LEBANON — Shelby Day is stepping down as executive director of the Carter Community Building Association to pursue a career in youth services and development.
Day, 44, said her last day at the CCBA is scheduled for Oct. 4. She then intends to take a job with a youth program in Vermont and go back to school. However, Day said she plans to continue teaching classes and contributing to youth programs at the downtown institution.
“It’s a decision that’s been made to kind of just change a little bit of my direction,” Day, a Lebanon native, said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Day was hired in November 2016 to replace longtime director Curtis Richardson, who had run the organization for 26 years before retiring that September.
She previously worked as director of the Center for Student Success and Wellness at Norwich University. Day made $77,989 in compensation in 2017, according to the CCBA’s latest tax filing.
“She’s definitely been active in looking at the big picture and looking into bringing the CCBA into the 21st Century,” CCBA Board of Trustees Chairman Peter Land said on Tuesday.
Day was instrumental in the launch of the CCBA’s smartphone app, which allows patrons to check class times and sign up electronically, Land said. She also brought new changes to the front entrance, moving away filing cabinets and making the space more open and welcoming, he said. Most importantly, Day is a good communicator who works well with the CCBA’s employees and patrons, Land said.
“She’s very open with both the staff and members, very open to new ideas,” he said.
CCBA board member Al Patterson also commended Day on her commitment to the organization.
“The job itself requires countless hours of dedication,” he said via phone on Tuesday. “I’m sad to see her go. However, she’s trying to do what’s best for her family and follow her dreams.”
A committee of CCBA board members, patrons and employees will conduct the search for Day’s successor. Advertisements for the job will be placed in the “immediate future,” but Land said he isn’t sure how long it will take to fill the position.
“I hope we find someone soon,” he said.
Whoever succeeds Day is expected to continue the CCBA’s commitment to community, which Land described as a bedrock value of the organization.
“I think there’s a strong sense that we serve the community, we serve the whole community and it’s important that we include people who might not be able to afford to be at a facility that charges full cost,” Land said.
An annual membership to the CCBA costs $683 for a single adult and $795 for a family. However, those rates are priced well below what the organization would need to break even, Land said.
Memberships accounted for $728,233 of the CCBA’s $1.8 million budget for the year ending in December 2017, according to latest 990 tax filing. Overall, the association lost $259,813 that year and $73,181 in 2016. Land said those losses have been partially absorbed by the CCBA’s endowment, which reached $4.2 million in 2017. He added the nonprofit is committed to keeping prices low.
“We very much want to make the CCBA accessible to every member of the community that wants to be here,” Land said.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.