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Executive Director
The executive director, along with our friendly and professional staff, strives to create positive, stimulating ways for residents to continue living life with meaning and purpose. We are a friendly family where we treat residents like real people with real life stories.
Our community is a great story that includes heartwarming chapters and incredibly unique characters all in a wonderful setting. Here is the executive director’s story:
How long have you worked in the retirement industry?
I have worked in the retirement industry for 2 ½ years.
What do you like best about your job?
The best part of my job is hearing all the life stories the residents share with me.
What do you like to do in your free time and why?
Riding dirt bikes is what I previously did in my free time. I have since given it up with fear of getting injured. I now enjoy spending time with my family, driving in the mountains, walking near a stream and golfing on occasion.
If you could meet one person, past or present, who would it be and why?
Because of my love of San Diego and Balboa Park specifically, I would like to meet Kate Sessions. Kate was one of the driving forces behind all the trees and plants that exist today in Balboa Park, prior to Kate it was primarily sand dunes. Kate Sessions struck a deal with San Diego , in 1892, to plant 100 trees a year in Balboa Park, in exchange for 30 acres to use as a nursery. This arrangement left the park with an array of cypress, pine, oaks, pepper trees and eucalyptus planted form seeds imported from around the world; Kate is credited with importing and popularizing the jacaranda, now very familiar in the city of San Diego.
What’s your favorite movie and why?
The Holiday is one of my favorite movies because I am a hopeless romantic!
What’s your favorite dish or dessert and why?
My favorite dessert is banana fosters. It tastes wonderful, makes for a great show. It’s not something I get to eat very often.
In what ways do your residents inspire you?
My residents inspire me a couple of ways. First, by their ability to continue to try new things and second, by how caring they are for their neighbors and staff, they become an extension of our family.
Do you have any memorable experiences with a particular resident you would like to share?
In my past community, I lived on property prior to moving to Colorado, my neighbor, Lee who was 86 years young, told me a story about a blind date she once had. Lee was in a Sorority and one of her Sorority Sister’s asked her to go on a date with her boyfriend’s friend. Lee was hesitant and went to the year book and looked up the boys name, the names were to the left of the pictures, and counted over to the photo and thought the boy was handsome. Lee got back on the phone and told her Sorority Sister that she would go on a “Coke” date because they were only allowed to do Coke dates back then. When the boy picked Lee up, she didn’t recognize him. As it turns out, she miscounted in the book on how many photos to count over! This blind date eventually turned into her husband and they were married for over 60 years.
How do you honor your residents at your community?
Each resident is different, but the first thing is to get to know them so we can help make their home a great place to live. Understanding what is important to our residents, allows the staff have a better idea of what is going to make the residents happy in their new home.
Tell us about a resident with a remarkable life story?
We have so many residents with interesting stories. If I had to pick a specific one, I would mention the residents who served our country in WWII. Many of them that I have met were POW’s and I had the honor of meeting them and hearing some of their stories.
Tell us about a resident whose life changed for the better once they moved to your community.
I have many residents who’s lives have changed for the better once they have moved into one of my communities. Many potential residents don’t realize how they have not been as social as they had been in the past because it happens gradually. The residents we serve are usually from a generation that use to go out on the weekends for dinner with their friends and then play cards. Over time, they and their friends get less comfortable with driving and end up slowly not going out anymore and becoming more inclusive to their homes. Once they move-in to a retirement community, they realize how much socialization they have been missing with all the card games, art classes, exercise classes and other activities we offer that they wish they had moved in years prior. They feel they have their independence back again and this is the story of many of my residents.
In what ways do your employees inspire you?
My employees inspire me by the time and care they show for each of our residents. They always have a smile on their faces, they don’t get paid a ton of money and they are truly here because they love what they do for the residents and this inspires me because our employees have a passion for people and Seniors specifically.
How do you create a family-like atmosphere at your community?
Everyone knows everyone. Our staff knows all the residents and our residents know all the staff. We truly care about what happens to everyone both residents and staff.
Tell us about an employee who embodies one of our core values – integrity, respect, responsibility, professionalism or teamwork.
There is not just one employee at our community that embodies the core values, it is the entire team that embodies the core values. Our team is willing to do anything and everything for one another as well as our residents. If someone is short handed, one of the other departments will offer to help out. If someone isn’t having a good day, we all care and try to help or offer to work for them so they can go take care of their personal business. Everyone pitches in every day to make it successful at our community and make it a great place to work.
At Arvada Meridian, we understand that deciding where to live is a big decision that deserves careful thought. We invite you to visit us, stop by for lunch or be a guest at one of our special events or classes. We look forward to meeting you.