Sims Joins Body Recall Board
Jackie Sims joined the Body Recall Board of Directors in September.
Sims is the Executive Director of the Gathering Place, an award winning community center serving seniors and others in Danville and Boyle County, Ky. It’s a position she has held for the past 31 years and one she relishes to this day. Under her direction, the center grew from rather modest beginnings to become one of only 10 senior centers in Kentucky to receive a governor’s grant to build a new center.
In 1981, the Bluegrass Area Agency on Aging chose the Gathering Place to be the pilot program for its new Homecare program and in 1990, her center received second place honors in the Center of the Year Award in Louisville, Ky., at the State Association of Senior Center Director’s Conference. Over the years, the services offered at the center have expanded to include homecare, adult day social, and adult day health models, including on site and home bound meals and respite care. With a budget of almost $1 million, The Gathering Place serves more than 3,500 seniors annually.
Born and raised in Boyle County, Jackie is a graduate of Campbellsville College earning an Associate’s degree in social work and business administration while attending night school in 1987 and ‘88. She has one son, Mike Sims, and a granddaughter, Madelyn (Maddie) Sims. She plays piano, knits, and enjoys the outdoors (when she gets a chance), and especially enjoys baking with her granddaughter. Jackie also attends Doctor’s Fork Baptist Church in Boyle County, a church she has attended regularly since 1946.
Her honors include:
• Kentucky Humanitarian of the Year from the Kentucky Association of Healthcare Facilities
• Advocate of the Year from the Kentucky Association of Deaf Seniors
• Named delegate to Governor’s Conference on Aging
• State Director for the Ms. Senior America Pageant
• Kentucky Delegate to the National Council on Aging’s National Institute of Senior Centers, a position held since 1995; she also serves as treasurer, and co-authored the State Association handbook
• Member, Kentucky Safe Aging Coalition
• Licensed nursing home administrator
