Your Season - Summer 2023

YOUR SEASON

INSIDE

MEET OUR TEAM

BEST OF RECENT EVENTS

UPCOMING HIGHTLIGHTS

For the Joys of Senior Living

Dear Readers,

We are delighted to present to you the inaugural edition of our newsletter - a platform that aims to connect, inform, and inspire. As we embark on this exciting journey together, we are thrilled to have you join us as we explore a multitude of topics, share insightful stories, and foster a sense of community.

Our team of dedicated contributors have worked tirelessly to ensure that our content is informative and engaging. Our newsletter is not only meant to inform—it's about connection. We believe in the power of community, and we want this platform to serve as a meeting place to get to know our residents and team members, share upcoming events, and display some highlights from previous community activities. We encourage you to actively engage with us and share your own stories and experiences. Together, let's create a vibrant and supportive community that fosters growth and collaboration.

As we embark on this endeavor, we are committed to continuous improvement. Your feedback and suggestions are invaluable to us, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with your thoughts and ideas. We want this newsletter to reflect what you, our readers, truly want and need, hence the name, Your Season. This newsletter is about you and developed for you.

We are thrilled to have you as part of our community and to begin this adventure together. We hope that our newsletter becomes a trusted source of inspiration, information, and connection for you. Get ready to embark on a journey of discovery and enlightenment. This is Your Season!

Warm regards,

Jason Kohler Executive Vice President, Senior Living

Celebrating Your Seasons

RECENT HAPPENINGS AT ALL SEASONS

MARDI GRAS PARADES

All Seasons West Bloomfield, Rochester Hills and Birmingham: We partnered with professional artists of the Detroit Puppet Company throughout January and February to conceive our own Mardi Gras parade theme, processional decorations, art, and music. Then on February 21, we invited friends and family to celebrate Fat Tuesday with a parade, live music, Paczkis, Beignets, and a New Orleans-inspired dinner!

LINCOLN CENTER MOMENTS

All Seasons Naples & Oro Valley Lincoln Center Moments is a free performance-based program specially designed for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Each program included a performance, followed by activities facilitated by educators and music therapists, that explore the work through discussion, movement, music, and art-making. One of the programs we participated in was Exploring Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”.

JAMES EHNES PERFORMS IN OUR GRAND LIVING ROOM!

All Seasons Naples

Grammy award-winning violinist James Ehnes himself popped in to play for residents, chatted about his 300-year-old “Marsick” Stradivarius, and answered questions about his roles as a preeminent soloist, Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Artistic Partner at Artis-Naples. Mr. Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage and we were honored to welcome him for his All Seasons Naples debut.

ARTISAN SHOWCASE AND TALENT SHOW

All Seasons Birmingham

We celebrated the official start of Spring with a community-wide Artisan Showcase and Talent Show. Residents showed off treasures they’ve accumulated from travels in far-off lands, resident crafters and artists held artist talks about their work and processes, and singers, musicians, and poets shared their talents with the community.

MADELYN PORTER CELEBRATED BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH US!

All Seasons Ann Arbor and West Bloomfield Madelyn Porter visited residents and brought history to life, embodying characters and stories related to the Great Migration. Madelyn Porter performs historical reenactments and storyliving at the Detroit Historical Museum, The Henry Ford/ Greenfield Village, Troy Historical Village, and is lead instructor for Michigan Opera Theatre’s Create and Perform Outreach Program. She is a Kresge Art Fellow, and serves as the Connectivity & Engagement Manager for Detroit Public Theatre.

PHILANTHROPY SPOTLIGHT

All Seasons Ann Arbor

All Seasons Ann Arbor is taking a stand against food waste and improving their eco-friendly footprint by working with the Entrepreneurship Center at Washtenaw Community College. The school’s WCC Solve It! program gives students the chance to devise solutions to real-life challenges faced by sponsoring organizations and businesses. Our community estimates that 60 pounds of food get wasted each week, between unused kitchen scraps and what’s left on plates in the dining room after meals. The students’ solution to the food waste challenge at ASAA was to establish a composting program that could re-use the leftovers from the dining room as well as the carrot peels, onion skins and other kitchen scraps.

All Seasons Artist-in-Residence

JINGJING WAN

Jingjing Wan is a Doctoral candidate in Piano

Performance at the University of Michigan. She has a Masters in Chamber Music from U.M., and Bachelors and Masters in Piano from the Royal College of Music in London. Praised as a “rock-solid” pianist, Jingjing has won numerous international competitions, and has performed at music festivals and recital halls in Spain, France, Germany, and across the US., including with the Metropolitan Orchestra in Singapore. Currently, Jingjing works as a graduate instructor at U.M., and as an assistant choir director at St. Augustine’s Enrichment Program, where she coaches a choir of 90 children ages 10 to 18.

