Senior Center Director Celebrates 20 Years Of Service

By Nancy K. Crevier

Director of Senior Services in Newtown Marilyn Place celebrates her 20th year in that position this month. Beginning first as the coordinator of the senior programs under then-director Marvi Fast, she has spent the past two decades giving direction and endless energy to Senior Services.

“I was always involved in volunteer work in town through the school system — both of our sons, one now an engineer and one now a doctor, went through the Newtown schools — and with the Boy Scouts, Babe Ruth, art programs, and the PTA. I have always loved helping people,” said Ms Place. She hit it off with Ms Fast and Rod McKenzie, who was then the first selectman, when she applied for the position, and hit the ground running.

“I was just a baby,” she laughed, recalling her first days on the job. “Boy, did I learn a lot from the seniors: compassion, listening, helping. It’s very rewarding working with them,” she said.

She has found that being director means a lot more than the piles of paperwork that come with the position. It means networking with other agencies, helping individuals assess their needs, knowing what resources are available, and knowing what is going on in the personal lives of those who frequent the Senior Center. “You can’t learn it all from a book. You truly need to be hands on,” said Ms Place. “You can’t come in and dictate to the seniors. You have to facilitate what their needs are and know that this is family away from family for them.”

 A sense of humor does not hurt, and Ms Place sprinkles laughter throughout the room on a daily basis, raising spirits as she works to involve the members in activities and interactions that will enhance their lives. She has seen how seniors have changed in the course of 20 years, and understands how today’s Senior Center has different challenges than it did two decades ago.

“The life issues of seniors have changed. The center used to be a place to knit and for recreation. We didn’t have a van when I started, the SweetHART bus only began to serve this area about 13 years ago, so some eligible members back when I started were hindered by the ability to even get here,” she said.

She sees the importance of getting senior citizens to the center and involved in some meaningful way. “Now, the center is about getting seniors back into the community and enhancing their independence, especially those who are widowed. It is about educating them in financial and health matters, and having on hand a variety of resources that pertain to them and help them to stay in their homes as long as possible. It is about understanding that they might be getting older, but that they are young at heart,” Ms Place said.

She has seen the day trip programs grow from a dozen participants to more nearly a hundred seniors eager to visit new places. That was actually more than the director and her small staff could handle, however, so now the trips are limited to one bus of 45 people and two staff members.

Many of the activities that Ms Place has instituted at the center are geared toward seniors giving back to the community: the knitting group creates newborn apparel for babies affected by AIDS, the quilting group designs and sews quilts for soldiers, and every year the crafters create numerous works that are sold at an autumn boutique to raise money to support the center. The performance programs that she brings in are of quality, which is demanded by the members who regularly populate the Senior Center, and other programming directly affects the lives of seniors in the area.

Ms Place places the focus on the Senior Center when recounting the 20 years of service she has given, but, when pressed, admits that not only is she the director of Senior Services in Newtown, but serves as a member of the National Coalition on Aging and the Senior Coalition. She is a CHOICES counselor (Connecticut Health Insurance Assistance, Outreach, Information and Referral, Counseling and Eligibility Screening, a cooperative program of the State of Connecticut Department of Social Services, the Area Agencies on Aging, and the Center for Medicare Advocacy), the co-chair for the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program for Western Connecticut, and chairperson for TRIAD in Newtown, a coalition of seniors, police, and business people in Newtown dedicated to crime prevention. In 2005, TRIAD members nominated her as Connecticut Post Woman of the Year. Her reading material consists mainly of manuals and pamphlets related to senior issues, in order to stay on top of the changes in health and finances that affect those with whom she works so closely.

“Marilyn has worked tirelessly to bring activities to the center, to put all of these programs together,” said Ann Piccini, director of Social Services in Newtown. Ms Piccini has worked in several capacities with Ms Place, including TRIAD. “The programs that have evolved with the TRIAD program have been great, especially the Yellow Dot program for seniors, which was Marilyn’s initiative with the Newtown Police Department,” said Ms Piccini.

Ed Rees, chairperson for the Commission for Aging, complimented Ms Place for the excellent job she does in what he called a “very difficult position.” He has worked with her for seven years as a member of the commission. “[Marilyn] is probably the most highly motivated person I’ve ever dealt with,” said Mr Rees. “Her number one priority is the seniors and she works diligently to do whatever she can for the seniors of Newtown. She is a person who has a passionate desire to give the seniors the best assistance she can. The town has no idea how lucky they are [to have Marilyn as Senior Center director]. She is highly respected in not just the town, but in the state,” Mr Rees added.

She is committed to the center, said Ms Place, but does find some time for renewal when she is not tending to her duties there. “I love music, especially the Beatles, and I love the outdoors. I try to grab every moment I can with my husband, and I enjoy visiting my sons whenever I can.” She quilts, she sews, and she gardens for enjoyment, but not surprisingly, also makes time to volunteer with shelters in Danbury.

“A lot of people in my position don’t stay in this position very long. There are only a handful of people in the state that have served as Senior Services director as long as I have. You have to be the kind of person who can take the emotional strain, you have to have the personality to put it all into perspective or you can’t do it,” she said.

The strain she refers to is not the long hours, the never-ending paperwork, or the details of programming that must be attended to every day. “The hardest thing about my job is the number of people who have walked through these doors and death has taken. I’ve lost many, many dear friends. Everyone has a piece of my heart,” she said.

She is currently putting together a slide show of the thousands of photos she has collected over 20 years. “They show the people who have been a part of this center’s past and present. They are the people who have made the center what it is and outlined my job for me.”

It has been a fulfilling 20 years, said Ms Place, and she anticipates many more years of involvement with the center and the seniors of Newtown. “I’m here because of the seniors. They’ve made me who I am.”