LEARN WHILE YOU EARN

Mary Marcia
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Permalink:
https://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2018/01/learn-while-you-earn.html

I am grateful to my employers who gave me an opportunity to learn new things while I earned a paycheck.


I learned a lot serving as Community Life Director at *The Fountains at Greenbriar in Independence, Missouri.  The residents had a reputation for being hard to please. The residents of The Fountains, a  senior living center,  went through an average of two activity professionals (community life directors) per year before I was hired. 

My job was to please the residents.  I served as Community Life Director, Transportation Director and Director of Volunteers.   
I managed budgets, planned all daily activities and special events for the community;  supervised staff;  and created and edited the community newsletter.   

I interviewed residents and told their stories in the newsletters.  I used Adobe Pagemaker to create and edit the newsletters.

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.   COVER PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

My newsletter for The Fountains evolved to look  more and more like a magazine.  I included a brief message as editor in each publication.  The image (below) of the page inside the cover has a photo of me as a "miniature bride"  at a relative's wedding in 1955.   My mother and father are in the background of the photo.

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.  EDITOR'S MESSAGE AND CONTENTS PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

The Fountains offered me  the opportunity to take in-house business classes in Missouri, Oklahoma and California.  Among those classes were an Art Therapy class in Oklahoma, from Dr. Madeline Rugh (University of Oklahoma), and multiple classes on how to manage successful business projects.  I attended a NAAP seminar in San Diego, and visited other Fountains' locations in various states.
 

About NAAP 


Founded by Activity Professionals
for 
Activity Professionals...NAAP is the only national group that
represents activity professionals in geriatric
settings exclusively. NAAP serves as a
catalyst for both professional and personal
growth and has come to be recognized by
government officials as the voice of the
activity profession on national issues
concerning long-term care facilities,
retirement living, assisted living, adult day
services, and senior citizen centers. NAAP
is nationwide in scope with a growing
membership in Canada and Bermuda. 

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:
 http://www.theactivitydirectorsoffice.com/NAAP.html

Employees of The Fountains were encouraged to think out-of-the-box.  I came up with a breakthrough idea, and suggested  The Fountains corporate office  create a national  magazine for seniors - with current events pertaining to senior issues,  fashions for seniors, stories of residents (like my interviews), and inserts for each local community with their individual calendars and special events listed.  National and local advertising could help with the cost of newsletter production.  It's a brilliant idea, and I don't think anyone does anything like it yet.  AARP's publication doesn't come close to my vision.   

There are thousands of untold stories out there - living in the minds of senior citizens just waiting to be told.  I enlisted a team of local high school journalism students to help me interview residents for our newsletter.   The interaction between the high school students and the residents was beneficial to both. 




I was one of  a team of Fountains' employees who wrote a grant to bring  The EDEN ALTERNATIVE,  to our a chain of  senior living centers.

We became a part of the movement of people transforming long term care facilities into what they should be: human habitats with plants, animals and children. 

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:
http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-eden-alternative_1.html

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.   COVER PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.  EDITOR'S MESSAGE AND CONTENTS PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

Fountain's resident,  Margaret Richardson, was an incredible woman.  It was a JOY to interview her, and write her previously untold story.  No one at The Fountains knew Margaret's  background  until her story was published in our newsletter.  

Margaret served as secretary to eight Kansas City, Missouri, police chiefs.  She worked alongside Clarence Kelly, the police chief during the riots in Kansas City in 1968.

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Kansas_City,_Missouri_riot

"While serving as an acting policewoman and secretary to eight Kansas City, Missouri police chiefs - the world came to Margaret Richardson's door.  The list included Clarence Kelly (KCMO Police Chief and FBI Director), Evangelist Billy Graham, Attorney-General Robert Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson, stage and screen stars Jeanette McDonald, Bert Parks, Giselle McKenzie and Danny Thomas.  The list also included prostitutes, drunks, deviates...and stray children.  The lofty and the lost.  She treated them all the same.   She may be the kindest person you will ever meet."

  


CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.  "NOW  and THEN" - RESIDENT INTERVIEW COLUMN by M. Norwood.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

 Not all of the residents were as kind as Margaret.

