Shaheena Haque stepped down from her 10-year role as executive director of the Exchange Club of Vicksburg Child Abuse Prevention Center Friday.

&#8220I’ve worked long, tedious hours the past 10 years,” she said. &#8220I want to spend more time with family, which I have from the East Coast to the West Coast.”

Haque said she was able to accomplish many of the goals she set for the center, founded in 1985. Under her tenure, the facility, a United Way agency, became the first of the 11 Exchange Club centers in the state to meet all standards of the National Court Appointed Advocate Association for the Vicksburg-Warren County Court Appointed Special Advocate program. Other accomplishments of the center while Haque was director include being the first in the state to receive accreditation at the AAA level by The National Exchange Club Foundation; developing a day treatment program for pre-schoolers with emotional and behavioral problems; and recognition for its parent aid research by the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

&#8220I feel I am leaving the CAP center much stronger,” Haque said.

In February 2005, the center moved from its Washington Street location to Walnut Street, which offered more space and allowed it to double its programs.

Former board president and current board member Mary Ray said, even before Haque’s employment, she volunteered at the center.

&#8220She certainly has a place in her heart for the center,” Ray said. &#8220I have seen how dedicated she is to the CAP center. She has certainly been involved in making the community aware of our needs.”

The CAP center was started as a means of heading off as many potential child abuse cases in Warren County as possible. Its services have since extended to Claiborne County, and it is the only agency in the area that deals with the prevention and public awareness of child abuse.

The center provides services in parent education, teen pregnancy prevention, parent support groups, life skills training, parent aide, family preservation, drug and violence prevention, mentoring and the CASA program.

Board member Hilda Moeller said Haque will be missed.

&#8220She’s been the most dedicated director I can imagine. She always gave more than the normal eight hours,” she said. &#8220We will miss her dedication and sincere love for the center. She really did a great job.”

Haque said she will also miss the center.

&#8220I loved working here – helping the children and being there for them – that’s my calling,” she said. &#8220I’m leaving the center with quite a bit of peace and accomplishment.”

She and her husband, Dr. Amin M. Haque, will stay in Vicksburg, she said.

The board has not yet appointed a new director. Ray said it will be a challenge.

&#8220I hope we can find someone who can walk in and fill her shoes,” she said. &#8220She has some big shoes to fill.”