An expanded gift shop may be in the future for the Wood County Senior Center.

At the Wood County Committee on Aging’s July board meeting, member Nancy Orel drew attention to the gift shop.

The current gift shop features ink and alcohol tiles made by the late Tom Klein.

That is the only thing in the room, which remains locked, said Executive Director Denise Niese.

“We’re not ready to do anything with it quite yet,” she said.

“It’s an endeavor I think many would like to see again,” Orel said at the meeting.

The former senior center on North Main Street, which is now the site of the new city building, had a room set aside with extensive gift options.

“We have very talented seniors attend the Wood County senior center,” said Orel, who also is a member of the Friends of WCCOA.

Volunteers are an issue, she said, but the agency can allow the gift shop to be used by a particular artist to display his or her work, who will then provide manpower.

The agency could collect a percentage of the artist’s sales, Orel said.

Advertisements seeking artists could be shared at the Black Swamp Arts Festival, the Bowling Green State University art school and even the Ann Arbor Art Fair, Orel said.

Chagrin Falls has been doing this for years and the community and artists love it, she said.

“It’s just an idea,” Orel said.

Board President Paul Herringshaw said he liked the idea and asked about a timeline to get this done.

Niese said there is flexibility but there needs to be in-depth discussion of the parameters and processes necessary to expand the current gift shop, which is located inside the front door to the senior center.

Orel said the opportunity and featured artists can be advertised in the newsletter and an artist could probably secure the shop for a week.

The Friends of the Wood County Committee on Aging could be a facilitator, but this would need board approval, Niese said.

A proposal will be presented at the next board meeting.

After its regular meeting, the board spent several hours discussing strategic planning, facilitated by Abhishek Bhati, professor of political science at Bowling Green State University.

The first question asked was what success looks like.

Board member Eric Myers said success is shown by the participation by seniors and having the agency meet the needs of the county’s seniors.

The population is getting older, and more are qualifying for services, he said.

Orel said success is following the mission statement, which is “to provide older adults with services and programs which empower them to remain independent and improve the quality of their lives.”

“I think success means that we are meeting the needs of the seniors with a variety of programs. … We are doing programs that the seniors want,” said board member Roger Anderson.

He added the agency needs to continue to do better as the number of seniors expands.

“Success is serving as many seniors as possible with programs they find helpful with their lives,” said board member Tom Milbrodt.

Herringshaw said it also is having the staff and volunteers in place and being able to provide benefits to the younger generation with ways to help their families.

“It’s not just about the seniors but the caregivers,” Bhati said.

Once feedback from the day’s work is collected, he will work with agency staff and Friends to learn concerns and compile the results, he said.

Also at the meeting, the board:

• Learned that as of the end of June, revenues were at 57.3% and expenses were at 43.9%. The end of June marked the first half of the fiscal year.

• Learned the agency’s accreditation packet had been submitted to the National Council on Aging. Peer review, which will occur virtually, will start before the end of the year, Niese said.

• Was reminded that the nominating deadline for board members is Aug. 11. To date, four forms have been received and current board members were encouraged to apply, said Anderon, who is nominating committee chairman.