Horkey takes senior center helm

“Exciting” and “exhilarating” are words Roxanne Horkey uses to describe her feelings about being hired as the new director of Custer Senior Center, but she also admits the challenge is a little scary.
“I’d be lying if I said, ‘I’ve got this,’” said Horkey, who officially took over the position Monday. “This is an amazing opportunity, but it’s all going to be a challenge.”
As a 29-year Black Hills resident, Horkey is no stranger to Custer, nor to administrative leadership, for that matter. She served 16 years as concessions manager at Mt. Rushmore and most recently was general manager at Buglin’ Bull until being let go during the COVID-19 shutdowns in April 2020. She has also served on various volunteer boards such as United Way of the Black Hills, Custer Cruisin’ and The Custer Artists Cooperative. She has also been an entrepreneur, having owned a custom film processing business in Rapid City. Horkey and her husband, Kim, have lived in Custer the past 13 years.
However, for all her experience in administration and guest services, Horkey said she has never taken on a position quite like this and so plans to work closely with the board of directors as she navigates through her beginning months on the job.
“No one operates in a vacuum,” noted Horkey. “I need the support of the board of directors and I need the support of the membership.”
Seeing herself as a facilitator rather than a one-woman-show, Horkey said she plans to tap into the vast amount of resources the membership of the Senior Center possesses and to make a concerted effort to communicate well.
“You can’t over-communicate,” said Horkey, adding that she wants to keep the membership well-informed in order to get solid feedback.  
As the center begins its 50th anniversary year, Horkey said the organization faces many challenges, not the least of which has been the loss of former director Jill Kettle, who died suddenly last November and board president Dick Duncan who died last week.
“It’s been a rough year and to cap it off with losing two of their ‘focus drivers’ is difficult,” said Horkey, “but others are willing to step up and that’s encouraging. No one can replace Jill, but I certainly can succeed her and carry on her legacy. That’s how I look at it.”
Horkey said she had met Kettle only once or twice, but notes that people who knew her better say she “was an amazing person.”
Through the interview process, Horkey got to know Duncan better and said he was closely involved in the selection of the new director.
“We had great conversations,” said Horkey. “He was a force. He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, but he wasn’t obnoxious about it.”
With Wally Steele succeeding Duncan as president, Horkey said she and the board will work through the inevitable changes in routine over the next several months.
“The board has been excellent,” she said. “They have asked tough questions and set up high standards, but they’ve been very supportive.”
As she assesses the current situation at the senior center, Horkey is laying out her priorities for her first year.
“The first order of business is to learn what the membership wants because that will drive everything,” she said.
Horkey said she also plans to prioritize, with the cooperation of the board, building up the center’s membership.
“Our membership could use a boosting,” she said. “People are frightened and hesitant about coming into a social setting (because of COVID-19). Part of what I want to do is rebuild the membership and start bringing in people who haven’t really given serious thought to coming to the center.”
Other priorities include seeing to the needs of the aging building and planning events to celebrate the center’s golden anniversary this summer.
One thing that excites Horkey about her new job is the amount of expertise and experience possessed by the center’s membership.
She said many members of the organization, whom she refers to as “elder statesmen,” are retired business owners and entrepreneurs who have amassed a lifetime of experience in many disciplines—experience often overlooked by younger folks.
“This place is just a wealth of resources,” said Horkey, noting that she benefitted greatly from the Service Corps of Retired Executives years ago when she was starting her small business, so she recognizes the wisdom of the elderly as a rich reservoir to be tapped into.
“I shouldn’t have to outsource much work because of having so many capable people right here,” she observed.
In Horkey’s mind, another role of the center is to be a resource to its members for information, education and fellowship for both year-round residents and snowbirds.
“This place provides camaraderie and a social atmosphere free of politics,” said Horkey. “We need more of that in this world.”
The senior center will hold a meet-and-greet for Horkey on Friday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and invites the membership and the wider community to the center to welcome her.
Although she did not officially go on the clock until Monday, Horkey was already at work last week on that goal of resourcing the center’s members. She said several members had questions about when they would have access locally to the COVID-19 vaccine, so she was working to get in touch with local medical officials regarding that question.