ASHLEY TERRY
It may have taken Jackie “JJ” Joy three tries to land her job as director of the Azle Senior Activity Center, but the third time was definitely the charm — and so much more.
During those 10 years, Joy’s role as director came with plenty of perks. She was able to build strong friendships, watch the center evolve through challenges like COVID-19 and make a lasting impact on the lives of countless seniors — an impact that could be felt throughout the entire senior center as she prepared to bid adieu Sept. 29.
Joy’s departure comes on the heels of a revised agreement between the city of Azle and Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County, which allowed the city to take over management of the center Oct. 1. Through the prior agreement, Joy served as center director through Meals on Wheels, and her employment ended once the previous management arrangement expired. Following Joy’s departure, special events coordinator, Amanda Scott, will oversee the center’s daily operations under city management.
“JJ, today, we want to take a moment to thank you,” Scott told Joy during her farewell ceremony Sept. 29. “For 10 years, you’ve helped make the Azle Senior Activity Center a place where people can walk through the door and find a friendly face, a good conversation and a sense of belonging. The program and activities matter, but it’s the character you showed to the people here that will stay with us.”
Scott also thanked Joy personally for the work she put into the center and for the relationships she had built over the years.
“As I step into the new role, I know I’m joining a community that you spent years building, and for that, we are grateful,” Scott said. “On behalf of everyone at the center, thank you for the time, energy and the heart you’ve given us. You will be missed, and you will always be welcome here.”
Kyle Culwell, parks superintendent, also presented Joy with a plaque from the city of Azle, thanking her for her 10 years of leadership and service.
“We want to thank you for everything that you've done for us,” Culwell said. “Look around and see all these people. This is from all the efforts, work and commitment that you've given us … You will be missed and we do wish you the very best.”
THREE TRIES, 10 YEARS
Long before Joy became the familiar face of the senior center, she was a volunteer for the Community Caring Center — and was having a little trouble getting hired.
“I heard (the senior center) was looking to hire, so I came over here, I was shown around, I was interviewed and then they hired someone else,” Joy told The Azle News. “I had worked with seniors before. I’d worked in nursing homes, and I did have one that I worked at where I was activities coordinator and I enjoyed that and I thought, ‘This is something I can do.’”
After applying for the director position twice and losing out to former directors Bill Reed and Kip Young, Joy decided to give it one more shot.
“I put my application in again, and they asked me, ‘What do you see yourself doing in five years?’ and I said, ‘Directing the senior center,’” Joy said, chuckling.
From that one golden answer, Joy was officially hired as center director July 21, 2016 — and she’s never looked back.
“There’s been some pretty rough spots at times,” she said, “but (my favorite part has been) seeing people’s lives transitioning.”
‘WORTH IT ALL’
Joy said one senior came into her office recently and became emotional because she knew Joy was about to leave the center.
“She just began to cry and told me what I had done to change her life — and that was so special,” she said. “My greatest goal has always been to make a difference in somebody’s life, so when I see people tell me that, it’s OK if they had been the only one — it’d have been worth it all.”
With more than 100 new members at the senior center over the last year, Joy admitted she doesn’t know the name of every single person who walks through those doors — but she has made deep connections with many “regulars.”
“One gentleman, his name is Joe Thompson. I walked by his table one day and he looked at me and he says, ‘JJ, you have got to be Raymond Shannon’s daughter!’ I asked, ‘How did you know that?’ ‘You look and act just like him!’” Joy said. “The first time he ever saw me, I was about 3 years old, so we have a lot of fun with that.”
Joy said she also knows many frequent attendees outside he senior center, including Pam Chapman, Sue Turnipseed and Sonya Pinkston, whose two youngest children Joy taught in church more than 20 years ago.
“It’s been great. I’ve made a lot of new friends,” Joy said. “I’ve got certain people around here that I’m going to stay in touch with, for sure.”
WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES
While Joy said she’s not sure what the future holds for her, she has no doubt that God will lead her where she’s meant to be.
“When I first found out (about the change in management) I was a little taken aback, but I had already begun to feel in my heart that there was a change coming. I didn’t know that it was going to be this, but I knew something was coming,” she said. “I just said, ‘God, do whatever you want to do,’ and since then, I’ve had reinforcement after reinforcement that God was going to do something.”
Joy said the biggest sign that someone special was looking out for her came on the day prior to her farewell party, when she was scrolling on Facebook and noticed a particular reel that caught her attention.
“There was this one guy … The first thing he said is, ‘This is for somebody special. I don’t know who this is for, but you need to know that God is closing one door because he’s prepared you for something else … God is closing this door but he’s opening this one over here,’” Joy said. “I just sat there and thought, ‘There you go. That’s it.’”
Joy said she showed the video to her husband, Steve, who immediately jumped up, shouted “Hallelujah!” and threw his hands up in the air in celebration.
“He needed that as much as I did,” Joy said, chuckling. “We’ve been doing a lot of talking and a lot of praying — just waiting for God’s direction.”
Whatever that direction may be, the 1970 Azle High School graduate said she doesn’t plan on straying too far from the community she has called home for most of her life.
“I love this community and I love the city,” Joy said. “There’s a lot of good things happening.”
As Joy prepares to leave the senior center in the capable hands of Scott, Culwell and Meals on Wheels Vice President of Adult Activity Centers Marcus Rockwell, she said she just has one more important message to give to the community: the senior center is the “best place to come.”
“Monday through Friday, we are open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. We try to play games. Our major event is bingo,” Joy said. “We’ve been doing ‘Jeopardy’ on Wednesday afternoons and on Mondays, we do ‘America Says’ … We just have so much to offer, and I want people to be here.”
Though Joy said she’s not sure how often she’ll be able to visit the Azle Senior Activity Center now that she’s no longer director, she doesn’t plan on staying away forever.
“We’ll have to see what happens,” she said. “That’s why I told them I’ll be back to haunt them.”
