Bringing best practices home:

Doug Bowker takes on executive direction of Massawippi Retirement Communities

Three weeks into his job as the new Executive Director of the Massawippi Retirement Communities, Doug Bowker says that he sees his main task as one of fine-tuning the details of an operation already off to a great start. Acknowledging the work done by his predecessor, Greg Bishop, in the transition from the Grace Christian Home to the Grace Village Pavilion, and by the home’s staff in the interim between Bishop’s departure and his hiring, the former Sawyerville native said that the home has put its faith in his business background to see an already impressive foundation raise to new heights.

“I’ve spent a career helping companies develop revenue, drive profits into the corporate bank accounts, and I have enjoyed doing it, but I’ve been thinking for awhile that I want to do something more meaningful,” Bowker said. “My career has been change; creating new products, creating new markets, building new operations and divisions from scratch. It is what I have done, it is what I have enjoyed, and now I have the opportunity to do it here in something that has been really well done.”

In the initial announcement of their new Director, the home highlighted Bowker’s deep roots in the Townships while also pointing out his background in management, communications, customer service, marketing, operations, and expansion projects. In speaking of his new role, the Executive Director spoke of coming home. Remembering a childhood in Sawyerville followed by a career that began in Sherbrooke and lead him as far away as Switzerland, Bowker said that he has enjoyed returning to his community and reconnecting with an area that he cares about deeply.

Looking at the situation he has stepped into, Bowker said that where those who came before him were builders, he sees his role as being one of a stabilizer for the operation, to ensure its future success. Eight months into life in a new facility with new staff, new tools, and new ways of operating, the big challenge on the table is finding the best practices to put in place.

“It hasn’t been totally free of hiccoughs,” the director said. “There are growing pains just from a process point of view and learning what the optimal configurations are of doing everything, but that has to be done at the same time as we deliver security and care for our residents. We have to do all this experimentation with zero impact.”

That, Bowker noted, is the biggest difference to this new position from the career he built before. The bottom line at Grace Village is not profit, but the security and care of the 112 seniors who call Grace Village home.

“These folks mean something; they’re people, and they have concerns,” he said, explaining that he starts every work day by going for a walk and listening to stories from the residents. “That’s my reminder every day that it is not a business structure I am trying to put in place, but a structure to enhance what we can do for them.”

Ultimately, Bowker said, and even as he works to try to make things more efficient, every aspect of the home needs to come back to the core mission of caring.

“If a person doesn’t have it down deep inside them that we have to look after our seniors, then this probably inst the job for them,” he added.

Although Bowker put his focus on building stability, he also acknowledged the fact that the Massawippi Retirement Communities are only partway into their ambitious expansion plans, with renovations still set to take place at the Connaught Home in North Hatley and further construction projects to expand the service offering of Grace Village in Huntingville. Before those dreams can move forward, however, the situation of the home and its foundation need to recover from the work done so far.

“There’s an emotional attachment (to the plans), but there is a business reality as well,” Bowker said. “I seriously want those next steps to happen, but nothing will happen until we’ve stabilized what we have here financially.”

The Executive Director said that the plan is to have the books back on track by the end of this year, but he also pointed out that there are everyday expenses and equipment needs the home has that also need to be covered in addition to the big-picture dreams of construction projects.

“We have come through a major capital expenditure and cost phase, we have some commitments that need to be met by the end of this year,” he said. “They are under control, but it is a challenge.”

Bowker said that people can expect to see new fundraising campaigns coming from the home in the next few weeks, putting a focus on small-scale, sustainable giving.

“We don’t need $1 million from everybody if we can find 500 people who are concerned and have some sort of link to the community,” the director said, noting that if a large number of people can commit to donating the cost of a cup of coffee a day over the course of a year, the home will be better off in the long run. “We need to be able to intelligently manage ongoing costs,” he continued.

While acknowledging that the home has obstacles to overcome, Bowker was very positive about his new position and the state of the community.

“It’s going great and I love it,” he said. “There are hot potatoes, there are challenges to be resolved, but I have lived my career doing that. I love challenges, I love to build.”