Throughout Schlegel Villages, across Canada and around the world, we mark March 8 as International Women’s Day and we celebrate the immeasurable impact of the women in our lives. We also recognize March as Nutrition Month, and this year we pay special tribute to the many women who bring healthy, nutritious meals to the dining rooms of our Villages.
Yes, it is about nutrition, but the dining experience is also about hospitality, as team members strive to help residents truly be at home. Among the 5,000 or so residents who call a Schlegel Village home, we are blessed with countless people for whom hospitality is second nature, and we spoke with Lena from The Village at St. Clair to learn about her experience as an inspiring woman and host.
Lena comes from humble beginnings, growing up in the small town of Gimli, Manitoba. Her big city experiences were in Regina, or Winnipeg, but when she moved to Ontario where she and her husband and family owned and operated the Sandhill Motor Hotel in Windsor, Lena flourished.
She tells stories of singing while in the lounge, always happy to entertain as she hosted.
“The people would come around and they couldn't see me,” she recounts. “ ‘Excuse me,’ they would say. ‘Lena, we want to see you get up on that table,’ so they put me on the table and I would sing and they would say ‘dance a little,’ so I would start dancing.”
Decades have passed, and the hotel was torn down in the early 80s, but she laughs as she recounts those memories. Connecting with guests from around the world was always a gift she enjoyed opening every day – it’s not unlike the team members who connect daily with Lena and her neighbours at St. Clair and the other 17 Villages.
“What I enjoyed most is meeting all the people and talking with them, finding out different things,” Lena says. “You know, some liked to tell me what they do or what their children do, so I liked that.”
Her three sons were part of the hotel life, and they grew up meeting and connecting with guests. The family was musical, and while Lena would sing, her husband and his brother and family would play instruments. They served food and drink together, always eager to make the guests feel welcome.
“You want them to come back,” she says, and many did over the years.
Today, Lena is grateful for the people who now support her and her neighbours in the Village, and she offers a bit of advice, leaning back on her many years in hospitality.
“I would always tell them that they should be very patient with the people, be kind to the people and help them every day.”
It’s advice anybody could live by.
Click here if you'd like to see some of the recipes we've collected from just a few of our amazing Schlegel Villages women in hospitality.
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