Erin Lally Named New Director Of Donna Smallwood Activities Center

Erin Lally takes over direction of the Donna Smallwood Activites Center.

Erin Lally joined Mayor Tim DeGeeter’s administration full time this past January as the director of the Donna Smallwood Activities Center and Office on Aging at 7001 West Ridgewood Drive. The former assistant to recently retired Parma Heights Mayor Mike Byrne is filling the role left vacant when JoAnn Mason retired in September 2021 after 16 years of overseeing the Activities Center. “JoAnn leaves a legacy of outstanding service and lifelong friendships from her distinguished career serving Parma’s senior residents. I hope she becomes a frequent visitor and member of the Activities Center,” Lally said.

Lally is no stranger to state and city government. Earlier in her career, she was twice elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, served with former Parma Mayor Dean DePiero and, most recently, worked the past 10 years in the Parma Heights Mayor’s Office. A Strongsville resident, Lally has been married for 22 years to her husband, Francis Lally, a lieutenant with the Cleveland Fire Department and president of Local 93. They have five children, ages 20 to 14. She said, “In addition to football, cross country, wrestling and track, master juggling is one of our favorite sports!”

Those juggling skills will come in handy as Lally and her staff keep adjusting to changing pandemic protocols. The Activities Center reopened in July 2021 after being closed for 16-months, but a spike in county COVID-19 cases during December led Lally and Mayor DeGeeter to postpone reopening the Center to Jan. 10 following the holiday break. “We’re remaining vigilant, but we also know it’s really important for our senior residents to stay connected and to have a safe space to socialize, exercise and participate in a wide variety of programs. Right now, we will keep making and delivering meals to seniors who can’t get out and offer exercise classes and activities to vaccinated seniors who want to come here,” she said.

As the year progresses and COVID cases decline, Lally said she wants to eventually bring attendance and activities back to where they were pre-pandemic, create some new programs and boost transportation services for members. mDeGeeter said Lally is not wasting any time. “She already applied and received a $10,000 Ohio Department of Aging grant for the center.”

Carolyn Kovach

Carolyn J. Kovach

Director of Communications, City of Parma, Mayor's Office

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Volume 14, Issue 2, Posted 7:59 AM, 02.01.2022