Live Oak Village is highlighting their Resident Homemaker Director, Gywen Dumas, who has been with the community for 22 years!
February 18, 2021, marks Gywen’s 22nd year with Live Oak Village. This past year, she was honored with the CSL Employee of the Year Award, and it was rightfully deserved. Gywen works tirelessly but never fails to greet everyone with a “good morning” and wish them a good day.

At one point during the last year, she worked 20 days in a row (at least!) when the community was short-staffed. She always shows up without complaint, and she truly loves the residents and what she does for them. In Gywen’s words, “I thank God every day for waking me up and for letting me continue to do what I do for 22 years. God is my biggest inspiration, and I try to center everything I do around Him.”
When asked to describe her position, Gywen shared:

“My job as Resident Homemaker Director means I am keeping Live Oak Village clean. I make sure these residents are taken care of, and their apartments and the lobby areas stay clean and tidy. I love when people walk in and say, “Live Oak Village is always clean.” That is the highest compliment, and that makes me so proud.”

Gywen genuinely loves what she does and puts passion into her work. She states that “some mornings I wake up tired and hurting, but I light up when I see the residents’ faces, and that is what motivates me to get out of bed. That is an inspiration to me. I love these residents and love making my job about these residents. There is nothing I love more than seeing them first thing in the morning.”

Gywen describes herself as very outspoken. “I will tell people how I feel, but I will also go out of my way to help anybody I can.”

When asked what advice she would give families transitioning a loved one into senior living, Gywen shared:

“Know that Live Oak [Village] is a wonderful place with a good, hardworking team of people. The people here, including employees and residents, are absolutely wonderful. Trust our team that your family member will be in good hands and well taken care of. We will keep it clean and keep them happy here.”

For those who may be interested in working in senior living, Gywen’s advice is to “be willing to do the job and do a good job. This job isn’t about us; it is about the residents. This is their home, and we treat it as such. Be willing to love on these people too.”

Live Oak Village is so thankful to have employees like Gywen on our team!

Robin Sweet, Executive Director of Live Oak Village, shared, “Gywen goes above and beyond every day she is here to make sure our residents are happy with the service they are receiving. She arrives on time, comes in with a smile, and puts in the work to keep our community beautiful. Gywen is an inspiration to me, and I enjoy every day we get to work together. I cannot thank her enough for what she does for Live Oak Village and me.” 

As part of Big Beautiful Baldwin’s Best of 2021, our community was voted Best Retirement Community, Best Place to Work, and our Executive Director was awarded Best Boss, and it’s because of employees like Gywen. We are proud of our team and the love and dedication they bring to their jobs, our community, and, most importantly, our residents.