For Carol Hebert, helping others is a way of life, and after more than 15 years as executive director of the Capland Center for Communication Disorders, Hebert is moving on, but not moving from her dedication to the community.

Hebert is taking her skills to the United Way of South Jefferson County, where she will become executive director of the non-profit agency which counts the Capland Center as one of its beneficiaries.

A reception was held at the Capland Center on Tuesday to say farewell to Hebert and to welcome Doris Hale, who takes over Wednesday as executive director.

“The number of citizens we have helped in the last 15 years is one of the things I am most proud of,” Hebert said. “We help nearly 800 area residents with communication disorders annually.”

Hebert said her greatest accomplishment is the successful building campaign that will come to fruition in the coming months when the Capland Center moves to a new, more spacious location near the Southeast Texas Regional Airport.

“It has required several years of grant writing, but we were able to raise $800,000 for the new building. It will be more centrally located to help us serve the community better,” Hebert said.

Those that have worked with Hebert had praise for the job she has done over the years.

“Carol has been fantastic. She has made our job as directors very easy,” Harold Guidry, member of the Capland Center board of directors, said. “She was a real help with the new building and her grant writing. She is going to be an asset for United Way too.”

Hale isn’t a newcomer to the center either. She steps in to the executive director’s position after almost seven years with Capland, first as a speech-language pathologist and then as clinic coordinator.

“I’m excited about the challenge,” Hale said. “This is a new career path for me.”

Hale said her goal is to continue to raise community awareness about the services available at the Capland Center.

“We want more people to know that we are here and that we can provide help for communication disorders locally,” Hale said. “There is a speech pathology clinic right here.”

The new director is also very excited about the new facility.

“We have state-of-the-art therapy already, but this will give us so much more room. I want people to think of the Capland Center as a ‘community-friendly clinic,’” Hale said.