05-04-2025
Groton Thrive 55+ members rally for beloved employee not given promotion
Groton — Thrive 55+ Active Living Center members are calling for a beloved food service employee to become the facility's permanent kitchen supervisor.
Members collected 100 signatures on a petition calling on the town to give Lynnsie Manza another interview, after she was sick from a chemotherapy treatment on the day of her in-person interview and instead had a Zoom interview.
Manza said Friday that she was given the second interview, but is not being considered for the job.
She's well-respected and loved by many members," said member Kris Meaney, who collected the signatures. "She knows what the people like, and she loves her job."
Meaney was among a dozen members of Thrive 55+, formerly the Groton Senior Center, who spoke during Tuesday's Town Council meeting in support of Manza. The speakers said Manza makes delicious, healthy food, puts in extra hours, and is a wonderful person.
Meaney noted that Manza implemented new lunch menu items as well as cleaning and organizing the kitchen, walk-in freezer and stockroom areas. She was the cook for the Community First Dinner Program, which served 10,000 community meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was nominated as grand marshal in the Groton Fourth of July Parade.
Thrive 55+ volunteer Barbara Daniels said Thursday that Manza comes in many weekends to get ahead for the week, prepares delicious meals and is very personable. Meaney added everyone loves Manza's soups and quiches, special fruit cups in the spring and summer along with veggie cups and salads made with produce from the center's garden, while member Rosemary Golston praised her innovative dishes such as a cowboy burger — a hamburger on a roll with bacon and special sauce.
"The woman's got heart, and she is so good with the clientele, so good with everybody that passes through the lines," said resident Kathy Spencer.
Town Manager John Burt said the town is unable to comment on personnel matters.
Manza said Friday that she cried as she watched people support her at the council meeting.
"It was overwhelming," she said. "It was humbling."
Manza said she has worked for eight years at Thrive 55+, filling in for the kitchen supervisor position when needed. When the former kitchen supervisor retired at the end of February, she was asked to take over the position while the town looked for a new supervisor. She applied for the permanent position.
Manza said she has been diagnosed with cancer and had a chemotherapy treatment a few days before the initial interview. On the day of the interview she said she had a bad reaction to the medication and she had trouble concentrating and forming sentences. Her daughter asked for the interview to be postponed, but instead Manza was offered a Zoom interview later that day.
Her daughter, Jennifer Meakem, said her mother was having trouble hearing the Zoom interview even though the official interviewing her tried to adjust the volume. Manza was then told a few days later she did not qualify for a second interview. She was given another interview, but was again told she is not being considered for the job.
Meakem, a former Thrive 55+ employee, said it was heartwarming when she walked into Tuesday's council meeting and saw nearly 16 people, who through the years have become extended family, there to support her mother.
Meakem told the council her mother "lives by the theory of nobody goes hungry."
When people walk into her mother's house, whether they're hungry or not, they end up walking out with food. She said her mother carries that mission with her to the center.
Manza said she will continue her work in the kitchen, but she wants the supervisor role and has worked hard to get the kitchen to where it is today. She said she has instituted changes to make the kitchen run more efficiently and to offer to seniors an alternative dish if they, for example, don't like the main meat lasagna on the menu. She said she also implemented grab-and-go leftovers for a reduced price and shops at sales to reduce costs and keep the meals affordable.
She said the members of the center are great.
"They really are," Manza said. "Sometimes all they need is someone to listen to them, so I listen. If you call them by name, the smile automatically goes to their face.
