After spending nearly 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and Army, Todd Beesley took several lessons into his transition to civilian life and a long-term care career.
He often reminds himself that “it takes the team to get it done.” That’s fitting for a man whose second career is as director of human resources for Oklahoma-based Diakonos Group.
“We’re a diverse set of individuals that are singularly focused on providing exceptional care to our residents,” Beesley says. “We all work together for that purpose, and we all rely on each other to get that done, regardless of our skill set.”
Beesley joined the Marine Corps Reserves in Oklahoma City for adventure and as a way to help pay for college. He was deployed to Kuwait in Operation Desert Storm.
After six years with the Marines, he transitioned into active duty in the Army, where he served until retiring in 2015. Some of that time was spent deployed in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
“You just learn a lot about yourself, like how to work with others, how to rely on [other] people,” Beesley says.
While society may commonly look at people as being independent of each other, he instead believes we’re “truly interdependent and really rely on others.”
“Life is really about a series of relationships that we can develop and foster,” he says.
After retiring, Beesley said he was looking for something that would allow him to give back to others and to have a sense of purpose and meaning.
His first interview with Diakonos didn’t necessarily go as planned.
Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Green-Yates asked Beesley to tell her a little bit about himself. His response was, “I don’t like talking about me.” He now acknowledges it was an odd way to address an interviewer.
But his mission of putting others first has been on display ever since, especially after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Colleagues described Beesley as a “Swiss Army knife,” noting that he served in different roles to support the company’s more than 1,200 employees.
“[Beesley] went into facilities [during the initial] outbreaks and worked in whatever position he could to help when staffing got difficult,” Green-Yates said. “He cleaned, passed trays, ran to get things that were needed (and) delivered personal protective equipment.
“(He) brings our mission to life [by] assisting in creating our culture of staff first,” she says.
Beesley is based in the Oklahoma City area and has been married for 30 years. He has two college-aged children. In his spare time, he enjoys being with his family and friends, watching the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, hiking and running.
He has also raised more than $6,000 for the Diakonos group fund, which goes directly to support its workers. A centerpiece was an endurance run challenge last spring. It required participants to run four miles every four hours for 48 hours. Organizers livestreamed the event for others to watch. Once again, “whatever it takes” ruled.
“I’m here to help,” he says. “What I can do to be a servant in our industry is critical.”
