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201 E. Franklin Street Eldridge, IA 52748 |
Known for his wit and positive attitude, Dan joined Grand Haven Retirement Community with one goal in mind…."To take care of the residents as I want someone to take care of me someday." As an EMS professional and firefighter who is a familiar face in his local community grade school classrooms to teach the kids about fire prevention, Dan also is a favorite among senior citizens in his community. With Dan’s efforts and ability to go the extra mile and make one smile, he has found the job that makes him smile every day that he goes to work. Dan is married with two wonderful children that are very active in many sports. |
In Scott County, a certain name comes readily to mind when thinking of public service to the community and looking out for the community and his name is Dan Collins. For the past 10 years, he has resided with his family in Eldridge, Iowa, and served a critical role as an EMT-Basic for Medic EMS, a volunteer firefighter for the Eldridge Fire Department, as well as working the last two years at Grand Haven Retirement Community. With an ever-present smile on his face, Dan is well-known in Scott County as "Happy Dan," essentially brightening the days of virtually all he comes into contact with. |
Dan Collins, Assistant Manager |
Joni Fahrenkrog, Manager |
Hello and thanks for looking into Grand Haven Retirement Community. I have been the manager since May of 2007. I was giving tours prior to this building opening, dodging construction and wet paint! Since the initial opening of 53 apartments in July of 2007, we have added 35 more apartments (including 12 memory care apartments) in March of 2009. Grand Haven has lived up to its promise - a safe, wonderful place to live and work! Now a little bit about how I ended up as manager of Grand Haven… I grew up in this North Scott Community. I have lived and worked here my entire life. It has been my life's work caring for others. First as a mother caring for three sons, Matthew (29), Jason (27) and Adam (24); providing daycare in my home while raising my sons; as owner of Eldridge Preschool (100 + students per year) for 16 years; providing swimming lessons at my home every summer for 11 years. Other interests included volunteering in |
Jennifer Garrett, Health Care Coordinator/RN |
Meet The Staff |
Patti Greve, Administrative Assistant |
I moved from Bettendorf to the Eldridge area about 23 years ago when I married my husband Brad. We have four children, Ashley 22, Brandon 20, Travis 18 and Nathan 14. I started at Grand Haven from the beginning of July 2007 working in the kitchen, then moving to my present position that September. I enjoy camping, scrapbooking, fishing and spending time with my family. I have made lots of new friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life. They have taught me me a lot and I have had lots of fun learning from them. I hope they have had some fun teaching me and I will always keep hem close to my heart. |
Jennifer Maass, Activities Coordinator |
Lanette Paper, Activities Assistant |
Jennifer joined Grand Haven in February of 2009 but her face has been around since shortly after the opening in 2007. She was the owner of Bloomers Flower Shop in Eldridge for 20 years. Every month she organized a flower arranging workshop for the residents of Grand Haven which was an activity they really looked forward to attending. Jennifer still has a love of flowers but has a greater love of the residents here at Grand Haven. She was born and raised in Eldridge and then found and married her other half (Claus Maass) from DeWitt in 1985. They still reside in DeWitt where they are raising four boys---Andrew (age 22), Alex (age 21), William (age 19) and Weston (age 18). |
Jane Wilson, Part-time RN |
Lanette joined Grand Haven to assist with activities for our residents. She comes to us with many, many years of event planning as well as graphic design experience. She lives in Walcott, Iowa, with her husband and two young children. She enjoys scrapbooking, gardening and watching old movies in her free time. |
Meg Priester, Dietary Coordinator |
Jane Wilson is Grand Haven's part-time RN. She is originally from Watertown, South Dakota. She graduated from the University of South Dakota with an Associate of Arts Degree in Nursing in 1985 and from South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1987. She worked in the mental health field for twelve years. She has been a school nurse in the North Scott School District since 1997. She is currently the RN at Neil Armstrong Elementary in Parkview, Iowa. She has been married to her high school sweetheart, Tom Wilson, since 1986. They have two children. Luke (age 19) attends Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa, and Andrea (age 16) is a Junior at North Scott HIgh School in Eldridge, Iowa. She is grateful for the opportunity to be part of a wonderful team at Grand Haven. |
Meg joined Grand Haved as Food Coordinator shortly after the retirment community opened in July of 2007. She worked at Wallace's Garden Center prior to joining the Grand Haven family.Meg lives in Long Grove, Iowa. She had three children and three great-grandchildren. In a free time, she enjoys gardening. Meg's favorite part of her job is all the wonderful residents that she gets to visit with each day. |
Meet the Staff |
schools and the community, organizing events and being a part of making things happen. So, I feel like everything I did prior to this job has been a part of the training, part of the path that led me to Grand Haven. I drove by almost daily as the construction continued and felt compelled to call and see if there were any openings. I still owned my preschool but took a leap of faith and accepted the job of manager. A buyer approached me about my school and things fell into place. I have been blessed. I am surrounded each day by wonderful residents and amazing staff. We are making a difference and raising the bar on the quality of assisted living and memory care every single day. Together we make a family… My own family has grown to include Matthew's wife, Jama, my first grandchild to be born in November; Jason's wife, Dawn; and Adam's significant other, Stephanie. My mother, Carma, lives in a grandma flat attached to my house and is a huge part of our lives along with our two puppies, Libby and Lucy. Life is good! |