During her career Duana has worked with a wide age range of individuals. Prior to coming to Frederick Living, she served for 18 years in children’s ministry, coordinating volunteers for her church’s children’s programming. Her transition to a continuing care retirement community two years ago seemed like an easy shift.
“I love talking to people and building relationships with team members and residents,” says Duana. “We are here to help people find purpose, and whether a team member or resident, we all have a ministry and purpose regardless of our age.” In her multi-faceted role, Duana works with over 200 volunteers and team members. Volunteers, both residents and non-residents, need to be oriented to their area of service and then scheduled. Background checks must be submitted and schedule adjustments managed as they arise. New volunteers, including the furry, canine therapy types, are always welcome. “It’s a really fun day when I get to welcome a new dog to the team!”
Duana is also responsible for managing Frederick Living’s fleet of vehicles. She maintains mileage logs and oversees vehicle maintenance and repairs. She also schedules drivers for package and meal deliveries, medical appointments, and outings to local areas of interest and restaurants. And in a pinch, she might hop behind the wheel of the electric shuttle, the FredEx, to pick up a resident who needs a quick ride to the Bistro for lunch.
As a team member, Duana has also appreciated growing personally and professionally through opportunities provided by Garden Spot Communities. She is currently participating in the Wisdom Course. She says, “Through the wisdom course I have learned to recognize the patterns of God’s provision and guidance in my life, and to see more clearly as He continues to work in my life daily. I am fascinated to hear the stories of the residents and fellow team members in the class. We all started off saying, ‘I don’t know what to write… I don’t have wisdom to share…’ and yet each week we learn and grow together in our understanding of our lives and stories.”
Last year she traveled to Kenya with the Travel with Purpose team to serve alongside 16 team members and residents from Garden Spot Village and Frederick Living. The team worked with Missions of Hope International (MOHI) in one of their schools outside Nairobi. “Having lived in Africa as a kid, I was excited to be going back. It wasn’t the experience I expected—it was way better! Everything was so different as an adult and of course I was very impressed by the work MOHI does in the communities they serve.”
“Their model intensifies the importance of developing relationships first, before ‘doing’ anything,” she says. This experience has been mirrored in how she continues to pursue relationships and perspective in her daily work. Duana says, “Getting to know residents first helps me to know what opportunities to offer them when new volunteer needs arise.”
Serving others has always been part of Duana’s experience having grown up in Swaziland, now Eswatini. Her family was stationed there as part of a team from Trans World Radio. Perhaps that cultural experience is what gave her the travel bug. Today, a global map in her home is marked with push pins indicating all the places to which she, and now her family, have traveled. In addition to mission trips to Thailand, Bali and Romania, she has also visited South Africa, Kenya, Japan, Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Nova Scotia and Alaska.
And to keep the momentum going, Duana will be co-leading the next Travel with Purpose team to Kenya in spring of 2027. Duana is excited to be a member of the Garden Spot Communities team and is looking forward to the opportunities yet to come.