I was feeling lucky last week, having received a call from Senator Angus King’s office. His Chief of Staff “invited” me to spend 30 minutes with the Senator — if I was so inclined.

(Does anyone ever say “No, thank you.” to that type of phone call?)

I certainly didn’t and jumped at the chance to meet with Senator King last Friday. An audience with Senator King is a rare occurrence and I was thrilled to update our Senator on several topics including a “state of the union” on People Plus, as well as seniors’ issues in our community, the Teen Center program, and our successful one year partnership with Spectrum Generations.

It was all good news on my end and King listened with interest as we chatted about the People Plus membership tripling in the last three years to more than 1,200 members. All those members benefit from the health, technology and exercise classes we offer, as well as the community meals, (125 served last month!) and the numerous clubs, including table tennis, crafters, Mah Jong, bridge (all levels), writing, art and cribbage (to name a few).

But he seemed surprised to hear (and admitted he had been unaware) that we provide free rides to more than 100 residents without access to transportation and work with the Brunswick Police Department to operate a daily “wellness check-in call” program, 365 days a year for people living alone (or with a caregiver) who call daily to let the BPD know they are OK. If they don’t call in, a cruiser will go check on them.

King also seemed pleased to learn that we have more than 100 teenagers a month using the after school Teen Center drop-in program here on the second floor of the Union Street Center. (But he was not surprised to learn that the teens are eating us out of house and home — and that we always need funding for food as many of the teens will not eat again after leaving the Center at 5:30).

He was also very pleased to hear about the more than 600 free Aging and Disability counseling sessions provided by Spectrum Generations at our Center last year, along with the more than 16,000 meals delivered by Meals on Wheels.

King said he loves this type of “community education” day. He gets to take a rare break from the hustle and bustle of D.C. and come home. Having a day to visit with community nonprofits and businesses is exactly what he likes to do. Meeting people and hearing their stories seemed to be relaxing for him.

But he wasn’t getting off that easily, as I explained the People Plus membership would skin my hide if I let our national senator leave without asking him what he is doing for seniors in the state of Maine.

King responded that he actually has two jobs in D.C.

His first job is the “traditional” job of a senator to vote on bills, affect change, pass reforms, serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee, etc. And in order to be more effective in this capacity, he has created a new tradition in D.C. He and his wife Mary Herman now host a senator dinner once a week at their house. These casual meals bring together senators from all over the country in a relaxed social setting with takeout food and good conversation. Angus explained that D.C. has become a commuter town so the senators don’t really know each other. The dinners at his house are a way for them to develop a rapport and grow relationships. He explained it’s much harder to vote “against” a friend when you have seen each other’s kids’ soccer pictures.

King went on to explain his second job in D.C. is “constituent services,” i.e., to serve the individuals of his state, to be the liaison between the federal government and the state of Maine. And I’ve seen an example of that right here at People Plus.

We had a member whose husband was killed in Vietnam. His body was never recovered and his widow has never received a headstone for his grave site in Maine. The widow spent years writing letters and filling out forms trying to get a headstone for her husband but it never came. So last month she came to People Plus and asked Frank Connors, our membership coordinator, to help her out. He picked up the phone and called Angus King’s office in Scarborough. Within a month a headstone arrived at People Plus.

It’s these successes that King says keep him going. And in terms of the senior population, King has pushed to restore the Dining Act, voted with the farm bill to double the value of food stamps, and is “engaged to find budget solutions that don’t include devastating cuts to seniors.”

If you’ve never had an afternoon with Angus King, I can tell you he is a lovely and personable man. He posed for photos, insisting on one with children and a dog that were at the Center. And no matter his politics, I think we are fortunate to have his ear and his time while he made the rounds of community service organizations.

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Stacy Frizzle is executive director of People Plus, located at 35 Union St. in Brunswick.