TO GIVE
CONTACT
« Back to Blog

Being helpful is a state of mind

After three years serving on the Aberdeen Village Resident Council, outgoing president Sam Malsbary has no intention of ending his efforts to help his community.

“Sometimes, I’ll learn about a problem, and I’ll just go fix it,” Sam said. “I hope I will continue to learn about problems and be able to help. I’ve always enjoyed being a fix-it person. That usually works out quick and easy if I can put something on a shelf for somebody or help them figure out how the heating system is supposed to work. As long as they know I’m willing to do those things, they won’t have to go the president, and I can make his or her life easier.”

In his role on the Resident Council, Sam worked to both advocate for residents and to help them understand the community guidelines and the reasons for them. With the presence of Covid-19 in the past three years, the role of educator has become more important than ever before.

“There’s been a lot of that in the past three years,” Sam said. “Covid, combined with HIPPA sometimes leaves you in the dark about where we’re going and what we’re doing. Very much changed with Covid. So we try to understand the policies and help other people understand it, and work it out so it was the best of all possible situations. We do some teaching and training with residents to make sure they don’t all want lollipops - especially not those strawberry flavored ones.”

The Resident Council also tries to identify concerns raised by residents, and get them addressed in a timely manner by working closely with administration.

“We try and do things like make sure maintenance that needs to get done gets done,” Sam said. “Requesting entertainment, working with the food and dining room, visitation policies. We have 90 apartments here, some are husband and wife but most are single people. So we have about 100-120 residents at any one time. We keep our eye on things, try to think how we look to visitors so the administration won’t get surprised by things we just walk by and ignore.”

And in a community the size of Aberdeen Village, there is a lot to pay attention to - and to address.

“The lights go out, limbs break, all these things take place,” Sam said. “We work to communicate and make sure we’re all on the same page. When there are this many people together, you have to have a basic understanding of the guidelines so we can all pull together. That means how do we sort the garbage? Are we going to have blooming trees here, or just shrubs? Will we have fish in the pond? As a council, we try and help everyone get along.”

After three years on the council, Sam said it’s time for him to step aside.

“I think we have new people and new ideas,” Sam said. “We’ll have an election in a few days, and I don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

Sam moved into Aberdeen Village in 2018, and it didn’t take long for him to be recruited to the Resident Council.

“I was a fresh fish and they caught me early,” Sam said. “Probably why I got the job - because they didn’t know me.”

With some extra time on his hands, Sam plans to spend a little more time in the shop working on his wood carvings. A wooden loop he carved appears in the Art is Ageless calendar.

“I’ve been down in the shop carving various little gadgets,” Sam said. “I might have a little more time for that. My wife says I’m not allowed to carve up here, so I go down to the shop. But I don’t know, sawdust covered floors in taverns works OK. It soaks up the spills, and the blood.”

Thank you to our Resident Council

As the current members of our Resident Council hold their final meeting in June, we want to take a moment to thank them for their service. Giving of your time is a precious gift, and we all appreciate each and every one of you and the time you have given to make things better for everyone.

Sam Malsbary

Jo Henderson

Sandy Wohlford

Aileen Moise

Zoe Moore

Judy Otey

« Back to Blog