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Olympics Events

The Olympics! They are the hot topic in my retirement community as I am sure they are in yours. My attendance for programs has fallen a bit and I'm sure it is because of this special event. 

I'm sure that some of you had a gathering of some sort to watch the Opening Ceremonies and I would love to hear your comments on what you did and how it went. One of my "sister-communities" did something that I thought was pretty special. They had the opening ceremonies viewing party, and followed it up with a two-week long special dining program. They decorated the main dining room, using hula-hoops as the Olympic rings as part of the decorations, and then made a hand-out to give out the first night of the program. The hand out gave interested facts about the Olympics and also explained the two-week program. Basically, the culinary staff committed to make a special dish from a different country each evening and add it to the menu. Next to the item, it will have a small picture of a Olympic torch next to it so that the residents know that it is the special item for the night. I think that is neat! (It so happens that the activities director in that community was going to be on vacation during the Olympics, so it was perfect timing that the culinary department could get their ideas featured!)

In my community, I did not host an Opening Ceremony event, but I will be hosting a Closing Ceremonies event instead. Since it is on Sunday, August 12, and begins (my time) around 9:30 a.m., I will be serving the same continental breakfast that the residents would get in the dining room. This way, I do not have to charge them anything extra for the food, nor will I be charged it either! Our culinary department does not have a lot of people come for Sunday breakfast, in part because many people eat breakfast at home in their pjs and because we served dinner at noon on Sundays and many people don't like to eat two meals so close together. I will have the residents sign up in advance for the get together and will be able to let Culinary know how to prepare for the morning. I am hoping that my event will increase the breakfast business for culinary that day and that those who attend enjoy the program on the big screen.
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  1. Recharging RetireesAugust 12, 2012 at 3:33 PM

    Well, this did not go at all like I planned! First, residents did not want to exchange a "dinner" for their breakfast, if that was the type of meal plan that they were on. I thought that if they usually had an extra meal left at the end of the month that the would be willing to use it for breakfast. So, I canceled the breakfast part of the program and offered the residents to come to the auditorium to watch the closing ceremonies on the big screen. When I turned my tv on this morning, I learned that they were not showing it until this evening! Ugghh! Big flop! At least id didn't cost me any $$.

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