Celebrating Community and Team Member Excellence: Part 2

Formally recognizing team members and communities that exceed expectations through hard work and service excellence is a yearly tradition at Lifespace Communities. In addition to the 2017 Salesperson of the Year (Cherie Lovelady, Beacon Hill), the Team Member Giving Award recipient (Abbey Delray South) and the Spotlight Story of the Year (Eugenie Dorgilus, Abbey Delray South), the organization recently awarded the: Clinical Excellence, Operations Excellence and the Sales Team of the Year recipients.

Ann Walsh, Lifespace senior vice president of operations, said, “Team members are the backbone of our success. The great services, amenities and care we provide for residents are a result of their unwavering commitment to enhancing the lives of seniors. We greatly appreciate their contributions, and these awards are very well deserved.”

Village on the Green is the recipient of the Clinical Excellence Award. The award is given to the community that excelled in providing exceptional care in a multitude of categories: regulatory results, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rating, labor management, involvement in professional organizations and more.

Gail Wattley, the health center administrator at the community, attributes the success to great teamwork and consistency.

“There is strong camaraderie among our team members, and we all trust and depend on each other,” she said. “There is also a lot of passion for what we do, and we hold ourselves to a high standard. I am extremely fortunate to work beside such a dedicated group of professionals.”

Peter Bourbeau, a health center resident at Village on the Green, expressed utmost satisfaction with the care and services provided by the community.

“The team here does a wonderful job of catering to all our needs, and I am very pleased,” said Bourbeau. “They do everything in their power to make sure we are as comfortable, healthy and happy as possible. I feel lucky to have such a positive environment around me.”

Friendship Village of Bloomington earned both the Operations Excellence and Sales Team of the Year awards. The Operations Excellence Award recognizes the community that excelled in several categories, including social accountability, resident relations and fundraising for The Lifespace Foundation.

[In the photo above: 2017 Operations Excellence award winner – Friendship Village of Bloomington. Pictured from left to right: Ann Walsh, Senior Vice President of Operations; Amy LaCroix, Regional Operations Director; David Miller, Executive Director of Friendship Village of Bloomington; Sloan Bentley, President and CEO.]

“We are truly honored and grateful to receive both these awards,” said David Miller, Friendship Village executive director. “Our success stems from strong communication and collaboration between residents and team members, and support from our home office. These three parties have played critical roles in making Friendship Village the wonderful community it is today.”

Resident Wayne Boyson, who has lived at Friendship Village for nine years and is the chairman of the resident finance committee, said a large part of the community’s success is a result of strong leadership.

“It all boils down to great management, great team members and an open-door policy,” said Boyson. “The community is very receptive to new ideas and we have the right people in place to make sure everything runs efficiently. Everybody I know thinks this is a great place to live and there is good reason why.”

Friendship Village received Sales Team of the Year award for earning the highest annual sales across all 12 Lifespace communities. Pauline Drake, sales director at the community, explained the achievement would not be possible without the hard work, dedication and honesty of her move-in coordinator, Louise Boyle; her sales administrative assistant, Renee Rhein; and her sales counselors, Julie Bliven and Katie Kubinski.

“It is most certainly a group effort,” said Pauline. “We all love what we do, and that makes it so much easier to achieve our goals. We also have the bonus of serving remarkable residents at our community, who are the best ambassadors any sales team could ask for.”

[In the top/cover photo: 2017 Sales Team of the Year – Friendship Village of Bloomington. Pictured from left to right: Renee Rhein, Sales Assistant; Julie Bliven, Sales Counselor; Pauline Drake, Sales Director; Katie Kubinski, Sales Counselor; Louise Boyle, Move-In Coordinator.]

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