By Steve Huffman
Salisbury Post
The Rufty-Holmes Senior Center is no longer a baby.
Or even a teenager for that matter.
On Friday, many of those affiliated with the center ó some since its creation ó celebrated its 20th birthday.
They toasted the center with cake and carrot sticks and remembered all that went into getting the facility to the stage it’s at today.
“Many, many individuals contributed to make it happen,” said Rick Eldridge, the center’s executive director, a position he’s held since the facility’s creation.
The center opened on Jan. 4, 1988, the result of several years of planning and fundraising. Organizers at Friday’s celebration recalled that the original structure measured 10,000 square feet and cost $704,000.
There was no mortgage on the facility when it opened. There was no money owed.
The 4 acres on which the facility lies was donated by the city of Salisbury. Rowan County commissioners and members of the Salisbury City Council assisted with funding for the center.
Gayla Woody, an administrator with the Centralina Area Agency on Aging and one of those who spoke at Friday’s get-together, recalled that when plans for the center were in the works, every senior citizen in the county was challenged to donate.
That donation, Woody said, could be as small as a penny.
“You know what?” Woody asked. “You were successful.”
And the success has only continued.
The center has been added onto on a number of occasions. In 1995, a 2,600-square-foot addition ó the Hurley Room ó was completed. In 1998, a 2,000-square-foot aquatics facility was finished.Another building expansion ó the Archibald C. Rufty Fitness Annex ó is presently in the works.
“Every time I come, there’s something new,” Wood said. “You’re always on the cutting edge.”
Bob Lippard, executive director of the Rowan County United Way, agreed. He noted that those who use the facility are engaged in the use of the Internet thanks to a computer lab that was added in 1996.
“Now, I hear many of our participants talk about rams, megabytes and gigabytes,” Lippard said.
Dennis Streets, director of the N.C. Division of Aging & Adult Services, was Friday’s keynote speaker.
He said Rufty-Holmes was North Carolina’s first Senior Center of Excellence and remains the only one in the state so accredited by the National Institute of Senior Centers.
Streets said that when inspectors with the National Institute visited Rufty-Holmes in 2006 for its re-accreditation, they noted the center was, “Well-used, well-kept and appreciated by all those who use it.”
“As you think of the past 20 years,” Streets said, “in some ways, it seems very long. But in other ways, very short.
“The time shortens up,” Streets concluded.
Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman @salisburypost.com.