December 2020 NICHOLS’ NOTES December Is Here and It’S Time to Look Back at the Year Bay Village Had in 2020
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8400 Vamo Road • Sarasota, FL 34231 • (941) 966-5611 December 2020 NICHOLS’ NOTES December is here and it’s time to look back at the year Bay Village had in 2020. • Every one of us will remember the year 2020 as being the year of Covid-19 and the pandemic that gripped the world and changed operations here on the Bay Village campus in order to have a safe environment for residents and sta. I don’t have the space to go into all the details, and I am not sure we want to rehash all of them anyway, but it was a year that the sta of Bay Village really shined as they were the HEROES in working in the pandemic. The collective eorts Bay Village of everyone were greatly appreciated throughout the year. Eric Nichols................................................ President/CEO Jennifer Grimes......................... Chief Operating Officer • The Tides of Bay Village, our memory care household, went into Sarasota County for permit. I am hopeful that this project Christina Wizba......................... Chief Financial Officer can begin sometime in January 2021. Ron Simon...................................... Dir. of Dining Services Marvin Lunsford............................... Dir. of Maintenance • Bay Village began the year with several apartment oors Laura Pitcher........................................... Dir. of Marketing undergoing renovations. This all came to a screeching halt Shirley Laurence.......................... Dir. of Health Service in March when the pandemic hit. Ann Aldrich............................ Dir. of Human Resources • A year that saw records break for numbers of hurricanes, Larry Buczkowski........................... Dir. of Housekeeping Bay Village was very fortunate to not be part of the biggest Diana Caughron............... Dir. of Resident Enrichment storms of the year but had to deal with Tropical Storm Eta Rev. Dr. Chuck Moffett...................................... Chaplain in November. Mission Statement • Ron Simon became the Food Services Supervisor for Bay Established on Christian principles, Bay Village Village just as the operations of food services changed of Sarasota, Inc. offers a dynamic, secure and drastically due to the pandemic. He and his team have comprehensive residency for older adults, done a remarkable job with being exible with changing food services during this year. providing meaningful community life with continuing care. It has been a busy and unique year and I appreciate all the support the Bay Village Board of Directors, the residents, and www.bayvillage.org the employees have given to me through this year. www.facebook.com/BayVillageSRQ/ I wish you and your family a very Happy Holiday Season! 2 Special Days in December Advent actually started Sunday November 29th. There is an Advent Wreath located in the card room with more information about Advent. Also in the card room you will nd a small Christmas Tree with Chrismons on it. These were hand-made by residents John and Nancy Swift. You will also nd information about what these symbols mean. December 3rd at 2:00 there will be another free craft class. We will be making Christmas decorations for your door or to put in your apartment. All supplies are provided and there is no charge! We are going to start the holidays out with a special reveal on Friday December 4th. The entire rst oor will be decorated by then as well as some new lights and decorations outside. We want everyone to see all of the holiday decorations, listen to some festive music and get homemade cookies and cocoa to take back to their apartments. The festivities will be from 4:30-5:30 with the lights outside going on at 5:00. Hope you can join in this Holiday Kick-o! Hanukkah begins on December 10th. There will be a Menorah in the card room with a new candle lit on each of the 8 days. There will be information about Hanukkah and the Menorah located there as well. Remember making gingerbread men when you were young? Eating gingerbread cookies can bring back some wonderful memories, plus they just taste so good! On Friday December 11th from 12:00-1:00 we will be handing out gingerbread cookies in the main elevator lobby. Friday December 18th is Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. Even if you don’t have an ugly sweater you can make one by adding garland or tinsel or even ornaments to a sweater you already have. This event is for sta and residents and we will have secret judges walking around picking out the “ugliest” and giving out rewards. December 21st is the rst day of winter. Of course we live in Florida, but we are going to have a Walk in a Winter Wonderland! It is a holiday scavenger hunt around the property. Pick up the worksheet in the main elevator lobby between 10:00-2:00. When you nish the walk, return to the resident services oce to get a prize. Most of us are ready for 2020 to be over. It has been quite a year. Unfortunately we cannot have a New Year’s Eve Party but we can give out Party Packs so you can still celebrate. We will have everything you need to celebrate (including champagne) in a bag that you can pick up in the main elevator lobby Thursday December 31 from 11:00-12:00. Special Project Keil Lapore is part of the Bay Village Dining Services Sta. She is also a Senior in High School. She is working on a special project for school and is requesting the assistance of our residents. She is asking that you write a short note with words of advice and wisdom for teenagers. There is a box in the mail room to place your notes. She only has a few weeks to do this so please help her with this special project! 3 Celebrating the Holidays During the Pandemic We all know that the holidays are going to be dierent this year. Numerous Bay Village residents have cancelled trips to visit family due to the rapidly increasing number of COVID cases right now. It is easy to focus on the negative, but there are many things we still can do. The holidays do not have to be cancelled! First of all we can be so very thankful that we live in Florida. We can still get outside and enjoy the beautiful grounds of Bay Village (have you spotted the eagle that often lands on our roof?). It is much safer to visit with friends and neighbors outdoors, so take advantage of that. We have the pool deck and 3rd oor terrace that are available for small gatherings. Where else can you have a picnic in the middle of December? We have two outdoor events scheduled during December: December 4th we will “Kick o the Holidays” with a special review of our decorations inside and out. There will even be cookies and hot chocolate. And December 20th there is a Walk in a Winter Wonderland holiday scavenger hunt. We can also be thankful for technology. If you have a smart phone, tablet or computer you can not only visit with out of state friends and family, you can see them! Things such as FaceTime, Zoom, and Skype have brought people together in a new way. Many people also play games together using technology. You can play Bridge, Chess, and even Scrabble with people from all over the world. I’m sure there are some holiday games you can play also. You can take this time to send cards or write letters to friends and family. Many of us still really enjoy opening the mailbox and nding a personal note from someone we haven’t seen in awhile. The Gift Shop has many lovely cards to choose from. You could also take it a step further and make some cards. We have lots of supplies in the craft room available to any resident who wants to try. Take some time to learn about some of the special celebrations in December. In the Bay Village Card Room we will have a Menorah for the celebration of Hanukkah along with more information about this Jewish holiday. There will also be a Wreath and Chrismon Tree representing the Christian time of Advent that leads up to Christmas. Or maybe you want to look online or for some resources in our library to learn more about these or other celebrations such as Kwanzaa or Omisoka. Unfortunately we can’t attend holiday concerts or plays like we have in the past. But we can show holiday concerts on Channel 195 and you don’t have to get dressed up or pay for tickets! There will also be some fun holiday shows on 195 such as Crazy Christmas Lights and Amazing Gingerbread Houses. And a plethora of holiday movies will be shown as well. You can check the cable listings for holiday programs on other channels. Yes the holidays will be dierent, but that doesn’t have to be bad. Take this time to reect on the past, connect with family and friends and learn something new! Thank you to all of the Bay Village residents who donated to the All Faiths Food Bank. We collected over $1000! During this pandemic, there are so many families in need, and your donations will greatly help. Thank you also to everyone who donated items and money for the Health Center and ALF Christmas. We all know this year has been especially dicult for these residents. We were able to buy several gifts for each resident due to your generosity. Santa and his elves will deliver the gifts on Christmas Day along with cookies and cocoa. Thank you to all of the residents who volunteer at Bay Village in one way or another.