Arin Says Farewell
With many mixed emotions I am announcing the end of my time at the Elizabethtown Social Center.
My 15 years with the Social Center have been so rewarding! I have loved so many things about this treasure of Elizabethtown. What started in 1939 as an act of amazing generosity and foresight by founder Cora Putnam Hale still has the most important elements of her vision but has also evolved to keep up with 21st Century changes in community needs and business functions.
When I started in 2010, it was the slowest programmatic era in center history. We were on the heels of the 2007 recession with a bare bones budget in a time of population decline and a shift from volunteer-led programming to the busy lifestyle of working families. The board gave a clear directive when they hired me - bring programming back. For years I focused on restoring the bustling activity of our town’s treasure. What fun!
In those years I also discovered administrative tasks that had been back-burnered for decades. It was easy to see why - a small staff and volunteer board could barely keep up with all the changes 85 years would bring!
A solid team of board members and staff capitalized on the pandemic to commit the time to clean things up including updating policies, identifying efficiencies, and using contemporary best practices in nonprofit administration, strategic planning and goal-setting. Because of the extraordinary Social Center team and their effort for the last four years, the organization is in robust health fiscally, programmatically and operationally. We expanded our staff to make up for a decline in volunteer-based programs; the trustees and board of directors are engaged and committed to shared goals and the Center’s mission; and community partners collaborate with us to maximize resources and bring the very best to Elizabethtown and neighboring towns. I’m very proud of our work and will miss this team enormously.
I have taken the greatest pride and pleasure by far in the Center’s work with teens. What I will miss the most, hands-down, is running into teens around town who exclaim “hi, Arin!” and wave excitedly to see me outside of Social Center walls. The kids I’ve had the pleasure of working with over 15 years will always hold a special place in my heart. The network of people who care about our youth is deep and committed and it has been amazing to collaborate with them. I will miss the teens and this support network but hope to always find ways to help improve the lives of youth in our small, rural towns.
Members of other communities regularly ask how Elizabethtown makes such a wonderful thing happen. The answer is Cora Putnam Hale’s generosity and foresight, and the boards of directors and trustees of who have ensured her endowment’s longevity. Together with staff, they worked hard to make the Center a community treasure. As I move on, I ask the community to support the Center and its 21st Century renewal.
In the words of Cora Putnam Hale, “If the life of this community shall be enriched, if the young people shall find a place of wholesome enjoyment and improvement, if there shall be contributed an 'instrument of good,' then all who have had a part in the creation of the Center will be amply repaid for their efforts.” This work is never complete; community members must continually be a part in the creation of the Center.
I’m sad to leave but I leave with the comfort of knowing that the organization is in great shape and ready to grow. In an era when true connection and social cohesion is getting lost in the polarizing digital world, the Center can be a key element in restoring the social fabric of Elizabethtown. I hold the utmost confidence that momentum will continue, community support will grow, and the Center team will continue to do an outstanding job fulfilling the hope of Cora and the needs of e’town.
I'll miss you all,
Arin
