Aug. 1—WATERTOWN — After 44 years of service, The Arc Jefferson-St. Lawrence CEO Howard W. Ganter will retire from the agency on Jan. 27.

Lynn M. Pietroski, chief operating officer, will assume the CEO position following Mr. Ganter's retirement, the board of directors announced.

Mr. Ganter started with the organization as a recreation therapist. After 11 years, he became the director of day services and then moved quickly to the role of director of residential services, which he held for 16 years. In 2009, he became executive director of the Jefferson Rehabilitation Center and then worked through a unification with the St. Lawrence County chapter to merge into The Arc Jefferson-St. Lawrence on Jan. 1, 2019.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed my career with The Arc; I've enjoyed every position I've had, and I've had a multitude of different positions," Mr. Ganter said. "I've met some great people and I've seen a tremendous amount of change during that time to an environment that's much more person-centered, where people that we support are making decisions regarding what they want to do and how they want to do it. We have some great management staff, and I feel there's nothing but success for the future for the organization."

Mr. Ganter has served on many other boards and committees during his tenure with The Arc, including 20 years on the Glen Park Village Board; 13 years on the board of the Volunteer Transportation Center; president of 1 World Foundation; president of DOHL Development; treasurer of the Executive Director Association of NYSARC; member of the finance committee of the North Country Initiative; board member of NYSACRA; member of the guardianship committee of The Arc New York; and member of Watertown Noon Rotary and past president.

Mr. Ganter said he looks forward to doing more of his leisure pursuits and spending time with his family in retirement. He said he may eventually do some consulting.

Mr. Ganter is confident that his successor, Mrs. Pietroski, will be a great leader.

"I basically pursued her years ago when I moved to the CEO opposition with the hope that she would be able to take over my role in the future, and she's exceeded my expectations," he said. "She'll do a great job. She's a great leader, very proactive, very involved in the community, both at the local and state level, so The Arc is very fortunate to have Lynn as my successor."

The Arc Jefferson-St. Lawrence team will continue to work together over the coming months to ensure a smooth leadership transition that will encourage further growth in services for people with developmental disabilities.

In her role as chief operating officer over the past seven years, Mrs. Pietroski is responsible for the agency's day-to-day operations, oversight of senior management and financial accountability for all programs occurring at the $76 million nonprofit. Prior to joining the agency, she was CEO of the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce and associate executive director at the Children's Home of Jefferson County.

She is also involved with Big Brother Big Sisters of the North Country, Heather A. Freeman Foundation, Jefferson County Community Services alcohol and substance abuse subcommittee, and Jefferson County Community Services.

"Howie is a strong leader who cares about our staff and people we support and we have been fortunate to have his guidance as the agency's CEO for 13 years," Jackie Sauter, president of The Arc board, said in a statement. "We look forward to celebrating Howie's achievements in the coming months and have full confidence in Lynn as a successor."