Esperance resident gifts luxury cruise to the daughter who helped her move into the community
Prize winning moment for Reside Communities family
The daughter of an Esperance Hope Island resident has received the perfect belated Christmas present – a luxury 12-day cruise courtesy of her mum and Reside Communities.
Joyce McKenzie was the lucky winner of a prize draw introduced as part of our welcome program for new residents purchasing a home in one of our communities in 2024.
However, Joyce has decided to gift the prize to her daughter Karen McKenzie, who together with her partner Geoff Thew was instrumental in her mother’s move to Esperance early last year.
The $25,000 luxury Silversea cruise aboard the Silver Nova will depart from Melbourne in November, voyaging first to Tasmania and then travelling along the east coast of New Zealand, finishing in Auckland. The prize, purchased through Cove Travel, includes return Business Class flights, transfers and shore excursions.
“I was so surprised when mum called to say she had won a cruise from Reside and asked if Geoff and I would like to go in her place,” Karen said. “We love cruising and have never been on this route before so are really looking forward to the voyage!”
Reside Communities CEO Glen Brown said he was delighted to see the prize of a luxury cruise going to the daughter of an Esperance resident while offering his commiserations to eligible purchasers who had missed out.
“We wanted to do something special to show our appreciation for residents across our Esperance, Samford Grove, Brookland Robertson and Fairway Carindale communities and thought ‘what could be better than a cruise’,” he said.
“But family members like Karen also play a hugely important role in the decision to move into retirement living and remain heavily involved in their parents’ lives through regular visits and ongoing support.
“So it’s fantastic that this involvement has been recognised with Joyce gifting this cruise from Reside to her daughter – we couldn’t be happier for her.”
The McKenzie family members have lived in various homes on Hope Island for the past 25 years so the opportunity for Joyce to stay in the area when moving to retirement living was too good to pass up.
“Esperance was the perfect solution for mum with its location just five minutes from me and things like the onsite café and hairdresser, and Hope Island Marketplace just across the road,” Karen said.
“It is still in the area mum loves with high-quality apartments and the advantage of security, low maintenance, nice gardens, like-minded people and being close to everything she already knows.
“There are good people on her floor who always ask about her and would be there to help if she ever needed it. She can also just go downstairs or over the road for a coffee and a chat.
“We didn’t look at anything else as we didn’t think there could be anything comparable in terms of the standards and safety of Esperance. After we took mum for a look around, we pretty much signed up the next day.”