From the Desk of Tim Dressman: Joseph Bernardin Residence

Tim Dressman CEO

Effective last Friday, St. Leonard became sole owner of JBR. Prior to that date, St. Leonard was a managing partner and one of 7 overall partners that owned JBR for the past 15 years. We now own it outright. This will ensure that such a significant part of our ministry continues to operate in a similar manner for many years ahead

Team Faith Community: Pancake Breakfast Results

Day of Caring—Pancake Brunch. The Brunch was a huge success.  We served 231 meals to a wide audience including residents here at the Senior Living Community, members of our Faith Community, members of St. Francis and Incarnation parishes, and some locals.  Mr. Hans Marette, Chairman of Day of Caring, joined us for brunch.  Our volunteers included four St. Leonard residents and 14 members of the Faith Community, who collectively served 65 hours.  Among our volunteers were two teens from our Faith Community:  Lawrence Corbett who played the viola for 3+ hours and his sister Monsita who worked in the dining room.  We were assisted by the dedicated professional staff of Station House including hostess, Geni Thurin, Chef Rob and two of his cooks.  We raised $1,638.50 for the hunger and homeless coalitions in Montgomery County.  Donations beyond ticket sales were exceptional.  Social Committee members, Louise and Eric Nelson, picked up the tab for optional menu items including eggs, fruit, milk, tea, table decorations and various other items.   We are so blessed by and thankful for all the support we received, including Tim Dressman, Executive Director here at St. Leonard and several of his office staff.

Team Events: Tim Dressman AKA Vito D. Beale!

Convincing his constituents that he is not GUILTY!

Happy Holidays from Tim Dressman CEO for St. Leonard

Tim Dressman CEO

The Holiday Season is traditionally the time of year to give thanks for what has evolved during the year and also to give voice to our expectations for the New Year. I like to think it is also the time to realize everything that was accomplished when we thought nothing got done. It seems that we all move so fast any more that we fail to do the one thing that is essential to our health-stop and breathe, reflect, recreate. 

We all have something to be proud of in our lives, whether it is lost weight, completed work projects, renewed friendships, spiritual growth, or some other item. Regardless, we all experienced change in some fashion in our lives. Whether we treat those changes as positive or negative depends necessarily on our awareness. So, I would suggest to you to spend time with yourself during this bustling holiday season, time to reflect, time to become aware of what a blessing each and every one of you are and can increasingly be to those around you. The greatest gift is the free giving of ourselves to others. Take the time to see your gift and to really see the gifts that have been given you.

May the Lord meet the needs of your heart in the reality of your life. And may He continue to bless you and your families as you have blessed others. On behalf of Franciscan Living Communities and the Staff of our own St. Leonard, I wish you all the very merriest of Christmas's and a grand 2013!!!

Team Dressman:Alexandra and Matthew Dowling!

Mr and Mrs Matthew Dowling during their first dance as a married couple!

Team St. Leonard Foundation: Building on Compassion

On April 11, 2012, St. Leonard Foundation hosted special guests Heidi Jark of Fifth Third Foundation and Steve Petitjean of Fifth Third Bank for a tour and lunch. Ms. Jark stewarded a generous $50,000 grant in 2011 from “Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee” for St. Leonard Foundation’s Building on Compassion Campaign. St. Leonard Foundation extends sincere thanks to Fifth Third Foundation for supporting the vision of the San Damiano Residence, expanding compassionate services to older adults in St. Leonard’s new memory support center.

Pictured in front of St. Leonard Foundation’s Honor Wall in San Damiano Residence: St. Leonard Executive Director - Tim Dressman; Fifth Third Bank Sr. Vice-President - Steve Petitjean; Fifth Third Vice-President and Manager of the Foundation Office - Heidi Jark, and St. Leonard Foundation Board Chair - Wally Nugent

Team Administration: Tim Dressman and Vital Life

About 6 or 7 years ago I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Bill Witte speak at a conference regarding the coming perfect storm of the aging population. His ability to put into words what I was pondering already in my mind made it easy to approach him and share philosophies and ideas about how to serve the coming generation of baby boomers in the senior market, namely a focus on socialization and wellness. At the same time, St. Leonard was in the initial phases of master site planning for our campus and we engaged THW in the process. Using many of Mr. Witte’s ideas about aging and Vital Life, our master site plan came to fruition and now in 2011 we have completed the first phase and opened a new Wellness Center and expanded dementia facilities. We also completed certification as the first Vital Life Community in the United States. When we started the process a year and a half ago, I was honestly surprised but validated about the interest from our residents and staff. Since then the response to all the different programs has been overwhelming and continues to transform our campus and our community to aging well, enhancing the quality of life and deferring the need for high cost healthcare. I have been approached by at least 5 different senior living providers about the program and our blog has attracted the interest of 38 countries across the world. If that is not amazing and inspirational , I don’t know what is. I look forward to working together with the Vital Nation staff and Mr. Witte as we continue to invest in this program and measure its lasting effects on our own residents and staff and the promise of further including the overall community in the future.

Centerville Reports Today: The Franciscan Center at St. Leonard.mp4

Tim Dressman Interviewed by Mayor Kingseed

Team Leadership, Tim Dressman CEO: The Vision

The vision for this center began over 5 years ago as a necessary amenity for our residents who had been asking for aquatic facilities as comments on their annual satisfaction surveys. It also provided a much needed answer for attracting younger seniors onto our campus, who have increasingly chosen empty nester patio homes and condos in the local community that provide a range of social activities and meeting spaces. With the impending wave of baby boomers entering retirement, it became evident to our Board of Trustees that we would need to find a way to attract them to our campus earlier, help them to age well, so they would not need the costly health care until much later in life. Operationally speaking, the cost of taking care of the young elderly would help balance the cost of providing care in the later stages of life. Last but not least, this generation of baby boomers is used to working out, jogging, swimming and other forms of exercise as a part of their daily routine and lifestyle and we wanted for them to be able to continue those lifestyle choices while residing on our campus. The Wellness Center or The Franciscan Center as we named it, is just one part of our overall wellness programming for our residents that extends into the local community and is part of our Vitalife strategy. I met Mr. Bill Witte, the founder of the Vital Nation, about 7 years ago while attending a trade show in Columbus, Ohio. I was not only inspired by his vision but energized by his wisdom for healthy aging that would help all of us lead more fruitful lives for longer periods of time regardless of our current health status. After accepting my invitation to visit our beautiful campus a few years later, I engaged Mr. Witte to help redesign our campus for the future. Andrews Architects from Dublin, OH were engaged to continue that work and complete the final design and oversee the construction performed by Corna-Kokosing from Columbus, OH. And here we are, a dream come true, better than I had ever imagined, a stunning architectural feat that encompasses all 8 ecologies of the Vitalife concept. I firmly believe this center will become the social hub of our campus and a location where everyone will know your name.

Team Enviromental Wellness: Groundbreaking Ceremony!

"One of our goals is to be responsible stewards of our environmental resources" "It is important to us that we grow through expansion yet maintain much of the land and other natural resources God has given us to enjoy." ~Tim Dressman,