| |
A Communicator at Heart - For Eldon Seten, giving back, despite possible obstacles, is all in a day’s work.
Name: Eldon Seten
Chapter: Lake County
Position: Communications director
Hometown: Nunda, South Dakota
Family: Wife: Carolyn “Peach” Seten;
Children: Joanne, 41; Tony, 38; Marty, 31 |
Sometimes, it’s not what a person does that makes him extraordinary, but the attitude with which he goes about his daily tasks no matter how challenging the circumstances. This is the case with Eldon Seten.
At 64 years old, Seten has an unassuming presence and a quiet, modest demeanor. As communications director for the Lake County (South Dakota) Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, he does what many in the role do—he attends chapter meetings, acts as a contact person for community events organized by Thrivent Financial, and organizes the quarterly chapter newsletter. What sets him apart, though, is that he does it all without the use of his arms or legs. As a result of multiple sclerosis that ended his career as a farmer—although he is still connected to the family farm that his two grown sons operate—Seten is a quadriplegic.
Seten uses a voice-activated program called DragonDictate to operate his computer. The program “listens to” Seten’s voice and gives him complete control to dictate newsletters, respond to e-mail and send monthly updates to his Thrivent chapter. “It’s slow compared to people that can use their hands,” he says, but “it works fine for me.”
Seten is humble about his role with his Thrivent chapter. For his part, he’s just happy to be involved. “I can’t do much physically,” he says, “but this way I can use my mind and help out others. It’s nice to be able to have something you can do on the computer that’s rewarding.”
—Jonny Grubb
|