Five more years, five more years, five more years.

Washington’s Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center will retain is designation as a Senior Center of Excellence for five more years. Last month, it was recertified as such center. Initial certification is for one year, with recertification occurring every five years, if earned. With the latest recertification lasting through 2022, the Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center will have held the “excellence” designation for 11 years.

The N.C. Division of Aging and Adult Services awards certifications at the merit or excellence levels. Site-review teams visit a senior centers an award a designation if their inspections show the center meets the criteria for one of the two designations.

“Centers of Excellence provide exemplary services and opportunities to their communities and serve as mentors and role models to developing centers,” wrote Kristi Roberson, the city’s parks and recreation director, in a memorandum to the mayor and City Council. “This is a high honor and I am proud of the Grace Martin Harwell Senior Center staff and volunteers.”

The memorandum is included in the City Council’s tentative agenda for its meeting Monday.

The center attracts people from throughout Beaufort County, which appropriated $20,000 in its current budget to help pay for operating the center, the only one of its kind in the county.

With the Center of Excellence designation, the center is eligible for additional funding, which allows it to offer new and expanded programs and services.

“State certification is a voluntary process that senior centers can use to be recognized in their communities and across the state. The purpose of the process is to strengthen the capacity of senior centers by providing a set of measurable indicators of best practice,” according to the Division of Aging and Adult Services’ website.

The website added: “Senior center facilities provide older adults with services and activities that respond to their needs. Senior centers provide resources for an entire community, including services and information on aging and assistance for family and friends who care for older adults.”