In the fall of 2023 seven residents, Redmond Barnett (chairperson), Claire Griffin, Phyllis Gill, Karen Fischer, Pam Baker, Ann Martin and Cora Bock met with the Sr. Director of Marketing and PR, Chris Hall, to embark on a journey to discover the remarkable history and amazing stories encompassing a century of Franke Tobey Jones legacy. Both the committee and Chris read through hundreds of pages of Board meeting minutes dating back to 1921, combed through stacks, boxes and books of newspaper articles and photos, and diligently embraced the FTJ history that we all greatly admire. The Resident Centennial Committee also personally interviewed about thirty residents, team members and board members to hear their perspectives and learn their stories. By the end of 2023, they had met several times in person and gathered a box of recommended stories for Chris to consider for the Centennial tribute.
As Chris started choosing the final 100 stories for the 148-page Centennial book “Franke Tobey Jones ~ 100 Years, 100 Stories” she consulted with the Committee for their comments and feedback regarding the selection of stories. When all 100 stories were chosen, Chris started to create the book, with Claire writing 40 of the stories and Chris writing 60 of the stories. It was a great collaboration! Chris also wrote the 40 minute video and enlisted 11 residents and one team member to be the many voices in the video. At the same time, Chris began to write and layout the eleven decades of stories for the timeline that was added to the website on May 23rd, along with creating Centennial ads, Centennial flags for the FTJ front entry, team member badge ribbons, communication for residents and team members regarding the Centennial stories, facts and events, public relations plans, gather time capsule items and work on the first of two events – Spring Tea held on May 22, 2024 to celebrate Franke Tobey Jones’ birthday. The major Centennial event will take place Aug 2, 2024 in the form of a Roaring 20s Picnic for residents, family members, city officials, Board members, past Board members and others.
At the same time, Redmond started working on the text for the 8 large display panels, and Chris and Claire worked on the text for the other 8 large display panels that were installed on May 15, eight in the Lillian Pratt building and eight in the Tobey Jones building. Chris designed the boards and had them installed. Other smaller displays with historical documents and photos have been located in the other four buildings on campus so all residents can learn about the long FTJ history.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure working with these wonderful, dedicated residents on this committee. I think it’s become a passion project for several of us! We have also been incredibly fortunate to have Redmond as the Chairperson as he, by career, is a historian, and for Claire that brought so much passion to the project and gave so much of her time writing stories. Their guidance has been extremely meaningful.” Chris Hall
