Officials cut the ribbon on the improved Senior Citizens Council Social Circle building

Local officials and citizens turned out for Thursday morning official ribbon cutting for the improved Senior Citizens Council Social Circle building. Walton County chairman David Thompson and Social Circle mayor David Keener were among those in attendance – Photo credit: Cassie Jones photo | MAK Photography

The Walton County Senior Citizens Council, Inc was established as a private, non-profit organization back in 1969 under the leadership of David Black, Margie Searcy, and several other community leaders.

As the programs grew, a need was recognized for a satellite center in the Social Circle area, and in 1995, with the help of Social Circle then-mayor Frank Sherrill and the Walton County Board of Commissioners, a CDBG was successfully applied for and granted for a
Community room in Social Circle to be used in part for a location for Senior services there. The Walton County Senior Citizens Council then hired personnel and started those services, experiencing much growth over the years.

In 2022, it became apparent that additional space was needed to house the many activities and services offered by the Senior Citizens Council to local seniors. Vickie Gasaway, Senior Center executive director; Patricia Javis, site manager and the senior center Board of Directors approached Walton County for any available space which could possibly be used to provide those services.

After the County’s new Parks and Recreation facility opened in Social Circle, Walton County Commission Chairman David Thompson, District Commissioner Lee Bradford, County Manager John Ward and the remaining Board agreed that the building at 550 Fair Play Drive previously housing the Parks and Rec offices, could be renovated to meet the needs of the growing Social Circle site. Through the work of the County’s Facilities and Parks and Rec Department, the new location officially opened on April 13, with a full house of seniors present to enjoy their new “home.”

The site currently serves approximately 60 families in Social Circle, distributing about 6,400 congregate (on-site) meals each year and about 5,200 home-delivered meals each year.

The grand opening celebration demonstrated the support of the seniors and Senior Citizen Council with attendance by many community leaders including the Walton County Board of Commissioners representatives Thompson and Lee Bradford and Social circle Mayor David
Keener.