Getting Wet & Wild at Kirkhaven!

Kirkhaven held a fun water day event that both residents and staff had a wet & wild time with. A picture tells a better story, so "read on" and enjoy...................



Double-fisted and dangerous!






















Just shoot me already








Death by water can be fun?

Approach at your own risk!

I may be the pastor, but I'll shoot if you make me.

I got you covered.

That has to hurt!

Don't mess with my residents!

Don't mess with the "Terminator"!

Everybody messes with this guy.

I got your back Mable.

That still hurts!

I mean business!

Still Friends!

The Sage Project

After months of planning and planting, the Seniorsfirst "Sage Project" rolled out with great fanfare and success this past weekend at the annual Park Avenue Festival.

The Sage Project was an idea designed to blend public relations, resident activities and fund-raising into a fun event. Every year the Park Avenue merchants hold a massive festival that attracts thousands of people looking for crafts, food, entertainment and fun. Since Kirkhaven resides on the avenue, we often participate in some small way. But this year we decided to step it up a notch.

With so many of our residents being avid gardeners, we decided to engage them in an herb growing activity and then pot and sell the herbs at the Park Avenue festival to raise funds and awareness towards our wonderful home. The Sage Project involved residents from our nursing home, assisted living home and adult day program. It extended to our staff and several community volunteers.

It literally began with seeds and tending of the gardens. It then proceeded to potting and arranging. Finally it came to the event set-up and sale. With the help of a "Bright Spot" that advertised our event on the local news the day before and a beautiful day that brought out huge crowds, the foot traffic into our courtyard along Park Avenue resulted in plenty of sales. I was amazed at the positive interaction between customers and residents. I was pleased to hear the pleasant comments about our Kirkhaven home and the Sage Project. I was humbled by the show of gratitude and support from the volume of sales. On more than one occasion, people would simply give us a donation or tell us to keep the change.

The project was a great success on every level. The residents enjoyed the meaningful activity and the opportunity to interact with each other, staff and the community. Seniorsfirst enjoyed wonderful public relations in getting the good word out into the community about our innovative communities and services. We sold over a thousand dollars in herbs with the net proceeds to go towards our resident activity funds.

As our VP of Marketing said afterwards, "the smiles on the faces of the residents and staff/volunteers add another million dollars in value to the project!" With the lessons we learned and the success we had, we will definitely bring the Sage Project back next year.

The Man Behind the Room

For the past 18 years, when there was a need for a group of people to meet and dialog on important work related to the Kirkhaven mission and operation, chances were the meeting was held in the Wilcox Board Room.

In 1992, when the south wing addition was built, the conservative but eloquent board room was named after one of Kirkhaven's premier pioneers-Harris Wilcox. For those who often use the Wilcox room and utter its name regularly, I thought you might appreciate a bit of history about the man behind the room.

Harris Wilcox, a prominent area businessman, internationally renowned Auctioneer and Realtor, Chairman of the Board of Harris Wilcox Inc, a generous benefactor of Charitable, Civic and Youth Organizations and a lifelong devotee to American Agriculture, was born in Bergen, NY on 1919 and recently passed away in July 2010.

Mr. Wilcox was a devoted Christian and member of the Bergen Presbyterian Church who lived his life in direct relationship to his faith. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kirkhaven from 1980-1985, the period of Kirkhaven's initial start-up and development. A time of both challenges and opportunities that might never have been navigated successfully had it not been for the unique style incorporating knowledge, energy, humor, stamina, and the "larger than life" presence that defined Harris Wilcox.

When I first met Mr. Wilcox, I was a 27 year-old, still "wet behind the ears" Director of Finance. I was in awe of the man and his gentle, yet determined, command of every encounter. His kindness and chivalry stood out among all others in the room and when he spoke, people would hang on his every word. His command of the English language, his tact, his decisiveness rarely left an inkling of doubt that if Harris was behind a project, the project would get done.

I remember the trials and tribulations Kirkhaven encountered with respect to the initial funding requirements of our H.U.D. financing program. The head bureaucrat at H.U.D. was a woman named Helen Moore, who dragged us through every regulation, code & rule she could find before we finally received project approval. The tactful, yet humorous, gentleman that Harris Wilcox was, could not resist taking a parting shot at the mortgage closing when he declared with much pride and determination, " We give thanks for this blessed day, for Lord knows we have been through hell-an-more".

As I sat through the funeral of Mr. Wilcox, I could not help but to reminisce about how far Kirkhaven has come since those early start-up days. Slowly we are losing the great pioneers, like Philip B. Price and Harris Wilcox, whose vision and dedication have led us to where we are today. But although these pioneers are gone, their memories and the lessons they taught us remain as a gift for all of us to carry forward.

My wish is that each of us will remember and respect the "presence" of Harris Wilcox whenever we sit in the Wilcox Room. The presence of a gentleman.......the authority of a born leader. Mr. Wilcox had it right when he would say, "Chivalry is not extinct" and "We have a Great God and a Wonderful Savior".

Thank you Harris for all you have given Kirkhaven. "Well done Thou Good and Faithful Servant".