The Warren County Senior Center is under new leadership.Sheryl Stefanski, a former teacher, began in May as the new executive director.Also, three people were elected May 21 to the Warren County Council on Aging Board of Directors: Clyde Beach, Connie Tesson and Liz Wilmsmeyer. Tesson and Wilmsmeyer are new to the board. Beach was re-elected. They will be sworn in July 26, joining Karen Gregory, Patsy Jones, Duane Timmerberg, Laura Schnieder, Paul Brautigam and Paul Lix to complete the nine-member board.Outgoing board members are Patricia Eddy and Janet Meier. Director positions are three-year terms and limited to two terms.The Warren County Senior Center is located at 501 Ashland Ave. in Warrenton. The center serves hot meals and delivers them to homebound seniors with the Meals on Wheels program. The meals are low cost or free to those who qualify.“The mission of our center is to meet the needs of our seniors,” said Karen Gregory, board director.“We wanted to find someone with the ability to be a good leader and who would be compassionate toward our mission of serving the senior citizens of Warren County,” she said. “We are fortunate to get Sheryl as executive director. She has set some personal goals for herself. We really appreciate her desire to fully serve the seniors of Warren County,”Stefanski grew up in Warren County and worked with the Warren County School District for 27 years. She retired there in 2017 after spending 17 years as an administrative assistant to the superintendent and board of education. After earning her teaching degree, she taught for 10 years at Rebecca Boone Elementary.She spent about a year working at the Warren County Health Department before being hired for the senior center position.Stefanski has two grown children, Lauren (Polston) Brooks and Lindsey (Polston) Boehle. Boehle was the previous executive director for the senior center.Stefanski is settling into the position. As a lifelong Warren County resident, she already knows many senior center patrons, some she has known since she was a child. Others are grandparents and great-grandparents of her former grade school students. If she doesn’t know someone, she makes a point to talk to them.“It’s definitely a goal to know everybody’s name,” she said.Her work will include running operations, budgeting, revenue, reports and working with the community on behalf of the Senior Center.“The person in this position oversees Meals on Wheels and is also a resource for seniors within the community,” Gregory added.The need for meals and resources for seniors is great.“There are many needy seniors in our community. Once you get involved in the Senior Center you realize what the needs are,” Gregory said. “We want to increase the number of individuals (in need) who are eating at the center every day and provide activities for seniors to have a place to come and visit with one another.”Stefanski shares those goals.“I plan to have its best interest in mind with all decisions that are made. I want the senior center to be a place for the senior community of Warren County to come and enjoy themselves while eating a hot, nutritious meal,” Stefanski said. “My goal is to know all of our clients and to plan various activities in order to engage as many individuals as possible.”The Warren County Council on Aging oversees the Warren County Senior Center. The organization is under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging. It receives some state and local government funding. The executive director position is one of four paid positions at the senior center. It relies on fundraising projects, donations and volunteers to provide services.

Sheryl Stefanski is the new executive director at the Warren County Senior Center in Warrenton. 

Record photo/Kate Miller