Granite Ledges, A Genesis Community
A beautiful day and a beautiful drive up to New Hampshire as we take in the foliage starting to turn. It was appropriate to go to a Genesis community, as Mary Tess Crotty helped spearhead an iN2L rollout throughout several states about 13 or 14 years ago. That was a big deal in our company’s history.
Granite Ledges is a unique community in their portfolio, a CCRC as opposed to their more traditional model of standalone nursing homes. It’s a fuzzy memory, but I was out there when it first opened probably around 12 years ago. It’s a beautifully rustic community. They were waiting for us. Wayne, their rec therapist, is unreal – the perfect ringleader for their programming. He is half game show host, half motivational speaker. The kind of guy who just puts a smile on your face when you first see him. The birthday celebration was in full mode with lots of 60/20 mojo happening. Deb Burns and her team had it cranking!
We enjoyed a cruise through the streets of Concord. Melvin, Barbara, and Arlene were the crooners, with Wayne in the middle holding court. We had our first transaction take place (Arlene knits and I got a beanie for $5 – a good deal, according to her!). Barbara had great pearls of wisdom about growing up and Melvin was providing all kinds of local commentary about the politics of New England. After seeing the way Wayne emceed this run, I think he could probably do the cruising and crooning gig better than I do.
A highlight of this trip was a cool bonus cruise and croon, on one of Granite Ledges’ “trishaw” bikes built by a company called Cycling Without Age. It was awesome to run around their grounds with Francis and Arlene in tow.
Bonus footage: I took some friends from Australia out on the streets of downtown Boston. Watch out for those clips!