Heartwarming and Encouraging Moments
Life will inevitably presents us with both joys and sorrows — and then we will all meet with end-of-life realities.
Although at the time of this writing, we are still very new to our Village, we have already experienced encouraging and heartwarming moments. We will share some of those special moments that have brought us joy and happiness here.
Gratitude for Informative and Delightful Information Session
Hello Andrew,
We had to write to let you know how worthwhile last week’s Information Session at Renaissance was for us.
The entire session was beautifully orchestrated — from the warm welcome we received when we arrived and were offered a cup of tea/coffee, all the way through to the lovely light lunch and visit to the display villa.
The highlight of the morning was the Information Session — superbly presented with the PowerPoint presentation and most informative commentary, with generous time offered for audience questions, as well as a quality, 40-page, spiral-bound information booklet! This was a presentation par excellence, fully informing participants about retirement living, without a trace of hard sell regarding Renaissance.
To have a light lunch — including a delectable dessert with tea/coffee personally served — offered at the close of the Information Session was delightful. Having a small number of residents at the session and luncheon was excellent, enabling attendees to directly interact with those living at the village and ask questions.
Finally, the Information Session came to a fitting close when the attendees were invited to visit the display villa.
In closing, thank you Andrew, and all the staff behind the scenes, who have made last week’s Information Session a most profitable venture!
Alex and Eva Peck
May 2023
Gratitude for the Renaissance Retirement Village
To the Owners, Management, and Support Staff of Renaissance Retirement Village,
As incoming residents, my wife, Eva, and I would like to thank you for creating a retirement village of first-class quality — building a vibrant community of retirees, and meeting so many of their needs, socially, emotionally, intellectually, and health wise.
We are beginning to see how Renaissance Retirement Village offers such a wide range of benefits and activities for its residents. We feel privileged, and are excited at the opportunity to become a part of what has to be a special village with its vision of abundantly serving its retiree residents in a quality manner.
May we give back to the community in terms of being a positive presence and serving when opportunities arise that meet our gifts and talents.
With heartfelt gratitude toward you all as we soon move in,
Alex and Eva Peck
August 2023
Gratitude for Villa Inspection
Dear Janine, [Janine is the Client Liaison Consultant.]
It was lovely to be able to accompany you on the Inspection of our Villa last week on that beautiful, winter Friday morning under clear skies.
We wanted to write to thank you for your generosity of time — and how you graciously answered all our questions. (It was also lovely to meet Daniel, the Maintenance employee.)
In the one and half hours we spent with you, we were able to cover what may have taken us weeks to discover or work out by ourselves.
The whole Villa is being so beautifully and immaculately presented to us. “No stone has been left unturned” — we really appreciate the superb attention given to all the details. Everything is “spick and span” — so neat and clean.
What a wonderful home it will be for Eva and me — the layout of the Villa has been so thoughtfully designed, with plenty of storage space built in. We also value the peacefulness of both our street, and the whole Village.
Thank you for having been so amicable, helpful, and understanding throughout our working with you in the acquisition of the Villa!
In closing, we would like to wish you all the very best in your continued work at Renaissance,
Alex and Eva Peck
August 2023
Gratitude for Settlement Day Welcome
Dear Janine,
Your kindness on Tuesday — our Renaissance Settlement Day (August 1st, 2023) — really helped to make it a red-letter day, a memorable day we’ll long remember!
There’s so much we are deeply grateful for.
First, the attractive welcome hamper — filled with a bottle of sparkling white wine, chocolates, crackers, cookies, and fruit paste — was beautifully presented! How touching to receive it!
And then, we were moved by the practical and useful gifts that had been lovingly presented to us — the two hats (thoughtfully chosen with the two sizes, 61 cm and 59 cm sizes, fitting perfectly!), two stainless steel drink bottles, and two Renaissance pool towels.
Also, the package of print materials is such helpful documentation pertaining to life in the Village. Truly excellent and necessary for us to have on hand.
Finally, thank you for the range of needed keys for the Villa as well as the Village doors and gates.
As we left the Villa to return to Thornlands, we couldn’t but help to reflect on how thoughtfully — and lovingly — everything had been prepared for our welcome to Renaissance Retirement Village. Surely, this was love in action!
