Melonie Chambers speaks at a Kentucky Lake Chamber candidate lunch in 2015. Chambers, who was hired as CEO for the Marshall County Exceptional Center in January, was dismissed Monday after the MCEC Board of Directors voted to dissolve the position due to a budget deficit.
Financial strain has forced the Marshall County Exceptional Center to reorganize its staffing situation, though board members say the center remains stable and is not in danger of closing.
The Marshall County Exceptional Center Chief Executive Officer Melonie Chambers was dismissed Monday, after the MCEC Board of Directors voted to dissolve her position. Tim Gardner, chairman of the Exceptional Center board, said the decision was purely financial. The board determined to terminate the position “to provide financial stability for the future of our organization and to likewise balance our 2017-2018 fiscal year budget, which is currently at a deficit,” Gardner said Friday in a written statement to media.
“It’s our job as the board to … make our money go as far as it can go,” Gardner said, via phone interview. “We do have a deficit, and were working on that budget trying to get it to where we don’t have a deficit. … It’s not that big, but we don’t like any. We don’t want to rob Peter to pay Paul, number one, and as you well know any organization that relies on donations and fundraising all that is down and has been for the last five or six years, and it’s getting worse. If it wasn’t for the great people in our community that do donate substantially to us … we would be in trouble.”
Gardner stressed that the center was not bankrupt, nor in any danger of closing. Operations will be “business as usual” for staff and individuals the center, he said.
Executive Director Lindsey Walker will continue to manage operations at the Exceptional Center. Walker has been employed with the center since 2005 and was appointed as executive director in November 2016.
Chambers, who served on the MCEC Board for several years prior to her employment with the center, was hired as CEO in January. Gardner said it was the first time the board had implemented a CEO position at the center.
Board member Johnny Bowlin said Chambers’ performance in the position was never an issue. However, two personnel members performing sharing responsibilities was not necessary. Bowlin said Thursday the board had not discussed any additional cuts or changes at the center.
Chambers declined to comment on the record as of Thursday about the board’s decision.
“While the decision to dissolve the position was made with heavy hearts, we greatly appreciate Melonie Chambers, former CEO, and her many years of dedicated service to our organization,” Gardner said via written statement.
The Exceptional Center is a nonprofit agency that serves adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the community. According to its website, MCEC got its start in 1963 when a group of concerned parents gathered to form the group in hopes of providing an educational experience for their children with special needs when public education policy did not outline services for those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Programs at the center include life skills training, job placement assistance and community involvement.
“We’re the only agency in the entire state that does not charge you if you’re not on a waiver,” Chambers said in a previous interview. “… If they’re on a waiver system they waivers pay for hours that you bill for the services you provide. Now, some of the individuals are not on the waiver service. They come here and get the same treatment, they get the same learning experience. We do not charge their parents, their guardians. … Every other agency in the state does. That’s why raising money for this agency is so important. We’re founded on the principal to provide a service to anybody who is eligible that needs us. We’re there for them.”
The center will host its annual Exceptional Sunday open house event from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15 at the center on 198 Old Symsonia Road in Benton. This year’s event will feature performances from MCEC individuals, refreshments and a fundraiser cake, pie and custom furniture auction.
For more information on Exceptional Sunday, call 270-527-1327. To learn more about MCEC, visit http://www.m-c-e-c.org/.