Jim Croteau, President & CEO

For 35 years, Jim Croteau played a role in lives of young people while working for the Leon County School System.

He was a teacher at W.T. Moore Elementary School, the director for planning and policy, deputy superintendent and interim superintendent after Bill Montford resigned in July 2006.

Today, Croteau looks out for the seniors in need of services as the new president and CEO of Elder Care Services. Croteau, 60, enjoyes his new position as a means to help an ever growing population in the Big Bend area.

"I'm still in the helping business. I'm helping older adults instead of kids," said Croteau, who started at ECS on April 23, 2007.

The agency is widely known for its Meals on Wheels program, but Croteau is also putting a spotlight on some of the agency's other services, such as personal-needs assessment.

He replaced Elma Haley, who was the president and CEO for five years. She said the former educator is a good fit for the agency's desire for growth.

The agency receives the bulk of its funding from the federal government. Haley said Croteau's biggest challenge will be identifying other financial resources.

"He has done so much in terms of strategic planning and financial management," Haley said. "I think he will represent us well in the community."

Croteau said he knows many of the concerns caretakers have since his mother suffers from Parkinson's disease and his father suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

"The biggest problem that we are facing is getting information on resources," Croteau said. He said people need to know where to turn, and he wants the agency to be a "one-stop shop" for their needs.