Proud of Being Best

Beztak is pleased to announce that all of its luxury senior living communities recently earned the Best of the Best distinction from U.S. News & World Report. Now in its second year, U.S. News’ Best Senior Living ratings evaluate nearly 4,000 communities in the U.S. in one or more of the following categories: independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care retirement.

In 2005, Beztak introduced the All Seasons brand to the senior living market and has expanded to six communities, located in Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Rochester Hills, and West Bloomfield, Michigan, Oro Valley, Arizona, and Naples, Florida. Each of the All Seasons communities were recognized in the Best Independent Living category, along with Naples being awarded Best Assisted Living and Oro Valley being awarded Best Memory Care.

“This award is a tremendous honor, and reaffirms our mission to innovate, engage, enliven, and totally captivate,” said Sam Beznos, CEO of Beztak. “For more than 15 years, All Seasons has been setting new trends in the senior living industry by developing modern, vibrant communities, unlike what currently is available. We are extremely focused on providing residents with an enriching and active lifestyle. This award could not have happened without our team’s dedication and pursuit to deliver innovative designs, inspired programming, ever changing chef designed menus, and most importantly, resident happiness.”

U.S. News evaluated participating communities for each type of service provided using information from resident and family surveys. The survey asked residents and family members about their satisfaction with various aspects of the community, including safety, caregiving, management, staff, food and dining, and activities. U.S. News analyzed the survey data and applied several weightings and adjustments to create the final scores. Only communities with the highest scores in each category were recognized as “Best” communities.

“U.S. News provides in-depth information on multiple community types to help potential residents and their families find, in consultation with their doctors as needed, the best place to help meet their needs,” said Zach Adams, senior health data engineer at U.S. News. “Communities that are highly rated excel in making residents feel safe, well cared for and highly satisfied by the services provided.”

To celebrate the distinction, each of the All Seasons communities hosted a surprise celebration for their residents, families and guests. Highlights included live musical performances, champagne toasts, and a festive dining experience with remarks from their respective Executive Directors.

Upcoming Events

LOOK FOWARD TO MORE AT ALL SEASONS

All Seasons Ann Arbor

August 22 – Ukeleles outside group performance

August 25 – Luau & Polynesian group performance

All Seasons Birmingham

September 22 - What better way to welcome Fall than with a Fashion Show? Bring out your best looks and strut down our catwalk - don’t forget to include accessories from today and yesteryear! Whether you have a ready-to-wear look or a coveted couture piece, every thread has a story.

All Seasons Rochester Hills

September 25 - Artisan Showcase and Family Talent Show - celebrate the official start of Fall. Do you have treasures you’ve accumulated from travels in far-off lands?

Are you a craftsperson or artist, and have artisan wares you’d like to show off? Do you have a song you’d like to share or a story to tell? Contact your Life Enrichment Team

All Seasons West Bloomfield

August 16 – 10th Anniversary Garden Party Jubilee

August 17 - Friends of the Children Celebration

August 18 - Solo Acts @ EMU

September 10 – Grandparents Day Portraiture Event; Professional, edited family photos with pop-up photography studio.

September 30 – Evening “Movie in the Courtyard”

All Seasons Oro Valley

October 18- All Seasons Oro Valley is throwing an Artisan Showcase. This event is perfect for residents who have accumulated goods from travels in far-off lands, for crafts people and artists, and anyone who has artisan wares they’d like to show off.

All Seasons Naples

October 26–29 - Now in its 15th year, the Naples International Film Festival is a place for film lovers to connect, exchange ideas and celebrate the art of film in a friendly, welcoming environment. Now a part of Artis—Naples, the festival hosts more than 60 screenings over four days.

Resident Spotlight

OUR RESIDENTS SHINE AT ALL SEASONS

BILL JANSEN

All Seasons

Oro Valley

Born and raised in Louisville, KT, Bill Jansen attended the United States Coast Guard Academy, served as Lieutenant Commander, and attended Graduate school at the University of Illinois in Civil Engineering. Following active duty, he served on the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, spearheading the Public Boating Access Program, and as Chief Engineer for the Illinois Department of Conservation. Upon relocation to Oro Valley, he acted as Town Engineer and Public Works Director, overseeing major road and bridge construction, and designing public works projects. Jansen traveled extensively; to Greece, China, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Portugal, Belize, Columbia, Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand, just to name a few. A voracious reader, his love for history developed very young. Jansen has even traced his ancestry back to 600s C.E. England! Bill frequently gives presentations at All Seasons Oro Valley covering the illustrious Hopi, the Apache, and Aztec History.

