Kirby Pines Retirement Community | The Pinecone

• 2 • The Pinecone | November 2023 ON THE PINECONE COVER November brings so many joys and memories for me. The splendor of the leaves. The crisp- ness of the mornings...Football...Pumpkins (and Pumpkin Pie, my favorite!), Turkey... that extra hour of sleep...Veterans’ Day... and of course, Thanksgiving with Family. Today, I am adding a new one. My gratefulness for the staff who surround me and our Residents here at Kirby Pines! Once a month, we celebrate our “Champion of the Month”. This is an hourly employee who has gone above and beyond in the performance of their duties. Nominations come from Res- idents, peers and the management team who have observed their job performance. I start- ed thinking about who my nomination would be as I was walking out my door at 6:15 am. There, I noticed one of our dedicated House- keepers, already working on cleaning an apart- ment who recently housed a visiting family member. “Good Morning! I just wanted to get started early so none of my scheduled residents would be inconvenienced.” Here I am. Trying to walk McCoy before my first cup of coffee, and she is smiling, singing to herself, and on the job, worrying about not missing scheduled times for her next Residents. She could be my Champion! Walking, I was reminded of last night’s “Ex- quisite Cuisine” Event. Mark and Skye did a remarkable event bringing some of my favorite tastes of the Old World to Memphis. But what really struck me was the excitement that Ty, Terra, and Keith had on their face, how profes- sional they looked in their uniforms, knowing that in a few minutes they would be delivering Working with Champions at Kirby Pines So Many Things To Be Thankful For At Kirby Pines BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dr. James Latimer, Chairman Mr. Rudy Herzke, President Mr. Berry Terry, Secretary/Treasurer Mr. Larry Braughton Mr. Jim Ethridge Ms. Linda Harrington Ms. Mary Ann Hodges Mr. Rusty Linkous Mr. Boyd Rhodes, Jr. RCA STAFF Charlie Trammell President, RCA Michélle Vincent Executive Vice President, RCA Tim Cox Senior Vice President of Finance, RCA Michael Kelly Vice President of Finance, RCA Stephanie Barrow Director of Sales & Marketing KIRBY PINES STAFF Michael Brown Executive Director, Kirby Pines Annette Marlar Director of Medical Services Mike Abutineh, M.D. Medical Director Anna Bradford Nursing Home/Assisted Living Administrator Trudy Schenkenberger Director of Human Resources Linda Strickland Director of Accounting Mark Simpson Director of Culinary Services Jada Mullins Director of Environmental Services Mike Rayder Director of Grounds & Landscaping Chuck Neeley Director of Maintenance Rhonda Nelson Director of Nursing Maegan Hurwitz Director of Resident Programs Calvin Sims Director of Security This magazine is produced by RCA 6465 N. Quail Hollow Rd., Suite 400 Memphis, TN 38120, 901-794-2598 Electronic version of The Pinecone is available at www.kirbypines.com November is here and there is so much to be grateful for. Our beautiful campus, wonderful employees and the best group of people in one place living together as family. We are truly blessed. Here are some upcoming events to also be thankful for. We have a Volunteer Fair on the 1st and a Resident Association Meeting on the 9th. There is a book sale on the 14th-15th and the Book Baggers are featuring resident authors on the 28th. We will honor veterans at a program on the 10th with and have a Turkey Trot Dance on the 21st. On the 17th, we will gather in the lobby to collectively see if we have won Memphis Most for the 17th straight year - fingers crossed! Our front cover features Bill andMarilyn Crosby holding what could be our 17th Memphis Most Award. Either way, we know we're Number 1. these culinary delights to our residents with amazing pride. Here are my Cham- pions! But then, there was the incident around Lake Latimer this month. While a hus- band was strolling with his wife in a wheelchair, he turned to drop a piece of trash away into the receptacle. With her wheels unlocked, she rolled into the lake, chair and all. Within 2 minutes, Securi- ty responded and jumped immediately into the water without hesitation. Caleb’s quick response surely averted what could have been a tragedy! Caleb is truly our “Champion of the Month”! What is my message here? With the be- ginning of the Holiday season, I want to give thanks to all our great employees who come in every day they are sched- uled and give their all to their departments and fellow employees, their supervisors, and to me! I...we all are truly blessed to be surrounded by such great employees! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I will see you around the Estate! BFFs, Susan Flake & Lois Dazey. Photo by Arrena Cheek Our back shows off how much fun we all had at our Fall Festival. Great music, great food and great company! So this Thanksgiving sit back and give thanks for the many wonderful things we all have here at Kirby Pines. Michael Brown, Executive Director, Kirby Pines