Thank you for the beautiful memories we now carry.
With our best wishes for you (and your loved ones),
Alex and Eva Peck
August 2023
Gratitude for the Gardening Team
Dear Chris, [Chris is the head gardener at the Village]
We would like to thank you for visiting our Villa yesterday afternoon to give us a most informative orientation to how the gardens and groundsare maintained at the Renaissance Retirement Village. We appreciate knowing how our individual gardens — including our front, side and back flowers and bushes — are part of the maintenance process.
We would also like to let you know — and the entire gardening team — how much we value your work around the entire Village.
It’s a delight to see how every Villa has an attractive and well-maintained garden. The caring attention given to the flowers, shrubs, bushes, and lawns is superb.
The grounds, too, are beautifully maintained — they add much to the peaceful and pleasing environment of the Village, which creates a positive feeling of well-being in living here.
Furthermore, we value how the natural environment has been retained on the property, including native bushland and waterways, together with the pathways for walking.
Interestingly, it’s increasingly acknowledged that gardens and green spaces are linked with better physical, social and mental health (Royal Horticultural Society).
May each of you on the gardening crew experience health, happiness, and fulfilment in your gardening roles!
Alex and Eva Peck
September 2023
P.S. The following, with similar content, was expressed toward the gardening team soon after we were approved for our Villa:
As my wife and I move into Renaissance Retirement Village, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to you all for your work around the Village.
As we walk over the grounds of the Village, to see the care and attention given to all aspects of gardening is so encouraging. Whenever we walk to the Leisure Centre, or over the gardens, we always feel uplifted. It’s simply a beautifully presented Village — and the careful upkeep of all the gardens is an integral part of that.
When it comes to maintenance, it has been gratifying to see not even the slightest signs of neglect — the upkeep of the property, inside and outside, looks first-class.
We deeply appreciate your quality work behind the scenes,
Alex and Eva Peck
August 2023
Gratitude for Our First Bus Trip
To the Renaissance Retirement Village Bus Trip Organisers:
We have just returned from our first bus trip organised by the Renaissance Retirement Village. What a delightful day it has been to break away from suburbia and to visit the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in the new Village touring coach.
Our driver, Tony, fits his role perfectly — providing commentary on places of interest, as well as being sensitive to the needs of all the passengers, some of whom are no longer as mobile as they once were and others needing walkers.
The feature of the trip was to travel with residents of the Village — in contrast to a random selection of strangers on normal bus tours. We enjoyed our morning tea and lunch together with different residents —building relationships and sowing seeds for friendship in our Village community living. A special treat for us was to sit in the back seat with our dear neighbours on 28th Avenue — Tom and Yvonne, with whom we could spend time in extended conversation, getting to know each other better in a meaningful way.
Our itinerary today was nicely chosen — travelling to the hinterland village of Woombye, from which we continued further into the hinterland until we reached the jewel in the crown being the village of Palmwoods, where we stopped for lunch at the renowned eatery, Rick’s Garage. After lunch, we drove through the rolling scenery out to the motorway and back home.
As older retirees, these trips provide an important social and cultural outlet since driving long distances in one’s own car is no longer as appealing and enjoyable.
Looking back, it has been an uplifting, profitable, and pleasant first bus trip for my wife, Eva, and me. We’re now looking forward to many other trips!
With appreciation,
Alex and Eva Peck
September 2023
Gratitude for Curtain and Blind Installation
Hello Chris, and sons Sam and Bradley,
We would like to thank you all for how you have helped to make our Villa more like a home with the curtains and blinds you have put up. It was a sizeable job with six block curtains, three blinds, and one sheer curtain all hung in their best way.
We have appreciated how you first came to measure each window and help us finalise our selection of curtains, blinds, and rods. Thank you for collecting all the materials from the Curtain Wonderland store and bringing them to the Villa yesterday.
Our thanks go to you all for working so consistently without taking any break — you were all on-task throughout the job. We loved seeing your wonderful, harmonious teamwork from start to finish.
Also, we greatly valued your attention to detail — ensuring that each curtain and blind were optimally placed and installed.
Furthermore, we felt that your hourly rate was most reasonable and fair for your quality workmanship.
