Week Eight Journal Entry

Jennifer White

AHS 8100 Guided Practicum in Administration of Human Services

Dr. Shavonne Brathwaite

Wilmington University
 This week was probably the longest and most exhausting week thus far. This week

Granite Farms Estates hosted approximately 130 individuals who were at the Acts Leadership

conference. These members consisted of all 21 executive directors, 21 nursing home

administrators and various corporate individuals. This required a lot of planning and preparation.

There were three team leads. The team leaders consisted of the Director of Physical Plant

Services, the Business Office Manager and myself. We each had four other individuals in our

groups and we were responsible for making sure that they knew their tour route in the main

building and in the E building. There was a total of fifteen tours and there were to be eight

members in each tour. Once the buses arrived at Granite Farms the individuals were directed to

the dining room and after they ate they were directed back to the lobby for their tour. The tours

began in the lobby and we showed them the caf, fireplace lounge, gift shop, mail room, pool

and sales and design center. Once we finished in the sales and design center groups A1, B1 and

C1 all got onto a 24-passenger bus. The bus then drove us across the property to the new Elm

Building where the three different groups then went on their separate tour routes. The same

thing was done for groups A2, B2 and C2 through A5, B5, C5.

It was stressful because my group members were comprised of regional staff who were

not familiar with the Elm building and I was responsible at 3pm the day of the event to make

sure that they knew their route. In addition, the day of the event, myself and the rest of the front

office were making sure that the to do list was completed and that bathrooms were clean,

common areas were tidy and that staff was aware of their role. It turned out to be a 13-hour day

and all of our feet hurt.

Before Wednesday, there were many meetings held to make sure that tour members

understood their route. There were meetings to develop timelines of when everything needed to
be cleaned by, when food needed to be prepared and it was extremely important to make sure we

had a time for staff to eat dinner prior to the chaos.

Thursday was a long day of recovery. Those of us who stayed late on Wednesday felt as

though we had never left once we arrived on Thursday morning. If anything, we felt as though

we had gone home for a nap and then had come right back. We had to remove balloons and

additional dcor that had been taken to the Elm building. We had to move many things back and

forth between buildings and then try to catch up on business from the day before because we had

basically put all of our daily tasks on hold. It was extremely overwhelming and every single one

of us was moving at a snails pace. We wished that the event had been held on Thursday because

it would have been bearable knowing that we were done for the week on a Friday.

Everyone who stayed on Wednesday went above and beyond and each individual worked

at least 12 hours. Elmer and our Regional Vice President were extremely impressed and

applauded the team and staff for a job well done. It was stressful making sure that we all knew

what was going on and that each person understood their tour route.

On a personal note, I was extremely worried because Elmer had listed me as a team lead.

I have only been at Granite Farms since July 2016 and am not as familiar with the building as

others who work there. My manager told me it was because he trusted me and had confidence in

me. That was reassuring to know that he thought I would do a good job and that I was good

enough to assist and work with others. This definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and

feel confident in myself. Giving a tour to eight people within the company, two of whom were

important corporate individuals was terrifying but it forced me to come out of my shell. I think

that Elmer had me as a team leader and guide because he not only trusted me, but also because

he to challenge me and because he wanted me to challenge myself by being forced outside of my

comfort zone. While I am still drained from Wednesday, I am grateful for the event because I

definitely feel more confident in myself.