Tag Archive for: Events

Bygone days of elegance and refinement made a return at Homeland Center, as residents filled the main dining room for a spring tea.

Kettle-shaped cards printed with flowers invited residents, and a pianist playing “Tea for Two” and other standards set the right tone, as did the tables adorned in white linens, flowers, and embroidered handkerchiefs.

Residents embraced the mood, with the ladies wearing cheerful fascinators or headpieces and the gents boasting boutonnieres.

The tea was one of the quarterly events hosted by Homeland’s Board of Managers, the unique, all-women volunteer board is responsible for maintaining Homeland’s renowned home-like feel. Always presented with flair and creativity, events have included a casino night, a “Sound of Music” party, and a sock hop featuring an Elvis Presley impersonator.

Residents Ellen and Bill Wismer eagerly anticipated the tea.

“For our 45^th anniversary, we had the good fortune to have high tea at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, and I was really looking forward to this because I said it’s going to be just as nice,” said Ellen Wismer. “And it is. Everything’s to perfection.”

“[The Board of Managers] really put a lot of work into this,” she said. “Everything the board does is absolutely to perfection. They make you feel so special.”

Bill Wismer agreed: “It’s wonderful to be here with my beautiful wife.”

Board of Managers members freely devote their time and talents to plan and stage their events, said Chair Nancy Hull. For the tea, they organized a party of their own to create the boutonnieres and flower-bedecked fascinators, which gave the residents a sophisticated air.

Board members often have creative ideas about their future events, she said.

“That’s the neat thing about the women on our board,” Hull said. “Everybody has ideas. Everybody is willing to express their opinions.”

On the afternoon of the tea, Board of Managers members circulated, serving cookies, a choice of finger sandwiches – cucumber, egg salad, and pimento – and scones with jam and clotted cream. Wearing white shirts and black pants, just like restaurant servers, they carried colorful teapots they had brought from their own collections. One depicted – what else? – the Mad Hatter’s tea party from “Alice in Wonderland.”

Offered a choice of Earl Grey or raspberry tea, resident Joyce Muniz chose the raspberry.

“They make everything lovely,’’ Muniz said of the Board of Manager-planned events. “They go over the top for the residents.”

Resident Shirley Winfield is one of several Winfield family members living in or working at Homeland, including Director of Nursing Jennifer Tate-DeFreitas, who upholds Homeland’s standards of excellence in health care; Jennifer’s daughter Malani Tate-DeFreitas; and Kristen Tate, one of Homeland’s cheerful receptionists.

“They do an excellent job here,” Winfield said. “I love the many, many activities. It’s wonderful. It really is.”

Among all the activities – from musicians to bingo — the spring tea stood out, she said.

Residents Robert Zimmerman and Lynda Vinton, agreed the spring tea was a particular treat.

“It’s fun,” Vinton said. “It’s a nice thing to be out and about.”

Homeland Center (www.homelandcenter.org) offers levels of care including personal care, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation. Homeland also provides hospice, home care, home health and palliative care services to serve the diverse and changing needs of families throughout central Pennsylvania. For more information or to arrange a tour, please call 717-221-7900.

And the winner is . . . the mushroom soup!

“Five kinds of mushrooms, a gallon of roasted garlic puree, a gallon of caramelized onion puree, sherry, white wine, black truffle oil, and heavy cream,” said Homeland Assistant Director of Dietary Services John Scunziano, rattling off the recipe for the soup he originally created for a steakhouse. “I used black truffle, which is very subtle. White truffle is very strong.”

Homeland’s first soup cookoff was held on a chilly and rainy day, perfect for everyone’s favorite comfort food. Inside, the Homeland Main Dining Room was warm and scented with the enticing aromas of soups simmering in a line of crockpots.

The Homeland Activities Department, always looking for novel experiences for residents to enjoy, proposed the soup cookoff. Nine Homeland staffers pitched in with rich broth- or cream-based concoctions made from cherished recipes.

Representing the traditional soups were the tomato, vegetable, chicken and wild rice, chili, and beef stew. Non-traditional got to shine, too — roasted garlic cream of mushroom with black truffle oil, smoked chicken sausage tortellini with kale, chili, beef stew, and lasagna soup.

Each soup was served in mini portions, and the cook’s name was unknown, so the name of the chef wouldn’t sway voters. At the table of residents tapped to be the judges, Carl Barna, an experienced cook, and Homeland’s resident gardener, said he likes broth-based soups.

“You have to start with a good broth,” he said. “If it’s got a good broth, then it’s good to me. If you have a good broth, you can throw in anything, and it’ll be good.”

