TD Senior Center hires new director

It’s early days at the center, but Garrett is thrilled to serve there. “I’ve enjoyed the people here, and have been giving out medical equipment, getting people help with their taxes.” There are similarities at the center to his work as a bread salesman, he added. “Sales is about people. This is the same, but it isn’t sales, it’s service.” There are contrasts, as well. “Sales is horribly demanding, but they aren’t horribly demanding here. It’s laid back, there are few time limitations.” That said, “it’s nothing like throwing bread out of a shelf at 2 o’clock in the morning.”

“It’s like having hundreds of grandmothers — it’s a comfortable feeling. Even in the few weeks I’ve been here, I’ve been able to help people.”

Garrett’s work is overseen by a board of directors, the members of which also serve as volunteers at the center.

For the first few weeks, Garrett made the rounds with former executive director McKay. “I’m following his steps,” he explained. The center is in good condition, he added. Although the COVID pandemic impacted the ability of the center to raise funds for their operations early on, federal and state funding filled in many of the gaps.

Those gaps will be one of Garrett’s many challenges, as pandemic funds dry up and fundraising sources like Bingo nights and the NU-2U Shop come back online. “Things are starting up again, post COVID,” Garrett said, although “we’re still doing a lot of Zoom classes and meetings. We’re glad about COVID going away, now we have to start raising money again.”

Although Thursday Bingo nights, a fundraiser for the Meals On Wheels program, remains temporarily closed due to staff issues, Saturday Bingo Night is up and running, with a start time of 5:30 p.m. The NU-2U Shop is also open again on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In-person Meals On Wheels are also available again, he added.

Garrett isn’t new to the center. He leads the “The Pop Rocks,” a 12 person rock band with 12 members, age 17 to 58. The band has performed at the center in the past, and Garrett is making plans for additional shows. He also coaches little league and soccer teams.

Garrett moved to The Dalles in 1972, when his father hired on at the local aluminum plant. He lives in town with his wife Tawny, and raised six children in The Dalles. They have six grandchildren as well.

Garrett’s plans for the future are simple. “I’d like to keep established programs going, and keep the center solvent so we are not in danger of shutting down.”

He noted that many groups, not just seniors, use the building. “It’s really a community building,” he explained, used by people of all ages. “This is a safe environment for everyone. Seniors want to serve people as much as I do.

“There is a lot of life in this building, people should come in and enjoy that,” he said.