As a college student, direct-support professional, service coordinator and, eventually, a department manager at the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Lindsay Holt always kept to a highly structured and stable routine.

“There was never a time that I thought I’d make a decision like this,” she said, smiling. “I have a conflict between my heart and my mind. But this time I’m listening to my heart.”

Holt stepped down as an assistant director of the Service Coordination Department at the end of September after 16 years at FCBDD. She and her husband recently sold their Westerville area home, packed up their 27-foot camper and headed to Columbia, South Carolina, where they will be closer to family. And the weather, Holt said, is bound to be better.

Colleagues gathered recently to wish her well and to thank her for her dedication. “It has been a pleasure to have her on our management team,” Service Coordination Director Lee Childs said. “Lindsay is passionate about her work, passionate about the people we serve, passionate about her staff.”

Holt is proud to have worked to improve the diversity of the service coordination staff. Equity efforts still have a way to go, she said, but compared to when she first arrived at FCBDD, “We look so much more like the people we serve.”

She was happy with accomplishments of any size, and loved the opportunity to build upon them. “Lee had asked me what was my biggest success,” Holt said. “It was just that I mattered to people. Even if it was something as simple as having the answer to a simple question.”

Holt is thrilled that she’ll be just a few hours away from her daughter, who plays soccer for her college team in Wilmington, N.C. “It’s been two years since I’ve seen a live game,” she said. “We just want to be closer to the people we love, and have the weather that allows us to do the things we like to do.”

Colleagues say she will be deeply missed. “Lindsay’s always smiling,” Childs said. “She’s been such a role model.”