- April 25, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
There’s a changing of the guard at the Ormond Beach Senior Center as Teddy Blauvelt has decided to retire after a seven-year stint as manager of the facility. Stepping in is Brenda Bayer, former dining site manager in Deltona.
It will be a seamless tradition, Blauvelt said, because they have similar styles.
“We both like to talk,” he said, laughing. “She is very outgoing and genuinely interested in people.”
She said she knows she has big shoes to fill, and looks forward to it.
“I enjoy people,” she said. “I like the interaction.”
Blauvelt and Bayer are employees of the Council on Aging, which operates the Senior Center in partnership with the city of Ormond Beach. The COA runs the weekday activities, and the city has events at the facility.
While Blauvelt said he spent his days talking, others say he was busy taking care of every little detail.
“He will be sorely missed,” said Dining Manager Greg Longstreth. “He was ‘the man’ at the Senior Center. He’s very compassionate and goes out of his way.”
When Blauvelt started at the center, there was one exercise program, and now there are two every day.
“I can’t stand to see an empty activity room,” he said. “I looked at it as being the activities director on a budget cruise line. It’s been really fun.”
Blauvelt had taken early retirement from a career as a social worker when he accepted the position of manager of the center. His background fit the job well, as he would help seniors get the help they needed as they got older, using the resources of the Council on Aging.
Blauvelt said he now feels that he is ready to slow down, but he will be seen at the center. There’s a yoga class and tai chi that he wants to take.
“We have excellent instructors,” he said.
He’s enthusiastic about all of activities at the center, especially the “premiere event:” dancing every Wednesday with a live band.
Bayer said it’s important to stay active and involved socially after retirement.
“You need to keep learning and growing,” she said.
She has a degree in human services and experience working in the senior community.
Blauvelt and Bayer would like to get more people out to the center, and emphasize that there is no age requirement and the classes are very affordable. They say one problem is that the building is not on a major street and sits behind the Performing Arts Center.
“We’re tucked away,” Blauvelt said. “They don’t see us.”
Bayer called it a “hidden diamond in the rough,” saying there is “all this stuff going on” that people don’t know about.
Another issue facing senior facilities is the image caused by the word, “senior.”
“We’re not a nursing home,” Bayer said. “We’re the fun place.”
Blauvelt said he thinks it should be called a “senior activity center.”
The job has been gratifying, Blauvelt said.
“Just knowing you did something that made someone smile,” he said.
For information and a calendar of activities, visit coavolusia.org and click on COA Senior Center Ormond Beach.
