By Brandon Hair, Executive Director
Each year, I attend the annual LeadingAge North Carolina conference and report back regarding some of the sessions I found most helpful. This year the conference was titled Courage Ignited, and participants convened in Asheville at the Grove Park Inn in the spring of 2024.
During this conference, I attained all the hours required to renew my North Carolina nursing home license. This license requires 30 hours of continuing education every other year.
I’m always excited when the meeting is in Asheville because it’s one of my favorite cities, and Grove Park is a wonderful place to stay. I’ve attended the conference at the Inn several times, and this year was the first time I stayed in the older section. I loved taking the manual elevator up and down each day with the very friendly elevator operator. It was wonderful to open the large wooden windows each night and fall asleep in the cool mountain air.
It was a great conference, and I learned a lot as I do every year. Based on the presentations by the keynote speakers and the content covered in the breakout sessions I attended, I believe the title of Courage Ignited was meant to inspire participants to be confident in a post-COVID world. We should not be afraid of the changes that are happening in our industry as they are all for the betterment of our residents.
The first keynote speaker was Pete Smith, an author from Wilmington. His presentation focused on knowing your purpose and what you stand for, and I reflected on this as it relates to my role as Executive Director of Springmoor.
This session caused me to give a lot of thought to the ways in which I affect the culture of Springmoor and impact the way residents and staff see themselves as a part of our community. I can help them create their own identity in what I like to refer to as a “mini-city” in which I believe my identity is that of “city mayor.”
I pondered why my purpose matters and how best to utilize it. On the surface, it may seem like these are obvious questions to ask oneself—but it often requires hearing from someone as moving as Pete Smith to encourage us to reflect on and learn from these types of questions.
Another session was titled “Community and Organizational Structure.” In this interesting session, we discussed the recommended size and role of a Community Board of Directors and the recommended organizational structure of management.
I was glad to learn that our number of board members and their role in overseeing significant issues is precisely how a board should function for a community like Springmoor. They should allow management to manage, which our board does.
Senior technology was another well-attended breakout session. Resident portals are very popular at retirement living communities, and ongoing training for new and existing residents is necessary to increase the utility of the portal as an essential communications tool. I discovered Springmoor is well ahead of many communities in this regard. I am thankful for all the staff who keep the portal up to date daily and all the residents who utilize it.
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Springmoor is a nonprofit Continuing Care Retirement Community offering seniors a variety of residence options that range from apartments to larger villas and homes. If you’re looking for an active senior living community in Raleigh, call us at 919-848-7080 with your questions.
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