Mahannah joins Opportunity Living as executive director

Shannon Mahannah has spent a career working to help others, whether as a social worker for people dealing with substance abuse problems or serving her country in the U.S. Air Force.
This month, she moved into a new field, as the incoming executive director of Opportunity Living in Lake City, working with developmentally disabled clients.
“Since day one, this (job) has been totally rewarding, just to see the smile on (clients’) faces,” she said. “I’ve always had a soft spot for this population. It was an amazing opportunity to be closer to home.”
Mahannah’s grandparents lived in Lake View, and Mahannah spent the first decade of her life in Iowa, before her family relocated to Arkansas. After high school, she joined the Air Force and traveled the country. Upon leaving the service, she moved to Lake View, to be closer to her mother and grandmother, and began taking social work classes through Des Moines Area Community College. She worked for New View Substance Abuse in Carroll, which then merged Community Opportunities to become New Opportunities, working one-on-one in the organization’s treatment program. 
Read more in the April 12 edition.