Every year, Signature has its annual Senior Olympics at the home office with centers coming from three to four hours away to compete for individual and team medals, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger…
I promise, if you can make it out, our opening ceremonies would rival any Olympics with each facility picking battle themes, a fight song and thematic uniforms. A panel of celebrity judges, headed by our one three-timer Bellarmine University men’s basketball coach Scott Davenport, rate their opening acts based upon team spirit, artistic banners and team energy.
I know ESPN calls Louisville the best college sports town, and we proudly claim the most famous two minutes in sports with the Kentucky Derby, but this year I think we should be at the top of the list. We had 11 Signature Campuses bring 60 athletes, 100-plus volunteers, over 100-plus fans to witness and TV cameras to boot, for a shootout that came down to the last event – ‘Name that Oldies Tune – where Signature of Cherokee Park upset everyone with a total of 48 points to win the epic event.
We had three athletes who were actual centurions. Shockingly, Jeanie from Bluegrass Care & Rehab broke the all-time record for SHC shot put at 28 feet, while Jay Burks, also from Bluegrass, a former high school star who missed out barely the past few years, finally medaled in the basketball shootout. There was also a crazy six-player playoff in golf putting with Tom from Signature of Cherokee Park, who also won two other medals and claimed ‘Newcomer of the Year’, winning it on the last putt. Lastly, there was a corn hole shootout between two former horse shoe experts that took overtime sessions.
What I love most about my job as President of Signature HealthCARE is putting the gold medals over the precious heads of our senior athletes with joyful tears in their eyes as they light up like Father Time has been rolled back to decades ago. Seeing them perform under pressure with crowds watching and come through like total pros is a sight to behold.
This year, the weather was perfect, the Signature band played a roaring set during lunch that made every stakeholder proud, and anyone who was there will tell you make sure you get A-listed for next year because it is only going to get bigger and bigger!