Giving time to those who need it most
At their cottage in Westminster at Lake Ridge, Vance and Mary Johnson have a large collection of clocks – old and new – and a clock workshop for repairs.
Vance has been repairing and restoring antique clocks for 50 years. When clock owners want to pay for his work, he hands the clock owner an Ingleside Foundation envelope and invites them to donate money to the WLR Resident Supporting Fund as their “thank you.”
“I primarily fix clocks for friends, but I enjoy working on them and I enjoy working with people who love clocks, too,” Vance said.
He took a 13-week course through the University of Pennsylvania in 2004-2005 and says that the classes really honed his skills and confidence.
“I learned about things I was doing wrong and a lot of new things I needed to know,” Vance said.
Vance and Mary have lived at Westminster at Lake Ridge since 2014 and have held multiple volunteer and leadership positions. Mary said Ingleside was the perfect fit for them.
“We wanted a non-profit with all three levels of care and especially wanted a cottage,” Mary said. “From the time we started looking around, WLR had just the right feel.”
Mary was a college professor and with Vance started their own strategic planning consulting business called the Institute for Organizational Research and Development. They ran it for more than 30 years.
When Mary moved into Ingleside, she jumped right into volunteering and giving back to the community. Mary is the coordinator of the resident-run Gift Shop, as well as a leader of the Hospice volunteers through Capital Caring Health, who provide flowers, visits, and comfort to residents in need.
Vance has been the WLR resident member of the Ingleside Board. He is an Episcopal priest and coordinates a weekly Episcopal chapel service open to the WLR community.
“We feel lucky to be in this community,” Mary said, “and we’re glad there are so many ways to give back.”