Bill Needleman Wins Coveted Mass-ALFA Resident Spirit Excellence Award

Bill Needleman, a 101 year-old resident at the Harriett and Ralph Kaplan Estates Assisted Living, which is part of the Chelsea Jewish Lifecare, won the Resident Spirit Excellence Award at the Mass-ALFA awards dinner on May 16. This prestigious award honored Bill for being such an inspirational part of the community.
This year’s Mass-ALFA awards dinner was held on Monday night, May 16 at Lombardo’s in Randolph. Alongside Bill was his daughter Mala Kovner and Chelsea Jewish Lifecare staff, including: CJF Chief Operating Officer Betsy Mullen, Kaplan Estates Executive Director Megin Hemmerling, Kaplan Estates Marketing Director Andrea Hillel, Kaplan Estates Resident Life Director Ellen Gordon, the Estates on Admiral’s Hill Interim Executive Director and Director of Resident Care Yari Velez, the Estates on Admiral’s Hill LPN Jane Sterling and the Estates on Admiral’s Hill Certified Nursing Assistant Cindy Castro. Winning this prestigious award is a huge accomplishment for Bill and the event was made even more special because of the love and support from our staff.
The Mass-ALFA Awards are given to “those who have made a difference.” Bill has become an active speaker for the Veterans Association, volunteers weekly at the childcare center on the Chelsea Jewish North Shore campus and states that his goal is to “bring life, education, celebration and love to all those around him.” Bill is also preparing for his Bar Mitzvah anniversary celebration on June 4. No doubt about it, Bill is a very busy 101 year old!