When Teresa Briggs arrived at Casa Ramos Monday evening, she thought she was only attending a company retirement dinner. Then, she saw a friend from Lebo. And also a former employee from United Way of the Flint Hills. Slowly but surely, friends, family, and coworkers walked through the doors of Casa Ramos, ready to celebrate a well-known Emporian with a surprise retirement party.
Daphne Mertens, Executive Director of United Way of the Flint Hills, aided in organizing the surprise.
“I told Teresa that we were going to be having a team dinner to celebrate her retirement, but then we thought, ‘there are so many people that would like to celebrate her retirement,” Mertens said. “We wanted to get the word out, so we started talking with her family members and spreading the word to our Healthier Lyon County Coalition to let them know that this was going on, so everybody had an opportunity to stop by and celebrate with her.”
Briggs has been heavily invested in many community programs since the early 90s. She joined Emporians for Drug Awareness in 1990, spending a large portion of her career spreading awareness of the harms of tobacco.
Briggs received the surprise party with a mix of surprise and gratitude.
“I just so appreciate all the work that Daphne, especially, and all the office staff have done to bring in people that I've met with and worked with throughout the last decade,” Briggs said. “It's just gratifying that they come up and they thank me for what I've done when I don't feel like I've done that much, but it just makes me feel really good.”
Briggs founded Healthier Lyon County in 2014, a program under United Way of the Flint Hills that promotes healthy habits. She has served as a Lyon County Commissioner, Director of the Regional Prevention Center under Crosswinds and has held leadership roles in organizations such as League of Women Voters, Tobacco Free Kansas, CareArc, and Emporia Farmers Market.
Mertens and Briggs have been working together for the past 11 years. To Mertens, Briggs has been a mentor and leader. “I brought her over to United Way, she brought me in originally with Healthier Lyon County, and it's going to be very strange to work without her because she's been a mentor and a trainer and a leader for a long time for us,” Mertens said.
June 30th is Briggs’ last day at Healthier Lyon County. Although not in a career capacity, Briggs envisions that she will take part in local happenings for many years to come.
“I can't see myself just laying back and taking it easy,” Briggs said.
As Briggs steps out of the spotlight, she leaves a reminder - those who are together are never alone.
“A group of community members, no matter whether they work for an organization or they're just a caring member of the community and they want the best for the community, they can accomplish a lot if they just set their mind to it,” Briggs said.
By: Amanda Davis
Posted: June 23, 2025 / 9:00 AM CDT