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It was a day of celebration at the Senior Center at Blue Jean Church last week.

Their name was changed to  the  Senior Center Selma.

Dallas County  Probate Judge Jimmy Nunn, Senior Center Director Patricia Ivy, other center staff and members of the Senior Center officially revealed the new sign of Senior Center Selma and cut the ribbon to mark a new era in the Senior Center.

Fifteen members of the Senior Center were  part of the celebration.

Nunn addressed the audience and said that this is a big deal for the Senior Center and this is a time for them to just sit back and relax. He went on to say that the name fits perfectly with the place itself.

“I think Senior Center Selma is a good name for it to be renamed to because it services the senior citizens of Selma,” Nunn said. “They were very colorful this morning in their purple shirts and they were very excited to see that the name had changed.”

The Senior Center was once at Cornerstone Presbyterian before moving to the Blue Jean Church. The Senior Center is not a Blue Jean Ministry but housed inside the blue jean church. Judge Nunn said that the funding for the Center comes from the Alabama Tom Bigbee Regional Council of which Nunn is on the council.

“We service several counties including Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Marengo, Monroe, Perry, Sumter,Washington, and Wilcox Counties,” Nunn said. “These are the counties that the Alabama Tom Bigbee Regional Council Represents. It provides funding to all these different types of counties through the different programs.

‘‘John Clyde Riggs is the director of our program and we just have different programs. We have our Rural Transportation program, we have our area agency on aging program and several other programs that we have. We give grants out to different nonprofits that is helping throughout the different counties and one of the programs is the Senior Center.”  Ivey said that the new name is a big moment in the history of the Senior Center.

“The name of the Blue Jean Senior Center changed its name to The Senior Center Selma. The main reason for the name change is use this excellent opportunity to ensure the Center is more community oriented. We want Seniors all over Dallas County to come and be a part,” Ivy said. “The focus for the Center is to set a precedence that for a few hours, they are with each other, they feel the love of family and do not feel alone for a few hours. Our Center connects adults to vital community services that help them stay healthy and independent. More than 60% of senior centers are designated focal points for delivering other assistance, allowing older adults to access multiple activities and services in one place. Elderly people need care, love, consistency, and comfort to be able to open to each other when we gather. We work on bringing awareness regarding the changing behavior patterns in older adults at home leads to them feeling alone. We are working on changing this mindset at least for a few hours.”