Donna Hardy has built a long and satisfying career on what she initially thought was a temporary, second choice.

Hardy retires today after nearly 31 years with Warren-Yazoo Mental Health, where she has worked with patients, directed staff, developed systems and procedures and even supervised construction — all because there was no physical therapy course of studies in Mississippi when she was in college.

“I convinced myself that recreation with the handicapped and doing physical therapy were joined at the hip,” Hardy said, recalling her decision to declare a major in therapeutic recreation at the University of Southern Mississippi. “They were both helping somebody get over something.”

Hardy was honored Thursday by her colleagues at WYMH, including executive director Steve Roark and Warren County Director Don Brown. Also attending were members of the county Board of Supervisors, state Sen. Briggs Hopson III and representatives from the Mississippi Department of Mental Health as well as family members and friends.

During Hardy’s years at WYMH, the center has grown from 24 employees and a budget of $600,000 to 220 employees and a $12 million budget, Roark said.

“She’s been an integral part of our success,” he said. “With her vision, her ideas — she’s one of the best problem-solvers I’ve ever been associated with. Her analytical ability has been critical over the years.”

Roark said as the state budget continues to fall short of projections and cuts are suffered by all agencies, including mental services, the center’s directors decided to offer early retirement packages to employees with at least 20 years of service. Hardy was one of two who accepted, the other being Yazoo City Clinical Director David Foster, who was honored Tuesday.

Neither will be replaced, he said, but their duties will be reassigned to other managers.

Hardy told about 60 staff and guests assembled Thursday she was humbled and overwhelmed.

“This is as much about you as it is about me,” she said. “You don’t stay somewhere 31 years if it’s not being with the people you’re working with.”

Hardy, 56, started at WYMH when it was housed in the Mafan Building on Adams Street, moving from a position as activity therapist at the private, for-profit Riverside Hospital in Jackson, now Brentwood Hospital. Fresh out of the University of Southern Mississippi, she took the Riverside job as a temporary measure while waiting for Southern to open its physical therapy department. “I wanted a chance to work with people where I could bring a little bit of joy into their lives,” she said.

By the time she had a chance of enrolling in the PT courses, “I was too deep into what I was doing,” and decided against it.

At Warren-Yazoo she has: overseen a partial-hospitalization treatment program for clients; been a case manager and case manager supervisor; been director of planning and evaluation, analyzing the clinical, financial, operations, administrative and other departments and setting up systems; and been acting Warren County director, director of outpatient services and director of residential and acute services. She played a major role in the development and construction of the campus on Wisconsin Avenue, all the way from design to paint colors.

Hardy said she plans only to take a month or so off and then think about what kind of work she’d like to do next. “I’m too young to ‘retire’ retire,” she said with a laugh. Among her interests, she said, are construction of affordable housing and consulting in the field of leadership development.

“I’m pleased with all of it, when I look back,” she said. “I’m proud of the people I’ve worked with. That’s what you want to look back on — that your staff, your crew, your employees are becoming the best they can be. It’s rewarding.”