Some residents at The Fountains were notorious for throwing hot rolls at servers if they were displeased with their service.   Residents would push and shove each other to be first in line at meals and events, using their canes and walkers in the quest for privilege and entitlement.

"I'm old.  I'm rich, and I get whatever I want," a  resident from the Fountain's community in La Jolla, California, told me. 




In contrast -  a friend told me about a senior community where retired missionaries live.  They have minimal staff compared to most retirement communities, because they serve each other.
What a beautiful concept:  helping and serving one another.

I want to be like Margaret Richardson, 

who said:

"I was kind to the high ranking, 

and the low ranking,

because I had no ranking.  

I survived everything 

because the LORD put love in my heart."

Margaret's prayer:

"LORD, Let your love flow through me,

that I might be a blessing to others."  


 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and invite a friend!

Mary Marcia

America's STORYTELLER

Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking
`

*David Freshwater, Chairman, founded The Fountains in 1985, and over the next two decades, he developed, owned and operated, for himself, for his investors and for third parties, a wide range of senior housing communities recognized as both innovative and successful. Under David’s leadership and through the efforts of his team, The Fountains grew into one of the nation’s top 25 seniors housing owners and operators.  

David Barnes, President, joined The Fountains in 1989, and ultimately served as Senior Vice President of Operations. Often traveling to Fountains communities to manage onsite programs, Barnes developed the systems, policies and training materials essential for the successful growth of The Fountains. Years later as President of Watermark Retirement Communities, he continues to build upon these models. 

From 1991 through 1997, The Fountains’ portfolio grew from a fractional share of 260 units to 100% ownership of nearly 4,000 units/beds in 14 communities, with reported assets of $220 million, gross revenues of $42 million and a net operating income of nearly $4 million. During this period, The Fountains won numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the Order of Excellence by Contemporary Long Term Care magazine, selection by the American Seniors Housing Association as one of its Case Studies in Success and one of Top Six retirement communities in America by Money.
  

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

 http://www.watermarkcommunities.com/WRC/History/ 




Permalink:
https://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2018/01/learn-while-you-earn.html

COMMUNITY LIFE DIRECTOR

Mary Marcia
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Permalink:
https://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2014/09/community-life-director.html

I learned a lot serving as Community Life Director at *The Fountains at Greenbriar in Independence, Missouri.  The residents had a reputation for being hard to please. The residents of The Fountains, a  senior living center,  went through an average of two activity professionals (community life directors) per year before I was hired. 

My job was to please the residents.  I served as Community Life Director, Transportation Director, and Director of Volunteers.   
I managed budgets, planned all daily activities and special events for the community;  supervised staff;  and created and and edited the community newsletter.   

I interviewed residents, and told their stories in the newsletters.  I used Adobe Pagemaker to create and edit the newsletters.

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.   COVER PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

My newsletter for The Fountains evolved to look  more and more like a magazine.  I included a brief message as editor in each publication.  The image (below) of the page inside the cover has a photo of me as a "miniature bride"  at a relative's wedding in 1955.   My mother and father are in the background of the photo.

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.  EDITOR'S MESSAGE AND CONTENTS PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

While working at The Fountains, I had the opportunity to take in-house business classes in Missouri, Oklahoma and California.  I took an Art Therapy class in Oklahoma, from Dr. Madeline Rugh (University of Oklahoma), and attended a NAAP seminar in San Diego.  I visited other Fountains' locations in various states.
 

About NAAP 


Founded by Activity Professionals
for 
Activity Professionals...NAAP is the only national group that
represents activity professionals in geriatric
settings exclusively. NAAP serves as a
catalyst for both professional and personal
growth and has come to be recognized by
government officials as the voice of the
activity profession on national issues
concerning long-term care facilities,
retirement living, assisted living, adult day
services, and senior citizen centers. NAAP
is nationwide in scope with a growing
membership in Canada and Bermuda. 

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:
 http://www.theactivitydirectorsoffice.com/NAAP.html

Employees of The Fountains were encouraged to think out-of-the-box.  I came up with a breakthrough idea, and suggested  The Fountains corporate office  create a national  magazine for seniors - with current events pertaining to senior issues,  fashions for seniors, stories of residents (like my interviews), and inserts for each local community with their individual calendars and special events listed.  National and local advertising could help with the cost of newsletter production.  It's a brilliant idea, and I don't think anyone does anything like it yet.  AARP's publication doesn't come close to my vision.   

