Contributed MOVING ON — Phyllis Westfall retired after 32 years of serving in various roles at Shaffer Plaza Apartments for the Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Now she is on to the next act in her life as a talent agent for actors in commercials, films and theater.

STEUBENVILLE — Phyllis Westfall recently capped off a 32-year career with the Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities and is now on to the next act in her life.

Westfall, of Toronto, climbed the ranks at Shaffer Plaza Apartments before departing her role as a qualified intellectual disabilities professional on Feb. 28.

She has always enjoyed helping people and her experience with JCBDD began while volunteering with the Jefferson County Special Olympics. At the time, she co-chaired the committee in high school and met Dick Sperry, Special Olympics organizer. Westfall was also involved with fundraising and donations, leading her to learn about residential services in Carroll County and eventually Shaffer Plaza. She became a residential aide at the Steubenville site in 1990 and served for six years before becoming a home manager. She held that position for nearly a quarter-century while also raising her brood of six children and obtaining a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from California University of Pennsylvania in 2013. She then was promoted to QIDP and continued in that role for the past four years.

After more than three decades with JCBDD, Westfall said she was prepared to move on.

“It’s time. I was ready,” she said, adding that she would miss the people she’s served with along the way. “I loved working (at Shaffer Plaza). I got to grow up with the clients and it’s a big part of who I am. They kept me young and gave me a lot of wisdom when raising my own children.”

She has seen the program grow through the years, plus she has seen changes such as downsizing to meet federal mandates. But she is most proud of the individuals with whom she’s served.

“I see the individuals be able to set their own pace and it’s exciting to see what they’ve done with the new Jeffco Center,” she added.

Westfall comes from a long line of civil service retirees beginning with great-grandmother Belle Burdus, who retired from the Jefferson County Board of Elections, and grandmother Hazel Selman, a longtime clerk for the U.S. Postal Service clerk at the Rayland location. She also plans on continuing with volunteer work and helping with her parents with food distribution at Bell Chapel along Ohio 213 outside Steubenville.

Her retirement also allows her to focus full-time on another task she’s done for the past four years — that of executive director of Society Performers Academy. She has worked part-time with friend and Toronto native Julie Abrams, founder of the Los Angeles-based DreamScope Entertainment, as an agent for actors and actresses in commercials, film and theater.

“We are constantly having showcases and managing clients,” Westfall added. “I will travel across the country and I like it because it’s one of those jobs you like to do.”

However, she is grateful for the chance to work among some very special people during her tenure with JCBDD.

“I want to thank the county board for the opportunity to get to grow up with the program over the last 32 years with the best individuals. They put a smile on your face. This job has always been amazing to me. Someone’s waiting with a smile and hug and ask about your day. I am going to miss them terribly and it’s going to be difficult, but I’ll be back to visit.”