Ryman Times Australian Edition - Spring 19

RY M A N T IM ES • S PRIN G 19 Home, sweet home at Weary Dunlop Residents dig deep for stroke prevention Smoking ceremony marks a new beginning

AU ST R A L I A N E D I T I O N

Ultimate Bowls Championship hits Melbourne

A note from Gordy Hello and welcome to your latest edition of the Ryman Times.

Happy anniversary Weary Dunlop village! It’s hard to believe that five years have gone by since the grand opening of our first village in Melbourne. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us since we first opened our doors.

Weary Dunlop was a greater success than we imagined, and we couldn’t have achieved what we have without the loyal support of those first Melbourne residents who put their faith in us.

The success of Weary Dunlop gave us the confidence to build Nellie Melba, our second village, and we have ambitious expansion plans with sites at Burwood East, Geelong, Aberfeldie, Ocean Grove, Mt Martha, Coburg, Mt Eliza and Ringwood East.

We are determined to build Ryman communities wherever there is demand for them in Victoria. And, with a rapidly ageing population, that means we’re going to be busy.

The secret to our success is finding the right people to work with us. You can read all about some of our stars in this edition, including Registered Nurse Angelica Ona at Weary Dunlop, Mark Owens, our Manager at Nellie Melba, and our sales supremos at Burwood East, Michelle Shaw and Lina Benedetti.

We’re going to need a lot more great people like them so, if you know someone who would fit well with us, please encourage them to get in touch.

We’ve also just celebrated another significant milestone – 20 years as a company listed on the New Zealand Exchange. In 1999 investors entrusted us with NZ $25 million, which we used to grow our village network in New Zealand. Since then we have invested more than NZ $3.7 billion, and we’ve become one of the largest companies on the NZX. Although we’re the new kid on the block in Melbourne, we have a long history of success in New Zealand and we’ve built a substantial company to support our operations in Australia. Which we hope is reassuring to know for the residents and team members over here who put their faith in us.

Happy anniversary everyone, and welcome to spring.

Take care,

Gordon MacLeod Chief Executive

Ryman Healthcare Ltd

In this issue ‘Community within a community’ being built at Burwood East ......................... 3 Celebrating 20 years on the NZX...........................................................................................4 Home, sweet home at Weary Dunlop ..................................................................................6

Level 10, Suite 10.03, 420 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004 1800 288 299 • rymanhealthcare.com.au

Angelica stands out from the crowd .................................................................................... 7 Residents dig deep for stroke prevention ........................................................................ 8

Ryman Times is printed on an environmentally responsible paper, FSC® certified, Mixed Source pulp from Responsible Sources.

Smoking ceremony marks a new beginning in Geelong ........................................9 Ultimate Bowls Championship event in Melbourne ................................................10 Ready for Burwood East ...............................................................................................................11 Making a Mark at Nellie Melba .................................................................................................12

Produced using Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) Manufactured under the strict ISO14001 Environmental Management System.

Front cover: Weary Dunlop's Chef Lawrence Manohara-Seelan at the birthday bash.

Ryman Times • 2

‘Community within a community’ being built at Burwood East Information traversing every aspect of Ryman Healthcare was laid out for people attending public meetings about the company’s new Burwood East retirement village, but some of the most compelling testimony came from those most qualified to judge.

Retirement Village to speak to residents there directly, “and I did not find one person who was not happy”.

Residents from Ryman’s Weary Dunlop and Nellie Melba villages took to the stage to share their own personal story with almost 200 people considering the same move.

He and Veronica had numerous meetings with Nellie Melba’s sales staff to find out more, then started to crunch the numbers.

Nellie Melba resident Bob Barclay, who was one of the first people to move into the Wheelers Hill village with his wife Veronica, told the audience he knew just how important the decision before them was.

“Two years ago I was sitting in the seats where you are today, going through exactly the same thing you’ve been hearing today,” Bob said.

Not one to leave things to chance, Bob visited Weary Dunlop

“It was a great opportunity to talk to many people there and they in turn really made my mind up that I needed to look at a retirement village.”

