Village managers at the heart of care for RetireAustralia

The team at Murray Gardens Retirement Village has celebrated the NSW Village Manager of the Year award for co-managers Chiquita Walsh and Anne Jack, as Magill Estate and The Laurel’s Retirement Village in SA have welcomed on board Marja-Leena Penley and Sharyn Blows as new Village Managers.

The award for Village Manager of the Year, presented to Ms Walsh and Ms Jack by the Retirement Living Council, recognises high achievement across the entire breadth of the industry in Australia.

“We were just absolutely delighted to have been nominated for the NSW Village Manager of the Year,” the winning co-managers say.

“Now to have won is the icing on the cake – we’re so delighted.”

After winning the regional leg of the awards for NSW, the co-managers will now go in the running against four other regional Manager of the Year winners for the national Village Manager of the Year Award which will be announced at a gala event on 27 November.

With newly appointed Ms Penley and Ms Blows both commencing their Village Manager role with RetireAustralia earlier this month, there has been a lot to learn.

Coming from a long nursing background, as well as teaching Certificate 3 in Aged Care across three TAFE campuses in SA, as well as spending time as a Workplace Trainer for ACH Group, Ms Penley hopes to ensure village life at Magill Estate is secure, stress-free for everyone and that residents continue to enjoy a vibrant life in retirement.

Ms Bowls comes a previous role as Relationship Manager at ECH Group, looking after home care packages for clients. Despite being in the role for a week, she says she is “looking forward to getting more and more involved in village life in the coming days”. She will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the village, and to ensure all residents have access to vibrant retirement lifestyles.