Wellmore’s Sarah Pitchford Wins 2022 Supernova Award
Director of Dining Services Takes Home Highest Honor
The Supernova Award is the highest individual honor that our company gives and each year. One individual on the leadership team at Wellmore of Tega Cay is voted by their colleagues as the community’s Supernova based on an assortment of criteria. Each year during the Senior Living Communities Annual Meeting, the winner is revealed and given a customized crystal award at the company’s formal Supernova Awards Evening. The criteria for voting is based on upholding our company’s mission to be caring professionals dedicated to quality services. Additionally, this individual will consistently deliver excellent customer service (to Members, families, and colleagues), lead positively with integrity, take accountability, put the team before themselves, and embody the company’s vision to create communities where people live longer, healthier, and happier lives.
This year, we are proud to congratulate our Director of Dining Services, Sarah Pitchford as the recipient of the 2022 Wellmore of Tega Cay Supernova Award. This honor was bestowed at the Senior Living Communities Annual Meeting on Thursday, July 28th at The Omni Grove Park Inn, in Asheville, North Carolina. As the Director of Dining Services, Sarah oversees a seamless dining operation which consistently serves attractive and delicious food in a prompt and gracious manner. Additionally, she maintains compliance with federal and state requirements and promotes a person-centered approach to dining.
Sarah began working at Wellmore of Tega Cay on May 26, 2015. She began as a Server in the dining room and quickly transitioned to Lead Server and was promoted to Dining Room Manager in 2016. In 2020, she became the Assistant Director of Dining Services then in 2021, the Director of Dining Services. “It has been a long and rewarding journey,” says Sarah. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, shopping, and traveling. She loves to visit new places, explore new and unique cuisines!
Interview with 2022 Director of the Year, Sarah Pitchford
Congratulations on being chosen as a Supernova! How do you feel?
Honored that my peers voted for me and see that I live up to our company’s Guiding Principles.
What’s your favorite part about your position?
Showing the Members how to live a good life and providing experiences for them. Teaching them fun facts, letting them try new foods, taking someone to the fair, and riding a roller coaster for the first time! Taking someone from Reflections, our memory care neighborhood, to the pool and watching them thrive as they water walk but have been in a wheelchair for years. It’s these moments that I love and that make me feel like I’m making a difference.
What do you want people to know about working in a retirement community?
It’s the best, you are surrounded by people (Members) that give advance, teach you things, and just want to share life with you. I always tell people my Members are truly my friends and what I do for work is rewarding and does not feel like a job.
What is your favorite thing about working for Wellmore?
The people that I get to live life with. The stories I get to be a part of making a difference for my Members.
What’s a quote or inspirational words that influence/impact you and why?
“They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” I Love this quote; in this role I want to enrich the lives of our Members. They may not know all the long hours and hard work that go into planning, but I know they always enjoy what we do for them. I can see it on their faces that their lives are being enriched when they are enjoying the activities and events that we host for them.
Positions that are eligible to vote and win the Supernova Award include: HR Director, Resident Care Director, Assistant Resident Care Director, Care Services Administrator, Director of Nursing, Assistant Director of Nursing, Resident Care Director, Lifestyle Advisor, Lifestyle Advisor – Care Services, Transition Specialist, Social Director, Wellness Director, Director of Facility Services, Director of Dining Services, Executive Chef, Client Services Manager (Live Long Well Care).
