Donna Lande is always moving, or so it seems at least. She’s another Arc person with a long, successful employment history — and who shows no signs of letting up.
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MEET DONNA LANDE
Donna started working in the cafeteria of what was then Burlington Memorial Hospital in Mt. Holly in July of 2001. Initially it was three days a week, plus an extra day each week volunteering in its library. Today, the hospital has changed its name to Virtua, but guess who still works there? Donna! Fifteen plus years later, she’s still going strong because she loves her work — and apparently the colleagues she works with feel the same about her.
When we visited her at Virtua, she was nearing the end of her shift and totally focused on finishing every single task remaining on her schedule whether we were there or not. So we did a lot of running to keep up, and she answered questions on the fly.
Donna’s job is pretty labor intensive and by the end of her work day, her face is a little flushed and she looks as if she’s had a good workout. No wonder. She’s busy bussing tables and taking used plates and utensils to the dishwasher, wiping off tables, sweeping the floor, pushing huge stacks of clean trays up a fairly steep ramp to replace in the dining room, keeping condiment dispensers filled and clean, emptying trash containers and replacing bags, straightening the storage closets, occasionally filling in on the serving line, and from what we could see, being very pleasant and cheerful to everyone she came in contact with. They all returned the favor as well, and it’s easy to see that Donna is a welcome fixture at Virtua.
After work is another story. For all her strict work ethic, Donna thoroughly enjoys her time off with friends, apartment mates, and her sisters and their families. Favorite TV shows “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune,” reading books, doing crossword puzzles, cooking and shopping top her list of fun things to do when she’s not at work. She equally enjoys taking a daily walk in nice weather, scheduling and taking trips with our recreation department and Guided Tour, activities with the SJ 21 and AG social clubs she belongs to, going out to dinner, and dancing. She also keeps well informed by reading the newspaper every day. She’s more disciplined than most of us and says she doesn’t snack in the evening. She tries to avoid junk food, candy and ice cream — but admits that ice cream is really nice once in a while.
It appears Donna has things pretty much under control in her life, work-wise and socially. Her ultimate goal is to live in a new apartment on her own because she likes alone time but also enjoys being with the many friends she has made. From how things are going at present, that sounds like a plan Donna will definitely accomplish!
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