By James Day
The Silverton Senior Center is down but not out. The group’s building on Westfield Street is out of commission because of a plumbing disaster that occurred during the January ice storm.
The center, however, has been able to keep most of its programs rolling along by using other sites: aerobics, line dancing and gentle yoga at Immanuel Lutheran Church; ageless yoga at Total Body Health; open studio painting at the Art Center; the singles lunch at the Macleay Country Inn; knitting at the Silvertowne Apartments; and board meetings at the Elks Lodge.
No timetable has been set for the reopening of the building.
The Senior Center also has a new executive director, Simone Stewart, who replaced Dodie Brockamp, who retired in December after serving in the position since 2012.
“It’s been quite the ride during my first two months as the Silverton Senior Center executive director,” said Stewart, a former City of Silverton employee as well as longtime nonprofit and arts board member as well as entrepreneur and actress. “Since the closure of our building in mid January, not only have we been continuing to offer all of our programs and classes at other locations in the area; but we have been busy planning new social events and fundraisers.”
Two big events, an open mic cabaret and a luau in Coolidge McClaine Park, are set for May 1 and June 22, respectively, see information box and silvertonseniors.org for more information.
Stewart grew up in Long Beach, California, and earned a degree in the history of art and architecture. She moved to Southern Oregon in 1992 and served in a variety of roles there, including teaching, marketing technology, computer repair, technology services operations management, arts marketing/events planning/performance venue management, wine buying and wine sales/distribution.
Stewart also is an actress, with 70 roles performed since moving to Oregon, including performances at the Brush Creek Playhouse, Pentacle Theatre in Salem and Gallery Theatre in McMinnville. She also appeared in the Netflix series The Trust, a reality game show, whose eight episodes debuted in January.
Stewart told Our Town she is “thrilled to have made the career move to nonprofit leadership” and added that she hopes to “utilize all of her career and volunteer skills and experience to benefit the Silverton area 50+ community.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, May 1: A Night of Random Acts
Open mic event at 5:30 p.m.,
At Easel Art, 301 E. Main St. Free, donations accepted. Sign up at silvertonseniors.org
Saturday, June 22: Spirit of Aloha
Luau fundraiser at Coolidge McClaine Park, 5:30 p.m. More details soon at silvertonseniors.org Information: 503-873-3093 or [email protected]
