Sally Kidd is shown with Shanna Hammond
ESCANABA — The Menominee-Delta-Schoolcraft Community Action Agency (MDS-CAA) announces the retirement of long-term employee Sally Kidd. Kidd has been with the agency for 40 years and has served as the senior services director since 1997. Her career at Community Action started in June of 1981 as the senior services program secretary under the direction of Leona St. Vincent. In 1986 she was promoted to nutrition program director, and then in 1997 Kidd took on the role of senior services program director when St. Vincent retired.
Many changes have occurred for Community Action since 1981. When Kidd first stared working for the agency, the senior centers and the nutrition program (congregate and home delivered meals) were the main focus of Senior Services. In the late 1980s the personal care and respite services were added, and the adult day services followed in the early 1990s. The expansion of these services allowed them to further assist thousands of senior citizens in the region over the years.
“Our mission has always been to provide help for those in need so they can remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible, whether it be us providing home delivered meals, help with personal care needs, respite care, or light housekeeping,” said Kidd.
Kidd also noted that the agency’s success with senior services would not be what it is today without the support of the citizens of Menominee and Delta Counties. In 1989, the agency successfully passed a millage to support senior centers, home delivered meals and in-home services. Since then they have been able to overwhelmingly pass this millage every 10 years.
When asked about her time at Community Action Agency Kidd stated, “I value the people and friendships made over the years, not just within the Agency but throughout the whole U.P. They’ve become a family to me. We were fortunate to always have good leadership, Bill Dubord for 30 years and Julie Moberg for the past six. And we always had a dedicated governing board. The many seniors I’ve worked with over the years will not be forgotten. So many caring people.”
Of course, it’s been a tough year with COVID restrictions. Senior Centers and Adult Day Care were closed and people had not been able to congregate. But even through these challenging times, Community Action’s kitchen staff continued to cook meals, the meal runners continued to deliver meals to the homebound, and the in-home aides continued to provide care to the most vulnerable seniors in their own homes.
At the end of August Shanna Hammond will be replacing Kidd as the senior services director. She has worked for Community Action Agency as the HR director for the past four years. Prior to joining the Community Action team, Hammond worked for almost 10 years in the public and community health field. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-MBA Consortium.
