RICHARD PENNEY, PhD, Concord, NH

In 2015 and recently retired from a 36-year career in education, Richard “Rich” Penney was looking for his “next chapter in life. I certainly wasn’t going to sit on the couch,” he recalls. “I was aware of the need for senior support services, so I joined CAP and the senior center. . .things have certainly progressed from there.”

Over the next several years, Rich’s responsibilities grew from organizing activities for the congregate dining program at the Horseshoe Pond Center to implementing the Meals on Wheels program for Greater Concord. “The feedback was pretty clear that the service was needed,” he says. “We had been hearing that there were people who needed the meals but couldn’t necessarily get to the community dining program. So, we brought the meals to them.”

Fast forward to present day and you’ll find Rich working with staff and volunteers each morning to package and delivery dozens of meals, return to the Center to set up congregate dining, and then overseeing activities such as yoga or Silver Sneakers.

Rich frequently delivers meals, loading the back of his red pick-up truck for stops across the city. He delivers the meals and talks to each client-many of whom he has known for several years. “It’s important for me to do this. I get to meet the clients-which is great, and I experience what our drivers see and hear. This keeps me in touch with what is going on. All of this feedback is valuable and helps us do the best possible job for those we serve.” Sometime referring to his work as “having many plates in the air,” on this day, Rich is mentoring a new volunteer, packaging meals, and talking on the phone to a new driver about local construction near one of the delivery sites. When reminded that his “retirement job” can often last from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 or later each day, Rich laughs and says “I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’re helping people to stay at home and safe where they want to be. . . this work is addictive. . .I truly love what I do!”