Local Continuing Care Retirement Community woman on a mission to celebrate the organization’s rich history.
Alana Callender, a 77-year-old resident, is spearheading a museum-worthy display of articles and memorabilia spanning six decades to be featured at the Ridgecrest Village 60th Celebration coming this September.
Callender, with an Ed.D. [doctorate in higher education administration] whose previous work life included that of a museum professional, gave birth to this idea last February, when contemplating what to replace the nearly 80-foot span of resident art she put together in August 2025.
She said, “I’m having fun and plan to continuing to have as much fun as I can for as long as I can.” As the retirement community approaches this commemorative milestone celebration, she said, “This is a true celebration of the residents who have found a new home at Ridgecrest, a place that continues to be a unique not-for-profit with nothing corporate about it…I see this as a celebration of uniqueness and feel we attract outstanding people who want to live here” whom she sees as a highly-educated, friendly group.
Last spring, Callender requested Ridgecrest to provide her workspace to do her research and organize the display boards. She has gathered information from the Village’ Archives, hallways, and Facebook, and combed through the Quad City Times’ archives for endless hours to capture the essence of the historical path for the organization.
With the celebration just weeks away, Callender is having 15 boxes of her work moved to a larger staging area for boards to be painted and items to be mounted in time for the exhibit to be showcased for the September 24 event. Julie Arndt, Director of Marketing at Ridgecrest said, “Alana has a unique way appealing to all of us here at Ridgecrest to celebrate all things art. We are looking forward to our 60th Celebration, which will include a Campus Wide Open House featuring all levels of care that we offer here: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care and Nursing Care. There will be food stations throughout the campus along with live music and other entertainment throughout.
Ridgecrest Village is a faith-based, non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable Continuing Care Retirement Community founded in 1966 by Rev. John Koning.