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Get to Know Dustin Allen

Forefront Living is pleased to introduce our newest leadership teammates, both filling the roles of executive director. Danette Muzic, Executive Director at Faith Presbyterian Hospice, and Dustin Allen, Executive Director at Presbyterian Village North (PVN), began their roles within of few weeks of each other. We sat down with Danette and Dustin to get to know these dynamic leaders better through a fun question and answer session. Click here to read about Danette, part one, and enjoy learning more about Dustin in the second of this two-part feature, below.

Dustin Allen grew up in the small town of Perkins, Oklahoma, with a population of 2,500. He and his wife, Lili, are newlyweds and were married in April 2022. Lili is originally from Vietnam and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, at the age of ten. Please read below to learn more about Dustin.

What are you passionate about regarding your professional role?
Professionally, I am passionate about working in an industry that provides me with the ability to make a positive impact on individual lives.

What makes you feel proud?
I am proud that I returned to graduate school, eight years after receiving my bachelor’s degree, and earned an MBA from the University of North Texas. I am especially satisfied by this accomplishment because I returned to school while working full time.

Where could we find you on the weekend?
I love watching sports especially football, basketball and baseball. I am a huge Oklahoma State University fan. Go Pokes! On the weekends, you can find me working in my yard and spending time with Lili.

What makes you a good friend or how would your friends describe you?
My friends would describe me as a very loyal person and would note my ability to bring humor to any situation.

My favorite restaurants in Dallas include places like Toulouse Café, known for their French cuisine, and Truluck’s. I love seafood!

My hobbies include exercising and golfing. Lili and I love traveling around the world, and we look forward to planning excursions to explore new surroundings. I am an avid reader and specifically enjoy reading biographies. My first book review for PVN residents is scheduled for Tuesday, November 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the McGowan Auditorium. I hope to see many of our residents there!

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Teammate Spotlight – Alyssa Landa

“In our professional world we were always on the lookout for customer-focused talent. If we were still in that world, we would seriously recruit Alyssa. She is simply outstanding in the area of meeting customer needs! She is personable, knowledgeable and a problem solver. If she cannot answer your question, she makes sure you get an answer. She is a delight to work with and an important member of The Outlook at Windhaven’s team.” – Lois and Glen Doan, OAW VIPs

When did you begin employment at Forefront Living and what is your job title?
My first day with Forefront Living was January 11, 2021. I serve as the Sales and Marketing Assistant for The Outlook at Windhaven (OAW), and am responsible for supporting the sales team, planning events, greeting customers, tracking daily reporting and much more.

What do you like best about working at OAW?
It is difficult to pinpoint just one thing I like best about working at OAW. I work with great group of supportive co-workers, and I really enjoy getting to know each VIP (depositor). Working individually with the VIPs is fulfilling for me and gives me a keen sense of purpose. I also like that each day provides variety in my work.

What future OAW event are you most looking forward to?
I look forward to the day we open our doors and physically get to see all of the hard work come to fruition! In the shorter term, I am looking forward to the VIP events leading up to that point, especially groundbreaking.

Would you please share a Moment That Mattered that stands out to you?
A moment that stands out to me is the very first time we brought together all the OAW VIPs. For this special occasion, Rev. Jarod A. Cooper spoke about gratitude. It was fulfilling to hear future residents share stories of thankfulness. This was the inaugural kick-off to many more VIP events. Bringing people together to share a common interest is what makes my job matter the most.

Please share a little about yourself personally.
I moved to Dallas in January of 2021, shortly after graduating from Colorado State University. I am slowly but surely finding my way around this new city! I was born and raised in a small mountain town outside of Winter Park, Colorado. Before moving to Texas, my hobbies consisted of skiing in the winter and hanging out at the lake during the summer. Since moving to Texas, you can find me exploring new places, walking our dog, Koda, playing golf or hanging out at the best patios around town! During the fall, I enjoy watching football on the weekends. For my favorite football team, it is a toss-up between the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos. Also, I recently became engaged to my fiancé Harrison, and will now be spending my free time planning our wedding!

