Jonelle Krauza, executive director of Chautauqua Adult Day Care, left, stands with Frank Bercik at the Bercik-Lucks Center in Jamestown.

George Bernard Shaw said “Life is not a brief candle. It is a splendid torch that must be made to burn as a brightly as possible before it is handed on to the next generation.”

Frank Bercik’s torch has illuminated the Chautauqua Adult Day Care Centers (also known as Chautauqua Adult Day Services) for the last 33 plus years. Bercik, along with his long-time co-worker, Associate Director, Karen Lucks, who retired in December of 2022, were recognized for their decades of service in June of 2022 with the renaming of the building which houses the Jamestown Chautauqua Adult Day Services program and administrative staff.

The Bercik-Lucks Center, located at 358 E. Fifth St. in Jamestown, will continue to provide cost effective programming including respite, transportation, nutrition, case management and socialization (to name a few) to the aging population of Chautauqua County.

“Frank Bercik contributed exactly one-third of a century to Chautauqua Adult Day Services (CADS). During that time, he transformed it from a vest-pocket-sized program to a major force in the lives of hundreds of people of all ages. The work and play that occurred under the auspices of CADS brought a higher quality of life, daily, as well as positive energy for the future.” Said Janita Bayers, CADC Board of Directors President.

On Dec. 8 the activity room of the Bercik-Lucks center housed several familiar faces as Bercik received well wishes as his departure drew nearer. Program staff and clients, board members, families, friends, community partners and dignitaries gathered not only for a proper send off but to see Bercik in a different light. Bercik is a member of Salmon Frank, a bluegrass/rock/folk band out of Pennsylvania. The program concluded with Bercik strumming his guitar while singing Good Riddance by Green Day. “It’s something unpredictable but in the end, it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.”

Bercik said goodbye to the building he called home, his namesake, on Dec. 29. Welcoming an old, familiar face, Jonelle Krauza, as the new Executive Director of The Chautauqua Adult Day Care Centers, Inc. Krauza (who was then Frazier) worked as a Case Manager and Program Director for the CADCC Dunkirk and Westfield sites in 2008. Krauza is eager and optimistic for this opportunity telling Bercik as he exited the building, “what feels like the end is often the beginning.” Chautauqua Adult Day Care Centers, Inc wishes both Bercik and Krauza best of luck in the future.

The Chautauqua Adult Day Care Centers is a United Way Community Partner, which enables caregivers to keep their loved one at home while either working or just to take advantage of respite from caregiving. In addition to nutrition, transportation, case management services, which are now offered in Spanish as well as English, and recreation, Senior Day Programs strives to provide a dignity and quality of life by way of meaningful programming and socialization. CADS is a non-profit organization. Funding is available and new participants are always welcome. For more information or to schedule a tour visit www.seniordayprograms.come or call 716-665-4899.