Residents Of Glendale Towers Go For The Gold

First place winner, Paul Mulligan, and second place winner, Terry Rouland, proudly display their hard earned ribbons, medals, and prizes.

An estimated 27 million Americans tuned into some portion of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy this year, according to Reuters. The 2006 Olympics at Glendale Towers, a supportive housing building for elders and disabled individuals in Everett, may not have attracted such intense media attention and public interest, but that was just fine with the building’s residents. “We have fun no matter what we do around here!” said Dorothy MoGurk, resident of Glendale Towers.

MoGurk was one of approximately 30 participants in the first ever Glendale Tower Olympics on March 29, 2006. This small scale version of the Olympics didn’t include traditional events like figure skating, snowboarding, or bobsledding, but instead featured events like horseshoes, darts, ring toss, and the crowd favorite, shuffleboard.

Employees from MVES volunteered to assist with these competitions and were positioned at each of the event stations to serve as score keepers and judges. “It was great to see how much the residents enjoyed the games and socialization,” said Kim Keating, MVES case manager and Olympic volunteer. “A few people requested to have the Olympics every month!”

Residents of Glendale Towers and their friends were encouraged to participate in any or all of the Olympic events and to go for the gold—or at least a gift certificate! Ribbons were awarded to competitors with the top three scores in each event. Every participant was given a small prize, regardless of score, and all attendees were able to play their hand at luck by participating in a raffle.

Paul Mulligan, the participant with the best overall score, was awarded the grand prize. “It’s the best thing I’ve won all year,” said Mulligan with a proud smile. Mulligan was quite pleased to walk away from the games with ribbons of assorted colors, a gold medal, a gift certificate to Stop & Shop, and a basket filled with bath soaps and lotions.

MVES Supportive Housing Coordinator Barbara Ball organized the Glendale Tower Olympics. Ball works on-site at Glendale Towers to provide residents with advice, information, and support. She also helps plan sing-alongs, birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and craft workshops. Ball wanted to generate some excitement for residents by offering a new event. “We wanted to catch some enthusiasm from the recent Winter Olympics and make it into our own event,” said Ball. “This was a great opportunity for residents to get out and interact with their neighbors.”

Residents of the Steele Building, a supportive housing building in Melrose, will have the same opportunity to interact with their neighbors at the Steele House Olympics on April 12, 2006. Aridia Twombly, MVES supportive housing coordinator for the Steele House, is organizing these games and is encouraging her residents to participate.

Fans of the official Olympic Games will have to wait until the summer of 2008 to watch the Olympics in Beijing, China. However, Glendale Tower residents may not have to wait that long for another dose of Olympic action. Ball has said that if she continues to receive positive feedback from participants, she probably won’t wait two years to host the next Glendale Tower Olympics.