Kathy McCullough was such a good fit for the Jacksonville Senior Center that she was hired straight from her then-job at a grocery store, right out of the checkout lane.
McCullough, who has worked as a senior center assistant these last two years, was often the smiling face at the end of Senior Center coordinator Andrea Morris’ shopping stops at Walmart, where Morris bought snacks and supplies for the center. The two hit it off, McCullough said, and when a position opened up at the center, Morris snapped McCullough up along with the rest of her shopping.
Now, McCullough does what she’s meant to do: Give Jacksonville seniors something fun to do.
“It’s all about them, making sure they’re living their best life,” McCullough said. “I love coming to work; I like to try and make a difference.”
McCullough keeps busy; in two weeks the seniors are going to the Talladega Superspeedway for a Cinco de Mayo tailgate party on the field, and in June they’ll qualify in Oxford for the Masters Games, an Alabama Department of Seniors Services program that operates like a mini-Olympics, with a final field day in October. Games include shuffleboard, pickleball, free-throw basketball and billiards.
“Some people think the senior center is like a nursing home, but it’s not,” McCullough clarified. Instead, the center is more like a hangout, or very nearly a clubhouse. “We’re alive down here, we’re kicking.”
When she’s not rocking and rolling with the staff and seniors, McCullough is outdoorsy. She’s a Piedmont resident, she said, and loves to hike and ride bicycles, and spend time with her daughter, Kayla, her two grandkids, Noah, 11, and Victoria, 4, and her sister, Becky, who joins McCullough on girls’ days out.
McCullough said she’s glad to work at the center, where she can make a difference.
“I’ve always been drawn to helping others, and making sure that everyone is happy, feeling good and feeling encouraged,” McCullough said.
