GREENFIELD — Bob Long has spent a relatively short amount of time as executive director of Hancock County Senior Services, but he’s made a big impact.
Long, 67, has decided to retire after 2½ years leading the nonprofit. Friday will be his last day.
The organization is throwing a drive-through retirement celebration at 2 p.m. today (Oct. 21) under the portico of the agency’s offices at 1870 Fields Blvd.
“This has been an interesting year on a lot of levels,” said Long, who has had a challenging year making sure the seniors the agency serves stay safe during the pandemic.
“The planets just kind of aligned, things came together and I thought it would be a good time to retire,” he said. “There’s no guarantee these days, especially with what’s going on, so I thought if I can make this work I’m going to go for it.”
Long leaves Senior Services with great memories, saying it’s the finest organization he’s ever worked with.
“We have a great board and a great staff. I want to ensure a smooth transition as best I can, because this is a great, great organization,” he said. “I’ve been privileged and humbled to be part of the team here.”
The feeling is mutual among those he leaves behind.
“Bob has been just amazing to work with from the very beginning,” said Jinx Oberly, a five-year Senior Services board member who has been chair since May. “The mark he’s made on this organization is undeniable.”
Leading an organization that helps seniors remain independent is no small task, and Long has done a remarkable job, she said.
Hancock County Senior Services provides transportation, homemaker and respite care services for local seniors, in addition to providing transportation for the general public.
“We help people normalize their lives by identifying their needs and trying to meet those needs so they can remain independent,” Oberly said.
Long has done a tremendous job of leading and enhancing those efforts, she said.
Long moved from Michigan City to take the lead role at Senior Services in May 2018.
“What I’m grateful for is how quickly the community accepted me as somebody who wasn’t from around here. I felt comfortable in Greenfield from day one,” he said.
“There is a real special vibe to this community that you don’t find in every community, and that made the time I was here so much more enjoyable.”
When asked about his accomplishments at Senior Services, Long is quick to point out that it’s always been a team effort.
“I think one of the things I’m happiest that we accomplished was transitioning our dispatching software, because the point is always to serve more clients with the same amount of resources,” he said.
“COVID has knocked that back a little bit because we can’t do some ride sharing that we’d like to be doing, which the software will let us do, but the fact we got the software up and running makes me very happy. When we come out of the cloud of COVID, it’s going to make a huge difference in how we can provide services,” he said.
Another major accomplishment was a much-needed upgrade to the agency’s fleet of transit vehicles. Senior Services and its transit arm, Hancock Area Rural Transit, acquired four new wheelchair-accessible vans each of the past two years to replace aging vehicles. Some of the vehicles in the fleet were more than 10 years old and had close to 200,000 miles on their odometers.
Oberly said it’s clear that Long is passionate about his work and the people he serves.
“I truly believe in senior services, in helping people as they age, because we all become a little more vulnerable; we all become a little more frail and less independent,” said Long, who has written about aging issues as a columnist for the Daily Reporter’s Prime Time magazine.
“I think we as a society and as a community have to be there for them, because one day we’ll be one of them.”
The county’s population is growing, which means the number both present and future seniors is growing. The need for impactful senior services will only increase, he said.
“The Hancock County community has been very generous in finding ways to support our efforts to provide those services, and I‘m sure that will continue. I think that we’re set up for continued success here,” Long said.
He can’t begin to thank everyone in the community for the support they’ve given him. “This has been the most joyful organization I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. For the best job I’ve ever had to be my last job is pretty great,” he said.
Long has been spending his final days at work transitioning in his replacement, Suzanne Derengowski.
Meanwhile, he has a few ideas of how he’d like to spend his retirement.
“I would like to wander the country in my car, just driving around exploring,” he said.
“When you get involved with your kids growing up and your career, sometimes traveling gets pushed aside. I’m looking forward to jumping in my car and pointing it north, south, east or west and seeing where it takes me,” he said.
He also plans to spend plenty of time playing with his grandchildren, and make more time to write and record music, hopefully getting involved with a band.
Long has played keyboards since he was 8 years old, and he was a member of a classic rock band called Boogie Men in Michigan City.
“We had a lot of fun. I think we entertained ourselves more than we did our audiences,” he said.
Long might even consider taking voice lessons. “My wife’s been asking me to do that for about 45 years,” he said. “That might make my music in the house a little more palatable for her.”
SIDEBAR: New director set to take over at Senior Services
Suzanne Derengowski knows she has big shoes to fill as the incoming executive director at Hancock County Senior Services, but she says she’s up to the challenge.
She started shadowing outgoing director Bob Long on Oct. 12 and will take over on Oct. 25.
Derengowski has worked the past seven years with a private student transit provider for Richmond Community Schools. Before that, she worked with the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce.
She’s commuting to her new job from Wayne County but plans to move soon to Hancock County with her husband, Troy.
Derengowski, 58, who has two grown children, is looking forward to this next chapter in her life working with Senior Services.
“The job seemed like such a perfect match,” she said. “I’m so excited to get started.”
Jinx Oberly, board chair for Senior Services, said Derengowski’s diverse background will serve her well.
“Her experience made her a perfect fit to fill the position,” Oberly said.
