Cristal Vincent, left, executive director at Ohio Living Dorothy Love, addresses the friends and family of Kelly Foster who retired as director of maintenance after 35 years of service. A retirement party was held Feb. 28. His last day of work of Feb. 29.
Kelly Foster receives congratulations on his retirement from Nancy Beckman, who has been a resident at Ohio Living Dorothy Love for 32 years.
By Kimberly Pistone
Fort the Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY – Kelly Foster has retired after 35 years of dedication to Ohio Living Dorothy Love, but Foster says he is the one who has been blessed over the years.
Foster started in the maintenance department at Ohio Living Dorothy Love in 1988. His family had a used car business, and with the tough times and high interest rates during that time, the used car company went out of business. Before it closed, Foster sold a car to the director of maintenance at Ohio Living Dorothy Love who offered Foster a job.
Foster was initially hired to work in the new apartments at Ohio Living Dorothy Love. It didn’t take long for him to realize that this job was more than “an old person’s home.” He said, “It’s a campus for seniors traveling through life like the rest of us.” He said it can be such a difficult transition, a lot of people come thinking it is them going to their end, but so many people just flourish here.
There were 72 apartment units, and Foster said, “I knew everyone who lived there by name. I gained another 70 sets of grandparents. It was incredible and really good for me.”
More recently, Foster was working with the families who come to live in the cottages, which enable families to live their most unrestricted lives, but without having to do any home upkeep and maintenance. Foster enjoys helping families make each home their own unique residence.
Cristal Vincent, executive director at Ohio Living Dorothy Love, said, “Foster serves with a heart of love to our residents. He’s not only dedicated and devoted to Ohio Living Dorothy Love, but to the residents, families and employees he rubs shoulders with every day.”
Foster has worked with hundreds of employees over the years, and he says they are critical to the success of the organization. He said, “We seem to catch those people who are special, and they have been a blessing to me as we work to get desired outcomes for the families here.”
Foster said, “I was kind of a lost soul in my 20s. And God put me here. It is amazing that He knew where he wanted me to be when I didn’t know myself.”
Now that Foster has retired he is planning on spending a lot of time with his wife and grandkids. He is also looking forward to fishing at Lake Erie and doing some drag racing.
