Village Volunteers celebrates departing executive director

The night belonged to Jackie Sullivan.

The longtime executive director of Village Volunteers had a chance to say thank you to board members, volunteers and friends at a Jan. 30 going-away celebration in her honor at Irish Eyes in Lewes.

“These are the people who actually helped build this. These are the true heroes,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan is retiring after eight years of leading the nonprofit. She is the only executive director the organization has ever had.

Sullivan has been hailed for taking Village Volunteers to new heights.

“Jackie has done a great job,” said Arlene Matzkin, a longtime volunteer. “I’m sure she’s done things I don’t know about because I was out driving. But [the organization] is not just going, it’s flourishing.”

Village Volunteers is a nonprofit with a mission to help older people live independently for as long as possible and stay connected to the community.

The group typically has more than 200 volunteers to take people to medical appointments, grocery stores or social events.

Village Volunteers services are membership based, starting at $500 per year. In 2022, they had almost 400 members.

The group is based in Lewes, but also has an office in Ocean View. 

While the focus was on Sullivan, the event was also a welcome for her newly hired successor.

Anna Moshier is taking over as executive director March 1. She brings years of experience working with seniors.

Moshier had been director of lifelong learning practice at CampusCE Corporation. Before that, she was the manager of the University of Delaware’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for 12 years.

“I’ve come with a plan,” Moshier said. “Our biggest challenge at Village Volunteers is getting enough volunteers so we can help other people live at home.”

Sullivan said the most important quality she was looking for in her successor was heart. She said Village Volunteers found it in Moshier.

“We need to take care of our seniors,” Moshier said. “When you’re older, you’ve had these great lives, great jobs, but now you can’t drive anymore. [It’s important] to have that quality of life.”

Teresa Butcher has been a Village Volunteers member since the organization started 10 years ago.

“I love those volunteers,” she said. “What haven’t they done for me? Whenever you call, everybody’s so gracious.”

Steuart Martens, Village Volunteers president, gave Sullivan a crystal and a custom Scotty Cameron putter as parting gifts. 

She said she will be hitting the links and hitting the road in her RV, looking for new adventures. But, Sullivan said Village Volunteers will always be home.

“I want Anna to own this. But, I’ll be there for her,” Sullivan said.

“It’s a big change,” Martens said. “We found a real gem. We feel really comfortable that Anna will continue the incredible work Jackie was known for.”