New director takes helm at Blaine Senior Center

Blaine Senior Center is welcoming its new director Gordon MacGregor, who is eager to bring changes to the center.

“Wherever [the senior center] is now, I’d like to see it better,” he said. “There’s always some way we can make it better – more programs, more outreach, more people in the community we can bring in. We’re not starting from scratch but there’s always more people or programs we can involve.”

MacGregor said he hasn’t formalized what the new programs would be, but he looks forward to learning more about the senior center and gaining a better vision in the next few months.

MacGregor earned his bachelor’s degree in occupational education at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas and master’s degree in management at Minot State University in North Dakota.

MacGregor is originally from Seattle and joined the U.S. Air Force in 1984. He served 20 years in the air force before eventually becoming the purchasing and warehouse manager for Aramark at the Broward County Jail in Pompano Beach, Florida.

“There’s some reason you’re here other than to make money,” he said. “I like working in a place where there’s a good reason to work there, where you’re making a difference”

In 2009, MacGregor became the director of support service for CARP, Inc., a Florida nonprofit treating alcohol substance abuse. A year later, McGregor became the assistant program director for Pompano Substance Abuse Treatment Center. He worked there for two years before serving as the director of client services at The Institute for Executive Recovery for six months. MacGregor then worked as an operations manager at One Parking, where he worked from 2013 before he accepted the position at Blaine Senior Center.

“It felt like a really good fit with my experience and I think we can do really great things here,” said MacGregor, who sees parallels between managing the senior center and his previous organizations.

MacGregor said he moved to Whatcom County with his wife because his mom lives in Bellingham. In his spare time, he looks forward to immersing himself into the Pacific Northwest again, from adventuring the trails to exploring the San Juan Islands.

MacGregor starts at the senior center Tuesday, August 17.