He added that the chicken noodle soup he used to make was flavorful with dark meat “and gizzards and hearts and things.”

Another judge, Joe Pulaski, said he was having difficulty deciding.

“They are delicious,” he said. “I’m pretty much a ‘whatever is in front of me’ kind of guy.”

When he was a child, his mother always made vegetable soup and potato soup.

“She always did a pretty good job cooking,” he said. “She had three boys and my big dad, so she had to be a good cook.”

Resident Bonnie Waddell, another judge, was lining up her soups according to her preferences. After tasting six soups, she had the vegetable in first place, but there were three more to taste. She had never heard of lasagna soup or truffle oil, but she was happy to give them a taste.

“I find it interesting because I’m a fan of cooking,” she said. “I’m a believer in seasonings. My mother taught me that. She was a good cook.”

Waddell honed her culinary style by working in homes, cooking, and caring for children.

“I learned what they liked, and from there, it was what I liked,” she said. “I can tell you if something is going to be good or not by the way it’s brought to me. If I have to season it, you can forget it.”

Sandra Ware, a housekeeper in Homeland’s personal care, made the popular vegetable soup.

“It’s something my auntie used to fix for us, with corn, stewed tomatoes, okra, and a little seasoning,” she said.

Activities Coordinator Diomaris Pumarol also contributed an aunt’s soup – the Dominican chicken soup traditionally served when her family gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one.

“Instead of going to a restaurant, we would go to a home, and she would make that for everybody,” she said. “That’s why it’s a comfort food. We related with being together and sharing the tradition.”

Finally, Assistant Director of Activities Emma Lengyel announced the winners, the top five of whom won kitchen goods and soup bowls. Three soups tied for third place – the chicken tortellini, vegetable, and tomato. Second place, lasagna soup. And first place, that delectable, creamy mushroom soup.

Resident Mike Ennis was thrilled to learn that non-judge attendees didn’t have to cast votes or rank the soups.

“I felt a responsibility to taste them all because so much effort went into making these,” he said. “And then I realized that the judges will pick the winners so that I can enjoy them. It took all the pressure off. I could just enjoy it for the flavor of one until the next one came. They were all so well done. They were all so flavorful.”

An anniversary is more than commemorating the passage of time. It is a celebration of the people and relationships that have made each year special. As Homeland Hospice celebrated its 15th anniversary with its “History, Heart & Honor… Hats off to the Homeland Hospice 15th” event on Saturday, November 23, we honored and thanked Securewire Technologies for serving as Homeland’s 2024 Trilogy of Trust sponsor.

As Homeland’s 2024 Trilogy of Trust sponsor, Securewire Technologies supported Homeland’s three signature events throughout the year. In addition to Homeland Hospice’s 15th anniversary event, Securewire Technologies also sponsored Homeland’s 1867 Society Appreciation Reception in May and the 2024 Homeland Hospice 5K in September.

These events would not have been possible without the generosity and support of Securewire Technologies. Not only do the events help connect the community to the meaningful work of Homeland, but they also raise much needed funds to support Homeland Center’s benevolent care program. Homeland provides approximately $4 million in benevolent care annually to ensure all residents, patients and clients receive high-quality, supportive care when they need it most.

Homeland’s relationship with Securewire Technologies started last fall when Kelly English, Homeland’s Director of Emergency Preparedness and Purchasing, connected with Bob Light, owner of Securewire Technologies. Securewire Technologies was selected to upgrade Homeland’s security systems. The partnership grew beyond a business transaction as both organizations found a shared mission in providing the best care possible for families in need.

“Giving back to others is a priority for Bob,” Kelly says. “Securewire has truly gone above and beyond to support Homeland.”

Bob was eager to say “yes” to the opportunity to support Homeland’s three signature events in 2024. As the Trilogy of Trust sponsor, Securewire Technologies donated $35,000 for Homeland’s events.

“In many ways, our organizations are kindred spirits,” Bob says. “We both care for families during difficult times.”

In addition to the meaningful donation of funds, Bob and several Securewire Technologies employees have attended Homeland events, including Homeland’s Annual 5K and Memory Walk. Both organizations treat customers like family and strive to provide outstanding, compassionate service.

Thanks to Bob and Securewire, Homeland’s event season has provided remarkable opportunities for families and the community to better understand the work of Homeland and the hospice philosophy.

“We are humbled and honored to be part of Homeland’s work,” Bob adds. “Helping one another is how we make our community a better place to live.”

For more information about Homeland’s events, visit www.homelandcenter.org and homelandathome.org.