AUSTINTOWN — The Austintown Senior Center has a new director.

At Monday’s regular trustees meeting, the board officially hired Southwoods Health referral coordinator Brittney Koch to succeed Jim Henshaw as the center’s chief. Henshaw, 84, notified trustees in July of his intention to retire.

Trustee Monica Deavers said the board interviewed four candidates for the job who all were well-qualified for the position.

“She gave us a well-rounded resume,” Deavers said. “All four people we interviewed were qualified, but we picked what was the best for our town and senior center.”

Koch posted on Facebook that she is excited to take the reins.

“This truly is a dream come true,” she wrote. “Austintown has always been my home, and to be given the opportunity to serve this community, the people and place that shaped who I am, is such a humbling honor.”

Koch has worked at Southwoods since September 2023. Before that, she spent seven months as a community relations manager for Oak Street Health. From January 2020 to March 2023, she worked in multiple positions at ConcertoCare, finishing her time there as lead of community health.

She also worked as an advanced emergency medical technician in Columbiana from 2013 to 2023.

“Which is really a good asset for our senior center because she would know how to handle any emergencies,” Deavers said. “So that was a big plus in my eyes.”

Deavers said Koch will begin working at the center on Monday.

“I really hope everyone will welcome her with kindness,” Deavers said. “I hope we can keep the center feeling like it’s their home and make them happy. I think this new director understands how we make this place special and I know she’ll be committed to maintaining that.”

She said the township is forever grateful to Henshaw who led it since its doors opened in 2010.

“Jim did so well for the senior center, and we will deeply miss him. All three of us want to make this transition a great success,” Deavers said.

When they began, Henshaw said the center had about 400 members and they’ve now grown to more than 1,400, with more than 500 of those attending and participating regularly, showing up at least twice a month.

Under his watch, they’ve expanded activities from bingo nights to include mahjong, a sewing and quilting group, musical instruments to learn and play, a small gym area and plenty of movies to watch and discuss.

Henshaw taught cooking classes, and others provided instruction for shooting classes, yoga, gardening, tai chi, fencing, painting, woodcarving and wine making, which has seen great success. Two years ago, the senior center’s wine entry won best in show at the Canfield Fair.

Many members also are on their way to becoming bilingual or even multi-lingual, with the center offering recent courses in Spanish, German, and possibly even Arabic.

On Wednesday, Koch said she intends to continue most of the members’ favorite aspects of the center, while she and the trustees have plans to modernize it as well.

“The trustees and I are looking forward to making some modern updates, bringing in some new classes and new instructors,” she said. “We’re also going to be doing more community outreach, going to resource fairs and community events to engage more seniors and let them know what we have to offer.”

Some of the most beloved members of the center are their large hairy canine mascots – two Leonberger dogs named Fluffy and Bob.

Henshaw and his assistant director, Jessica Ricker, both raise, care for, and show the dogs, and their successes are always celebrated at the senior center. The dogs also feature as prominent parts of the activities calendar, including parties in their honor and “destressing with Fluffy.”

Koch said she intends to not only maintain the dogs as part of the programming, but will look to expand on the therapy animal program.

“There’s a lot of therapeutic animals out there,” she said. “I’m an animal lover myself so I’ll never turn a dog’s birthday party away.”