79°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

Barron to head senior center

Ann Barron has only been executive director of the Senior Center of Boulder City for four days, but she hit the ground running.

The North Carolina native, who “bleeds Tar Heel blue” as she says, has been in Southern Nevada since 1982. Since then, she’s worked with St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, the Las Vegas Urban League, and Lutheran Social Services of Nevada.

But most notably, she served as the economic development director for Henderson from 1982-99.

Barron, 66, was one of more than 50 applicants from across the country to apply for the position of executive director, according to Don Sansouci, president of the board at the senior center.

Sansouci credited Barron’s experience with grant writing, fundraising and her basic interaction with senior citizens as the reasons why she was selected for the job.

“We’ve hit a home run,” he said.

Barron is no stranger to Boulder City. In the mid-1980s, she worked with Henderson and Boulder City to keep the railroad lines in town when Union Pacific wanted to abandon them.

A few years later, she was instrumental in getting federal and local block grants for a new senior center in Henderson. She said the seniors worked directly with the architects during the renovation of an old church that would serve as their senior center for the next 20 years.

“I was probably the only economic development director in the country with a senior center in her department,” she said with a laugh.

Barron and the board have been in talks about the older senior center building in Boulder City and how they plan on fundraising to ensure the building is properly maintained.

“This is a wonderful building and we want to make sure it stays that way,” she said. “It’s wait and see, but it’s also wait and listen. It’s pretty apparent walking in here that there are a million things being done right.”

As she makes the rounds talking with local partners, staff members and the senior citizens at the center she’s now in charge of, Barron said the environment has made her transition that much smoother.

“This is such a warm, friendly place. The people have been so welcoming. It’s just a comfortable place to walk into,” she said.

Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.

MOST READ
LISTEN TO THE TOP FIVE HERE
THE LATEST
Toll Brothers gets split decision

The development of the area near Boulder Creek Golf Course known as Tract 350 (the sale of which is slated to pay for the majority of the planned replacement for the aging municipal pool) may have hit a snag last week as the planning commission voted 5-1 to deny the developers’ request to build houses closer to the street than is allowed under current law.

Council gives nod to 185 new hangars

There is at least one part of Boulder City that is set to see growth in the coming years. A lot of growth.

Boulder City ready to celebrate America

Boulder City resident James Cracolici may have put it best when he called the annual July 4 Damboree, “The crown jewel of all events held in Boulder City.”

BC can ban backyard breeders

Although there is nothing on any city agenda yet, the resolution of the issue of whether pet breeding will be allowed in Boulder City took a huge step forward last week as Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford released an official opinion on the intent and limitations of state law that had been requested by city staff last year.

Completion dates for two road projects pushed back

Mayor Joe Hardy tacitly acknowledged that Boulder City gets, perhaps, more than its fair share of funding from the Regional Transportation Commission, given the city’s size.

Businesses recognized at Chamber awards night

The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce’s annual installation and awards night featured many business owners in town and even had an appearance, albeit an A.I.-generated one, by Audrey Hepburn.

Parallel parking approved

Like so many other things in the world of Boulder City government, the issue of reconfiguring parking in the historic downtown area along Nevada Way, which generated enough heat to cause council members to delay a decision up until the last possible moment, ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

Ways to reduce summer power bills

Now that the thermometer is on the rise outdoors, the cost to cool homes and businesses on the inside is doing the same.