Finally, we enjoyed how you were all amicable — friendly, cheerful, and courteous.
May your curtain and blind installation work greatly flourish as you yet serve many residents in Brisbane, Ipswich, and on the Gold Coast,
Alex and Eva Peck
September 21, 2023
Gratitude for Christmas Dinner 2023
To the Renaissance Directors, Management and Staff:
As new residents of Renaissance Retirement Village, my wife, Eva, and I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the superb Annual Residents Christmas Celebration, organised by Management and Staff, held on Tuesday evening, 5th December 2023 (the first cohort of a double evening event).
From start to finish, it was a first-class occasion. It was touching to see how Management and Staff went out of their way to serve the Village residents. We are deeply grateful for the following highlights of the evening which we will treasure in our memories for a long time:
As we entered the Moongalba Room, we were warmly greeted and welcomed by the entire Admin team, many who wore red colours for the Christmas season. In front of us were beautifully set rows of tables covered with white tablecloths. At each table were twelve white-covered chairs, each with a golden sash around the back rest. The tables were decorated with blue lamps in a variety of shapes. Each resident had a small, personalised, individually crafted name decoration at their seat. Menus of the evening’s meal had been specially printed and were available at each table.
Helen, the master of ceremonies, led the evening’s activities in an engaging manner and with warmth of personality. This was her seventeenth such occasion at Renaissance, and she reminisced on the first Christmas dinner she experienced, when the Leisure Centre was yet to be built.
A prayer of thanksgiving was fittingly offered for the special meal. Before long, the entire Admin team, including staff from the Cleveland Office (as well as Daniel and Steve from the Maintenance department), were busy serving each resident — bringing them first the entree (quiche lorraine, with salad and bread roll), then the main course (mustard glazed ham and traditional roast turkey with potatoes and vegetables), and finally the dessert (traditional Christmas pudding with custard, or pavlova with fresh fruit and cream).
Special thanks need to be expressed to Cyril, the hard-working chef behind the scenes in the kitchen, with his team of young assistants who prepared the food and handled all the meal follow-up.
To our surprise and delight, between meal courses, we were graced with the music of Jonathon Welch, a well-known Australian choral conductor, opera singer, and voice teacher, now making his home in the Redlands. After a few solo pieces, his men’s choir joined him on the stage. Jonathon led the residents in the singing of selected Christmas carols, rich in the meaning and spirit of Christmas. The words had been kindly printed as a handout for residents to sing from.
We were privileged to have Ross Campbell, the co-owner and director of Renaissance, his wife, Allison, and daughter, Celia (who works at Renaissance), attend the function. Ross’ words of welcome were appreciated by all. Together with Graham Leishman, the other co-owner and director (who couldn’t attend because of illness), they had a vision to make Renaissance a model retirement community that it is today. Theirs is a leadership style guided by integrity, as well as care for the residents.
To end the evening, four tickets, each with the name of a resident, were drawn in a raffle. The four winners each received a gift hamper filled with savoury and sweet delicacies, as well as drinks.
As a further special touch for the evening, a candy cane was hidden under a few place napkins. The lucky recipients of the candy also received a small Christmas tree, able to be planted in their Villa garden.
We would like to end our heartfelt appreciation with these words:
The quality, elegant Christmas dinner celebration put on by the Management and staff at Renaissance displayed a remarkable spirit of service and love toward the residents. Clearly, a lot of love, thoughtfulness, and caring had gone into the preparation for this event. The planning, set-up, and take-down must have taken countless hours — all truly a labour of love.
The harmony and happiness of the staff serving the residents in the dining room was clearly perceptible. During the meal, each staff member joined the residents at one of the tables. Such interaction further helps foster the close personal relationships that residents enjoy with the staff at Renaissance.
The memorable Christmas dinner that we as residents were treated to further positively reflects on the Renaissance Retirement Village. It is a community where many true values have been recaptured — witnessed in the smiles, contentment, peacefulness, and happy faces of staff and residents alike.
As a smaller independent retirement village, Renaissance has had the unencumbered potential of forging an innovative model for retirement community living at its best.
Alexander and Eva Peck
December 8, 2023
Seeing its many wonderful qualities,
I rejoice and delight in this human life.
(Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche)