From left, are Grace Village Retirement Community Board Member Glenn Hall, Grace Village Employee Sally Kuhn, Grace Village Employee Tanya Heath, Grace Village Board Member Chad Hummel, and Grace Village CEO Justin Kimbrell. Photo provided by Tammy Smith, Grace Village Director of Advancement.

Press Release

WINONA LAKE — Kosciusko County nonprofit Grace Village Retirement Community celebrated two employees for their 40 years of service.

During an all-staff meeting on Sept. 2, Grace Village Board Chair Chad Hummel presented Sally Kuhn and Tanya Heath each with a crystal teardrop as a thank-you for their 40 years of service to Grace Village residents and coworkers.

Sisters, Kuhn and Heath came to work at Grace Village in August 1981. They both grew up in Warsaw and graduated from Warsaw Community High School. While they both were working elsewhere in the health field, friends encouraged them to consider working at Grace Village.

Kuhn began her career at Grace Village working in the dietary department, where she served residents in the healthcare facility. She also worked in housekeeping and the business office before becoming the unit clerk in the independent living section over six years ago.

Heath started at Grace Village two weeks after her sister, initially as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in the healthcare facility, and later as a Qualified Medication Aide (QMA). For the last 22 years, Heath has been the unit clerk in Grace Village’s assisted living section.

Heath and Kuhn have said that the residents of Grace Village feel like a second family to them. The sisters attribute that “family feeling” to the Christian environment and caring staff of Grace Village. They are familiar faces around the center. When visitors come to Grace Village, chances are they will be greeted by one of them.

To show appreciation for the work and dedication of Heath and Kuhn, Grace Village residents and families established a “$40 for Forty Years” campaign, with all funds contributed going toward a project of the sisters’ choice. To further the recent improvements made in the assisted living dining room, Kuhn and Heath chose to have donations go toward new carpet for the adjacent hallway. The goal for the campaign was 100 donors at $40 each to raise $4,000.

During a reception for the two, Director of Advancement Tammy Smith announced that 103 donors contributed varying amounts to the campaign and surpassed the goal, reaching $5,820. Smith noted that donors shared many stories about how Heath and Kuhn had positively affected their lives or the lives of their family members. She said one donor told her, “They help anyone with anything they need at any time.”