Kim O’Connell, Wellspring Village Director at Brightview North Andover in North Andover, Massachusetts, talks passionately about her experiences when she first joined Brightview in 2015 as Wellspring Village Director at Brightview Country Club Heights in Woburn. Here is what she said, in her own words:
Joe is a retired podiatrist who moved to Wellspring Village™ the same week that I joined Country Club Heights as the Wellspring Village Director. We bonded over the fact that we were both “newbies” around the place.
He quickly made himself known as the guy with the nice blue eyes and big bright smile who would warmly welcome and greet all who came through our neighborhood. He also established himself as advocate for his peers in Wellspring Village™.
He sought out our Dining Services Director, to make sure that he would be involved in the monthly food committee and he would be the voice of the residents of Wellspring Village™. In turn, Chef regularly checked in with Joe throughout the week to make sure things were up to par.
I began to introduce Joe as the “Mayor” of Wellspring Village™, and he quite liked his new nickname. Joe liked to feel purposeful in our neighborhood and assisting me with tasks throughout the day fulfilled that need.
When I asked him to assist me with helping a new resident settle in to our neighborhood, he took this responsibility very seriously. He checked in with the resident several times a day, he made sure to introduce the resident to others at meal times, and encouraged participation in activities.
I then asked Joe to be our representative from Wellspring Village™ at Resident Council meetings, and he happily accepted.
On my last day at the community, before transferring to Brightview North Andover, I gave Joe a Brightview name tag with “Ambassador” title. He proudly wears his badge each and every day.