Gale Hennessy’s journey – which started close to 50 years ago and blossomed into a multi-million dollar nonprofit agency serving scores of the region’s needy – is winding down.

Hennessy, who has long served as executive director of Southern New Hampshire Services, is leaving the organization in January.

Well, for the most part, anyway.

"I’m not going away. I’ll come back for a few hours a week and sit around and give my advice," he said last week before heading to his retirement get-together at Fratello’s restaurant in Manchester.

Hennessy has had ties to SNHS from its earliest beginnings in Nashua. It grew out of the the Economic Opportunity Act which went into effect about 50 years ago. The Community Action Program serves lower income people in the state’s two largest counties who face job, health, education and housing issues.

"It’s certainly something you hate to leave," Hennessy said. "Over the years we’ve made a difference in a lot of lives. I think we made Hillsborough County and Rockingham County more livable for thousands of people who find themself in some sort of economic difficulty."

Hennessy, in recounting his time with the agency, said it all started with Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty in 1964.

Hennessy was a teacher and coach in Cornish before moving to a teaching job in Wilton, where he worked for three or four years.

Hennessy said he was always an active person in the Democratic party in the state. At one point he was presented with two opportunities by then-Gov. John King. One was the job in Nashua.

"So I took that," he said. "I went down to Nashua, to the top of Library Hill, a little walk-up second- floor office already operating. I walked in there and that was beginning of a career with Community Action."

On Tuesday, about 75 friends, family members, coworkers and acquaintances – including Gov. Maggie Hassan – gathered in Manchester to celebrate the man and his achievments.

SNHS board chairman Richard Delay recalled the organization’s start. "It was a volatile time." Hennessy, he said, rose above the contentious atmosphere with vision. "He built programs that would work, that you could do over again," Delay said.

"He built a culture that is unbelievable. You don’t have to be the quickest, the swiftest. You have to understand the needs of the clients and you have to be passionate about it," said Delay. "That culture will make this organization survive for a long time."

Fiscal officer Michael O’Shea said, "Gale was the leader of us all. Gale was one of a kind. No question."

As an example of his foresight, O’Shea said Hennesy set forth plans to move Head Start centers from rented space into buildings they own outright.

"In the ’60s and ’70s, all the Head Start centers were in church basements." Hennesy’s vision allowed them to acquire properties of their own to operate with more financial efficiency. That savings allowed them to move money elsewhere in the organization.

"It gives us more money for staffing," he said.

Delay said Hennessy "took a business-like approach. What he’s done, he has a knack of getting people and putting them in the right position."

That sentiment was echoed Tuesday night by Laurie Hart. Her husband, Bill, has worked with Hennessy for many years.

"Over the years he has become a family friend." The work, she said, is "more than just a job, it’s about his commitment to serving people and being dedicated to that vision of supporting and making the world better."

"Bill always said about Gale as a boss, ‘Gale chose people he believed in.’ "

Hassan had high praise for Hennessy. In her remarks to the crowd, the governor said Hennessy, "led an organization that is committed to the principal everybody counts."

"When they believe there’s opportunity for them to contribute and be counted, we all get so much stronger."

"Your example has made a huge difference," Hassan said.

Hennessy’s replacement is no stranger to the organization. Outgoing Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau had previously worked at Southern New Hampshire Services. A Head Start student as a child, Lozeau worked at the agency as director of program and community development for 17 years.

Hennessy characterized Lozeau as a "very energetic, compassionate and foward-looking individual. I think she’s got the skills and vision to do this job and do it very well."

In leaving, Hennessy said, "you can’t really sever ties totally. I’ve been doing it for 48 tears. You’re bound to miss it. It’s a people business. I will miss the staff. We have a wonderful staff.

"People don’t make a lot of money in this business," he said, but, "they go home and feel good about themselves. What they’ve done today helps people who really need help."

"I’ve never regreted getting up in morning going to work," said Hennessy. "A lot of people in this country have not been able to say that."

Don Himsel can be reached at 594-6590, dhimsel@nashuatelegraph.com, or @Telegraph_DonH