Fairhaven Memorial Park honors ten local caregivers

Fairhaven Memorial Park Honors Ten Orange County Residents

Care Award Pays Tribute to Local Caregivers

MISSION VIEJO, Calif., November 17, 2014 – Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary honored 10 inspirational caregivers at its third annual Oliver Halsell Care Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 12, at its Mission Viejo location. The individuals – from throughout Orange County – were recognized for dedicating their lives to serving with the utmost care and compassion and improving the lives and spirits of those they help.

Honorees, joined by their family and friends, enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as they mingled before dinner. Each Care Award winner was presented a crystal statue by Marla Noel, president of Fairhaven, and Michael Alarcon, manager of Fairhaven Memorial Services, during a special program. Mission Viejo Councilmember Rhonda Reardon attended to congratulate each of the honorees.

Fairhaven Memorial, with locations in Santa Ana and Mission Viejo, created the Oliver Halsell Care Awards in 2012 to pay monthly tribute to Orange County caregivers who have demonstrated exceptional care in their profession and community. The award was named in recognition of Oliver Halsell, who founded Fairhaven in 1911 to provide a peaceful and comforting place for families to honor their loved ones.

“Our Care Award winners were carefully selected throughout the year for their dedication to serving others,” said Noel. “We are proud to honor local caregivers who have made serving from the heart a way of life, as our founder Mr. Halsell did so many years ago.”

The 2014 Care Award honorees include:

· David Nakashima volunteers with OC Hospice to give back to the community.

· Micki Souter (Trabuco Canyon) volunteers with Silverado Hospice as a tribute to the care her husband received during his final hours.

· Ginger Thomas (Mission Viejo), employer relations specialist at Mission Hospital, was motivated to work in the care industry by her mother, who worked as a Registered Nurse for many years.

· Pratibha Seth (Anaheim), nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, enrolled at Santa Ana College to pursue a career as a nurse after she immigrated to the United States from India to be with her husband.

· Kari Buist-Baker (Mission Viejo), founder & CEO of Senior Life Management, Inc., began her career as an obstetrics nurse; after her mother was diagnosed with dementia, she resigned from her job to pursue her passion of helping others find care for their senior relatives.

· Linda Armas (Fullerton), president & certified senior advisor at Clear Choice Senior Services, was faced with the challenging task of finding her parents a home, which inspired her to start her own business to help others.

· Phyllis Straight (Capistrano Beach), president of BrightStar Care, opted out of retirement and dove headfirst into her dream of working with people.

· Leslie McSparran (Orange), volunteer with St. Joseph Hospice, helped care for her father when he was diagnosed with cancer; a former aerospace engineer, McSparran now volunteers for the No One Dies Alone program, which provides patients with a volunteer companion as they transition to a peaceful and reassuring atmosphere during their final hours.

· Fredy Dominguez (Huntington Beach), community relations director at Attentive Home Care, created a unique networking group for professionals in the care industry to gather monthly to share experiences and educate each other.

· Amy Sorenby (Orange), certified nursing assistant for Cross Country Per Diem, is pursuing a nursing career in honor of her two-year-old daughter who spent most of her life in the hospital before she passed in 2003.

About Fairhaven’s Oliver Halsell Care Award

Fairhaven’s Oliver Halsell Care Award pays tribute to Orange County individuals whose kindness and dedication to serving others is inspirational. These courageous individuals go above and beyond their job descriptions to serve with the utmost care and compassion. Fairhaven’s Oliver Halsell Care Award winners come from many fields including private care, hospice, social work, counseling, assisted living, medical providers, nursing, therapy, volunteer work and more.

For more information and to nominate a deserving candidate, visit Fairhaven’s website: http://www.fairhavenmemorial.com/community/oliver-halsell-care-award or email CareAwards@FairhavenMemorial.com.

About Fairhaven

Founded in 1911 by Oliver Halsell to provide a peaceful and comforting place for families to honor their loved ones, Fairhaven Memorial Park & Mortuary is Orange County’s most beautiful independently owned and operated full-service mortuary, crematory and cemetery. With the memorial park and mortuary in Central Orange County and an elegantly appointed mortuary in South Orange County, Fairhaven provides funeral, cremation and burial services both at the time of need and through advanced planning, maintaining its steadfast commitment to care and compassion. Fairhaven is dedicated to celebrating the individual, providing services that are as unique and wide-ranging as the people they celebrate. Additional information is available at www.fairhavenmemorial.com. Connect with Fairhaven at www.facebook.com/fairhavenmemorial or www.twitter.com/fairhavenoc.

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