Outgoing Chestnut Hill Community Association Manager Celeste Hardester (second from right) cuts cake at her sending off party with other CHCA staffers and volunteers (from left) Rachel Koller, Noreen Spota and Janet Gala. (Photo by Pete Mazzaccaro)

Last Friday, the staffs of both the Chestnut Hill Community Association and Chestnut Hill Local gathered in the office to bid farewell to outgoing Community Manager Celeste Hardester.

Hardester informed the CHCA board of her intention to step down from the position back in August. She has stayed on part time in the last three months while the CHCA searched for her replacement. That replacement, Ryan Rosenbaum, began work last week.

Hardester did much to manage the many events the CHCA organized – from Holiday House Tours to Hoops Madness and the CHCA’s annual dinner. She also played a major role in the CHCA’s nearly four-year process of becoming a 501(c)(3) organization – a process that finally concluded last month.

In a letter published at the time of her announced departure, Hardester wrote: “It has been my great pleasure to work for four years in a position that has put me at the intersection of so much that goes on in this special community, allowing me to meet and work with many wonderful people. The initiatives that I have been involved in have been diverse, challenging, and in so many ways rewarding.”