Grantville Senior Center director honored
By REBECCA LEFTWICH
rebecca@newnan.com
Susan Burdett arrived at Monday's Grantville City Council meeting prepared to give an update on the Grantville Senior Center, where she is director.
Instead, Burdett was praised for her 16 years of work with the town's senior citizens. Through a proclamation presented by Mayor Jim Sells and heartily backed by the council, Friday, Jan. 18 has been declared "Susan Burdett Day" in Grantville.
"I had no idea this was going on," Burdett said. "Thank you very much."
The proclamation recognized Burdett's ongoing efforts to provide Grantville's senior citizens with proper nutrition, activities, exercise, hobbies and community interaction – including those unable to leave their homes.
Last year, Burdett encouraged more than 30 Grantville seniors as they walked an average of 12,000 steps a day to help the Grantville Senior Center win the Southern Crescent/ Three Rivers Walk-A-Thon.
Grantville’s center beat 13 other centers to claim several prizes, including a surprise day trip to Callaway Gardens complete with a catered meal from Rogers Barbecue. Therabands, exercise DVDs, a smoothie blender and a promise of a freezer full of smoothie fixings were presented to the Grantville participants.
“Some lowered their blood sugar and cholesterol, and some lost weight,” Burdett said at the time. “As they were walking together, they were cutting up and having fun so they didn’t even realize how much they were walking.”
At Monday's meeting, Burdett announced her intention of coordinating a fall 2013 trip to Cape Cod for the town's seniors, 30 of whom already have committed to the excursion.
Susan Burdett Day is a time when "all of our people may join in recognizing (Burdett), who by faithful and loyal devotion to her responsibilities (has) rendered a dedicated service to this (community) and, in doing so, has established for herself an enviable and enduring reputation for performing her duties in an exemplary manner serving the needs of our senior citizens," according to the proclamation.
