By Jo Dawson
T. Lee Covington sings the praises of Senior Services in Winston-Salem with the voice of experience. As its new Chief Operating Officer, he oversees the daily operations of Senior Services as it continues to spread its wings.
Covington’s roots are deep in Alamance County. Born and raised on a dairy farm in Mebane, he majored in business administration and finance, with a minor in music, at Elon College.
Banking was “not a good match”, so he went to work for a nonprofit serving adults with developmental disabilities, followed by 12 years of leadership at The Arc, a leading advocate for people with intellectual and development disabilities. Before joining Senior Services, he had been lived in Clemmons, commuting to Reidsville as executive director of Rockingham County’s Aging, Disability and Transit Services. During these years he earned a master’s in public administration from UNCG and an Executive Nonprofit Leadership Certificate from Duke University.
Running a close second to Covington’s professional life is his music. At Elon, he said, he clocked twice as many credit hours in music lessons (voice, piano, and saxophone) as in his major. (A minor in music allowed him free private lessons.) He sang in every ensemble on campus and played in the jazz and show bands, just as he had done in high school. He married Carol, a music major at Elon, who heads the music ministry at Clemmons United Methodist Church.
Covington came aboard Senior Services as it began rolling out its Aging With Purpose initiative, an innovative pilot project to alleviate feelings of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom, which he calls “the plagues of the human spirit”. In a culturally rich community such as this, he says Senior Services can draw these folks out and get them in touch with the mainstream and with themselves. Music, art, and storytelling can help bring them out of their isolation.
He says his three years as drum major at Alamance High School taught him a lot about “learning and leadership”. He’s hoping to be a successful drum major for Senior Services and the elderly of Forsyth County.