04/15/2026
๐๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ๐
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐? I started on May 1, 1996. I remember my first day here like it was yesterday. It was a sunny, warm and breezy day, and the facility grounds were beautiful. Walking up to the building and seeing the American flag prominently in the plaza, it felt like I was entering a community that wholehearedly cared and honored the veterans right from my first day! I'm extremely honored to celebrate by 30th anniversary on May 1, 2026.
๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ก ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ซ๐? I have enjoyed every step of my career here at Bruce McCandless. I started as the Admissions and Marketing Director and soon took on the responsibilities of HR. I learned so much in these positions and really valued the personal time I got to spend with our new residents as they were preparing to move-in to our home and with our employees. Back then, we all wore several hats and I did the orientation and benefits for our new staff giving me the pleasure of meeting all our new employees right away. Becoming our facility Administrator about 21 years ago was a big change for me and I have learned a lot from other great leaders in healthcare that helped lead us to be the first State Veterans Home in the nation to become an Eden Registered home.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฃ๐จ๐? I have the best job I can think of, everything is rewarding, even the challenges. The most rewarding thing is seeing our residents have fun, laughing, smiling, clapping to music, petting visiting animals and spending quality time with the people they love. When we go to parades or events in the community and people salute our residents and acknowledge their service, it always makes me cry with tears of joy. Serving veterans in every aspect is a reward.
๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐? Serving at the McCandless home is very personal to me. Although I did not serve in the military, my father retired from the Navy and he also retired from the State of Colorado. He is the one who introduced me to the McCandless Veterans Home. I always think about how I would like for my own family to be cared for and that continuously guides me to pursue the best care for our amazing residents!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฌ? I have always loved sports my whole life! I enjoy watching all kinds of sports, but especially volleyball. I love music, dancing and playing games (board games, dice, cards). More recently I have enjoyed participating in a book club and attending a weekly bible study group. My greatest pleasure is spending time with my husband, my three kids, and my pets!
