Seniors, staff saddened to see Sandy Gregor go

WILTON – SeniorsPlus staff and consumers are wondering what will happen to the local center after it was announced longtime Community Center Coordinator Sandy Gregor was laid off earlier this month.

“This is like losing the captain of the ship,” volunteer Pat Galganon said Wednesday. “She loves her job and, you know, she can’t really be replaced. What’s going to happen to the center?”

SeniorsPlus, based in Lewiston, provides meals, social services and socialization to seniors throughout Androscoggin, Oxford, and Franklin counties, Gregor said.

Her layoff came as part of a reorganization project, Executive Director Pam Allen said. “We’re reorganizing one of our divisions to be cost effective,” she said. “To focus our resources and dollars in an environment where we’re flat-funded or not funded.”

“It was a hard decision, but it’s a decision that had to be made,” she said.

While Allen said the center and its services will remain in Gregor’s absence, many at the Wilton center can’t quite imagine it without her.

“We want to get her back,” consumer Lora Thomason said. “She goes beyond the call of duty.”

“She’s a very special lady,” said Martha Hines.

“It’s been a big blow to everybody,” explained receptionist Debbie Tracy. “We’re all wondering how the center’s going to be. Everybody’s up in the air, and we feel bad that we’re going to lose one of our coworkers.”

Gregor, herself, did not comment on the reorganization. She’ll be leaving on March 2, she said, nearly nine years after first taking the job. She’s upbeat, though she’ll dearly miss everybody she worked with at SeniorsPlus.

“One of the enormous benefits of working with seniors is that they’re so appreciative,” Gregor said of the consumers’ protests at the layoff. “I’ve loved this job, and I love working with the seniors, but there’s nothing I can do,” she said. “So I feel positive about it – like I’m starting a new adventure. I’m a congenital optimist. I’m looking forward to it.”

SeniorsPlus provides services – from news letters, to Meals on Wheels and daily luncheons, to exercise classes, bingo and cribbage games, and bus trips – to area seniors, and the Wilton center is the only full service center in Maine, Gregor said. “Over the years we’ve tried a bit of everything,” she said. They’ve offered health forums and writing workshops, crafts and Tai Chi classes. Most popular are special meals on holidays – Valentine’s Day and Halloween, for example – and bus trips. Gregor also helps seniors deal with things like taxes and MediCare.

Perhaps most importantly, though, is the sense of community SeniorsPlus tries to provide. “We have always seen ourselves as family to the people who come in,” Gregor said.

The layoff decision was hard to make, Allen said. “When you’re flat-funded year after year after year, you have to make choices on how you spend your money. Trying to find the efficiencies in everything we do is part of our job,” she said.

Gregor will be sorely missed. “(She’s) been a terrific employee and she will be missed. She’s been a contributor from Day 1, and will make a difference wherever she goes,” she said.

There will be a reception for Gregor from 2-4 p.m on Tuesday, Feb. 27, Allen said.