Oelfke, Korzendorfer, Reese Named Lifetime Honorary Members

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Jodi Boyne

John Korzendorfer, Marilyn Oelfke, and Dallas Reese, three distinguished leaders in aging services, were named Lifetime Honorary Members during last week’s Annual Meeting and Leadership Forum. 

John Korzendorfer

John Korzendorfer is a transformational leader who never accepted the status quo as he strived to provide a continuum of care that met the changing needs of the community and ensured that older adults had choice, flexibility and independence to age in place. He spent 27 years of his career at Ecumen Lakeshore, where he transformed a large traditional nursing home that served 250 people into an innovative, housing with services setting that serves over 2,000 people annually. John was also an active member of LeadingAge Minnesota, where he served on the Board of Directors and was a member of the numerous committees, work groups and task forces during his dedicated career. He was one of the strongest voices in District B and at the State Capitol where he lobbied tirelessly on behalf of senior services. John was a mentor to many during his dedicated career in our field and continues to offer wise advice and counsel in his retirement. 

In reflecting on his service to older adults, Korzendorfer offered the following advice to LeadingAge Minnesota members: “Be tenacious, look down the road away and determine how you will get there. Leave it better than you found it and know always that you are called to do this.”

 

Marilyn Oelfke

Marilyn Oelfke, RN, dedicated her career to the field of aging services. She spent 25 years at Perham Health as Director of Nursing and then Vice President of Long-Term Care. Marilyn was a pioneer in the culture change movement and person-directed care. She led Perham Health to adopt the household model of care and then served as a consultant for other aging services organizations that implemented this more resident-centered model. Marilyn also helped LeadingAge Minnesota break down institutional practices of the past to develop the ground-breaking Health Support Specialist Registered Apprenticeship Program – once again serving as a thought leader in the field. She then served as a Transformation Coach with the program to help organizations throughout Minnesota build leaders and advance careers in caregiving. In addition, Marilyn shaped the work and mission of LeadingAge Minnesota through her many contributions to the various committees she served on during her remarkable career.

“If we can keep the person that we are serving in the center of everything we do, it doesn’t matter what changes around us, the model of services we provide or what setting people live in,” said Marilyn Oelfke. “Look at changes for how it will impact the people we serve and what we can do to make it the least invasive in their lives to allow them to live as they have chosen for as long as they can.”

Dallas Reese

Dallas Reese spent a distinguished 35-year career in service to older adults. As one of the first administrators to embrace interim assignments as a career with Ecumen, Dallas served many communities across the state by filing this critical need during times of organizational transitions. During the last 12 years of his career, Dallas served as an interim administrator at 22 different sites. Always a steadfast supporter of LeadingAge Minnesota and its work, Dallas also brought several of these sites into membership, strengthening our overall provider community.

While Dallas was unable to join us last week, his service to older adults and LeadingAge Minnesota was meant with resounding applause by all in attendance.