There are thousands of untold stories out there - living in the minds of senior citizens just waiting to be told.  I enlisted a team of local high school journalism students to help me interview residents for our newsletter.   The interaction between the high school students and the residents was beneficial to both. 




I was one of  a team of Fountains' employees who wrote a grant to bring  The EDEN ALTERNATIVE,  to our a chain of  senior living centers.

We became a part of the movement of people transforming long term care facilities into what they should be: human habitats with plants, animals and children. 

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:
http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-eden-alternative_1.html

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.   COVER PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.  EDITOR'S MESSAGE AND CONTENTS PAGE:  The newsletter I designed and created using Adobe Pagemaker.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

Fountain's resident,  Margaret Richardson, was an incredible woman.  It was a JOY to interview her, and write her previously untold story.  No one at The Fountains knew Margaret's  background  until her story was published in our newsletter.  

Margaret served as secretary to eight Kansas City, Missouri, police chiefs.  She worked alongside Clarence Kelly, the police chief during the riots in Kansas City in 1968.

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Kansas_City,_Missouri_riot

"While serving as an acting policewoman and secretary to eight Kansas City, Missouri police chiefs - the world came to Margaret Richardson's door.  The list included Clarence Kelly (KCMO Police Chief and FBI Director), Evangelist Billy Graham, Attorney-General Robert Kennedy, President Lyndon Johnson, stage and screen stars Jeanette McDonald, Bert Parks, Giselle McKenzie and Danny Thomas.  The list also included prostitutes, drunks, deviates...and stray children.  The lofty and the lost.  She treated them all the same.   She may be the kindest person you will ever meet."

  

CLICK on the image to ENLARGE.  "NOW  and THEN" - RESIDENT INTERVIEW COLUMN by M. Norwood.  Copyright 1997 Marcia Norwood

 Not all of the residents were as kind as Margaret.

Some residents at The Fountains were notorious for throwing hot rolls at servers if they were displeased with their service.   Residents would push and shove each other to be first in line at meals and events, using their canes and walkers in the quest for privilege and entitlement.

"I'm old.  I'm rich, and I get whatever I want," a  resident from the Fountain's community in La Jolla, California, told me. 




In contrast -  a friend told me about a senior community where retired missionaries live.  They have minimal staff compared to most retirement communities, because they serve each other.
What a beautiful concept:  helping and serving one another.

I want to be like Margaret Richardson, 

who said:

"I was kind to the high ranking, 

and the low ranking,

because I had no ranking.  

I survived everything 

because the LORD put love in my heart."

Margaret's prayer:

"LORD, Let your love flow through me,

that I might be a blessing to others."  


 

 Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and invite a friend!

Mary Marcia

America's STORYTELLER

Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking
`

*David Freshwater, Chairman, founded The Fountains in 1985, and over the next two decades, he developed, owned and operated, for himself, for his investors and for third parties, a wide range of senior housing communities recognized as both innovative and successful. Under David’s leadership and through the efforts of his team, The Fountains grew into one of the nation’s top 25 seniors housing owners and operators.  

David Barnes, President, joined The Fountains in 1989, and ultimately served as Senior Vice President of Operations. Often traveling to Fountains communities to manage onsite programs, Barnes developed the systems, policies and training materials essential for the successful growth of The Fountains. Years later as President of Watermark Retirement Communities, he continues to build upon these models. 

From 1991 through 1997, The Fountains’ portfolio grew from a fractional share of 260 units to 100% ownership of nearly 4,000 units/beds in 14 communities, with reported assets of $220 million, gross revenues of $42 million and a net operating income of nearly $4 million. During this period, The Fountains won numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the Order of Excellence by Contemporary Long Term Care magazine, selection by the American Seniors Housing Association as one of its Case Studies in Success and one of Top Six retirement communities in America by Money.
  

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

 http://www.watermarkcommunities.com/WRC/History/ 




Permalink:
https://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/2014/09/community-life-director.html

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS : THE SECRET OF THE BIRCH ANGEL

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS

THE SECRET OF THE BIRCH ANGEL

Rebecca  Thesman is an author and certified life coach.  She leads an online facebook group:  "Sometimes They Forget:  Alzheimer's/Dementia Support Group." 

