By Grace Allen

After three-and-a-half years of directing Norfolk’s senior center, Sherry Norman is retiring. 

Brought on board in November of 2018, a big part of her tenure unexpectedly included helping the town’s senior citizens navigate a public health crisis that directly impacted their age group the most.

Acknowledging the chaotic times, Norman reflected, “When you’re doing it you don’t realize it, you’re just doing it. Now I’m here and looking back and I think, wow, how did we do that? Maybe that’s why I’m ready. I think we’re all a little tired after all we’ve been through the last two years.”

Norman brought a varied skill set to Norfolk’s senior center, including over fifteen years as a volunteer SHINE (Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone) Program counselor, working some of that time in Wrentham’s senior center. She was also assistant director and outreach counselor at Plainville’s senior center. 

Norman took over the job held by Christine Quinn, whose rocky tenure as director lasted only two years. Quinn had followed Norma Shruhan, who held the position for close to thirty years. 

“I wouldn’t have been interested in the job if it was more of a maintenance job,” said Norman. “I like to come in and make things better because I get bored pretty fast.” Norman believes she achieved several of the goals she set for herself when she became director, including securing a Department of Transportation grant to make safety improvements at several intersections in town, with the ultimate goal of creating a “senior walking district.” The grant also funded the installation of benches on the town’s common. 

Norman also worked to bring Meals on Wheels back to the senior center. 

“Among Sherry’s accomplishments on behalf of Norfolk’s seniors has been her relocating Meals on Wheels to the Senior Center,” affirmed Jerry Calhoun, the Chair of the Council on Aging and a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels. “For several years, volunteer drivers traveled to Wrentham Senior Center to pick up meals for delivery to Norfolk residents. Thanks to Sherry these homebound Norfolk residents are more central to the Senior Center outreach.”

She also helped transition the Friends of the Council on Aging lunches to a “grab ‘n go” program because of the pandemic. Subsidized by the Friends, the lunches support local restaurants while providing a meal for seniors. Norman noted that about half of the seniors participating in the lunches now opt to eat at the center.

Norman also spearheaded the effort to secure Community Preservation Funds to construct a shade structure at the Senior Center. The COVID pandemic meant many of the center’s programs had to pivot to an outdoor format. 

During the vaccination rollouts in early 2021, Norman and her staff helped the town’s seniors navigate the initial, seemingly-disorganized process to procure shots.

Although COVID provided many challenges, Norman believes there were some silver linings. While working remotely in 2020, the senior center’s staff made reassurance calls to the town’s senior citizens, updated the email database, put out a bi-monthly newsletter (now back to monthly) to keep in touch with residents, and set up an interim email blast for tech-savvy older residents. 

“One of the things I feel really proud about was that we were the first center in the area to re-open after lockdown and we never closed our doors again,” Norman shared. “We did it thoughtfully, carefully, and safely for the people that really wanted and needed to get out.”

Norman, age 67, will be moving from Plainville to Mashpee with her husband, who’s retired from Bryant University. Although she says her immediate plans are to spend time on the beach and work on her new home, it’s likely she won’t be idle for long. She’s already applied to volunteer for AmeriCorps Seniors, a chapter of AmeriCorps, perhaps as a SHINE counselor. She says she may pop into Mashpee’s senior center, too, and offer her services there.

Norman says she will miss the staff, volunteers, and patrons of Norfolk’s senior center, but promises to be back for the shade structure’s ribbon cutting, which she hopes will be completed by next spring. 

Her last official day is July 15. Norman will be replaced by Norfolk resident Karen Edwards, the Council on Aging’s Vice Chair. Edwards previously worked as the Program Manager of Volunteer Services for Natick’s Council on Aging. 

“I’m thrilled about the choice,” said Norman. “She’s a known quantity and her mom used to play Bingo here. I think it’s going to be a nice transition.”

She added, “It’s been a great run. I have no regrets. My mission was to right the ship and I feel like I’ve done that. We’re in a really good place for me to leave it to the next person.”