Resident
Council General Meeting
Minutes
for December 5, 2016
The Dec. 5 meeting of
the John Knox Village Resident Council was opened by President Jim Ham at 2 p.m. in the Courtyards Community
Center. The room was filled to overflowing, with the largest crowd ever
assembled for a Resident Council general meeting. Many of the 200 people were
standing around the periphery, and extra chairs were brought in to accommodate
all who had gathered for our annual “Holiday Hospitality” event, which honors
all new residents who have moved to the Village in 2016. The room was
attractively decorated thanks to the hard work of Jim and Kitty Ham, June
and Art Dewsberry, Carol Jennings and Dick Erickson. In addition, Jim, Carol and June hand delivered
individual invitations to all new move-ins (147 in all!), and arranged through
the District Chairs for many dozen cookies for refreshments. Thanks to all who
contributed! Thanks especially to Todd
Hollander, director of dining services, for providing the coffee, tea
and water to enhance the enjoyment of the tasty cookies. We also appreciated very
much the help from Vice President of Senior Living, Maria Timberlake, who moved into instant action to contact
associates to bring in more chairs! And thanks to all the associates who
obliged.
Dr. Dan Rexroth, President and CEO of John Knox Village, addressed all attendees
with warm words of welcome. Jim opened the meeting by welcoming all, and asking
the 2016 New Residents to stand and be recognized. Almost all new residents
stood as we honored them with loud and lengthy applause. Jim explained that the
business meeting would be brief, as the focus of this meeting would be our “Holiday
Hospitality” for 2016 new residents. Committee reports consisted of Committee Chairs
describing the duties of their committee, and indicating the time of their next
meeting. Although complete reports were not given, the full reports given at
the Executive Committee meeting are included here for information. Resident
Board member Wanda Chinnery reported
on the activities of the John Knox Village Board of Directors.
COMMITTEE
REPORTS:
Finance
Committee Chair Gerry Wachsmann reported
on the November meeting. Vice President of Finance Kim Klockenga presented the financial report. Overall, October performance
showed a decrease in net assets for the current fiscal year, primarily due to
reduced operating revenues. Occupancy at the end of October: Independent Living
– 720; Village Assisted Living – 168; Village Care Center – 279. The next meeting
will be Feb. 1, 2017, at 1 p.m. in the Courtyard Theater.
Health
Services Committee: Chair Helen Darby reported
on the November meeting. The speaker was Anthony Columbatto, the new Village Care Center Administrator.
Anthony gave us an overview of his work history and what brought
him to the Village Anthony came from St. Mary’s Manor in Blue Springs.
To date, he has met with key administrative and management staff in 1:1
meetings and will be holding town hall style meetings for staff level as
he gets to know all the workers in the Village Care Center. He added that his
passion is rehabilitation and acute care. Rodney McBride, vice president of health and community services, updated
the committee on the progress of finding a place to build additional assisted living
community. One location may be to build such a unit on the land where the old
Lee’s Summit Hospital currently sits. Rodney also informed the committee that
our campus now has its own medication destruction box. This box is an addition
to existing boxes in the Lee’s Summit area. The Village’s box is privatized and
for use only by Village residents and staff and is located in the Resident
Health Center. The maintenance and emptying of the box is the responsibility of
the Lee’s Summit Sheriff's Department. Next Meeting: Wednesday, Dec. 14 in the Administrative
Board Room.
Sales,
Marketing and Communications Committee: Chair Margie Stowell, reported on the
November meeting. Speaker Mary Jane Fitts, a representative from Greystone, the
senior living development Firm that is partnering with John Knox Village,
explained the relationship Greystone has had with the Village over the last several
years. Mary Jane focused primarily on The Meadows project. We have almost
reached our sale goal of 56 units (54 have been sold) – only two more to go. That
is known as the “conversion phase”. Those buying in on this phase will be known
as Charter Members. The next phase will be known as the “construction phase”. She
gave an explanation of the different phases. There will be 33 parking garage
spaces, as well as a number of car ports available. Mary Jane also gave a
profile of the new residents at the Meadows: 1. primarily people who are already living in our
area of Missouri; 2. the average age is 76; 3. 42% are single, 58% are married;
4. the average net worth is $1.36
million dollars, the average monthly income is $7,000; 5. they are active and
energetic; 6. some are still working. Marybeth
Roberts, director of sales, marketing and communications presented the
FY17 sales report through October. A good discussion followed. A question was
asked about the signs on Shamrock Lane and on Lilac announcing new villas
coming soon. Marybeth said there are plans for six Villas to be built – two on Shamrock
Lane (which have already been sold); and four on Lilac. Villas are a popular
option for people to consider. The next meeting will be Jan. 19.
Resident
Services Committee: Vice
Chair Fran Baker gave the
report of the November meeting. Kelli
Snell, director of resident life, gave insight into how activities
and trips are chosen. Resident recommendations are welcome in all areas.
Cost is always a consideration in trips. If tickets have to be purchased
in a block, the Village must know in advance that they will be used.
Residents usually want trips that cost less than $60. Soon Village
communications will list trips for the upcoming year. The Performing
Arts department uses a variety of music. Holiday programs incorporate
secular and religious selections. Spiritual events include discussion
groups, TED Talks, and musical entertainment. The Activities Department
tries to plan a variety of activities, movies and special events.
There is an Advisory Committee that meets quarterly to plan. Contact Kelli Snell if you would like
to serve on the committee. You may also give suggestions to anyone in
the Resident Life department. Maria
Timberlake reported that the pad has been poured and the
elevator scaffolding is in place for the first building in the Meadows.
The Courtyard Coffee Shop is scheduled to open in December. Planning and
preparation for renovation of The Pavilion has begun. Work will need to be
scheduled between events held in the building. The Resident Services Committee will not meet in December. Next meeting will be Jan. 10.
Nominating
Committee: Chair June Dewsberry reported
on the November meeting. Each committee member is assigned a committee to work
with, making calls and soliciting for new members. Candidates for the Resident Board
member seat, Resident Council President, and Resident Council Vice President
are also being sought.
Program:
The Men's Glee Club, and the ladies' Treble Clefs, choral groups from our
performing arts department, entertained us with delightful selections of
seasonal songs. Under the direction of Rebecca
Hubbard, performing arts specialist, and with residents Carol Evans and Rayma Wilson at
the piano, we enjoyed the lovely music. Refreshments were served from a
seasonally decorated table. Cookies and coffee were enjoyed by all. Again – many
thanks to all who donated cookies, and to Todd for the liquid refreshments.
Many of the residents, both old and new, took time to visit and get acquainted.
We hope all our 2016 residents will become regular attendees at our General
Meetings. The next General Meeting will be on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017 – a week
later than usual, due to the New Year's Holiday. The program will be given by Emily Morris, director of wellness, who will instruct us on how to get
rid of all the extra weight we gained over the Holidays!
The next Executive
Committee meeting will be on Jan. 27.
Respectfully
submitted,
June Dewsberry, Secretary, Resident
Council
