GRAVETTE — Mary Kay Kelley, director of the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity and Wellness Center, welcomed several guests who came out last Thursday to commemorate the center's 40th year of operation. Several patrons came for lunch and lingered after the meal and others showed up just for the reception, but most in attendance commented on how thankful they were for the center and its services and how grateful they were to have it in the community.
The Senior Center opened in Sulphur Springs on Sept. 15, 1976, in the old Sulphur Springs school building and operated there for 19 years until it opened in Gravette July 7, 1995. Kelley said her office was in a small corner of the dining room. She told how she decided the center should be moved because it served patrons from such a wide area and she felt it should be more centrally located. She described her apprehension when she went in to see Dr. Hall and ask him about the move.
"What do you want, Mary Kay?" Hall asked when he came in.
"I want to move the center," she said.
"Well, where do you want to move it?" he asked.
"To Gravette," she replied.
"Where in Gravette?" was his next question.
"Somewhere near the hospital and clinic where it would be convenient," she said.
As Dr. Hall hesitated briefly, Kelley was pretty worried.
"I really thought I might be about to lose my job," she said.
But then Hall said, "Well, just go out there and pick out the land where you want to locate it," and her fears slipped away.
When the center opened in Gravette in 1995, Kelley announced the new name would be the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center, honoring the man who had so generously donated the land for the building and cooperated so readily in making the move possible.
Kelley gave a brief overview of the center's operations and told about the six main areas that its services cover. These six areas focus on Meals on Wheels (home-delivered meals), congregate meals at the center, transportation, socialization, health promotion and elder-abuse prevention.
Meals on Wheels are delivered in Gravette, Sulphur Springs, Hiwasse, Decatur and Maysville. Kelley reported that 21,213 meals had been served between January, 2016, and Wednesday, Sept. 14, this year.
Kelley recognized her programs assistant, Melissa Steele; Cheryl Waeltz, kitchen manager; and Kay Boyer, food service employee. She also thanked others in attendance, including Kurt Maddox, mayor of Gravette; and Sue Rice and Snooky Garrett, volunteers who perform free blood-pressure checks, blood sugar and pulse-ox tests once each month at the center.
Tim Ensley, director of operations for the Office of Human Concern, spoke briefly and thanked Kelley for the many hours of her life she has put into operating the center. He praised her for being a caring person who was a good fit for the job.
Other employees from the Office of Human Concern attending were Delia Ingle, director of senior services; John Whiting, food services director; Brenda Jenkins, finance assistant; and Cindy Lusebrink, Area Agency on Aging administrative assistant. Carla Mann, director of the Carroll County Senior Activity and Wellness Center in Berryville, Kathy Patterson, director of the Siloam Springs Senior Activity and Wellness Center, and Betty Perkins, director of the Benton County Senior Activity and Wellness Center in Bentonville, also came to help honor their fellow director.
Community on 09/21/2016