It's been my great pleasure to share meals with Rebecca at  HACWN (Heart of America Christian Writers' Network) conferences and seminars.    

Our conversation is always great.  We share something even more than meals, and our love of writing:  both of us have had loved ones with Alzheimer's. 

Uncle Keith & Nannie;Mother (Natalie) and Father (Jewell) Copyright 1947 Marcia Norwood

My precious, Aunt Ann (Nannie) had Alzheimer's.  Uncle Keith lovingly cared for Nannie at home until it threatened his own health.  Nannie then lived at a wonderful place designed after Dr. Thomas' Eden Alternative.  Still, Uncle Keith spent everyday - all day with Nannie.  He brought her clothes home to wash and iron - even though the service was provided with her care.  Nannie and Keith's love story is an inspiration.

The Eden Alternative

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://www.edenalt.org/

Do you have a loved one with Alzheimers?

Are you a caregiver for someone with dementia?

Let me introduce you to Rebecca.  Her contact information is below. 

Here's her Christmas story, "The Secret of the Birch Angel."

   

Copyright 2013  RJ Thesman

The Secret of the Birch Angel

By Rebecca Thesman

      Just like Reverend G, I collect angels. Each of my angels has a story connected to it. This time of year, I am especially attached to my angels and their stories.

      One of my favorites is the New Mexico angel made from birch bark. I love the texture and serene pose of this angel, and she fits perfectly on my mantel over the stone fireplace. During December, she is surrounded by evergreens and tiny pearl lights.

      In fact, this angel stays on the mantel all year.   

     Why? 

     Because she represents more than just an object of the season. Her back story involves my mother.

      Ten years ago, I started a new job, so I missed the family vacation in New Mexico. Mom felt sorry for me but she wanted me to  hold a special memory of the mountains that year. So she bought the birch angel and gingerly carried it home in her lap. 

     That Christmas, when she gave me the angel, she talked about how much the family missed me on the annual vacation.

      Her gift reminded me that a mother loves her children and thinks about them when they are present or far away. 

     Especially now, when Mom no longer buys Christmas gifts and no longer goes on the family vacation - now that Alzheimer's determines what Mom can and cannot do - that birch angel reminds me that mother love thrives especially at Christmas - when the gifts of the past become the treasures of the present.

Blessings!

RJ Thesman

 Website: http://www.rjthesman.net
Facebook Author Page: http:www.facebook.com/RJThesman?fref=ts
Twitter: http://@rjthesman
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/12rvi7s
Facebook Group: http://on.fb.me/15XgKN4

  
RJ Thesman has been a writer since she flipped open her Red Chief  tablet and scribbled her first story. Eventually, she had to stop writing and go to school where she earned an education degree and taught at various levels. Thesman is a Biblical counselor and a Stephen Minister. She has worked in a variety of nonprofits and has served as campus minister to international students. With a variety of communications skills, Thesman is always writing and building more publishing credits. She teaches writing workshops and enjoys helping beginning writers birth their words. Thesman is the mother of an adult son and enjoys reading, gardening and cooking – especially anything with blueberries.

"The question may be Why but the answer is Who." - The Unraveling of Reverend G

When Reverend G hears the devastating diagnosis - dementia with the possibility of early-onset Alzheimer's - she struggles with the pain of forgetting those she loves and the fear of losing her connection with God. With the help of her friends at the assisted living facility: Bert, a farmer from Oklahoma, Roxie, the stressed-out activities director and Gabriel, a cat with the gift of forecasting death, she soon discovers there's humor to be found in forgetting part of the Lord's Prayer, finding her iron in the freezer and losing a half-gallon of ice cream. And she discovers that while the question she wants to ask is, 'Why,' the answer really is, 'Who.'

http://www.crossrivermedia.com/Reverend-G.html
 

HACWN's  goal is to equip and encourage writers,  no matter where they are on their  writing journey.

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

 http://hacwn.org/HACWN/Welcome.html

Thanks 

for stopping by!

Come back often, 

and invite a friend!

Marcia Norwood

America's STORYTELLER

Telling Untold Stories in Photographs,      Prose and Public Speaking

Blogs at:  http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/