For Area Agency on Aging

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Although she spent most of her adult life in Texas, Terri McFarland feels at home in Webb City, where she manages the senior center at 210 Pennsylvania. This should be no surprise — she’s a Webb City native.

McFarland was born at Joplin’s Freeman Hospital and raised in Webb City, so she is familiar with the town and its people. She even knows many of the men and women who come to the center for meals and activities, through business association and friendships with her parents who sold real estate and insurance in Webb City. “My parents were in business here forever,” McFarland said.

McFarland is a licensed real estate agent herself, following her parents’ business lead. “That’s why I decided to do the real estate,” she said. Although employed at the senior center, McFarland continues with her real-estate sideline.

McFarland’s knowledge of the people of Webb City is helpful in her role as senior center manager. So is her background in healthcare administration. While in Houston, Texas, McFarland served as admissions director in a Methodist Hospital.McFarland had left Webb City after high school graduation. “I was the oddball who got married and left town,” she said. But in 2002, following her divorce, she returned and was reunited with the high school friends she had left behind 30 years earlier. “We were all real good friends in high school,” she said, a closeness which led to courtship and marriage with one of her schoolmates. “He was divorced, I was divorced, now we’re married,” she explained. McFarland’s two sons, their wives, and her two grandchildren remain in Texas.

Her hospital background in Texas helped her find employment at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, where she worked nearly five years as admission discharge coordinator. In this capacity, McFarland was responsible for assigning patients to rooms. But the hours were cutting into her other ventures. In September 2008 she opted for earlier hours, making a job change to the Webb City Senior Center. Her 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift now allows McFarland to continue in her real estate business.

The Webb City Senior Center serves daily hot lunches, Monday through Friday, and can accommodate up to 125 persons in the dining room. Currently, the center serves approximately 65 meals per day on site, and delivers 56 to homebound seniors. Approximately 50 volunteers deliver the meals throughout the week, McFarland said. “A lot of them deliver one day a week, some deliver every day.” The suggested price for lunch is $3.

“At that price, everyone can afford to come and eat,” McFarland said. No one is turned away for inability to pay, however. According to McFarland, the most popular meal is taco salad, with the second favorite being fried chicken. A month’s worth of menus is published by the Area Agency on Aging.

The Webb City Senior Center is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and lunch is served at 11:30 a.m.

Besides hot lunches, the Webb City Senior Center schedules activities and events. Seniors need to be active in their community, and the center tries to provide an outlet for such interaction, McFarland said, from monthly educational programs to regular craft activities and exercise classes. “I think the word needs to get out that you can come here to have a good time in addition to eating a nutritious meal.”

Recent activities at the center include “Football Friday,” where attendees were encouraged to dress in honor of their favorite team. Being Webb City, the prominent color was red, worn by local high school Cardinal sports fans.

The senior center recently sold chances to win a hand-made quilt. Proceeds went to the board to help offset center expenses.

As manager of the Webb City Senior Center, McFarland oversees a paid staff of six. Sandy Wade has served as homebound coordinator for the past nine months. Head cook Mary Ann Coleman has eight years of combined service, four years in Joplin and the past four years at the Webb City site. Gary Parker, assistant cook, has been at the center for two and a half years, and Bill Carey, dishwasher, has been there for two years. Cassie Hazen has spent the past month as a floater, moving between facilities to fill in any kitchen duty vacancies. Janitor Vaughn Beaunoyer has been with the Webb City Senior Center for nine months. About 25 other men and women volunteer at the center, performing tasks such as filling in during employee absences, changing the sign out front, rolling silverware, and serving beverages at mealtime.

Through good food and companionship, McFarland said, “friendships are made here.” The relationships made at the center expand outward, with seniors who met at the center attending other events as a group. Others spend a lot of time together outside the center, she said. Attendance at the center is about half couples, half widowed men and women. Several couples have met at the Webb City Senior Center and then married.

McFarland would like to see more seniors involved at the center: “I know from my hospital experience that seniors who do nothing but sit in front of the TV lose a lot of their abilities to lead an active live,” she said. She wants to see them participate and be more active in the community. “They are very interesting people and many of them have real stories about the old days,” she said.