Staff at a local senior living community in Lady Lake County, Fla. made a wish come true for one of their residents at Freedom Pointe at The Villages, a Brookdale Senior Living continuing care retirement community.
Bob Anderton, a current resident at The Villages, oftentimes spoke of his many years at WEDU, West Central Florida’s PBS TV station. Brookdale Senior Living, the parent company of The Villages, has an Experiences of a Lifetime program that grants residents’ their dreams. The staff observed Anderton’s animation when he spoke of his time at WEDU, and decided to fulfill this experience for him.
"Bob’s eyes lit up when he spoke of his duties and jobs at WEDU," said Wayne Henegar, director of resident services for Freedom Pointe at The Villages. "We knew a trip there would be very special to him and his family."
Henegar and Anderton went to Seminole, Fla. first to literally "stroll down memory lane." Together, they visited Anderton’s old family home, chatted with a neighbor that grew up next door to the Anderton home, and visited familiar sites in the area.
Then they headed for the Catholic Church and school where Anderton and his family attended church, and the children attended school. His wife taught third grade at the school, and was fondly remembered. Again, Anderton ran into old friends and memories.
The next morning the two headed to the WEDU studios. Anderton was treated like a VIP. He did a recorded interview, visited with staff, met with old colleagues, and tour of the studio followed by a lunch with the president and several vice presidents of WEDU and Mary Mackey, regional vice president of Brookdale Senior Living. Anderton remarked many times about how the place and the business have changed since he worked at WEDU. Several WEDU employees commented on how people like Bob were the foundation to the success of the station, which is the largest PBS station in Florida.
"I had such a nice time," said Anderton. "I am really surprised at the significant changes that had taken place at WEDU … it was wonderful to catch up with old friends."
"We were so excited for this event and happy that we could do something special for someone, especially one of our residents at Freedom Pointe at The Villages," said Henegar. "One of our cornerstones is to ‘have fun and celebrate life every day,’ and I truly believe we accomplished this with one of our residents on this trip."
Residents, family members, and associates at Brookdale Senior Living communities nationwide were given the opportunity to share and submit their wishes as part of a program called Experiences of a Lifetime. They filled out a survey form explaining an experience they would like to have fulfilled, and how that related to one or more dimensions of the company’s Optimum Life® concept.
Brookdale’s Optimum Life® concept is geared toward cultivating whole-person wellness through fulfillment in six key dimensions: physical, emotional, purposeful, social, spiritual, and intellectual. The company’s Experiences of a Lifetime program provides a helping hand in making some of the dreams of its residents come true.
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