Nancy Borthwick has dedicated her life to serving others.
Borthwick is president of the American Legion Auxiliary Post #79, is LHEAT (Local Health Equity Action Team) lead for Grant County, and a Grant County Chamber of Commerce Ambassador. And on Dec. 30, 2024, officially began her new adventure as Director of the Grant County Senior Center.
“I’ve never been the director of a senior center before, but I’ve been in public service pretty much all my life,” Borthwick said. “I feel like this community needs to be given a chance to thrive. I just feel like we could make our senior center better for the community here, better for the patrons that come in, and get busy living instead of getting busy dying.”
Borthwick is a Grant County native who left in 1984 to attend college at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. She later lived in Emporia and moved home a decade ago, dedicating her life to serving the Grant County community.
“When I left Emporia, I decided that when I came home, I wouldn’t say no,” Borthwick said. “And so I’ve gotten myself into several committees and interjected into the community. I think it’s awesome here, the people are amazing, they’re so giving and I think that we can make things a lot more inclusive in more areas than just the senior center.”
Borthwick said she would like to utilize the Grant County Inc. buses more.
“I’d like to take some trips,” Borthwick said. “If they want to go to Dodge City and go to the casino, I think we should be able to do that. I’d like to go to some concerts, I’d like to do some other activities here – I want to continue with the dances and stuff like that, but I’d also like to bring in pitch parties.”
Borthwick said she is open to suggestions for other activities and the field trips would not necessarily be county sanctioned, but Senior Center Inc., which is a separate entity. She also said she would like to make sure the buses are in good operating condition.
“I’m excited to introduce some new stuff and make it the best center that we can have in Grant County,” Borthwick said, adding that field trips to the Garden City Zoo and a train trip to Colorado are activities she would eventually like to include. “There’s things that are around that we can go do and I don’t want to hinder anybody from not being able to go.”
Borthwick has taken the bull by the horns at the senior center and is looking forward to getting started.
“I’m excited to be here,” Borthwick said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to bring a little joy and activities to the individuals here that have been a legacy in Ulysses and see what we can do about making things fun and enjoyable and just make us the best center that we can be here in Southwest Kansas.”
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