We had a very special evening on Wednesday at Cedar Village.  We had our first service awards dinner for our staff.  Because we are a young organization, just over 13 years in existence, our awards for length of service have been few in number.  Of course, those who were staff of our predecessor organizations have all their years counted, and much longer lengths of service, but for Cedar Village only, the highest number you could have is 13.  At any rate, we recognized staff with 5, 10, 15, 20 and 40 years of service with a very special evening. 
 
We had an elegant dinner, complete with music, in the Wilbur and Mary Jean Cohen Religious and Cultural Center.  Our pastry chef made an amazing cake that had everyone's name and years of service on it in icing!  It was a sight to behold.  Then we presented gifts to each of the individuals recognized, ranging from pins, clocks and picture frames to a watch for 40 years, all inscribed with our Cedar Village insignia.  Everyone was dressed up and they were invited to bring guests, which most did, making it a real celebration.
 
I totaled up the years represented by the 24 award winners and, believe it or not, the years of service equaled 240.  Wow.  When you start to look at that in terms of how many residents have been cared for, how many lives have been impacted by these folks, it is an amazing number and an extraordinary impact.  I like to talk about "Cedar Village moments," those little events that are special or above and beyond the call or just demonstrate our staff's sensitivity to, and love of, our residents.  In 240 years of service, there have been countless Cedar Village moments-all instances in which a staff person extends their reach to enhance the life of a resident.
 
Working with our residents is a privilege, learning from them every day is a gift-and it is also hard work.  Some days are difficult and while building relationships is a great joy, when someone passes away, the grief is very real.  It takes special people to work with elders and we are very fortunate to have a team of many talented and loving staff, who provide both direct care and support services.  We can't say thank you to all of them often enough but our service awards event was a good way to recognize those with longevity and salute their important contributions to the residents of Cedar Village.