Stories of Growth
The team members and leaders at the heart of Village life are the keepers of the Schlegel Villages culture; they live our values in the service of residents and they drive the organization’s mission forward every day.
“In every neighbourhood of every Village, we see these wonderful, committed team members giving the best of themselves to others,” says Christy Parsons, Vice President of People with Schlegel Villages. “To meet the challenges and demands of the present and the future in terms of staffing our Villages with the best people that align with our values and our culture, we need to nurture our leaders from within.”
“Schlegel Villages is leading the way in culture change, in innovation and in quality of life for the seniors that live in our communities and that’s so amazing,” she says. “It’s an organization that truly lives up to its values and every day I’m just thankful to be part of such a caring community.”
“I’m surprised with the direction that my career has taken over the years,” Michelle says. “It’s really neat that your career doesn’t have to be linear with Schlegel Villages; it doesn’t have to follow one specific path.”
Michelle first joined the organization as a Registered Nurse at The Village of Glendale Crossing and eventually chose to pursue a position as a Wellness Coordinator at The Village of Wentworth Heights. She wasn’t successful when she first applied, however, but months later, she was welcomed into the position in the Wentworth Heights Retirement Home, where she was a perfect fit.
“I always imagined that I would continue down a clinical path within the organization,” Michelle says, “but once I moved into retirement and I started learning more about the continuum model, I gained a deeper interest in continuum operations and today, I’m supporting in the capacity of the General Manager.”
She’s had the opportunity to see many other team members evolve into different roles and has been proud to learn from them as well as support them.
“Schlegel Villages is one large community, one large family across Ontario,” he adds. “I love when the organization as a whole comes together to learn during conferences to welcome resident and families to participate in those conferences.”
As the Senior Manager of Digital Marketing with Schlegel Villages, Ted supports the growth of the organization across all Villages, but he began more than 20 years ago as recreation student, not sure he was even interested in working in a seniors’ environment. When he began at The Village of Winston Park, however, he was immediately drawn to the relationships he built with residents. Whether as team member, director or manager with the central Support Office, these relationships are what Ted thrives on, and he has channelled that passion into successful social campaigns, such as the successful #ElderWisdom events over several years.
“I’m proud to work at Schlegel Villages and take my own seat on the green bench to listen to the stories of our seniors, the wisdom that’s offered through our podcast, through the green bench program, or just in general at the Villages,” Ted says.