NAHANT— When Kelly King saw a posting for the executive director role on the Council of Aging on Facebook, she applied, not thinking initially that she would get it.
It’s a position that now feels to her like more of a calling than just a new job, as King, who grew up in Nahant and lived there until the age of 21 before moving to Swampscott, where she currently lives, has extensive experience taking care of elderly relatives, including both of her late parents.
“Originally, I had no idea what the Council on Aging was. When I saw the job posted, I said, ‘Let me look at it.’ I was dumbfounded by what they offer [and] all the things that are truly needed, especially with dementia, Alzheimer’s [disease], social [activities], King stated Wednesday after the weekly meeting at Town Hall.
King is now approaching her new role as director with a sense of passion and purpose. While her role focuses “a lot on administrative budgets,” she’s focused on bringing new services to Nahant’s elderly community, including activities and services she would have loved to know more about back when she was taking care of her own family members.
“There is help out there. I didn’t have any, and what I mean is, I had to pay out of pocket for everything,” she expressed. “I didn’t have any services, really, so I’m glad I know it now, and I can share.”
King is focused on expanding the council’s efforts by forming new partnerships that Nahant senior residents can benefit from. She feels as though a small town like Nahant doesn’t have “big corporations to help us out” and makes donations to support senior citizens in times of need in the same way that, for instance, the town of Salem was able to distribute five-gallon buckets of sand to their senior citizens back in December after the Salem Council on Aging and Police Department Community Impact Units received a donation from Home Depot.
King is currently putting together a Valentine’s Day lunch on Feb. 13 at the Senior Center on Nahant Road, which will provide everything from lobster rolls and salad to flowers, chocolates and even gift cards, which she was able to receive through a donation from Market Basket.
“We don’t have Home Depot down the street, so it’s very limited. I want to break that and go out further,” Kind said. It’s that’s exact sentiment that she shared with the council during their meeting, and with King now at the helm, Nahant seniors can expect new things on the horizon.
“I get so excited to come here because there’s something different every day,” she said to the group. “I want to do something different that people are like, ‘Yay, let’s go!’”
