O'Connor Stories

Playing music and singing has been an important part of Ben’s life. For several years, he had been part of the jam session at one of the mall health centers, where he also volunteered five days a week.

O'Connor Senior Center

The John T. O’Connor Senior Center, located in Caswell Park, is an activity center that provides a place where seniors can not only add years to their lives, but add life to their years. The Center serves Knox County residents age 55 and over. There is no membership fee to attend the Center, although some classes may have a fee to support the cost of the class. Programs at the Center focus on health services, physical fitness and exercise, recreation, and education.

The Center is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., with evening and weekend hours for special activities. Lunch is available in the Dine-A-Mite Diner, Monday through Thursday, from 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The O’Connor Center operates the Daily Living Center, an adult daycare program located in Christenberry Heights (see pages 6-7).

Like many agencies and businesses across the nation, the O’Connor Senior Center faced some challenges during the year forced by the economy. The Center had to lay off a full-time staff person who had been part of our “family” for a long time. Not only did this affect our former co-worker and all of us at the Center personally but it also resulted in having to cut programming support to the rural areas of Knox County.

Number of People Served

3,258 people attended education, recreation, physical fitness, and health service programs at the Center.
122 volunteers supported center activities

Services

50,708 units of service were provided. (One unit of service is counted each time one senior participates in one Center activity.)

Accomplishments/Achievements for the year

The fourth annual golf tournament, the O’Connor Open, was a success and met its fund-raising goal.
The annual Pancake Fest fund-raiser included a craft fair and sponsorship tables. Both the golf tournament and the pancake fest were successful events that received excellent support from the community and O’Connor Center participants.
Two of the original plays written by the Silver Stage Players were accepted for publication by ArtAge Senior Theatre.
The O’Connor Computer Learning Center was reopened and began offering classes from basic skills through advanced levels.
Exercise and dance classes have always been popular at the Center, and more were added during the 2008-2009 year.

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