St. Clara’s names Norma Kramer Volunteer of the Year
Rebecca Johnson announces her retirement

 

[April 09, 2019] 

On Monday, St. Clara’s Rehab and Senior Care honored its many volunteers with a special luncheon. Each year the annual event recognizes those who give of their personal and special talents to improve the quality of life for the residents at St. Clara’s.

Volunteers provide friendship, companionship and love to those who need and deserve it the most, our seniors. The volunteers do this many means. From playing games with the residents, assisting in activities, taking walks outside in the warm sunshine when possible, to polishing nails, singing, and reading; the efforts they make are much appreciated by the residents as well as the staff at St. Clara’s

On Monday, about 25 of the dozens of volunteers were able to attend the luncheon. Guests were welcomed by Activity Director Rebecca Johnson along with her staff Linda Bree, Marie Parr and Becky Kleinman. Also on hand were St. Clara’s Administrator Gail McGinnis and Chaplain Tim Searby.

The day began with a call to order and welcome by Johnson, and an opening prayer and blessing on the food by Searby. Guests were then invited to enjoy grilled hamburgers with toppings, potato salad and a relish plate with pickles, celery, black olives and more stacked high.

Johnson and her staff worked to assure that everyone received all they wanted and needed with assistance from McGinnis. When everyone was eating contentedly, Johnson and the staff sat down for lunch as well.

Finishing before them, it was then Administrator McGinnis who served the apple pie and ice cream dessert to everyone, including the staff.

After the meal Johnson led in a short program. For Johnson, a tradition at each gathering is to tell a couple little jokes, play a game and then delivery a brief message.

In Her first joke she spoke of a wife and husband conversing, when the wife said that the family has the best dog in the world. Asked why, she replied that every morning the dog brings in the morning paper. The husband thought that was not a big thing, but rather something all good dogs should do. The wife then replied, “but we’ve never had a subscription.”

Then it was time for the “left right” game. The game for this day was played around a story of how Johnson went to work planning the volunteer luncheon. A brown bag on each table was given to the person on the right when Johnson’s story included that word, and back to the left when that word came about in the story. The fun part of the game for many was seeing how confusing it became for guests to keep track of which direction was right or left. As laughter filled the room, Johnson carried on her story until finally the prize bag landed before the individual winners on each table. Opened up, each bag was filled with candy to take home for later.

After the game Johnson delivered one more joke. As Henrietta Hen passed by the kitchen window she heard the old farmer say “When Henrietta stops laying eggs we’re going to have her for a Sunday dinner.” Henrietta rushed out to the grocery store right away and as she came in, the clerk asked, “so how many eggs do you need this week Henrietta?” And now we know….why did the chicken cross the road?

Johnson went on with the program saying that the theme for the day was “like a warm quilt, the world is held together by its volunteers.” Johnson spoke about how the first quilt was made of mixed and matched pieces of fabric to create a blanket that would keep one warm. She said that thinking about those pieces, they represented portions of someone’s life. She called them “hand stitched moments in time.”

She also spoke about the value of the quilt making process as many of the olden day women gathered together to stitch quilts and spend time together. She said it is much the same at St. Clara’s, the life at the center is much like the pieces of the quilt, made up of many different pieces from staff to volunteers to residents, each one is a story.

She said that what the volunteers give is their life experiences, their stories are a part of the fabric.

She talked about the survival skills of all the volunteers and how many of them have seen their own hardships, and they share their strength, knowledge and love with the residents, who have also seen their share of life experiences.

She recalled a story she heard of a young girl who wanted her father to put down his newspaper and come to play with her. The father took a large piece of his newspaper out that had printed on it a map of the world. He tore the page in the many, many pieces. He gave the girl all the pieces and told her that she could go and put the pieces back together. When she was finished, he would then play with her. The little girl took the pieces to the dining room and laid them all out. With tape she carefully put them all back together in no time at all. Father was amazed and asked how the young girl finished so quickly. She replied, “When I found out there was a picture of Jesus on the back of the paper and I got him all in his right place, then the whole world came together.”

Johnston talked about how our lives are a patchwork of experiences with memories to share, laughter, tears, joys and sorrows, and so much more.

Johnson and her staff had made a quilt poster was pieced together on a large poster board. It was made up of knit squares and photos from past events at St. Clara’s. At the end, Johnson invited those in attendance to take a piece of the quit, a knit square, a picture, or both.

She concluded, ‘No one stands so tall as those as when they stoop down to help someone, and that is what we do here.”

This year, the honor of the volunteer of the year was given to Norma Kramer. Johnson noted that Kramer has had her own big challenges in the last year, but she is still dedicated to the residents of St. Clara’s spending time reading to them and also delivering music.

Kramer was given a card and plaque in recognition.

As the day came to an end. Johnson announced that this would be her last volunteer luncheon. Johnson will be retiring the end of this month. She said she wasn’t going to be saying good-bye and couldn’t say where her life would lead in the future. She then said, who knows, next year I may be here sitting with all of you.

She concluded, “a good volunteer is hard to find, difficult to part with and impossible to forget.” She delivered many thank you’s to administrative staff, volunteers and the many other staff at St. Clara’s. She delivered special thanks to her good friend and co-worker Marie Parr, as well as her “small but mighty” activity staff consisting of Linda Bree and Becky Kleinman.

With a closing prayer, the annual luncheon was over for another year.

Guests lingered for a while after visiting with each other, and offered up warm words to Johnson.

Becky Kleinman, Rebecca Johnson, Gail McGinnis, Linda Bree, Marie Parr

Johnson said she doesn’t have a lot of plans for retirement with one exception. She and her husband are planning a trip to the New England area. The trip will happen soon after Johnson says good-bye for the final time at St. Clara’s. It will be a long trip with lots to do and see, and Johnson and her husband are very much looking forward to it.

Johnson has served at St. Clara’s for several years, and is very much loved by the residents. She is a good friend to many, including her volunteers, staff, and this LDN reporter. We all wish her all the best in her retirement, and fully expect we will still be seeing a lot of her….when she gets home from vacation that is.

[Nila Smith]