READY FOR RETIREMENT
Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County announces new executive director
TROY, N.Y. » Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County (LVORC) announced on Friday that Executive Director Judith Smith is retiring. She is being succeeded by Nancy Benz.
Smith has been part of the LVORC community for a total of 11 years, working as a tutor and volunteer for three before stepping up as Executive Director for the other eight. She is very proud to have been involved for so long.
“I really feel very grateful that I’ve had this opportunity,” Smith said. “The abundant generosity of our community and our volunteers is so touching.”
Smith said the decision to retire came after celebrating a birthday in the fall and a work anniversary at LVORC in December. She felt she had reached a point in her life where she wanted to enjoy more leisure time.
“I was thinking it was time,” she recalled. “I had told the board back in September that I was thinking about it, and they got right to work finding my replacement. I feel the organization is in a pretty fine place — it’s financially solvent, and all the programs are running well.”
In her retirement, Smith plans to do some travel, work on her family’s genealogy, and catch up on some reading. Having spent so many years as part of LVORC, she has a deeper appreciation for reading and knows it’s not something to be taken for granted.
“Working with individuals in our programs has greatly made me appreciate the fact that I can read,” Smith commented. “Being able to communicate is a gift.”
LVORC hasn’t seen the last of Smith, though. She is pretty confident that she’ll be back, working as a volunteer.
“What we do is improve the lives of other people. They’re making themselves better, and it’s so meaningful to be part of that,” Smith said.
Smith knows that LVORC is in good hands with Benz, who comes to the organization with years of experience.
She’s currently a resident of Schenectady and has spent the bulk of her career in nonprofit work. After graduating from SUNY Albany, Benz worked for several companies including Girls, Incorporated, Planned Parenthood, and Animal Protective Foundation. In fact, her first post-college job was at LVORC, so returning to it as the newest Executive Director gives Benz a feeling of coming full circle.
“I’m so thrilled,” Benz said. “This is a great organization, and I’m keen on education. I love the idea of helping people to become more communicative and literate, and the staff and volunteers here are so dedicated. I’m looking forward to working with all of them.”
Benz hopes to improve LVORC by trying to find areas that can be made even better than they already are.
“I’d like to look at more technology in our programs, like using Constant Contact for email, and find ways that we can all work smarter, not harder,” Benz said. “And I’m going to see if maybe there are some things that could use a little tweaking to improve our programs’ efficiency. But at the core, we will still be the same organization. I’m looking forward to continuing on our course, serving people in need of literary services and making our programs as successful and robust as they can be.”
Some of Benz’s longterm hopes for LVORC include looking into multiyear fundraising opportunities and thinking about further expansions. In the short term, she’s looking to recruit.
“We are always looking for more volunteers!” Benz said. “Our tutor training is ongoing, and joining is easy. Tutoring sessions are always done in public locations, and because we’re still dealing with COVID, tutoring over Zoom is also an option.”
For more information about Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County, including volunteer opportunities, visit www.lvorc.org.