JOAN JOHNSON

All Seasons Rochester

Joan and her Bichon, Fred, joined our All Seasons Rochester Hills community in Spring of 2022. They have quickly immersed themselves in activities and take frequent walks around our verdant surroundings. Joan was born and raised in Berkely, MI. After graduating from Berkley High School, she got her first of several degrees in Math/Science and a minor in Secondary Education from Oakland University. She started her career teaching high school mathematics, but as a nature lover, she wandered out to Colorado for a spell. Realizing she got to see more of nature as a tourist, she moved back to the Metro Detroit area and changed careers to I.T. Joan was a program analyst for a phone company, helped create a billing program, and trained programmers. She then worked many years with E.D.S. before retiring. Music has always been a part of her life, from high school band to playing guitar, mandolin, and hammer dulcimer today. She’s also been singing in the same church choir for 40 years. Joan has travelled to almost all 50 states. Alaska is the only state that eludes that list – for now! She has been camping in many of our national and state parks, and her favorite is Rocky Mountain National Park. Joan also enjoys writing fiction and articles. She returned to college later in life to get a Masters in English Literature. At All Seasons, she loves welcoming new residents with her outgoing spirit and hospitality, sharing her ideas for new films, documentaries, and ways to help the environment.

Featured Team Member

ALL SEASONS IS OUR PASSION

JOE DEL SERRONE

Senior Director of Brand Management

Since the beginning of my career with All Seasons eight years ago, I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you. It was a privilege to become Senior Director of Brand Management, where I work closely with the Beztak partners and the management teams at each of the communities to ensure a consistent and compelling brand experience. I was born in Michigan and grew up in Italy, where I began my career in the hospitality industry over 20 years ago. My experience has included luxury hotel, residential management, as well as cruise ship management, experiencing the priceless value of service excellence. When not at work, I enjoy cooking, listening to Italian music, boating, and spending time with family and friends. I look forward to many memorable experiences to come and I am proud to be an ambassador of the All Seasons brand.

Get to Know Joe!

What is your favorite food? Pasta with Porcini Mushrooms

What is your favorite movie? The Count of Monte Cristo

What would you sing at karaoke night? Just Pretend, by Elvis Presley

Where is the best place you have traveled to? The Amalfi Coast

If you could only bring three things with you to a deserted island, what would you choose?

A fishing net, something to start a fire and a knife.

Get to Know Your Assistant Executive Director

All Seasons Birmingham

Zach Guida

Zach attended Oakland University in Rochester, MI and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Creative Writing and a Minor in Instrumental Music. Zach currently resides in Mt. Clemens, MI and enjoys gaming, hiking, kayaking, and model building. He has an orange Norwegian Forest Cat named Luke.

How long have you been with the company?

I have been with the company for over 10 years - I started as a server in the dining room at All Seasons Rochester Hills in Rochester Hills in 2013. After a year, I was promoted to the Concierge desk, and three years later, to the Director of Life Enrichment. I oversaw daily activities, entertainment, outings, ad overall resident life enrichment. I was asked to be DLE at All Seasons Birmingham in 2021, following the success of the rejuvenating the programs at Rochester Hills post-pandemic. Since then, I have been promoted to Assistant Executive Director..

What does your job entail?

As Assistant Executive Director, I assist the Executive Director with property management, oversee and administer accounting functions such as recruit and hire new staff, motivate current team members, and many other administrative duties.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years, I would like to have seen myself grow within the company and as a person. I would like to see my career expand to becoming an Executive Director of an All Seasons community and would like to own my own home.

What’s the best advice you can give to someone who just started their career?

The best advice I can give are three words: Patience, Hospitality, and Ethics.

Have patience by climbing the “corporate ladder” - but don’t expect to advance to the highest level right away. Make goals for yourself in your current role, and when you’ve achieved them and feel like you have done all you can, seek out the next step. Repeat the process. Remember, patience is a virtue.

Hospitality and customer service are key to everything, no matter where you work. Always be kind, sincere, and and respectful to the people work with and see daily. When approached with a difficult situation, keep cool and calm.

Recipes from our Kitchen

CHEF INSPIRED DISHES TO MAKE YOURSELF SUMMER COUSCOUS

We love this light salad — it doubles as a side, can be the main event or works well topped with grilled chicken or shrimp! With lots of texture from crisp cucumber, sweet tomatoes, crunchy nuts, and raisins, this is certainly one of our favorites. You can even make it ahead of time. Makes approximately 8 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups dried Israeli couscous, also called pearl couscous

• Salt and fresh ground black pepper

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

• 2 tablespoons Roses Sweetened Lime Juice

• 1 medium English cucumber, diced

• 1 large tomato, diced

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped mint

• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

• 1/4 cup golden raisins

Directions:

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add couscous and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain.

While the couscous cooks, in a large bowl, whisk the oil, mustard, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the drained couscous to the dressing and mix well. Chop vegetables into small pieces.

Stir in the cucumber, tomato, mint, walnuts and raisins. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and/or pepper as needed. Enjoy warm or cover then refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

CHEF TIP: To make the best, most flavorful salad, add the vinaigrette to the couscous while it is still warm. We do the same with pasta salad and even potato salad.