Employees discard old paperwork, throw out clutter and otherwise tidy up the building that became their home three years ago. But for executive director Donna Creech, the annual cleaning had a deeper meaning this year. She purged files and took home keepsakes for the last time today (Wednesday). She turned off the lights, closed her office door and retired after 15 years at the Council on Aging.

Saying good-bye to beloved coworkers was the hardest part of leaving, Creech said. “The staff here is so dedicated and committed to the work they do,” she said. “I can’t say enough good things about the staff here and about the staff at the county that helps us. We have such a good working relationship with the county agencies. Every county doesn’t have that.”

But Creech finds comfort in knowing that Jane Schirmer will be taking her post. “I thought before that this was a good decision,” she said. “Now I know. Now I know I can go and feel this agency is in good hands.”

Coming to the Council on Aging was a perfect fit for Creech, who jokingly said she finally “found something I could do.” She had spent years as a human resources manager at a manufacturing company and at a Goldsboro hospital. Then, she became a special assistant at the N.C. Division of Social Services. Creech finished her bachelor’s degree in business at Barton College, formerly Atlantic Christian College, in 1985.

In 1993, all of Creech’s prior experience snagged her the top post at the Council on Aging. “It was the first time I held a job for more than seven years,” she said. “I guess I had the seven-year itch until I got this job. It was a right time in my life and a right time to come here.”

Throughout the years, Creech has spearheaded many projects for the Council on Aging. But she is especially proud of taking over the Johnston County Area Transit System, or JCATS, a transportation service that many people have come to rely on. Moving the office from North Seventh Street to Market Street was another good move, Creech said. The county owns the building, but leases it to the Council on Aging for a small fee.

“It has a warm feeling,” Creech said of the current building. “We had one lady drive by, saw the sign and came in. She was at her wit’s end with a care-giving issue. She talked to our staff about two hours and realized there were some things that could be done. This is just one of those stories, and it was because we were here and visible.”

Creech, 62, is looking forward to retirement. She and her husband, Billy, want to move to Oriental to manage a marina they opened 14 years ago. The couple, and their dog, George, will live in a mobile unit until they can build their dream home on the water. Creech and her husband will also spend a few months in the Bahamas, a spot they have been visiting for 30 years.

In retirement, Creech wants to volunteer with aging services and animal-rescue groups in Pamlico County, the county she will soon call home. “You just can’t sit in your own world and just take care of yourself, because then you are not giving,” she said. “If you are not giving everything of yourself you can give, you are not living. It makes you feel alive. I can’t tell you over my life the things people have given me. Not physical things. The gifts of caring and giving me a call when I need it.”