“It’s great because we’ve formed so many friendships amongst everyone there.”

They then took a contract to their lawyer for his expert advice.

“He went through it and said there’s not one thing in there that’s to be questioned. It was one of the best contracts he has seen in respect to any retirement village.”

Having now lived in Nellie Melba for 12 months, Bob said he and

Ryman Times • 3

Veronica could not be happier with their decision.

“It’s great because we’ve formed so many friendships amongst everyone there.

“So you’re really not moving away, you’re just moving in with a different lot of people, which has been great.”

The two public meetings, held at The Whitehorse Club not far from where the Burwood East village is being built, were led by Gordon MacLeod and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Debbie McClure.

Gordon and Debbie outlined Ryman Healthcare’s 35-year history in retirement living and aged care, detailing every aspect of what life in a Ryman village offers.

They then took questions from the floor.

Pictured: Nellie Melba resident Bob Barclay talking about his experiences.

Celebrating 20 years on the NZX Ryman Healthcare has celebrated a remarkable 20 years as a listed company with shareholders at its annual meeting at Evelyn Page Retirement Village in Auckland.

Ryman Chairman Dr David Kerr thanked shareholders for their loyal support, and said the best was yet to come.

Ryman listed in July 1999, raising NZ $25 million to fund its expansion into the North Island.

In the two decades since, Ryman has invested $3.7 billion in a portfolio of villages in New Zealand and in Victoria, creating homes for

more than 11,200 older people on both sides of the Tasman at 36 communities.

Ryman has also returned more than $800 million in dividends to shareholders, and Ryman shares are now worth more than 40 times their value at float.

Co-founders John Ryder and Kevin Hickman listed Ryman to provide the capital they needed to gear up for the enormous growth in the ageing population.

That boom is only just about to hit, and Ryman has a record pipeline of villages to develop.

“We were unloved when we listed, the offer was under-subscribed and almost didn’t happen,” Dr Kerr said.

Gordon MacLeod thanked the company’s residents for their support and trust.

“I believe we’ve been a success because we have never lost sight of what we were set up to do – provide the best of care for older people.”

Ryman’s latest surveys of independent residents and team members showed they were happier than ever. Investment in improving the experience of living

Ryman Times • 4

in a Ryman village would continue, Gordy said.

Pay had been increased for all staff, and experienced nurses had received a substantial increase in the last financial year.

“We’ll also continue to invest in our people, in their pay and in their development, and in making sure they get home safe every day,” Gordon said.

“They’re the heart of our organisation and we want them to love the experience of working for Ryman.”

Pictured left: Ryman Chairman Dr David Kerr.

Pictured above right: Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Debbie McClure and Grey Power North Shore President Bill Rayner.

Pictured below right: Everyone enjoyed lunch after the presentation.

New village programme: • Brandon Park, Melbourne (Nellie Melba): Village and care centre open.

• Lynfield, Auckland (Murray Halberg): First residents in, village and care centre under construction.

• Devonport, Auckland (William Sanders): First residents in, village and care centre under construction.

• River Road, Hamilton (Linda Jones): First residents in, village and care centre under construction.

Planning and design phase: • Burwood East, Melbourne: Development approval received, earthworks under way.

• Geelong, Victoria: Development approval received, work under way.

• Lincoln Road, Auckland: Consent received, site works under way.

• Havelock North, Hawkes Bay: Consent received, early site works due to start.

• Hobsonville, Auckland: Consent received.

Ryman Times • 5

• Aberfeldie, Victoria.

• Ocean Grove, Victoria.

• Mt Martha, Victoria.

• Ringwood East, Victoria.

• Mt Eliza, Victoria.

• Coburg, Victoria.

• Kohimarama, Auckland.

• Riccarton Park, Christchurch.

• Bishopspark/Park Terrace, Christchurch.

• Karori, Wellington.

• Newtown, Wellington.

Home, sweet home at Weary Dunlop As Weary Dunlop blew out the candles on its fifth birthday cake in August, the celebrations extended far beyond the Wheelers Hill retirement village.

