One of my favorite people, the late Reverend Edward A. Puff of Dayton, often quoted Proverbs 29:18 when he said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
A little over five years ago, I was a member of a three-person committee to seek out and hire a Chief Executive Officer of the Ohio Masonic Home. We received resumes from 75 people, narrowed it down to 20 due to qualifications and interviewed seven. The last person we interviewed was Thomas Stofac. Bill Berry, Ron Connelly and I met Tom Stofac and recognized him as the talent for which we had been looking. Tom Stofac had dedicated his life to geriatrics and the operation of nursing homes and care for the elderly.
He was upbeat and ready to come to Springfield. When we discussed Freemasonry, he said he had researched it and was ready to join, whether he received this offer of employment or not.
Tom has turned the Ohio Masonic Home in a fully new direction. It has been the Board and CEO’s,responsibility to change from a “Senior Living Community” to an “Aging Services Company.” Our future, put forward by the CEO and confirmed and refined by the Board, helps people age respectfully: how they want, where they want. We can no longer house hundreds of people in nursing homes. We cannot afford to, nor is that the needs of our members. Our members need help with referrals to services and care in their homes. They need to be reminded of doctor’s appointments and physical therapy and to have their grass cut and a hundred other things.
While there will always be a nursing home component to the Ohio Masonic Home, there is also a multi-faceted direction towards home-based care. We have, in the past three years, opened two 25-bed Alzheimer’s facilities in Waterville and Medina and a 65-room independent living facility in Springfield. We have renovated or will renovate nearly every room or home on the Springfield campus. Our opportunities are endless.
This change in direction primes us to be ready for the next 125 years. We are fiscally sound and decisions are based on business decisions. I have been on the cutting edge of this change in direction. I have had the opportunity to see Tom’s work and the work of our Board.
Tom told me on April 5 that due to health reasons, he could no longer continue as our CEO. This was my saddest day at the Ohio Masonic Home for the past five years. The Board complied with his request with deepest regrets. He is a gentleman and a friend. He has vision.
God bless you, Tom and Leslie and Godspeed.
Terry W. Posey, PGM
Chairman of the Board, Ohio Masonic Home
