SOUTHAMPTON — After nearly a year without a permanent leader, the Council on Aging has hired an experienced senior center director who recently worked for a dozen years in a similar position for the town of Agawam.
Joan Linnehan, 59, started Tuesday and she’s still getting to know the flow of her new job on top of the duties of interim assistant director Andrew Stone, who recently quit. Linnehan is busy with the additional work, but is thankful there’s a candidate for the assistant position.
“I haven’t even looked at my email yet,” she said.
The Southwick resident’s hiring may help quell complaints from seniors and others about how long the center went without an official leader, town officials said.
Meanwhile, the center’s interim director and former Select Board member, Shannon Cutler, won’t be part of the transition to Linnehan. Cutler stirred up controversy earlier this year when she quit her position as a Select Board member and later used her position at the senior center to criticize the Select Board for its appointments to the Council on Aging.
Linnehan served 20 years at the senior center in Agawam as activity director, assistant director and director. This year, Linnehan said she was forced to resign from her post as director, a position she held for 12 years. She declined to go into detail.
Nilda Cohen, Southampton’s Council on Aging board chairwoman, said Linnehan’s resignation from the Agawam position drew a red flag. But after interviewing 10 candidates for the position, Cohen said Linnehan was the best fit for the job.
The Council On Aging has been without a permanent director since October, which has drawn criticism from seniors as well as complaints of a lack of communication from the town on the hiring process.
“Seniors were anxious to get a director,” said Lori Loiselle, who has been a spokesperson for the seniors and was appointed to the board in May.
Since becoming a board member, Loiselle said seniors feel that their voice is heard.
To help address their concerns, there has been some changes. Select Board member Maureen Groden has taken up a new role of liaison to the Council On Aging; five new board members, including Loiselle, were appointed to fill vacant seats; and now a new director is in the fold.
“It was worth the wait,” Loiselle said about hiring Linnehan. “She is definitely an asset.”
Cutler has served as interim director for the past eight months, a position she stayed in after resigning from the Select Board in June, complaining of wrongdoing by fellow board members and expressing her disgust with the town’s politics, even as some residents were beginning a recall petition due to her absences from board meetings.
Last month, Cutler used the council’s newsletter “Our Senior Scoop” to disparage her former colleagues about their decision to appoint two new Council on Aging board member rather than to reappoint an incumbent. The newsletter was published online, but taken down before the page was printed and distributed.
“I felt like there should have been consequences,” Groden said. “I don’t think that’s appropriate behavior.”
As Linnehan starts the role of director, Cutler will not be part of the transition.
“We don’t want that negativity,” Groden said.
Linnehan said she’s familiar with some of the past issues with the board.
“I’m looking forward,” she said. “You can’t change the past.”
The senior center in Southampton is much smaller than Linnehan’s previous role as director of the Agawam Council on Aging, where she served 7,000 seniors and now serves 1,200.
She’s taking a significant pay cut as well.
In Agawam, she made over $70,000 a year. Now she’s making $20 an hour and working four days a week.
“It’s not always about the money,” Linnehan said. “It’s about doing something important.”
Linnehan is off to a good start, according to Loiselle. She’s outgoing, Loiselle said, and has gotten to know some of the seniors on her first day.
On Friday, Linnehan plans to use her day off to get to know seniors at this month’s senior luncheon. She said she wants seniors to get to know her and see her as a resource.
“If they have a problem, I want them to feel comfortable coming or calling (the center),” Linnehan said.
Linnehan said she wants to create a welcoming atmosphere and bring people together. Throughout the day, the center is fairly empty and has about one or two activities scheduled a day.
Linnehan said she hopes to increase activities to about three or four a day, possibly hosting meet-up groups such as a discussion group talk about the news or just folks getting together to have a cup of coffee.
She said she plans on having a suggestion box at the center to help brainstorm ideas.
“The sky’s the limit,” Linnehan said about the center’s potential programs and activities.
Groden said she’s optimistic about the future of the board. Loiselle encourages seniors in the community to be part of the center.
Not only is the center under new leadership, but the space is also “revamped,” she said, with a new paint job as well as tables and chairs.
“It’s like a whole new beginning,” Loiselle said.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@ gazettenet.com.