Senior Center bids McCarver farewell

Groesbeck Senior Services held a farewell reception Thursday afternoon for outgoing Precinct 1 Commissioner John McCarver, who has served as Senior Services director for nearly 15 years.

Although McCarver did not prevail in keeping his seat in the November election, he has contributed much work for the county, not only as the Limestone County Senior Citizens Services Project director, but also as chairman of the Limestone County Appraisal District as well as on several Commissioners Court committees over the years.

Immediately after the Senior Citizens Services Center’s Thursday meeting adjourned, the board presented McCarver a plaque of appreciation that read: “With sincere appreciation, presented to the Honorable John McCarver, Limestone County Senior Services Project, for 14 years of faithful service, 2007- 2020.”

“I just want to say it’s been a privilege to work with the Limestone County Senior Citizens organization,” McCarver said. “We hope we accomplished a few things while I was here, and we hope they accomplish a lot more when I’m gone.”

Senior Services coordinator and board member Glenda O’Neal said that although she has only been working at the center for a year, she has known McCarver for more than 50 years and knows how much work he has put in for the county, and especially for it senior-aged residents.

“The center has been blessed to have him on the board,” she said. “We hate to see him go, but it’s part of the by-laws that a commissioner has to be on the board of the center.”

Board member Carolyn Anderson also had plenty of positive feedback about the work McCarver has done for the county and its senior citizens since she has been on the board the entire time with McCarver.

“We were just talking about all his qualities,” Anderson said. “He helped us stay on the right path, working to do the very best we could for the seniors. We’ve had some bad times, but one thing about it, he always has a positive attitude, so he kept us positive. He’s a devoted person. He has expertise in being a restaurant owner and all that. That has helped us, dealing with the vendors we had to deal with. He’s really been there for us.

“Also, we did open that building in Mexia under his leadership,” she added, referring to the Mexia Senior Center that replaced the former center that burned down.

The rough times Anderson referred to were financial troubles, she clarified. “He kept us from going bankrupt,” she said, “and we’re very solvent now. We’ve been able to pay our employees that are not working.”

With the COVID-19 outbreak, the centers have had to close, especially since senior-aged people are more highly impacted by the virus.

As for when the senior centers will reopen, that depends on the direction COVID takes, she said. The Limestone County senior centers will be guided by Heart of Texas Council of Governments, under whose authority they are run.

McCarver was self-deprecating about his years of service.

“I came and I went,” he said. “That’s the way it goes. It’s water down the bridge. People know me or they don’t know me.”

He did say his work at Senior Services Center was simply to help the county and to provide community service.

Before being elected to Commissioners Court in January 2005, McCarver worked in several positions for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, mainly in food-service management at the Ellis, Boyd and Hobby units. He also has run several restaurants, including Austin’s McCarver Family Steakhouse in Kosse, and for a time an extension of that steakhouse in Groesbeck.