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Board of Directors Vice-Chair To Be Inducted Into NABJ Hall of Fame

We are pleased to announce that Neil Foote, Forefront Living Operational Board Vice-Chair, is being inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Hall of Fame. Every year, this elite group pays homage to legendary Black journalists who have made outstanding contributions to the industry. This year, Neil is one of eight outstanding professionals that will be inducted into this esteemed group during a virtual ceremony on Saturday, December 4.

The virtual awards ceremony will also highlight winners of NABJ’s Salute to Excellence Awards, including the Student Chapter of the Year Award. Neil is the advisor of the University of North Texas (UNT) NABJ chapter, and I am excited to share this is the group’s third consecutive year to be nominated for this distinguished award.

*2021-2022 UNT-NABJ members on a virtual zoom meeting due to COVID-19.*

*2018-2019 UNT-NABJ members at Celebrate Mayborn with former member Angie Jones, Dean Dorothy Bland and Neil Foote.*

“I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Neil as an undergrad serving on the executive board of UNT-NABJ,” said Alesa Gerald, public relations liaison. “During that time, I learned so much about journalism and also life, under his guidance. I believe there is no one more deserving of being a NABJ Hall of Fame inductee. Neil continues to be an inspiration to me, his students and other aspiring journalists everywhere.”

For more information about Forefront Living leadership, please visit https://www.forefrontliving.org/about/leadership. To learn more about NABJ, please visit https://nabjonline.org/.

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PVN and Faith Presbyterian Hospice Celebrated Nursing and Hospice Assistants During A National Appreciation Week

Presbyterian Village North and Faith Presbyterian Hospice showed appreciation for their nursing assistants during the 41^st Annual National Nurses Assistants Week from June 17-24.

Each year National Nursing Assistants week is held to recognize the vital supporting role nursing assistants play in the delivery of quality care.

Presbyterian Village North (PVN) held different events each day to celebrate and honor these teammates. PVN provided hot fudge sundaes, tacos and sandwiches for the teammates to enjoy. Each day there were also raffle, games and prizes.

At Faith, the hospice aides were celebrated with a luncheon that included special gifts, games and of course, food.

For more information about careers at Forefront Living, visit forefrontliving.org/careers.

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PVN Highlights Its Diversity With LBGT Coalition Certification

Presbyterian Village North (PVN) participated in the Coalition for Aging LGBT, an expansive cultural training process. Through this program, PVN has been certified as a LGBT-friendly senior housing option since 2018.

The Coalition for Aging LGBT is an organization that worked for two years with 17 senior living communities across 4-county areas (Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and Collin counties) to create a list of inclusive LBGT senior housing options in north Texas. The guide is a comprehensive assessment of the 17 communities’ policies, resident procedures and forms, LGBT inclusive programming, marketing, outreach to the LGBT community and LGBT competency training for teammates and residents within these communities.

“We wanted to create a safe and friendly space for all residents regardless of gender, identity or sexual orientation,” said Forefront Living Director of Sales and Marketing, Barbara Matamoros. “One of our organizational values is diversity and we want to embrace that in others at every level.”

The Senior Housing Guide is available online and at several locations across north Texas.

“At PVN we are so accepted and we so appreciate that. People are so kind and nice and wonderful here,” said Sue Sherrod.

“We’ve received nothing but support. It’s our family of choice. I wish more people would come here. PVN doesn’t have labels other than we’re a village,” said Jude (Judith) Hammett.

For more information about the Coalition for Aging LGBT, visit cfa.lgbt.

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To have the blues during the holidays.

In the ﬁrst article in this series, we shared a few techniques to help adult children more eﬀectively start a conversation with their parents about the sensitive topic of aging. In this article, we’ll take a step further and talk about what to do once the discussion progresses beyond those early startup stages. We’ll look at some options families consider, share the positive and potentially challenging aspects of each, along with some tips on how to better evaluate each scenario.