To the editor:
On Sept. 1, I had the privilege of volunteering at the Lynn Senior Center Labor Day cookout.
The event was well attended by over 100 Lynn senior citizens. The Council on Aging staff was working at a fast pace from the time the doors opened at 9 a.m. until the end of the day.
Attendees were not just there for the food and fun. On a day of an event of that size, the staff is preparing the food and situating the entertainment, but it is also answering questions about housing, health insurance, and transportation concerns in between cutting oranges for the breakfast crowd.
Thankfully, Coach Tristen Smith brought the St. Mary’s track team to pitch in. The students jumped in as sous-chefs and servers, brought Tredwell’s ice cream for dessert, and even pitched in on the first round of kitchen cleanup.
The Senior Center staff members are dedicated civic servants who truly care about those who attend the Senior Center, and we want to thank Mayor Jared Nicholson’s administration for being the first administration to invest in the Lynn Council on Aging.
The Senior Center kitchen looked like it had served 120 people. Cooking utensils, empty vegetable trays, and sprinkles from the ice cream were across the room.
I asked the COA director if a city custodian would help with the cleanup. I found out a custodian does daily cleanup of the building, but each day the kitchen cleanup is assigned to the COA director and the program director. The directors wash all the dishes, clean the countertops, and mop the floors in accordance with the public health standards.
The director is looking for grant money or state funding to recruit a full-time kitchen person but, in the meantime, it is assigned to the directors.
I was left wondering, how many other city department heads have these duties at the end of every day?
We are grateful for these humble city servants who go above the posted job description and I hope anyone with extra time who would not mind pitching in will adopt a day or two during the week to give some relief until full-time kitchen staff can be put in place. Contact the COA on Friend Street to give the directors a break.
Sincerely,
Pam Edwards
Lynn
