It’s always nice to put a face with a name. The Episcopal Retirement Homes (ERH) Board of Directors is made up of volunteer members who are dedicated to the organization’s mission: to “enrich the lives of older adults in a person-centered, innovative and spiritually based way.” In this entry, you’ll meet a few of those volunteers.
Gates Smith
Gates Smith has sat on ERH’s Board for the past four years and serves on the Affordable Living and Development committees. He is a marketing expert who was formerly the Executive Vice President of Agency Operations for the Ohio National Life Insurance Company’s Financial Services division where he served two years on Ohio National’s Board of Directors.
Smith also has previous volunteer board experience. He served seven years as the chairman for the St. Paul Village retirement community in Madisonville, which is now managed by ERH. During his tenure, the Village was completely renovated.
“The partnership with ERH enabled a transformation that only ERH could have accomplished,” he said. “The result was the realization of our many prayers for the residents.”
In addition to his volunteer service, Smith enjoys bicycling and golf. But for him, the time he spends helping others may be the most rewarding.
“I’m privileged to work alongside a group of competent and passionate Board members and staff,” he affirmed. “ERH has grown dramatically in just the few years I have been on the Board.”
Anne Warrington Wilson
As the Episcopal Priest-in-Charge at St. Mary Magdalene in Maineville, Ohio, the Rev. Anne Warrington Wilson knows that input from constituents is the key to finding the best way forward.
“I pay attention to people’s needs and wants,” she asserted. “I think I see the simple, direct questions that need to be asked about a new program or policy.”
As a six-year member of the ERH Board of Directors, Wilson enjoys meeting residents and figuring out how the organization can nurture their golden years.
The most rewarding aspect?
“Getting to know seniors who still live a full, stimulating life, even if driving, cooking and housework have become difficult,” she said. “People should be well taken care of during their older years. I am most concerned about alleviating social isolation when it becomes difficult for people to be part of their communities. Life in ERH communities helps improve these problems. I wish we could offer this life to all seniors.”
Even outside of her Board activities, Wilson gives back. An avid gardener, she grows vegetables and donates them to local food banks. She also volunteers her gardening skills for several area churches.
Tate Greenwald
Since coming to ERH seven years ago, Tate Greenwald has been impressed with our dedication to providing compassionate future care to Cincinnati’s seniors.
“I have been overwhelmed by the dedication of the Board members, the leadership team and ERH’s employees,” he noted.
Drawing on his experience as a human resources professional for Xtec, Inc., in Sharonville, Oh., and The National Underwriter Company in Erlanger, Ky., Greenwald brings expertise in benefit and compensation plans to his position as ERH’s Vice Chairman of Personnel. That knowledge is helping him to shape ERH’s ongoing growth. He also serves on the Compliance Committee and the ERH Foundation’s Board of Directors.
“ERH lives up to its mission of enriching the lives of older adults,” he said. “That mission continues to spread to more and more older adults with compassion and organized strategy.”
When he and his wife are not attending the Broadway series at the Aronoff Center, they volunteer with ERH’s Meals on Wheels program, which makes and delivers subsidized meals to needy individuals and shut-in seniors five days a week. Seeing the difference he makes in recipients’ lives is, Greenwald related, “a heartwarming experience.”
He is also a bit of a vocalist.
“I have sung for more than 50 years in several Episcopal church choirs,” he said.
