Over two decades ago, Hastings was founded by Artie Maseo with one singular mission: Do Good. Do good for the community. Do good for your fellow man. In any and all situations take the time to do good. Well, it would appear that over the past two decades, that mission has resonated. Not only do we boast the best non-commercial facilities in the area, and not only do we have hundreds of members visiting us every week to use those facilities, but we have a couple dozen volunteers helping out every day. We are so grateful to these volunteers and, of course, we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the efforts of our paid executive team as well.
Artie Maseo – Founder & Executive Director
Twenty years ago, Artie and his wife Melissa moved back home, and what they found was a community that was far more disjointed than they remembered. People were living more independently of one another, and while that sounded good on paper, what Artie saw was that it meant the community was no longer a community… just an organized bunch of houses. That wasn’t good enough. Artie bought an abandoned building on two and a half acres of property and today we’ve expanded the building to cover almost another half acre itself. While Artie has stepped back in his duties as of late, the work he put in cannot be overstated.
Lisa Echevarria – Program Director
Lisa first came to Hastings to make the most of our English as a Second Language program to help her at work. The educators and volunteers of that program were inspired by her vision and drive, so when Lisa approached us about working for Hastings, we jumped at the idea. She transferred that vision and drive into her volunteer work, and it was not long before our executive team realized it would be better with Lisa. We were attempting to expand our program offerings, and so were in need of a director, and the rest is history.
Beverly DeSantis – Treasurer
Beverly “Bev” DeSantis is a godsend to Hastings. After a successful career in finance, Beverly decided to settle down and enjoy her grandkids. She retired and, as many of our senior community discover, found out that while she was may be old enough to enjoy her retirement, she was too young to simply sit around and do nothing. During a fundraising event, Bev agreed to donate money to our cause, but only on the condition that she could be given the opportunity to see where we could cut costs. It was simply one of the best decisions we’ve ever made, and we’re all the better for it.