Director retires

Open house being held to honor Martin

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After 23 years as the director of the West Liberty Child Care Center, Becky Martin decided it was time to retire.

An open house will be held from 1-3 p.m., Sunday, March 19, at the West Liberty Community Center to honor Martin.

We felt it was necessary to recognize and honor Becky,” West Liberty Community Center board member Jodi Kelly said. “To most people, Becky is the childcare center.”

People in the community would often name Becky when someone asked where they could find childcare, Kelly added. They would say go see Becky at the West Liberty Child Care Center.”

"And that’s a testament to Becky and everything she’s done for the center,” Kelly said. “I think that’s awesome.”

Everyone is welcome to attend and tell stories about their interactions with Martin through the years, Kelly said.

“We have so much to be thankful for,” Kelly said. “For Becky, who has been here through all of it, has totally taken that center and run with it.”

When Martin was asked what she enjoyed the most about her job, she said the children.

“They’re so funny,” Martin said. “They say the funniest things.”

The childcare center takes six-week-old infants to four year olds, Martin said. The center has adapted to what was needed over the years. The rooms are separated in birth to one year olds, one-year-old room if they’re walking, and two-year-old and three year olds.

“That’s the trick and that’s one thing Becky has been good at,” Kelly said. “Seeing what we have to morph into and you can’t just do it overnight. It’s a juggling act.”

Kelly said the West Liberty Community Center board, which oversees the childcare center, was blessed to have Martin as the director. Kelly was on the board when Martin was hired in January of 2000. Her children were enrolled at the childcare center.

“She’s a hometown girl, born and raised here,” Kelly said. “She knows a lot of the kids, knows the family (and) knows the parents, which is a huge benefit to us. Becky has practically co-parented all of our children.”

Kelly credits the success of the childcare center to Martin.

“Becky is the center,” Kelly said. “The success of the center is because of Becky and being a parent that my child went through the center I can attest that the role that she plays is instrumental in the early childhood development. It starts there. I mean of course the parents do it at home but there’s days Becky spent more time with our kids than we did.”

They had a lot of trust in Martin.

“That’s just the thing,” Martin said. “You have to have a board supporting all of what you and you have to have the staff who have the same approach each day and you have to have parents who trust you.”

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