Saint Andrews’ long-time youth centre leader and youth mentor, Debby Lord, has retired after more than nineteen years of working for the town.
This retirement marks the end of an era, however the community is sure that this is not the last that we will be seeing of the town’s biggest Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
Debby Lord is retiring after 19 years at the Saint Andrews Youth Centre.(Nathalie Sturgeon/The Courier)
“I’ll continue to be here for all of you guys, if any of you guys need anything. You know where to find me,” said Lord.
Lord has been there for kids when times got rough, over the years, helping them figure out who they are.
“I hope I’ve helped them through their lives, you know, some of them really have a hard time struggling,” Lord says during an interview at her retirement party.“Especially now, with the way things are in this world, they just need as many people to be there for them as they can.
Over her years of working at the St. Andrews Youth Centre (SAYC), many kids have come to look up to Debby, calling her one of their best friends.
Henderson asked one of the kids in the crowd what he said about Lord, with the young man shouting from the crowd that she was his best friend. He also mused about how many kids, over the years, had been helped by Lord – who would also willingly call her their best friend too.
“Why am I thankful for Debby? Cause she’s the greatest person in the world”, said Ray Coughlan, a participant at the youth centre.
The centre caters to many of the community, from skateboarders, to kids just wanting a stable place to stay for the afternoon.
Many children have been thankful for the services provided by the centre in the past, and will continue to be in the future, with the youth centre remaining open under new leadership.
Going forward, the youth centre will be led by Amanda Harrington.
There are plenty of similarities between Harrington and Lord, according to outgoing Mayor Brad Henderson.
“I said, I’m going to click on Amanda’s profile picture just to see what she’s like,” he said during his speech at her retirement party “Big shoes to fill and the first thing I saw in this profile picture is her on a skateboard with colourful socks,” said Henderson.
Amanda Harrington will take over for Lord at the SAYC. (Nathalie Sturgeon/The Courier)
Harrington says there will be renovations done to the centre, and other improvements to the well-being of the building and environment.
“Just making it a place that they can kind of call their own space outside of school, outside of home, and making it a very comfortable space to be themselves.” Harrington said.
While the centre already felt like home to many, in the future, SAYC will be better able to accommodate more residents in the community.
“I just like challenging the kids, getting them to push themselves, push their boundaries, and helping them find themselves as well.” Harrington said.
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