August 21st may have been World Senior Citizen’s Day, but it’s a “holiday” we observe daily. One way that we celebrate our residents is identifying opportunities to honor their interests, passions, legacies and service. So, when the opportunity arose for not one, but two, of our residents to take part in a Dream Flights, we said, “point us to the tarmac!”
Dream Flights mission this year is dedicated entirely to honoring members of the Greatest Generation by providing them a flight in a Boeing Stearman biplane. WWII veterans Milton (Mel) Ott, age 98, and John Bliss, age 92, who reside at our Highland Glen community in Highland, Utah both took part in this adventure of a lifetime.
Mel served as a staff sergeant for US Army Air Corp from 1943 to 1945. An avid lover of family history, scenic drives, and good movies, Mel and his wife Meta have been residents at Highland Glen since June 2020.
When they were told that Mel would have this opportunity, Meta said, "They took away his license to fly, they took away his license to drive, they took away everything, so this means the world to him."
John served in the US Marine Corps from 1946 to 1947 as Private 1st Class, where he was stationed on the aircraft carrier the USS Valley Forge. When John isn't walking his dog, Teddy, you can find him working on jigsaw puzzles – he completes two a week! John, who lost his wife Colleen to COVID last year, says he's very excited to take this flight.
Much like Dream Flights, who collect, preserve and share veterans' stories of our shared humanity and connection to each other, MBK values service and connections. In all MBK communities, veterans are featured on our Honor Walls and celebrated at various times during the year. But what’s more, our community teams work diligently to get to know residents’ experiences, preferences and passions. It not only is how we build meaningful relationships with residents and families, but enables us to meet and exceed their expectations regularly.
To learn more about MBK’s personalized approach to caring for our residents, speak with one of our Director of Sales at a community near you.
