Belinda "Dee Dee" Barbour

Belinda “Dee Dee” Barbour joins Village at Orchard Ridge as director of philanthropy

Belinda “Dee Dee” Barbour has been named director of philanthropy for The Village at Orchard Ridge, sponsored by National Lutheran Communities and Services, effective May 1.

Barbour joined the Winchester, VA, continuing care retirement community from the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. During her tenure, she helped shape the vision for the museum’s future growth; reorganized the development office, adding two new positions to increase community support; and successfully launched the Gaunt Collector’s Society and the Art of Business Corporate Partnership Program.

For the past 12 years, she has advanced the philanthropic mission of several local nonprofit organizations, including Free Medical Clinic of Northern Shenandoah Valley, Shenandoah University and Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. Barbour has an undergraduate degree in organizational leadership from Mountain State University in Beckley, WV.

“We are absolutely delighted to have Dee Dee join us,” said Kathryn Baerwald, National Lutheran Communities & Services’ chief philanthropy officer. “Not only does she have extensive knowledge of philanthropy and the Winchester area, but she is extremely personable and passionate about helping to enhance the lives of older adults.”

Julie Howard named residency counselor at Villaggio at San Luis Obispo

Julie Howard has been named residency counselor at Villaggio at San Luis Obispo, a life plan community under planning and development in California.

Howard joins the Villaggio team with 20 years of experience working in the senior living industry, including healthcare administration. She most recently served as faculty lead of the Emeritus program for older adults at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. Howard also was the executive director of three senior living communities in California, most recently at Sydney Creek in San Luis Obispo.

Howard earned a bachelor of science in health services from California State University, Long Beach. She continued her education at the University of Southern California, earning a master’s degree in gerontology, and became certified in health management. She maintains a license in nursing home administration and a residential care facility for the elderly administrator certificate.

Her professional affiliations include the American Society on Aging, Aging Services of California and the California Assisted Living Association. Howard also has served on the accreditation team of CARF-CCAC.

Karen Kay named director of Friendship Senior Options Foundation

Karen Kay is the new director of the Friendship Senior Options Foundation, the fundraising arm of Friendship Senior Options, the managing company of senior living communities Friendship Village in Schaumburg and GreenFields of Geneva.

Kay joined the foundation in April with 26 years of experience in fundraising and program development for several philanthropic organizations in the Chicago area. Most recently, she was vice president of revenue development at The Cara Program, which has the goal of preparing people to break the cycles of homelessness and poverty, transform their lives, strengthen their communities and forge paths to real and lasting success.

Senior Housing Properties Trust announces board election results

Senior Housing Properties Trust has announced the results of the board elections held at its May 18 annual meeting.

John L. Harrington, Lisa Harris Jones and Jeffrey P. Somers were re-elected as independent trustees by a plurality of all shares voted.

Also, Adam D. Portnoy and Barry M. Portnoy were re-elected as managing trustees by a plurality of all shares voted.

Charles E. Smith Life Communities announces new board chairman, officers

Alan M. Freeman, a partner at Blank Rome LLP’s Washington, DC, office, is the new chairman of the Board of Governors for Charles E. Smith Life Communities, effective May 17.

He is a graduate of Columbia University and George Washington University Law School.

“Not only does he possess the leadership skills to guide the Board of Governors; in nearly 20 years of volunteering with us, he demonstrates a more important skill — a deep passion and care for our residents. I look forward to working with him and the entire slate of officers,” said CESLC President and CEO Bruce J. Lederman.

“I started volunteering at the Hebrew Home in tribute to my grandparents,” Freeman said. “So for me, election as chair of the Board of Governors has a special context and meaning. Every time I walk onto the CESLC campus, I’m reminded that we are helping someone’s grandparents.”

CESLC also installed the following officers for two-year terms at its recent annual meeting:

  • Eric G. Meyers, chairman-elect;
  • Joseph B. Hoffman, immediate past chairman;
  • Paula H. Robinson, secretary;
  • Harry A. Harrison, vice chairman, finance/treasurer;
  • Jacqueline M. Rams, vice chairwoman, development;
  • Donald M. Kaplan, vice chairman, strategic planning;
  • Mark D. Klaiman, MD, vice chairman, quality improvement;
  • Jeffrey S. Puretz, chairman, Charles E. Smith Life Communities Trustees Funds Inc.; and
  • Aaron M. Rulnick, president, Cohen-Rosen House and Landow House Board, Revitz House Board and Ring House Board.

Asbury Place’s Melony Walker earns “Azzy Award”

Meloney Walker, an administrative assistant at Asbury Place continuing care retirement community in Maryville, TN, has been recognized by her employer with an “Azzy Award” for everyday excellence in integrity.

Walker has worked at Asbury Place for more than six years. The awards are given by Asbury Communities to associates who help promote the company’s vision of redefining the expectations of aging through their work. Asbury Place affiliated with Asbury Communities in 2016.

“Our associates, residents, families, vendors and visitors all view Meloney as the ‘go-to’ person,” said Carolyn P. Neil, healthcare administrator for Asbury Place Maryville. “She is trusted and relied upon to get things done, even if it’s not her routine duties, and has handled responsibilities in nearly every administrative position on campus.

“Meloney has a deep commitment to Asbury Place and this community. Her positive attitude and can-do spirit is the epitome of how to ‘celebrate life’ at our campus.”

The award winners were announced May 2 at Asbury Communities’ annual Leadership Development Institute in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Edgemere sales and marketing team takes home top award at Greystone event

The sales and marketing team at Edgemere, an SQLC retirement community in Dallas, recently received the 2016 Top Sales and Marketing Team award from Greystone, a senior living management company. Greystone executives made the announcement at the 2017 Greystone Sales Adventure Awards banquet at the Hilton in Southlake, TX.

The Edgemere team, which includes Susan Briscoe, Monika Pearce, Joel Hernandez, Nancy Kennedy, Rochelle Humphrey, Brittany Middleton and Vanessa Curtright-Bowles, was selected from more than 35 teams from senior living communities across the country based on quantity of sales, excellent standards of performance and team performance and leadership.

“This is our first team award, and we worked really hard for it,” said Vanessa Curtright-Bowles, director of sales and marketing. “We are currently going through a $36 million expansion, and there’s a lot going on in the community. We were thrilled to bring 70 new residents to the community and reach occupancy above 90%. We are determined, and this award shows that our hard work over the last year really paid off.”

Edgemere sales and marketing team members at the Greystone meeting. From left: Martha Bonilla, Brittany Middleton, Rochelle Humphrey, Vanessa Curtright Bowles, Susan Briscoe, Joel Hernandez, Teri Lock, Merna Smith, Mindy Cheek and John Spooner.

Senior Lifestyle’s William Kaplan honored by ASHA

William Kaplan, co-founder and chairman of Senior Lifestyle, was presented with the American Seniors Housing Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s 2017 annual meeting in Palm Springs, CA.

“He is in every sense of the word a true ambassador for seniors housing,” ASHA President David Schless said.

With a career that began in food service and progressed to commercial real estate and then to luxury condo conversions, “Bill saw firsthand the need for high-quality rental housing for seniors,” Schless said.

Senior Lifestyle Corp. broke ground on its first community, in Chicago, in 1986 and through a combination of development and acquisition, was recognized as the eighth-largest operator in the United States by 1997, managing 6,000 units, Schless said. The company now employs more than 10,000 people, he added.

And through a public-private partnership with the city of Chicago called Senior Suites Chicago Corp., Senior Lifestyle serves more than 2,000 senior affordable housing residents in 24 locations throughout the Chicago area, Schless said.

In 2001, under his leadership, ASHA successfully separated from the National Multi-Family Housing Council, which had created ASHA 10 years earlier, the ASHA president said. “Bill assumed the position of ASHA chairman in 2002, and during his tenure he provided steady leadership and pushed for new ways for us to improve our services and grow our membership,” he said.

Senior living resident Julian Bauer publishes fifth book

Julian Bauer, a resident at Erickson Living’s Charlestown retirement community in Catonsville, MD, has published his fifth book.

“The Hidden Saint: The Sixteenth Century Church in Crisis,” published by eLectio Publishing, is a historical novel about Saint Carlo (Charles) Borromeo, who served as the Archbishop of Milan after the Protestant Reformation. It is available for download on Kindle, and a paperback version is available via Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

“I did a lot of expository writing throughout my career, but I didn’t begin writing fiction until seven years ago,” said Bauer, a former director of financial management and budgeting at the Social Security Administration and founder of a worldwide touring company, Bauer World-Wide Tours.

Bauer said the inspiration for his novels came from his curiosity surrounding his Catholic religion and his interest in the early Christian church.

“I started doing research about various aspects of my own religion throughout different periods of time — first century, fourth century, sixteenth century and current times,” he said. “I began reading biographies of important people from those time periods. There are an awful lot of things I learned that I wanted my grandchildren to know, so I began jotting down notes as I read and then later I began melding them into novels.”

Bauer already has begun researching his next book, a novel about two brothers, Saints Cyril and Methodius of Thessalonica (present-day Greece), who were Byzantine Christian theologians and Christian missionaries.

He and his wife, Carmen, sold their town home in Columbia and moved to Charlestown in 2016.

Commonwealth’s Bivian Linkous recognized

Bivian Linkous, activities director at Commonwealth Senior Living at Abingdon, has been recognized as Eversound’s Champion for the month of April. The company makes wireless group listening technology used in senior living communities.

Bivian’s passion started years ago when her parents owned a senior living community, according to the company. “She loved the opportunity to work with the senior population,” and was thrilled when she entered her current role in 2016,” said Angela Owens, executive director at Commonwealth Senior Living at Abingdon.

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