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14 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MAY 2022 ver the last couple of years our beloved Lodge Lobby began showing its age. The pillows began clumping up a bit and the pillow-piping was starting to look a bit worn. Wrinkles began appearing out of nowhere around the front of the upholstered furniture. The reflection in the two mirrors flanking the fireplace whispered, "It's time to give this place a face-lift." As if by universal direction, the renowned Interior Designer, Genaro Lagdameo moves into the neighborhood! I first became aware of his work when his interior designs were being spotlighted at the famous Pasadena Showcase in 2019. It was an absolutely fabulous show and I came away mesmerized at his creativity. Fast forward two years when first I spotted this celebrity in our Bistro. I quickly asked Eric, Jerry, and Kathy (my bosses) if they would be open to me connecting with Genaro and seeing whether he might be interested in consulting with us for the purpose of a Lobby refresh. They were on board, so I had a wonderful conversation with this very gracious, humble, and compassionate man. He generously accepted the challenge and he offered to do the consultation and legwork as community service, since he was really happy to be living here and wanted to contribute to make it as nice as the budget would allow. He put together a plan, Kathy Craven came in on the project as a BOD Liaison, and soon everyone was on board (all of the Board of Directors, Facilities and the Finance Committee too). My awesome team members Tiya and Rachel took up being Genaro's main support, ordering items as directed, getting Mike, the handy- dude, to repair the plaster chips in the fireplace and elsewhere and then painting and pulling the poster shelves down, wiring in the new monitor replacements, as well as installing the lovely floating credenza that conceals the tiny computer running the monitors. Months were put into getting this refresh finished. Finally, Saturday, April 9 arrived. This was the appointed time, determined after iffy supply-chain challenges resolved themselves, so that all ordered items were finally installed. Genaro came into The Lodge the night before to stage the details and Rob Kelman, the resident Art Teacher presented Genaro and the Association with a beautiful art piece he generously donated for The Lodge entry. We had a nice flow of residents on the day of the reveal and there were many positive and encouraging comments. Stacy with the Kopper Kettle put the cherry on top of the day by offering a celebratory "Pasta on the Patio" for those in attendance. We cannot thank Genaro Lagdameo enough for working with us and for caring so much for his new community. If you are lucky enough to run into him around the neighborhood, be sure to thank him in person; you'll be so glad you did! ~ Cindy Graves The Lobby's New Look O

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