She began her stint in 2000 as executive director of the Natchez Senior Citizens Multipurpose Center on Washington Street and its transit system that now includes a new shuttle bus depot on Wood Avenue.
Bartley said the Natchez senior citizens program – “a little-known entity” when she began her administration in 2000 – is now “recognized across the state as one of the premier senior services center in the state of Mississippi.”
Its services, she noted, include delivering more than 1,000 meals monthly to home-bound Natchez residents, and the center logs in more than 250 people a week for various activities that include swimming in its indoor pool.
The agency’s public shuttle service in 2000 had just four vehicles to provide transportation for the elderly and disabled, she said. It now has a large fleet of buses and vans making more than 1,200 trips a week providing shuttle services for the general public in the Natchez area.
“Today it stands as the premier rural public transportation system in the state of Mississippi,” said Bartley, who noted the city’s decade-old city bus depot is the first such regional transportation center built in Mississippi. “We’re connecting people to everyday life.”
As Bartley prepares to retire, she noted her city agency is marking its 50th anniversary in its current form.
“I would like to thank the mayor and the Board of Aldermen for your support down through the years, ” Bartley said Tuesday as she also commended and presented to the board her staff members -– “the executive team that makes all of this possible.”
Aldermen praised Bartley for enhancing city services under her administration.
“You are the GOAT of department directors,” said Alderman Sarah Carter Smith, using the slang acronym for the Greatest Of All Time.
Bartley’s retirement is effective June 1.
“The first thing that I am going to do is rest and sleep for a few days. I have worked so hard for so long until I didn’t realize how exhausting and consuming each day can become,” she said. “Great work is always accompanied by great sacrifice of time.”
“I am excited about the future. I will continue to inspire, inform, educate, encourage and lead in other areas of life, most particularly through the Christian ministry. I will also pursue my business endeavors including writing and publishing a few books.”
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