Report to Community 2015 1 Table of Contents

Report to Community 2015 1 Table of Contents Message from the Board Chair ............................ 2 Financials .............................................. 3 Spotlight on Big Knife Villa Jack Kirschman ...................................... 5 Carol Ross .......................................... 7 Capital Projects ......................................... 9 Board Members Donna Buelow, Chair (Town of Hardisty) Gerald Kuefler (Flagstaff County) Peter Miller, Vice Chair (Village of Forestburg) Ed Kusalik (Town of Daysland) Susan Armer (Village of Lougheed) Wade Lindseth (Flagstaff County) Sven Bernard (Village of Heisler) Greg Sparrow (Town of Sedgewick) Rick Krys (Town of Killam) Dell Wickstrom (Village of Alliance) Message from the Board Chair 2 Working with a large and diverse Board can have its challenges. We have representation from Hardisty, Forestburg, Lougheed, Heisler, Killam, Daysland, Sedgewick, Alliance, and Flagstaff County. In 2015, our Board met a challenge with the decision to consolidate our lodge operations to Big Knife Lodge in Forestburg, and to decommission Flagstaff Lodge in Sedgewick. As with all changes, there are always bumps in the road. The decision to close Flagstaff Lodge was not an easy one and came after much assessment, discussions, and deliberations with residents. It was not a decision made in isolation. It is one that we believe will ensure the lodge program will continue to be responsive to the seniors in the county while operating efficiently and effectively. Funding for an expansion to Big Knife Villa was announced in December 2013 and we broke ground in 2015. The project will give us an additional 20 units to the existing lodge. As you will see later in this report, construction is well underway and we hope to move residents into the new rooms by December 2016. We also celebrate a five year relationship with The Bethany Group. What started in 2011 has grown into a strong and productive partnership. We have utilized their expertise in seniors and community housing, streamlining our operations and processes and, I believe, maintained a level of quality in our service to our residents … and residents seem to agree. We were pleased that in 2014 residents had a 100% satisfaction with Big Knife Lodge. We are equally pleased that this has continued into 2015, with all our residents having a 100% satisfaction with services. Questions like, “I enjoy living here,” “I feel it is my home,” and “the meals I receive are of good nutritional value,” are ones that not everyone will agree upon. However, we seem to have hit the right note at Big Knife Villa. On behalf of the Board, I want to send out a huge thank you to the Manager and staff for their dedication, hard work, and support! Gerald Kuefler (Flagstaff County) With so many people to thank, from my fellow Board members to all the staff at The Bethany Group for their continuing Ed Kusalik (Town of Daysland) support, it is hard not to feel lucky as Board Chair. Wade Lindseth (Flagstaff County) Donna Buelow Greg Sparrow (Town of Sedgewick) Board Chair Dell Wickstrom (Village of Alliance) 3 Financials Revenue Expenses 44% Resident Fees 71% Wages 36% Requisition 11% Administration 14% Government Funding 10% Utilities, Maintenance, Repairs 5% Recoveries 8% Food, Housekeeping, Laundry 2% Other Jack Kirschman 6 As Jack Kirschman will tell you, “I was born in Forestburg, and I will die in Forestburg. There’s no place like home.” Jack grew up on a farm near, you guessed it, Forestburg. He comments it’s “a privilege to be raised on a farm I think.” In his view he was raised at the best time on a farm as today it’s changed into big business rather than the mixed farm he grew up on. “My folks and I lived on the poor side. We may have had not much but we never went without.” While Jack was the first born, and the first born in the Forestburg Hospital, he was joined by a sister and brother. Jack is full of colourful stories including from his youth on the farm: “I had the homeliest dog, an Airedale. Growing up, in the Spring my dad would do (castrate) the calves and pigs. Well, my dog was always running around all the time and my dad said he was going to do him as well. So, I took the dog behind a shed and I hid him. My dad never did catch him. After that I kept him next to me all the time.” Jack chuckles when he remembers the story. Though his heart always resided with farming, Jack also took on work in the mines. He was the second youngest coal miner working at the Murray Coal Mine, “They were good