Christie King, the new director of Senior Primelife Enrichment Center in North Webster, stands with some of the many seniors who come each weekday to enjoy activities, food and fellowship. InkFreeNewshoto by Keith Knepp.

By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews

When she took the job as director of Primelife Enrichment Center in North Webster, Christie King knew filling the enormous shoes left by her predecessor wouldn’t be an easy task. While she’s still learning the ropes four months into the position, she is gaining more and more confidence that this is the place she’s supposed to be.

King, 62, was born in Goshen and graduated from NorthWood High School in 1980. Her original aspirations were to join the dental field, but she soon realized that wasn’t the best fit. She also spent stints in fashion merchandising and accounting, but by her own admission, she just couldn’t find her niche.

Eventually she found her way to beauty college, which she said was like a “second nature.” She worked at beauty salons in North Webster and Fort Wayne before returning to the area after having her first child.

She also worked alongside her mother and stepfather at the American Legion in North Webster, including as bartender, waitress, cleaner and cook. She eventually moved on from there, working other jobs in Ligonier and Syracuse.

“My mom told me about the senior center,” she recalled. “We came in and talked to (former Director) Nancy (Gray), and it was like coming back home. When I left the Post, I didn’t realized I wouldn’t see many of those people again. When I came in here, it was really nice. It felt like there was a way to communicate, have good friends again. It just felt right again. It’s been a long time since I felt that way. You know life; we all go through change and you just have to keep chugging along so you can find out what to do. But this feels good.”

King is at SPEC from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each weekday. She began her probationary period March 18 and officially began as director June 18.

“I’ve just been forging ahead, and if I don’t quite know, I’ll stop and have Nancy double check it for me, to make sure it’s right. The way she did things was working, and I didn’t want to change anything. My grandpa always said, ‘if it’s not broken don’t fix it.’ It’s been awfully nice that she can stay with me and mentor me, because there are so many things that come in to play here. It’s not like you have a couple pages in a handbook and that’s how they want it done.”

King has enjoyed getting to know the seniors who come to SPEC. She believes it to be a family who all look out for one another and make sure that everyone’s needs are being met.

“They all chip in with the food and the cleaning,” she said. “It’s really nice. If they’re not going to be here, I just ask that they let me know and I put them on my calendar and keep an eye on it.”

Gray is going to be out of town for much of August, so King is going to be on her own for a few weeks. Undoubtedly, she’s ready for the task. She did say, however, that she told her mentor to “keep her phone on.”