At the heart of Jubilation by Silver Companies is staff that feels like family
Sponsored content by Mary McHugh, Brand Ave. Studios contributing writer
For Shya Simmons, every day feels like a vacation — at least when she’s at work.
“My days are filled with such joy and camaraderie and there is such an added richness to the tasks at hand when I am here,” said Simmons, concierge director at Jubilation by Silver Companies, the 207-luxury-unit, 55-plus resort-style senior community in Fredericksburg.
For Simmons, the “tasks at hand” translate to much more than greeting each member with a smile and a kind word. During a typical day, she does everything from providing golf cart rides for residents to their activities and personally delivering packages to helping them find a specific channel on their cable boxes and helping them settle into their new living spaces. Simmons especially enjoys connecting members with one another, introducing them to new hobbies and, really, just getting to know them as friends.
“We are a family here and we want everyone to feel a vital part of it,” Simmons said.
For the Jubilation members, Simmons is one of those revered friends who is there for everyone and every need. When she started in the role three years ago, just two months after the complex opened, she made immediate friends with the initial 10 or so residents. One, Dave LaVoy, a former member of the Navy, who was newly widowed, would sit at her desk chatting.
“We would just share our life experiences, and since I previously served as a radiology technician in the Army for four years and moved all over the country as a military brat when I was a kid, we had a lot of commonalities,” Simmons said.
One day, LaVoy told Simmons about a friend of his in the Navy who been his best man at his wedding. LaVoy had lost touch with the friend as the years passed.
“Dave mentioned his friend’s name and how much he had meant to him and, just out of curiosity, I started Googling his name on my computer. One thing led to another and the two of us were soon able to locate his friend’s son on social media,” Simmons said. “The two eventually connected, and while Dave learned his friend had recently passed, he has since remained in touch and close to the son’s family. It just really helped Dave and gave him something to look forward to since he was still grieving the loss of his own wife.”
For resident Lois Powell, Simmons is a “very special woman. She really is. She’s on top of everything and anything we need. She finds what is necessary in that moment and always has a smile on her face. Jubilation sure picked a winner when they hired Shya.”
Powell, who moved to Jubilation a little over a year ago, said Simmons was actually the reason she selected the complex over many others she had visited. Powell had stopped by the complex once for information. On Powell’s second visit, Simmons immediately greeted her by name and offered to take her and her nieces on a property tour, stopping along the way to get some beverages for all of them.
“My entire family comes to visit now and know Shya personally,” Powell said. “She is just wonderful and they love her, too. Shya always tells me this is her happy place and I understand why. You can tell she just really enjoys being here.”
LaVoy’s son, John, who visits his father frequently at Jubilation, agreed with Powell.
“The concierge staff is very caring, aware of what’s going on and extremely interactive with the residents and their families. Until you are in a situation like this, where you might need some feedback on a family member during a medical crisis or whatnot, for example, it’s a relief to know there is this attentive and supportive atmosphere,” John LaVoy said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s me, or just my kids or my wife coming to visit my dad, Shya knows each of our names every time we walk through the door. And on the way out, it’s always, ‘Is there anything else you need?’ and ‘Have a great day.’ It’s just a very welcoming space.”
For more information, please visit jubilation.com or call 540.299.1563.