New Director of Dining for Senior Living Community

Bentley Commons at Keene, an independent senior living community, announced that Keene resident Linda Stavely has joined the facility as director of dining services. Stavely brings 14 years of food service experience in the senior living industry to the community and its residents. She is also the previous owner of catering company The Portable Feast and she has taught cooking classes throughout the region, including at Keene State College.

Stavely's new responsibilities will include management of the dining services department, including menu creation, staff training, special events and the preparation of meals. For the past six years, she worked as director of dining dervices at Thompson House, a nursing home in Brattleboro, VT and area manager for Vermont and New Hampshire for Fitz, Vogt & Associates. Stavely's background includes positions at the Barbara Harris Conference & Camp Center in Greenfield, cKerley Health Care Center and Rivermead in Peterborough.

Food these days is important to people of all ages, but especially seniors, said Toby Watterson, executive director of Bentley Commons at Keene. Many of the senior living communities in the area serve pre-made food or unappetizing buffet style meals. Linda is committed to upholding our philosophy of top-quality fare served restaurant style in our elegant dining room. Already, she is communicating with our soon-to-be residents about their likes and dislikes, which we know will go a long way in appealing to everyone's tastes.