Henry County Senior Services Is Transitioning to New Leadership

Diane Reed and Susan Craig discuss the transition process at Henry County Senior Services. Reed will take over as Director of Senior Services next week.

The Henry County Senior Services Department will soon be under new leadership with the retirement of longtime County employee, Susan Craig, who has been the Director of Senior Services since 2007. She also currently serves on the Henry County Interagency Transition Planning Council and the McIntosh Trail Community Service Board.

Craig, who began her career with Henry County as a part-time secretary in 1985, moved up the ladder to the position of County Clerk in 1999 and was appointed to interim county manager for a brief period in 2002. Craig served as County Clerk until 2007, when she was tapped to become the Director of Senior Services. Under her leadership, Senior Services has responded to the growth in Henry County’s population with the addition of a senior center in Locust Grove. The department has also expanded programs for seniors, particularly in the areas of health and fitness, and begun offering more technology focused activities in response to the changing needs of the aging population.

“I’ve seen the focus go from more craft type interests to more technology driven interests. People are retiring and coming out of the workforce at a younger age. They have been exposed to computers and they still want to learn even more. We have also seen a greater interest in health and fitness. We offer some wonderful fitness classes in varying levels, from arthritis classes and balance classes, on up to aerobic and yoga classes. People want to live long lives but they also want to have a good quality of life,” said Craig.

Craig said the addition of a Senior Center in Locust Grove has been great for the seniors as well as the County. She said her department was able to open and operate the third center with very little expenditure and without increasing their budget, by redistributing staff and relying on the Council on Aging for some of the furnishings.

“We were very fortunate that the Board of Commissioners used some of the SPLOST money that was designated for Senior Services to purchase the Locust Grove Center. It’s been a win-win, because they can rent it on the weekends for weddings, as it’s a beautiful facility, and be able to utilize it during the weekdays for senior activities,” she said.

Craig said she will happily turn over the reins of the department to Diane Reed, who is being promoted from her position as program coordinator to the Director of Senior Services. Reed brings 22 years of experience with the department and said she looks forward to the new opportunity. She is excited for the challenges ahead, and expects to continue the great work the whole department does on behalf of the geriatric community.

“It’s a transition. I’ve been with the department for almost 22 years and there have been five directors since that time and I think I’ve learned something from each one. Susan’s taught me a lot and I’m going to miss her a lot, but she said she will be there to support me, so I’m looking forward to following in her footsteps, taking on some of the challenges that I know she’s been working on for the past few years and maybe taking on some new ones,” said Reed. “The challenge of course right now is the economic times and continuing the current level of service and meeting clients’ needs. We have more requests than we have funding so those are some of the things I will continue to work on.”

In addition to operating three centers, Henry County Senior Services offers hot, nutritious meals for both breakfast and lunch at a reasonable price, as well as serves Meals on Wheels to area homebound seniors, offering needed nourishment as well as company to those who may not otherwise see people on a daily basis. The Henry County Senior Services also offers an Ensure nutrition supplement program to those who qualify as well as home care and case management. Officials continually look for supplemental funding through grants and other resources to deliver the level of service Henry County’s geriatric population needs.

Craig said in her retirement she will hopes to continue to support both the senior population and the special needs community by continuing to advocate at the state Capitol on behalf of those who are vulnerable. She said she also plans to travel with her husband and write about her family’s history for future generations.

For more information about Henry County Senior Services and all of its programs, classes and resources, visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/seniorservices or call 770.288.7000.

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