A vision comes alive

Lynn W. Olson

CEO, “Coach of an Excellent Organization”

After a stressful spring,  lled with the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, summer weather has  nally arrived, giving me the opportunity to hike the many trails on our Big Cedar Lake Campus. Taking a walk during lunch hour among the trees, birds, deer, and turkey is a great antidote for workrelated stress. Invariably, I will run into residents and/or team members who are also enjoying the trails.

We have approximately 100 acres of wooded areas that are criss-crossed by our trail system. I have to confess that on more than one occasion I have taken a wrong turn and ended up lost for a while. In discussing my “dis-directia” with some residents one day, I mentioned it would be nice to have a mapping and directional system to know where you are on our Cedar Lake Campus. Say no more. Within a few weeks, residents got together and accepted the challenge. In a matter of months, the team had developed a trail system to rival many state parks.

It has been a goal of ours for the past three years to make the outdoor areas on all of our campuses more accessible, especially for those who might have mobility issues. Last year, we completed access to the lakefront for residents with mobility issues. The trails team began researching road/ pathway materials that could accommodate people of all ability levels, while still blending in with our natural setting. Last fall, we completed our  rst section of trail with the new material. The new trail is wider, more environmentally friendly, and helps shed water more naturally and e ectively. You can read more about how the trails committee worked to develop our improved system later in this issue of Live More.

I had one of our independent living residents, who uses a powered wheelchair to get around the campus test the new trail for accessibility. He gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up! Time and budget permitting, we hope to make all of the major trails on our Big Cedar Lake Campus accessible over the next three years.

A lake neighbor, Mike Voss, also took a special interest in our trail system and worked on the project. Mike has worked with us on developing a campus-wide landscaping plan to accentuate the natural beauty of the landscape, and he also donated generously to the project.

It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with such dedicated individuals to improve our campus for the bene t of our residents, their families, team members, and neighbors.