BY MATT AUERBACH
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — Thursday was a very important day for local seniors.
A five-year search came to an end when the YMCA hired Jean Vick as the first Director of Senior Citizen Services for the Metuchen branch of the Metuchen/Edison/Woodbridge YMCA.
Megan Powers, director of the borough’s branch of the YMCA, had been trying to create the position since 1998, but the two things she needed to make her dream a reality — the funding and the right person — didn’t come together until recently.
When funding for the position came from Richard Smith, president of the Metuchen Senior Citizen Housing Corporation, Powers contacted Vick and offered her the job.
Powers said Vick was her first choice.
"She’s a lifelong resident of Metuchen," she said. "Jean was a paralegal prior to accepting this position. She’s used to dealing with bureaucracy and making it work for her."
Powers explained why a Director of Senior Citizen Services is important to seniors and to the YMCA.
"We’ll now have a leader for the new programs and services we’ll be offering," she said. "We’re starting outreach services for both the home-bound and the able-bodied and we needed someone who could devote her full attention and time to them.
"The YMCA thinks the work we do with seniors is very valuable work," Powers continued. "We love to serve the community and we believe the community appreciates what we do."
Powers believes that with the appointment of Vick, the YMCA will finally be able to tackle all the needs of the borough’s older population.
"Seniors have been getting short shrift for a while," she said.
Powers is quick to credit the Metuchen Senior Citizen Center for its good work.
"Our two groups will be working together as well as complementing each other’s efforts," she said
As for the newest member of the Metuchen branch of the YMCA, Vick can’t wait to get started.
"I’m very excited to be in this position," she said. "I’m already working on our first event, a holiday party at the Presbyterian Church on Woodbridge Avenue on the twenty-first of the month."