Maybe it’s her exceptional organizational skills.  

Maybe it’s her personal history of military service. 

Maybe it’s her empathy for those grieving the loss of a loved one who served in the Armed Forces. 

For Courtney Steadman, all three attributes make her an excellent employee of the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery and the latest recipient of AFSCME’s Never Quit Service Award. 

“I’m a customer service specialist, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an opportunity to honor the veterans who served our country and support their loved ones when they are going through a really difficult time,” said Steadman, a member of AFSCME Local 904 (Council 94). “I just love what I do.” 

In a little over a year as a state employee, Steadman has developed a following among funeral directors in Rhode Island who ask for her by name when they call to make arrangements for a veteran, said Jenn Brear, the cemetery’s business management officer who nominated Steadman for the Never Quit honor. 

“Courtney always puts her best foot forward and always takes the time, no matter what, to make sure veterans understand all their rights and she always goes the extra mile to help,” Brear said. 

The 280-acre cemetery in Exeter is a busy place with a small staff. The workers field 1,000 phone calls a month from veterans and their families, answer questions from hundreds of walk-ins and host up to nine services a day during peak months. 

“I love working with the elderly population. Sometimes they come in in tears and confusion, and they’re so appreciative of the time I take with them,” Steadman said. “Just showing compassion and being a calming presence for them, helping them navigate what they are looking to do, applying for benefits, getting the required documents — I walk them through it all.” 

Steadman left a 25-year career in health care to tend to her dying mother and then returned to the job market with a desire to serve her community.  

The Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery was the perfect fit, in part because Steadman herself joined the U.S. Army right out of high school but was honorably discharged for medical reasons after just more than a year. 

“I didn’t get to fulfill that, but now I get to help serve in a different way,” she said. “It is rewarding for me that I can help support other veterans because I didn’t get to serve my full term when I was 18, and I feel like this kind of came full circle for me. This is where I was supposed to be.” 

Steadman, who has two relatives buried at the cemetery, also went the extra mile by completing the rigorous training needed to be certified in the use of the official government process for ordering headstones for a national cemetery. 

In a small state like Rhode Island and because cemetery benefits were recently expanded to certain members of the National Guard and Reserves, most people in Steadman’s community have a personal connection to the cemetery, and there is a steady stream of visitors every day. 

“The trust families place in us is something I don’t take for granted, and it motivates me to go above and beyond every day,” Steadman said.