Words from NAAP’s Administrator of the Year

This letter is addressed to ALL Activity Professionals from NAAP’s 2015 Administrator of the Year John Moreno.

Here is a Thank You letter from Mr. Moreno to NAAP members:

First, thank you for the honor of being selected as Administrator of the Year. I am very grateful and humbled to have received this award. I was very moved at the national conference by the passion I saw displayed by all attendees. It was heart-warming to see a group of professionals with such a strong mission to give the residents who live in communities in which they work as much as possible in order to provide continued meaning in their lives.

I personally have had for the last three years the pleasure of working with a great Activities Director named Mickey Hamilton. The passion that I witnessed at the national conference is something I see daily from Mickey as she works each day to ensure our resident’s lives have meaning. In addition, Mickey strives to create programs that not only bring meaning to their lives, but also maintains the resident’s cognitive function as much as possible.

It is while working with Mickey that my eyes were finally opened to the typically overlooked value that the activities department provides the residents. In general, without activities, a resident’s day consists of eating, sleeping, and possibly therapy. This would be a very meager existence if not for the activities department. But, I have realized that activities are not there to just “fill time”. Instead, the activities department provides meaningful activities, maintains cognitive function, and overall adds to each resident’s quality of life.

Thank you once again for the honor of being the Administrator of the Year. I will continue to do my best to support the activities department and profession in any way that I can.

Sincerely,

John Moreno
Executive Director
Garden Terrace Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence
Aurora, Colorado