guys. I liked the old guys there and their stories.” Jack continued to mine even after he married and bought a farm. “It was a second income but sometimes it really was the first income,” he chuckles. Jack’s wife, Lily, had two children from a previous marriage. Jack had always taken it for granted that they’d get along and they’re still close today. Jack and Lily also had a son together who, unfortunately, died at 45 years old from Budd Cherry disease. Lily passed more recently after 62 years of marriage. During their marriage, they bought a condo in Arizona when they retired. They spent around 13 winters there, enjoying the activities and company, “We stayed in a park with around 1000 people, more people than is in Forestburg but they’re all the same age group as us.” Eventually they moved to Big Knife Villa and Jack has been there for the past eight years. Though he is on his own now, he knows many people in Big Knife Villa. “It’s different when you’ve been raised and lived in the same area, you know most of the residents here.” For instance, his current neighbour is the daughter of the man Jack bought his first farm from when he and Lily married. A self-described workaholic, Jack continues his community involvement as well. “I’ve been involved with the Lions for 54 years I think. I got my 50 year pin a few years ago.” He and a friend are the two oldest members. As he sits in his comfortable living room looking out the window, Jack comments, “I’m lucky to live this long and have a good life. Life is what you make it, in a way.” 7 Carol Ross Carol Ross is no stranger to Big Knife Villa; when it first opened, she worked here for seven years cooking and cleaning, “It just seemed like I lived here,” she comments about moving into the place in 2012. She also volunteered driving the van, which she occasionally still does, “I’ve driven to Stettler, Camrose, picnics by the river, picking up plants.” Carol and her husband moved into Big Knife Villa together but, sadly, he died shortly afterwards. Carol herself had cancer 10 years ago but it is in remission. “I guess the Lord isn’t finished with me yet,” she says with a slight smile. Born in Galahad, Carol grew up east of Forestburg on a farm. When she married, she lived west of Forestburg, and then nine years later she moved to an acreage west of town. “We had animals. Horses, chickens, pigs, and cows but we ended up with just horses and cats after a while.” While she worked odd jobs, including at a pizza parlor, Carol opted to be a ‘stay-at-home-mom’ and raise her four girls. Her daughters have moved across the world including Oman and Wyoming, the closest living in Pincher Creek and Edmonton. “I don’t see a whole lot of them,” she says. “Three of them are RNs so they’re busy.” The youngest lives in Oman. Though Carol hasn’t visited yet it’s on her wish list. “I get sent pictures on my iPad,” she mentions. Carol recently had an injury, tearing muscles in her hamstring. “I was bit scared but I’m all better now.” For someone who likes to stay active, having to use a cane was not fun. To occupy her time, Carol likes to scrap book, make cards, and knit. “I used to go to the Church Knitting Club. Now I knit scarves for the homeless. I was given yarn to make the scarves and then they put them around Edmonton for people to pick up.” She also loves to paint, starting the hobby back in 1986. “One of my daughters went to art class and she had her stuff lying around. I thought, I could do that. I’ve sold I don’t know how many paintings.” Some of her artwork adorns the hallways of the building, as well as inside her apartment. “We used to have an art room over in the fire hall but our numbers started dwindling, so we left,” she mentions. Carol is now trying to set up a room in the Drop-In Centre, which is part of the building. “It’s quite handy to have the centre there. You can got over for coffee or play cards. It’s nice,” she says. She also enjoys her “little room and apartment,” also commenting on the view outside her room. “I’ve lived by the highway for 45 years and you get used to it.” Capital Projects 10 In 2014, the Governments of Canada and Alberta announced funding for the expansion of Big Knife Villa to include the addition of 20 units to the existing lodge. It is hoped that residents will be able to move into the rooms by December 2016. After an assessment and discussions with residents in Flagstaff County, a decision was made to consolidate lodge operations to Big Knife Villa and close Flagstaff Lodge in Sedgewick.

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