The HUB sits quietly in Belfair as a place for seniors. But once you step inside, you realize its widespread and bustling impact.
The HUB’s executive director, Beth Gizzi, had no idea that she would be in charge of the organization. Her early years in the workforce were at Safeway.
“I went to school in Central Kitsap, and then I did a little bit of college,” she said. “I started [at Safeway] as a bagger and buffing the floors when I was pretty young. Safeway is a good employer, so I worked with them for 13 years and ended up as a store manager.”
When she made her way to the top, Gizzi found herself working 70 hours a week. “I was kind of tired of giving all my energy to a corporation. So, I took a little break off work,” she said.
Once the Safeway chapter of Gizzi’s career ended, she began volunteering. Faith in Action had a thrift store where Gizzi began helping out. “I realized that’s what made me happy… when I was giving back to people,” she said.
Gizzi later became involved with the organization’s transportation program. She still recalls her first experience with it — a call from a blind woman who needed transportation to an exercise class. Gizzi reached out to the program’s volunteer drivers, but no one was able to help that day, so she chose to drive the woman herself.
“I fell in love with her (the woman she drove) and what the organization does, and I’ve been hooked ever since,” she said.
Eventually, Gizzi joined the Faith in Action board of directors while working for a different nonprofit. Once The HUB was built, she became operations manager in 2015. At the time, Patti Kleist was the director.
“She was really great,” Gizzi said. “She got the building built through white-knuckling it and grassroots efforts.” When Kleist decided to retire a year later, she recommended Gizzi as the new leader of The HUB.
“I love it,” Gizzi said. “It’s just a really great feeling to come to work every day and put smiles on people’s faces.”
She said there are many reasons for locals to love The HUB, too. “We do about a hundred events and activities a month,” she said. “Those range from nutritional programs to live music to dance, to arts and crafts, to social things.” The HUB also continues to run a thrift shop.
The HUB is not only for senior citizens, either. Many activities there are open to everyone, including family bingo and various spring and summer events.
“Most of our classes on the activities and events side are multigenerational,” Gizzi said. “Any time we can open it up to more than just seniors, we try. … We’re not a community center, and we’re not exactly a senior center. We’re some place in between. We’re a people center.”
Comments