Spotlight on Chef Tony Johnson

Dietary Director at Garden View Care Centers of Chesterfield

Tony is a certified Chef, with a CDM from Fontbonne University. Tony chose his profession as a Chef because he feels that food brings people together. He enjoys making people feel good when they eat and knows that cooking for the residents is truly what he is called to do.

Tony was just in his first Chef Competition and placed 2nd. Cooking is definitely a passion of his. He enjoys cooking for the residents because some of them may not have family and they really enjoy their time when they come to the dining room. Tony feels that if can provide them with a meal to brighten their day he wants to make that happen. His favorite dish to cook is his own recipe for stuffed chicken topped with a roasted red pepper cream sauce, a great choice of comfort food for him and the residents.

We are very fortunate to have Chef Johnson on our team, we love his food!

Spotlight on Jamena Griffin

Our Employee of the Month for January is Jamena Griffin. Jamena was born and raised in St. Louis. She graduated from Vashon High School in 1996. She worked various jobs until she found her passion working with the elderly population. She got certified as a Certified Nurse Assistant and began working in long term care. Jamena has worked for Garden View Care Center for 3 years. Jamena has been with her husband Antonio for 15 years. She has 2 children, Jayana and Demetrius. In her free time, Jamena enjoys relaxing and watching TV. It is apparent Jamena loves her job as she works very hard to care for our residents and families with all their needs. We love you, Jamena!

Spotlight on Quinton

Quinton is our December employee of the month! Quinton is a CMT at Garden View and has been working here for a little over a year. Quinton is from the St. Louis area. Quinton shared that he likes to spend his free time with his three nieces who all range in age. He shared he enjoys playing games with them and being together. Quinto’s favorite part about working at Garden View is helping the residents. He shared that “making them happy, makes me happy”. We greatly appreciate all Quinton does here at Garden View and always being so quick to lend a helping hand to others! Thank you Quinton!

Spotlight on Mary Vareedayah

Mary Vareedayah is our December employee of the month. Mary was born and raised in India. Mary graduated high school and attended Annamelai University where she graduated with her bachelors in psychology. She went on to get her teaching certification at Holy Cross Catholic College. She began teaching middle school and met her husband Raji not long after. They had one son together. In 1995, Mary and her family moved to the United States to be closer to Raji’s family. Mary then began a job working at a bank and volunteered at long term care facilities in her free time. She decided that her passion was working with the elderly and left her bank job to work as an activity assistant in long term care. Mary has worked for Garden View for 15 years in the activity department. Mary enjoys going to church, watching movies and spending time with family in her spare time. Mary states that kindness and love can transfer someone’s darkness into light. We love you, Mary!

Spotlight on Gwen Daniels

Our Employee of the Month for November is Gwen Daniels. Gwen is a mother to beautiful six year old twin daughters, Savanna and Madison. She currently lives in University City. She grew up in the small town, that’s actually considered a village called Caledonia, Missouri. She moved to the St. Louis area when she was 19 years old. She is the youngest of 4 children. She has one brother and two sisters. Right out of high school she became a Certified Nurse Assistant. She worked as a CNA for almost 20 years. She then came to Garden View looking for a change. She states she still wanted to help people, just in a different way. She now works in the laundry department and says she loves what she does. Most of her free time is spent with her daughters. She says when she does get “me” time, she loves to curl up on the couch and watch a good movie. Gwen is a hard worker and dedicated employee at Garden View. We love you, Gwen!

Spotlight on Stephanie Jordan

Our November Employee of the Month is Stephanie Jordan! Stephanie works as a CNA at Garden View and has done so for six years now. Stephanie is from around Northwest Missouri. Stephanie has a son who is 5 years old. Stephanie shared that in her free time her son and her play with dinosaurs, hot wheels, and enjoy watching dinosaurs on the TV. Stephanie also likes going to Texas to visit her father and two sisters when she gets the chance . Stephanie shared her favorite part about working at Garden View is the teamwork, and how everyone works together to help get things done. We appreciate all of Stephanie’s hard work here at Garden View! Thank you Stephanie!

Spotlight on Kalini

Kalini is one of our Dietary Servers here at Garden View. Kalini has worked at Garden View for 7 years now! She shared that her favorite part about working at Garden View are the residents. We can confirm this as she is always going out of her way to speak with the residents, assist them in any way and socialize with them when she gets the chance. When Kalini isn’t work, she enjoys spending her free time by going to the movies and shopping. Kalini also enjoys spending time with her three children who are of the ages 15, 11, and 8. We appreciate all Kalini does here at Garden View and for always going above and beyond in her work!