Meet Kyle Ellis
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:
In what ways do your residents inspire you?
My residents have many years of practical knowledge and experiences that can only be acquired through time, and that I respect and enjoy.
How do you honor your residents at your community?
At our community we recognize residents for past and present achievements. Many of our residents bring unique experiences and rare talents, which in many instances are shared with the whole community based on the individual resident’s comfort level.
Tell us about a resident with a remarkable life story?
We have one resident who has travelled the world through his past employment and regularly presents photograph slide shows to fellow residents and narrates during these shows.
Tell us about a resident whose life changed for the better once they moved to your community.
We have one resident who is a widower. He lived alone for about eight years and finally came to join our community. Since moving in he has flourished. He has been here two years and he is as happy as ever, teaches college students from the University of Rhode Island about investing and the stock market (his passion) and he has performed a classroom lecture at the University. His students recognized him as an honorary University alumnus and provided him with a University sweater, tee shirt and sweat shirt and their relationships continue today.
How long have you worked in the retirement industry
I have worked in the retirement industry for 20 years.
What do you like best about your job?
I like interacting with people. I enjoy seniors and hearing about the knowledge they hold and the experiences they have had. I enjoy history, and seniors are individuals who can give first-hand accounts of the many changes over the past 50 to 60 years, which I find enjoyable and interesting.
What do you like to do in your free time and why?
I enjoy spending time doing outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking and mountain climbing. I find this type of activity to be fun, invigorating and healthy as well as very relaxing.
If you could meet one person, past or present, who would it be and why?
I would like to have known one of my grandparents. They all passed away before I was old enough to remember them and always have noticed that special bond between grandparents and grandchildren.
What’s your favorite movie and why?
My favorite movie is “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” because the acting duo was excellent and I enjoyed the wholesome content mixed with adventure as well as the time it was based on.
What’s your favorite dish or dessert and why?
I love grilled venison tenderloin, I guess because it goes with my love for the outdoors.
Do you have any memorable experiences with a particular resident you would like to share?
I am in my 18th year in my current position. In that time I have had many memorable experiences with residents. To name only one would be an injustice to the others.
In what ways do your employees inspire you?
My staff sincerely cares for our residents that they serve. I have seen staff do and share things with residents and vice versa as if they were family. That’s inspirational.
How do you create a family-like atmosphere at your community?
Although staff and residents are not legal family members, the relationships are equally as strong. This is accomplished by staff truly caring for the residents not just as a job but as a passion.
Tell us about an employee who embodies one of our core values – integrity, respect, responsibility, professionalism or teamwork.
Our business office manager, Suzanne, has been in her position for six years. She displays our core values on a regular basis. She assists fellow employees regularly, she is kind and genuinely courteous to make guests and visitors feel welcome, goes above and beyond to meet residents’ requests as difficult as they may be, all while maintaining an organized and well-managed office that all who enter find inviting.
At South Bay Manor, 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.