Rewind to May of 1966.

STEP Inc. was founded as Social Services Training and Education Program in 1966 by William “Bill” Nichols Sr., who served as the first board president, with Lou Plescher serving as the first executive director.

There was one staff member working out of a small office space in the United Way building, serving a few hundred people through only two programs — the Neighborhood Youth Corps and Project Head Start.

Over the next 20 years, programs and services expanded. Housing, aging and day care programs developed in the 1970s, while the Job Training Partnership Act and streamlined transportation services were added in the ’80s.

STEP purchased and renovated the Lincoln School in Newberry for office space in the 1990s, where it proceeded to pilot the Literacy and GED Training, PPL OnTrack and Computer Skills programs. Shortly after, STEP purchased and renovated the Jaysburg Plaza for Head Start offices as well.

STEP further expanded to include Linkage Lycoming, Social Service Assistance, Workforce Development, Adventure-Based Learning, Parent-Child Home Program, Pre-K Counts and the STEP AmeriCorps program in the early 2000s.

Five decades since its inception, STEP has grown to offer more than 30 programs complete with over 300 staff members.

The programs were organized into five pathways, which include early learning, housing options, workforce development, community collaboration and independent living, and were introduced alongside the new acronym — Success Through Engagement and Partnership — in 2008.

The Clinton County Community Center was opened in 2011.

STEP has grown to be the fourth largest Community Action Agency of 43 in Pennsylvania, serving both Lycoming and Clinton counties. It served more than 17,000 people in 2015 and had about 700 Head Start kids and 5,000 seniors using its offices of aging.

Earlier this year, STEP opened its newest center for healthy aging, the RiverWalk Center, in South Williamsport, providing daily meals, exercise programs and other activities for local senior citizens.

STEP spent much of 2016 honoring donors, partners, staff and volunteers with appreciation picnics, a birthday party at Knoebels Amusement Resort, Pack the Park night at Bowman Field, a ride on the Hiawatha and more.

STEP concluded its festivities at the end of November with a progressive dinner at which a 1966 Ford Mustang was raffled off. By the end, STEP established a general endowment in the hopes of having to rely less on local, state and federal funding.

Next year, the leaders of STEP hope to annualize the end-of-year dinner and create another endowment for housing.

“We’re looking toward the future,” said Rachelle Abbott, STEP’s chief operations manager.