On your way to work? Volunteering in the community? Off to the beach for the weekend with your children? A quick trip to the grocery store for ice cream? A night out at a new restaurant, but would you rather not drive there yourself? Springmoor residents can choose to use one of our many transportation services provided for them.
On Campus
Jim Woody is one of our residents’ favorite on-campus drivers who is always eager to help. He is here every business day, including holidays, all year long to take you to the pool, a campus event, physical therapy, to the North Village bank branch, to the hairdresser, or to our convenience store. Every morning, he marks his calendar with times and places from the monthly Springtimes activities list, and plans his route accordingly. He is given a list of reservations for physical therapy and doctor’s appointments and is always ready when you are. Jim can call all residents by name and is quick to learn the new ones as soon as they move in.
Jim has often been heard to say that he “drives 35 miles every day and goes nowhere.” But for Springmoor, he is an important part of everyone’s day. Greeting you with a smile and opening the door when you get in and out of the car makes him a treasure to all that know him. He said he drives back and forth across Sawmill Road from one side of campus to another over 100 times a day!
He has retired three times in his life but keeps coming back for more. He “enjoys [his] job and can’t imagine being anywhere else.” He laughs when he says, “that the residents think [he] is young.” Jim loves the people at Springmoor. After a 50-year career in finance, the FBI, and the petroleum industry, he is happy to sit back and listen to the residents’ stories as he gets to know each one of them. The only time he leaves campus each day is to get gas for the Ford Flex. A pack of Nabs and a cup of coffee keep him going back and forth all day. What a true southern gentleman he is!
Off Campus
Brenda Clark, one of Springmoor’s favorite van and bus drivers, has found her favorite group here at Springmoor. Formerly a Raleigh CAT bus driver and a NC State Wolf Line driver, she says the residents here make her smile the most! “They are always so happy. It makes my day so much fun!”
Brenda drives residents off campus for their doctor, hairdresser, dentist and business appointments. Many Raleigh residents are loyal to their doctors and stylists, and can’t imagine going anywhere else. The hospitals in Chapel Hill and Durham are, of course, on Brenda’s route too. In order to guarantee transportation, a resident must simply make a reservation several weeks prior to their appointment.
“Taking the residents on a day trip or to an evening event is always fun!” Brenda loves dinners out when she can talk to the residents and hear their stories. She even has a group she’s dubbed “the golden girls” because the three of them always participate together in the same activities. She says they look just like the characters from the popular TV show.
Our Springmoor van takes residents to the mall and to area grocery stores on a weekly rotating basis. Our receptionist reports that ice cream and fresh fruit are always in the bags when the residents return from a trip to Harris Teeter or Trader Joe’s. And shopping at Target or at Crabtree Valley Mall is always more exciting when you are with friends and neighbors.
And Around Town
David Robinson, a Springmoor resident for the past year, is semi-retired but stays active with the NC DOT as a consultant for the railroad programs. He and his wife both have their cars here so he can drive to work or she can run errands. When asked if they make trips to the grocery store, he quickly replied that he had “vowed never to cook again when [he] moved in, but having lobster as close as the next stoplight makes a trip to the grocery store worth it.” They both find that the activities, amenities, and food options are making it so simple to stay on campus that the need for two cars is lessening each month. They worry less about having to run out in the rain or the cold because everything is here on campus.
Wherever you may go – on campus, off campus, to work, to dinner, to a movie or to an appointment – transportation is made simple with the Springmoor staff. From here to there, they are all eager to join our residents on their fun outings. Even if it is only a short drive across the street.
