Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
Lois Christensen (Bulletin file photo) |
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
By ELIZA WINSTON - Bulletin Staff Writer
Lois Christensen will retire as executive director of Gateway Streetscape on March 31, but she plans to continue volunteering in the community.
“I’m going to work on my own yard for a while,” she said Monday.
Although Christensen said she is unsure exactly what she will do after retiring from Gateway, she hopes to continue environmental projects and working with people in the community, possibly teaching pruning and horticultural skills, she said.
The organization is looking for her successor. Christensen, 60, said the position requires being a “horticulturist, environmentalist, business director, grant writer, arborist, volunteer coordinator and special events coordinator.”
According to an advertisement in Sunday’s Martinsville Bulletin, Gateway is seeking an executive director who will help it meet its goal of improving the community’s aesthetic beauty and appeal. The successful candidate must be able to handle financial and administrative tasks and have experience managing and executing various horticultural and environmental projects, the advertisement stated.
Gateway board member Tim Hall said the position’s salary will be negotiated with the successful applicant. Christensen said she is paid $41,000 and has been with Gateway for 12 years.
As executive director, Christensen said she participated in planning and coordinating numerous events offered by Gateway Streetscape. The office has two other staff members, she said.
Gateway also has a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs in which students help complete projects, such as planning and designing the amenities and building and painting the birdhouses along the Uptown Rail Trail.
Gateway also conducts environmental programs at the Boys & Girls Clubs’ centers at Patrick Henry Elementary School, Albert Harris Elementary School, Sanville Elementary School and Irisburg Elementary School.
Christensen plans to continue to work with the clubs in the area after she retires from Gateway.
“I’ve volunteered most of my life,” she said.
Christensen has several activities planned before she retires, including a talk at the New College Institute on March 17.
One program she will not still be around for is Hazardous Waste Removal Day, which is tentatively scheduled for April 17, according to Gateway’s Web site. The event will allow Martinsville and Henry County residents to properly dispose of hazardous materials. |
| |
|
|
|
.jpg)