JCSO presents $15,000 check to senior center

Senior Center in second step of stabilization

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

It has taken an act of great community awareness and participation that has led to this moment.
On Thursday, April 19, the Jefferson Senior Citizens Center held their monthly board meeting, where Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO)'s Cricket Edwards and Sheriff Mac McNeill, as well as Evil Twin Farms' Sherri Dean, joined the board of directors.
In the beginning of Badges Sponsor Party and the Sheriff David Hobbs Memorial Barrel Race fundraisers for the senior center.
Finally, on April 19, all the deposits had been made, all the checks cleared and the JCSO were able to present the whole portion of those fundraised monies to the senior center.
“It is an honor to be here,” said Sheriff Mac McNeill, who stood to provide a few words before presenting the check to the board. When McNeill was first appointed Sheriff of Jefferson County by Gov. Rick Scott following the death of Jefferson's beloved Sheriff David Hobbs, the newly appointed Sheriff McNeill had been to be familiarized with the charity fund ran by Sheriff Hobbs and see where the former Sheriff's heart had been. “It had come to my attention that Sheriff Hobbs' heart was really in this establishment here and he really wanted the things he did, charity-wise, to come here,” said Sheriff McNeill. “We decided that anything we did from that day forward would go to the senior citizens center.”
Sheriff McNeill also acknowledged Cricket Edwards for her crucial role in making everything run smoothly, Sherri Dean for providing the barrel race fundraiser concept and all the work she had poured into those events, and Jerry Byrd who had visited Jefferson County and dedicated so much of his time to a county and a people that needed him.
Finally, Sheriff McNeill wanted to express his gratitude towards his predecessor, Sheriff Hobbs.
“His memory is what really put the money into this check that I am about to present to y'all. Sheriff Hobbs' name and the person that he was is what really brought the money,” said Sheriff McNeill.
Without further ado, the complete check was presented.
From the two events, a grand total of $15,000 was compiled into one check, which was formally presented to the awed and moved Jefferson Senior Citizens Center Board of Directors.
Gratitude spilled over from the board members as they expressed their thanks for what the JCSO and Evil Twin Farms had accomplished.
“We really want to thank the Sheriff, the department and everyone there,” said Board Member Minor Brookins. “We want to thank you all very much.”
With the $15,000 from the sponsor party and barrel race fundraisers as well as the little over $7,000 brought into the center by the weekly fish fries that local churches and civic groups had worked together in hosting, the senior center now moves into a new step in the pursuit of financial stabilization.
“This check puts us over just a bit, but we still have a portion of it that is underwritten. Which, any excess money that comes in will not be spent for day to day operations,” said Len Dodson, who the board of directors for the center had brought in to help solve their debt and financial problems with his expertise. The underwritten monies have been promised to the board via the pledges of people within the community, and Dodson could not stress the importance of receiving those monies enough. If the pledges fall through, the center will continue to face their indebtedness and it will take the center longer to begin the second stage of Dodson's plan: sustainability.
“Those who have given to the senior center have asked a legitimate question of 'what do you have in mind so this does not happen again next year?'” said Dodson, who has been the voice of the senior center's struggles these last few months. “If we do not come up with a steady stream of income, we will be in the same shape.”
This problem is magnified by the fact that the center currently has a deficit of $3,000 in their monthly operating fees. If the center does not find a way to fill up that deficit, the fundraising and backing of the community will have been for nought.
During the April 19 board meeting, Dodson produced a plan he had procured through meditation and prayer.
In short, in this new stage of the center's stabilization, the board through Dodson's plan will acquire sponsorships from the community.
“The community, for the first time, has stepped forward to take ownership of the senior center. That has never happened before,” said Dodson. “We lived on government milk and dependency. That has been cut off and basically, we are on our own.”
In Dodson's sponsorship plan, there would be four levels: Gold Sponsorships, where donors will pledge $100 a month for a year; Silver Sponsorships, where donors will pledge $75 a month for a year; Brass Sponsorships, where donors will pledge $50 a month of a year; and Copper Sponsorships, where donors will pledge $25 a year. Whatever comes in as a one-time smaller monetary gift to the center will likely fall into the Copper level.
At the end of the year, the sponsors would be recognized through a heavy hors d'oeuvres banquet and award ceremony.
“These are not large numbers and I think we will do far better than that,” said Dodson. “I've seen what happens when this community gets behind something, they make it happen.”
The board of directors were favorable to the plan Dodson had placed before them, and acknowledged the work they will have to put in to make it succeed.
“We've proven we can do this, since we have had people already step up,” said Board Member Nan Baughman. “It's just a matter of getting out there again and pounding the pavement, and that is what this board is for.”
“You never really know how something is going to work, but I think this will be a positive,” said Board Member Bobbie Krebs.
The board also produced ideas of their own, such as holding events and annual functions as an extra way to boost income. Other concepts that Dodson had spoke about previously were the possibilities of renting the center facilities out for events and the meetings of local civic groups.
For the center's survival, thinking outside of the box, sticking to the plans Dodson has laid out and putting in a lot of hard work within the community will be required of the Board of Directors at the Jefferson Senior Citizen's Center.
“We hope the Senior Center will become a meeting place for not only the seniors, but the community as a whole,” said Dodson in a meeting with ECB Publishing, Inc. a few week prior to the board meeting.
In order to survive, the senior center will need to update their standing within the community; they will need to stay within the sight and vision of the community by providing new services and strengthening old ones; and the center will need the backing and support of the Jefferson County community as they have never had before.
With their new plans for sustainability and the fact that the community does care what happens to the senior citizen's center made undeniable by the monetary proof that has been shown, hopefully the Jefferson Senior Citizens Center plans to be around for a long time to come.