By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News

The mood was jovial on Thursday, Nov. 6, as community members, business leaders and older adults gathered in Huntington to christen the new Huntington Senior Citizen Center. The celebration of the completion of the multiyear project featured giveaways, food and the most critical senior citizen center activity of all: bingo.

“We’re just glad to have it done, and we’re glad to come in under budget as well and have this nice of a facility. It will be a great addition to Huntington and to the whole county,” said Commissioner Dennis Worwood, who inherited the project upon his election in 2024. “It’s big enough that people can use it, and we’ve already had people using it. It’s going to be a great thing.”

The new facility provides a significant boost to the Emery County Senior Program, adding a state-of-the-art kitchen facility that helps prepare approximately 200 meals Monday through Thursday.

The new building marks the fifth senior citizen center in the county, which helps provide critical services to the elderly population, including meal delivery, activities and travel to events statewide through its bus service.

“I think it allows us to do a lot of things with bigger groups. This is by far the largest community room with the bigger ceiling, which allows us to do a little bit more,” said Robbie Jensen, Emery County aging program manager. “Our Christmas party will be here. We can accommodate more people for bigger events and more activities.”

The new facility is located at 30 West, 400 South in Huntington and is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.