The new Charis Place assisted living complex in Kenai held its second open house June 26th for folks to meet the facilities new administrator JoAnn (Jodi) Reed. Charis is a Greek word meaning a place that provides peace, joy and loveliness which was the vision of Clint Hall who built the first facility of its kind in Kenai. “To accomplish that our priority has been to bless the employees because they are the ones who in turn bless the community here at Charis Place. We’ve accomplished that now as you can readily see in the smiles and sparkle in the eyes of everyone who works here as soon as you walk in the door,” said Hall in an interview with the Dispatch.“We are so happy to have our home grown Jodi Reed as our new administrator and the former owner of Veronica’s who everyone knows and loves Diane Hooper as our kitchen manager,” he said.

Reed was born and raised in Alaska and has been a professional assisted living manager for the last eleven years.“I worked at the hospital for sixteen years and during that time volunteered through my church at senior nursing homes and care facilities. Our church saw a need and had a beautiful building so I became the administrator of their assisted living home through my church where it became a passion of mine, I love working with seniors and meeting the huge need in our community, so when Clint came to me and showed me the new Charis Place I was excited to come to this amazing, beautiful place to serve those Alaskans who need a place where they can live and enjoy their senior years,” she said. “One of the most rewarding parts of my job is giving back to those who have given their lives to helping others and serving our community who have come to a place where they need some help in return and being able to do that and provide services for them and care that makes them feel like they are the ones who are special and get to waited on after all they have done makes this one of the most rewarding jobs any one could have,” said Reed.

And now at Charis Place someone’s in the kitchen with Dina someone’s in the kitchen you know oh-oh!, but make that Diane as in Diane Hooper the former owner of the iconic Veronica’s in Old Town Kenai, “I’m now part of a team, I have some great people in the kitchen working with me, friends that are helping me to learn how to operate in this special environment. For the open house we featured special hors d’œuvres prepared by one of our chefs Tyler, with a vast assortment of desserts. I believe that food goes hand in hand with providing comfort to people and we strive to make everything special for the very special people who live here,” said Hooper. At the open house long time Peninsula resident and entrepreneur, creator of Sourdough Sal’s restaurant in Soldotna, Sally Blakely displayed one of her recent paintings and said, “This is my home and I’m having guests over today.” Get details about Charis Place on line at www.charisplace.com