Executive Director of Hastings Family Service, Chris Koop, and Food Programs Director Mary Kocak have both announced plans to retire from HFS next year. According to a press release, Koop has been leading the agency since 2005, ushering in a period of significant growth. She initiated a strategic planning process early in her tenure that identified resources needed to grow the agency, resulting in the hiring of a Volunteer Coordinator and the agency’s first staff member focused on fundraising. She will step down on Feb 1st, of 2022. Kocak has been directing the food programs at HFS for 27 years and has announced that she will be retiring in the spring around April 1st. According to Koop, Mary has been the heart and soul of HFS and has been a leading example of the culture of service to neighbors and to each other in the agency. Her leadership and experience moved the food shelf to a choice model called The Market when the agency moved to its current location in 2011, and she led the creation and implementation of new and expanded programs through the pandemic to ensure neighbors had access to food. Between Koop and Kocak are 42 years of dedicated service to Hastings Family Service and the Hastings community. Their legacy of caring for neighbors with dignity and respect has forever changed the organization and made the community a better place for all. The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors is working on the process to fill the open positions.