Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Barnes Named Director Of Lincoln Senior Center
LINCOLN — The new director of Lincoln Senior Center grew up in Lincoln and has management experience with Arvest Bank and Little Debbie Company in Gentry.
Karen Barnes already retired once about three years ago but when the position became open, she was interested in returning to the workforce.
“I have lots of experience and I thought my experience would help it and contribute something to it,” Barnes said.
She was branch manager for Arvest Bank in Lincoln and worked in a supervisory role for Little Debbie.
Barnes started with the center less than two months ago but said she already thinks she is going to love the job and hopes to help the center grow. She said she knew a little about the senior center because she had visited with her mother but didn’t realize how active it is and how important the center is to the community.
“It is so interesting,” Barnes said. “The goal of the Senior Center as a whole is to raise funds to feed more people. The more money we raise, the more money they ( the federal government) will give us for food.”
Barnes recently attended a meeting sponsored by the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and was surprised by the number of senior adults and children who go hungry.
“They talked about the need in northwest Arkansas so my goal is to make the center the best it can be and to raise enough money to help feed the hungry in our area,” she said.
In February, the center delivered 734 meals to homebound seniors and served 645 meals at the center. Meals are planned by a dietitian with Area Agency on Aging in Harrison.
Lincoln Senior Center is a busy place. Seniors play Bingo twice a week, have music groups, a weekly Bible study, play cards and enjoy a hot meal with a salad bar each weekday. The center also has trips planned to go to the Azalea Festival in Muskogee, Okla., and to the Women’s Film Festival in Bentonville.
“Senior adults love coming here, have a good lunch and enjoy interacting with each other,” Barnes said.
The center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.