a job. It was about treating everyone like family.
Throughout her tenure as a claims processor and then as office manager, Beth said, “we did more than just process claims for the members. A lot of times, we were there if they just needed to talk. We would listen to any concerns that they had.
“We were more than just a business office,” she said. “We tried to treat everybody like they were family. A lot of times, people would be going through difficult illnesses and other troubles. And so we would be that shoulder for them to cry on or just let them talk about what they were going through, so that they could get it off their chest. We were kind of there to be a counselor or just someone to listen to them.”
Beth was especially moved by one member in particular. “He had brain cancer and he would call in periodically to talk about what he was going through,” she recalled. “He often spoke with one of my associates who was a cancer survivor. They would talk about his treatment and about his claims, but he would also call just to hear a friendly voice and someone who would listen to him. And I remember one of the last phone calls my associate got from that member. He said, ‘I just wanted to hear your voice one more time before I forgot you,’ because the cancer had progressed so much. And that deeply touched all of us.”
With the Fund closing soon because it was consolidated into a larger fund, Beth said there are many things she will miss — above all, the people she served. “When people call us on the phone, we know their voice — they don’t have to tell us who they are. So being able to help those people one on one, to know what they’re going through and what their issues are, it feels really good to be able to help somebody and get them through a hard time.
“Like any job, we’ve had our good times and our tough times,” she said. “But being able to be that friendly voice on the other end, to be able to help people, it’s been really fulfilling.”
Beth is unsure what’s next, but she did say, “I’m going to go where the wind takes me. I hope to be able to continue to help people. But my thought is, I will go where God places me.”
UFCW Local 400 is deeply grateful for all Beth Duff has done to help our members and improve their lives. Her service has been exemplary and we are all in her debt.