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No amount of arm-twisting can keep Glenda Fayson from expanding her horizons from Troy, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, on to South Africa and, then, “who knows where?” For Fayson, it might be as near as the banks of Pike County Lake or as distant as the Cliffs of Moher. For her, the sky and the oceans have no limits.

After 18 years as the face of the Colley Senior Complex, Fayson will pack her bags and hit the road for places known and unknown. No matter where her travels will take her, Fayson said the memories of the good times and the good friends at the Colley Senior Complex will always be with her.

“The Colley Senior Complex is the place I call home and everyone there is family,” Fayson said. “That’s where my heart is.”

Fayson said there’s a tinge of sadness at her impending retirement.  But, then, there is the excitement of the adventures waiting just around the bend.

“It’s time for me to relax, time to sleep late, to go fishing, to spend leisure time with my family and friends and to travel,” Fayson said. “Did I say, ‘travel?’ There are so many places I want to go and things I want to see. It’s Glenda Fayson time!”

On, July 1, 2020, Glenda Fayson will officially, and quietly,  retire as  administrative assistant/office manager at the Colley Senior Complex.  But, first, on Thursday, June 25, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Fayson will be honored with a Retirement Party Parade at the Colley Senior Center at 715 East Elm Street. Family and friends will be invited to drive slowly though the center’s parking lot, honk and wave and wish Fayson, “Bon Voyage!”

But, just because Fayson has been permanently infected with wanderlust, doesn’t mean she’ll forget there’s no place like home.

“The Colley Senior Complex will always be home and everyone there is family,” she said and added that her travel agenda also includes “family” vacations.

Over the years, the bus didn’t leave the Colley Senior Complex without Fayson aboard. She went on day trips, overnight trips and several night trips.

“It didn’t matter; I was going,” Fayson said, laughing.

But, Fayson was also firmly rooted at the senior center.

She worked at OCAP in Troy for five years and then at Sister Schubert Rolls in Luverne for about eight. She actually stared making rolls with “Sister” in her home kitchen in Troy.

But, even though Fayson was on a roll, she said God had another plan for her.

Almost as soon as she walked through the door at the Colley Senior Complex, it was obvious that she was where she belonged, said Catherine Jordan, complex director.

“Glenda is a friend to every person here,” she said. “She makes everyone feel welcome and she just lights up the place with her great big smile and her outgoing personality. Her happiness is catching. There’s no way to say how much we are going to miss her.”

Fayson said she’s going to travel the world but all roads will lead  back to Troy and the senior center where she has pots to make, kilns to fire, pictures to paint, thread to crochet, toes to touch, friends to greet and “family” trips to take. “Viva Las Vegas!”