GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Nancy Keating’s final day at Challenge Enterprises will be Dec. 31. She plans to be on the golf course on New Year’s Day.

“There’s a Hangover League, and I plan on playing,” she said moments after arriving at her retirement party Tuesday night at the Clay Theatre.

She arrived in a 50th-anniversary Chevrolet Camaro, which was fitting because her last day on the job, Dec. 31, will mark 50 years at the organization she directed to provide skills allowing people with different abilities to lead a productive, active and rewarding life.

Almost immediately, her knees buckled when her former classmate, Irene Smith, was one of the first to greet her. The two attended high school together in Bethpage, New York, on Long Island. They graduated in 1967, and Smith’s appearance caught Keating by surprise.

“When I found out, I practically invited myself,” Smith said. “Then I got an invitation a couple of days later. After graduation, we didn’t hear from each other for 40 years. I had some friends down in Florida, and they knew how to reach Nancy. I got her number, and 10 years ago, I came down, and we spent nearly a week together.

“I wanted to be here. I couldn’t miss this.”

In October, Keating earned the Clay Chamber of Commerce’s top honor, the Louis Huntley Pacesetter Award.

Keating was the first employee hired in 1973 by Challenge Enterprises in Clay County. To put that in perspective, she started at the same time the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade decision; Congress confirmed President Richard Nixon’s presidential victory and then he announced the suspension of offensive action in Vietnam; Golden Corral opened its first of what would be 395 locations; the United States mandated screening of all airline passengers; Joe Biden was sworn in for his second term as a U.S. Senator from Delaware; “The Poseidon Adventure” was the No. 1 movie and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” was the No. 1 song in the United States.

Smith described Keating as an outstanding athlete with a relentless zeal to succeed. Those attributes made her a prominent fundraiser and advocate for those who needed direction and confidence to be assets in the community.

“She was very athletic in high school,” Smith said. “Everything she did, she put a lot of effort into it.”

Even in retirement, Keating said she won’t slow down. She plans to spend much of her retirement on the golf course, including participating in a women’s league where players use hickory-shafted golf clubs. She is excited to be off traveling after her first day in retirement, playing in the Hangover Open at the Golf Club in South Hampton in St. Johns

“Then, on Jan. 6, I’m going to Costa Rica for 16 days,” Keating said.