In the main sitting room at the Ballard-based Northwest Senior Center Carlye Teele is making her rounds.
The director of the Ballard Senior Center for the past 24 years, Teele can usually be found where most of the seniors go to socialize, visiting with each table, joking with the seniors and making sure that everyone is having a good time.
When there are visitors at the center, Teele always makes sure she’s around.
“I’m jumping up and running and down everywhere,” she said. “I have a passion for the job and the people here are very friendly.”
Her office is situated in an upstairs office at the center but you won’t find her in her office too often. The majority of her day, Teele spends interacting with the many senior citizens who come to the center each day. “That’s my favorite part of my day,” she says, with a smile.
Teele, originally from Tacoma, attended the University of Washington where she took general studies courses, and also classes in sociology and psychology. After that she was a real estate agent for a while, and was involved with the Junior League of Seattle (a woman’s group that promotes voluntarism and improving the community).
Teele got the job at the Senior Center in Ballard in 1988. “Somebody I knew told me that there was a director position open and said I would make a good director,” she said. “So I applied for the job and I got it.”
Since then, Teele has built up an extensive curriculum of programs and classes available to the seniors on a weekly basis. She explains that you have to start with the core programs such as social work, nutrition, education, socialization and a health and wellness center, and then you add more from there. Teele, her three staff members, and many volunteers, all look for a variety of new and fun activities for the seniors. But the customers have
the final say.
“The people will tell you what they want,” Teele said.
Some of the programs are free, like a gardening group that meets on Wednesdays, and others have a reasonable fee, like an arts class taught by former Queen Anne resident and artist Susan Schneider on Tuesdays.
“I love the people that come to the class. A lot of them had painted a little when they were younger and they want to do it again,” Schneider said.
One of the main services that the Center provides is nutritious lunches to the seniors. “Nutrition is a big part of our day,” Teele said.
Lunch is served every day, with a suggested donation of $3. The lunches include everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to chicken dishes. It’s delivered from an organization called Fare Start and is prepared by the cooks and the Center’s nutrition manager Linda Elton.
“Many [seniors] live in apartments and are single, this allows them to be out and about and share a meal together. People get in trouble if there’s no social interaction,” Teele says laughing.
To accompany the lunches the center offers various kinds of exercise classes, including yoga, line dancing and Tai chi.
“People get a good workout,” Teele said. There’s something for everyone.
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