Skylark Senior Care is celebrating a very special milestone this year—20 years of serving seniors and families.
Twenty years represents thousands of days of caring, friendships formed and challenges overcome. But this year there is another 20-year milestone we cannot ignore.
Joseph Ben-Dor is celebrating 20 years with Skylark!
As Executive Director of Skylark Senior Day Center and Home Care, Joseph has poured his heart and soul into the people who make Skylark what it is. He doesn’t simply run a senior day center—he builds relationships.
It’s About Them, First and Foremost
From our first days in 2006, Joseph has repeated one idea until it became who we are: it isn’t about us. It’s about our Members and the families who trust us with them.
Carolanne Wright, our center nurse in Johns Creek, is at 19 years of service:
“I will always remember him for his dedication to do what is right for the Members—his motto, ‘It’s about them,’ always first and foremost. I will never forget his talent for making each Member feel special, important and included. He makes the families feel seen and heard. I believe he is the reason we are so successful.”
Fran Weigard, our Director of New Member Services:
“Joseph puts his whole heart and soul into loving our Skylark families. He hugs the ladies and tells them how beautiful they are. He can take the most frustrated and agitated Member and have them smiling and laughing in no time.”
Joseph doesn’t just manage people. He connects with them.
Everyone Takes Out the Trash
No job is beneath Joseph. Over 20 years he has cooked meals, helped with the cleaning, driven vans and taken out the trash—usually before anyone else finished deciding whose job it was. Carolanne calls it his willingness to “jump in” and do what needs to be done.
When the Executive Director is in the kitchen in the morning, nobody wonders whether they’re too senior to pitch in. It’s simply how we work.
The Hustle Behind the Meals
Joseph is also, famously, a man who can find a deal. Fran puts the grocery run best:
“Going grocery shopping with Joseph is a unique experience, if you can keep up with him. He speed walks like a man on a mission. He knows every Kroger employee by name, and they like him so much they call him when they are marking items down.”
But the hustle has never been the point. What it buys is the point: a better lunch, a fuller activity calendar, one more outing. Joseph runs Skylark efficiently for one reason—so that what we have goes into the care of the people we serve.
Surplus gas points from the vans get shared at the pump before they expire, and anyone who has eaten with Joseph knows he loves his food and loves to share it.
He Knows Who Belongs Here
In senior care, the people you hire are the whole ballgame. There is no way to fake it.
Joseph has an uncanny read on people. He can sit across from a candidate and know—well before the rest of us—whether they have the patience, warmth and grit this work asks for.
Once they’re hired, he sets a high bar and makes sure everyone knows where it is. His supervision is honest and no-nonsense; nobody has to guess how they’re doing. In the same breath, he makes people feel valued.
The proof is our associates. Carolanne is 19 years; Fran at 10; and Marylin has been with us for 12 years. Skylark is full of long-tenured employees. It’s a remarkable record in a field known for turnover, and the reason our members see familiar faces year after year.
Monses and Monses
Twenty years also means twenty years of someone’s vocabulary. If something has gone on a long time, it has been happening “for monses and monses.” And if Joseph needs a word with you, he needs to “pick up a bone.” Nobody would dream of correcting him. They’re Skylark words now.
Twenty Years of Striving for Better
Joseph has never decided we were finished improving. He asks how the activity calendar can be more engaging, how the day can run more smoothly, how a family’s experience can be better than last month.
Carolanne said one more thing:
“He doesn’t need, want or expect accolades—but he deserves them for his years of dedication.”
She’s right. So we’ll say it anyway.
Thank you, Joseph, for the hugs, the laughs, the early mornings in the kitchen, and most of all for the heart you bring to Skylark every single day.
Happy 20th Anniversary, Joseph!