Jan Myers, Trip Planner Extraordinaire

Pat Taylor

After a pandemic-spurred hiatus in offering trips for residents, Kendal’s Trips Committee gingerly started planning again last year. The program then got up to par in 2022 with a total of 36 trips scheduled throughout the year.

The return to a full schedule of trips was particularly meaningful to Jan Myers because she was thinking of retiring after 16 years on the committee, 12 of them as chair. (See the photo of the party given last September by the members of the Trips Committee to honor Jan for her years of service.)

Jan Myers at her retirement party on September 12, 2022, holding a certificate of appreciation for her work over 16 years.

Shortly after Kendal opened its doors, founder Jane Beers (who also launched Spotlight) began organizing a Trips Committee. When Jan Myers moved into Kendal a few months later, she immediately decided to volunteer for that committee and was invited to attend the first meeting.

Jan’s previous career was the perfect background for leading the Kendal Trips Committee: she was an account executive in a New York public relations firm specializing in travel accounts.

As chair of the Trips Committee, Jan used her expertise to build a program that, at present, offers residents three major trips a month. In addition to overseeing a standing committee of volunteers, Jan also worked closely with the van driver for each trip.

After live Met operas in HD became available at multiplex cinemas, Jan added four operas a season to the schedule. This involved driving to White Plains on a Saturday morning in July to purchase tickets for the new season.

To continue Jan’s work, Lynn Brady has taken over as chair of the Trips Committee and Sheila Darnborough as treasurer. Though always room for more, there is a splendid mix of volunteers: seasoned veterans and energetic newcomers. They work together to take residents from here (Hudson Valley’s numerous local sites) to there (the ever-beckoning museums in New York City).