Town of Fountain Hills Community Services has two new employees to fill the gaps from staff that had departed recently.

Linda Ayres has been hired as recreation manager for the town, and Jamie Salentine is the new executive assistant for Community Services.

Ayres takes over the job previously held by Corey Povar. She is an Arizona Native who attended Coronado High School in Scottsdale and received a degree in education at Arizona State University.

After teaching for eight years, Ayres began her career in recreation and over the past 15 years has worked in Chandler, Mesa, Scottsdale and most recently, Gilbert.

Ayres is active with the Arizona Parks and Recreation Association and is currently serving as vice president. Over the next two years she will become president-elect and president within that organization.

Her job here is to oversee special events and recreation programing, supervising the two recreation coordinators on the team.

Only a few days on the job, Ayres said she was quickly impressed with the collaborative team environment.

“Everyone is so helpful,” Ayres said. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in special events and exploring what new opportunities there are.”

Ayers is married and lives in Scottsdale. She enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and bicycling.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know the community and the people we serve,” she said.

Salentine has extensive experience in municipal government administration. She comes to Fountain Hills after working five years in the Mesa City Clerk’s office where she was an assistant.

She came to Arizona from Wisconsin, where she had jobs as a deputy clerk and clerk/treasurer in smaller communities.

Salentine said it was the small-town environment that attracted her to Fountain Hills, where she and her husband are residents.

“It was an environment where everyone [on staff] helped each other out,” she said.

Having grown up in Wisconsin, Salentine came to Arizona to visit friends and like it enough to decide to relocate.

The executive assistant role is a little different from a clerk capacity, so Salentine said she will have a small learning curve, but is getting right down to business. There are two council advisory commissions she will need to assist, and she is getting to know the members and how the system works.

Salentine is married and she and her husband have a blended family of seven children – five are still in Wisconsin – and she has a son serving in the U.S. Army.

She is a volunteer at her church and serves as the church’s treasurer.