Melinda Beard of Glenwood Place received the Dare to Dream Star Award | News, Sports, Vacancies

TR PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Glenwood Place Life Engagement Coordinator Melinda Beard (left), pictured with resident Joyce Adkisson, was recently awarded the Dare to Dream Star Award by the Iowa Senior Citizens Association.

The staff at Glenwood Place in Marshalltown is committed to engaging residents in a wide range of beneficial activities, and the Dare to Dream initiative may be the ultimate manifestation of these efforts.

During the Iowa Association for the Aging (IALA) annual conference on October 23 and 24, Glenwood Life Connection Coordinator Melinda Beard was awarded the Dare to Dream Star Award, which recognizes individuals who “demonstrate exceptional service, compassion and commitment to improving the quality of life of residents.” .

“This award is a testament to Melinda’s unwavering dedication and passion for improving the lives of our residents,” said Glenwood Place Director Lisa Hall. “Her joy is contagious when she talks about our residents and what she does for a living. She is a wonderful life improvement facilitator and Glenwood Place is lucky to have her.”

During a recent interview, Byrd said the facility hosts one “Dare to Dream” event a month, and special recognition this year was given to a flight for 91-year-old resident Joyce Adkisson, courtesy of none other than Outdoors Today columnist and pilot extraordinaire. Harry Brandenburg.

“We choose one resident based on the things (they) tell me when I tell their life story when they move. I kind of draw on experiences that they’ve only dreamed of or things that they say they wish they had ready to go,” Beard said. “We’re really trying to come together as a community and make this possible while they’re here with us.”

Brandenburg reflected on this experience in his own words.

“I like to fly. I love giving young people a ride on an airplane. And sometimes people who are no longer young, who have flown before or were former pilots themselves, have the opportunity to get on the air again,” he said. “It was last summer, July 16, when I was notified that Joyce had been a private pilot for a long time. Would I take her on another flight? Yes, was the answer. We took a 15-minute flight to give Joyce another chance to see Marshalltown and the surrounding landscape from an eagle’s eye view. She seemed to enjoy the ride and when we landed, her simple “thank you” was the perfect response for her. This was my day to help refresh the memories of an elderly man in his twilight years.”

Other recent Dare to Dream events included a resident’s trip to see Mannheim Steamroller live, a stay at a cabin in Newton, and a Sunday lunch for a resident who had moved from her farm and wanted to gather her family for the occasion.

“We prepared food here exactly like what she ate every Sunday. Her whole family came and surprised her, and three of us actually served a meal at her house, and one of them stuck with me forever,” Beard said. “We actually delivered the food to her home and served it, and we served it on a Chinese table at her house, so it was special—all her recipes.”

The overall goal, she added, is to get as many people involved as possible to help make those dreams come true and allow residents to do things they’ve never done before.

“Of course we make them happy every day with the things we do, like events and things like that. We really strive to satisfy their likes (and) their desires,” Beard said.

And there’s more to come, including an upcoming event at Binford House in December for a resident who has been involved with the organization for decades.

“Just know that here in Glenwood we truly strive to make our dreams come true. With the time they have when they come here, we make every day special and just want them to stay active (and) healthy. We communicate with them throughout the day, really paying attention to each individual resident to meet their needs.”

Glenwood Place is located at 2907 S. 6th St. in Marshalltown. Award recipients are selected based on nominations from peers, residents and community members.

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Contact Robert Mahary at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or [email protected].