A bittersweet goodbye: Lisa Smith retires from VAC
KCaulder@CalhounTimes.com
Lisa Smith first started working in the Voluntary Action Center’s Community Kitchen in 2012. Now, eight years later, she has announced plans to retire from her position as kitchen manager, leaving the future of the program in the hands of whoever comes next.
The decision to retire was a difficult one because Smith loves the VAC and the people who come through its doors but given the choice between spending more time with her five grandchildren or continuing on, she said she knew what she had to do.
“I am really going to miss my volunteers and the employees, and I’m going to miss seeing the clients. Probably 75% of our clients I know by name and talk to when they come in. We have some people who’ve been coming in since they were little bitty kids and now they’re adults. I’m going to miss seeing them a lot,” Smith said. “But these are my grandbabies and I want to see them more.”
Smith also hopes to spend more time traveling with her husband. Together, they have traveled to Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico and Italy, among others. With his retirement fast approaching, Smith said they hope to revisit some of those places, namely Italy, and to see more of the United States.
“We haven’t planned exactly where we’re going to go yet,” Smith said. “It’s still a ways off.”
Smith’s departure from the VAC will not happen right away. First, she and Executive Director Stacy Long face the challenge of finding and training the right person to fill her shoes when she is gone.
“It is going to be hard to find someone who can do what she does,” Long said. “Lisa really came to us and made the kitchen what it is. She is the reason we are able to operate at the capacity we have. She can look at our donations and see the meals she can make from them right off. I don’t know how she does it.”
According to Smith, it comes down to hard work and respecting others. Working in the VAC Community Kitchen requires a person to be adaptable, respectful and quick on their feet. In selecting the new Kitchen Manager, Smith and Long said they are looking for someone with all of those qualities.
RETIRE,