The occasion marked the passing of a significant milestone for Ryman Healthcare, which opened Weary Dunlop as its first retirement village in Australia in 2014.

Ryman has since opened a second village in Melbourne, Nellie Melba, and construction is underway or about to begin at four other villages.

Plans for three more villages are at various stages of the process.

With the company announcing the purchase of another Melbourne site — Ringwood East — in May, it now has 10 Victorian villages open, under construction, or on the drawing board.

It’s been a big five years for Ryman in Victoria, so the cake tasted extra sweet at Weary Dunlop’s recent celebrations.

And it was a birthday bash that will linger long in the memory.

“Everyone just looked fabulous,” Village Manager Kym Faulkner said.

The village celebrated in magnificent fashion beginning with a breath-taking performance by Melba Opera Trust scholars before residents enjoyed cocktails, canapés and birthday cake.

“With the wonderful performance from the Melba singers and cocktails, it really felt like a night at the opera.”

“With the wonderful performance from the Melba singers and cocktails, it really felt like a night at the opera.”

Young opera stars Cleo LeeMcGowan, Adam McMillan, Stephen Marsh and Samuel Piper brought the house down with a 45-minute performance, finishing the show fittingly with a rousing rendition of Home, Sweet Home – a Dame Nellie Melba favourite.

The performance set the scene for a glamourous evening, with many residents dressed to the nines as they toasted the village’s birthday.

Ryman Times • 6

Kym paid tribute to all the staff and residents who put in a huge effort to make the event such a success.

“It’s a true reflection of how much this village has grown into a really close, tight-knit community in the five years since it opened and continues to embrace new residents into the Weary Dunlop family.

“It’s just gone from strength to strength, so it was wonderful to be able to celebrate such a big milestone from when Ryman commenced in Australia in true style.”

Pictured: Residents John Bennett, Marjorie Bennett and Nick Carter at the Weary Dunlop celebrations.

Angelica stands out from the crowd There are more than 5,500 staff members working at 36 Ryman Healthcare retirement villages across two countries.

So, you can imagine Angelica Ona’s surprise when she was told she was one of three finalists for Young Achiever of the Year at the company’s annual awards.

The registered nurse at Weary Dunlop was “speechless”.

While Angelica’s name wasn’t in the envelope when it was opened at the glitzy awards ceremony in Auckland (Alice Twigley, a nurse at Kiri Te Kanawa Retirement Village, was the winner), she was thrilled to make the shortlist.

“Just being nominated is an honour.

It’s a big achievement when you see how many facilities we have in New Zealand, and I was one of the top three so it’s really an achievement.”

“Not everyone is given an opportunity to come here to Australia to study so I’m so lucky that I had the chance to come here, study and build my nursing career.”

village while gaining her qualification and took up a full-time role as an enrolled nurse when her studies were completed.

Angelica is now Weary Dunlop’s wound-care champion, a key role where she has demonstrated excellent leadership.

She says she’s thankful for the opportunities Ryman Healthcare has given her and sees a bright future for her in her adopted country.

Angelica has been at Weary Dunlop since it opened five years ago, after immigrating from the Philippines to study nursing.

“Not everyone is given an opportunity to come here to Australia to study so I’m so lucky that I had the chance to come here, study and build my nursing career.”

She worked part-time as a personal care assistant at the

Pictured: Weary Dunlop Registered Nurse Angelica Ona.

Ryman Times • 7

Residents dig deep for stroke prevention The Australian Stroke Foundation chief executive has walked out of Weary Dunlop with a $14,000 cheque tucked under her arm, thanks to the generosity of village residents and staff.

It was the culmination of 12 months of fundraising for the Stroke Foundation, which was chosen as Ryman Healthcare’s charity partner last year.

Village manager Kym Faulkner presented the cheque to Stroke Foundation chief executive Sharon McGowan at an event in July.

Weary Dunlop residents and staff raised $7000 for the

foundation in 12 months, with Ryman matching their efforts dollar-for-dollar.

In accepting the donation, Sharon said it would allow more than 310 stroke survivors, their family or carers to access a stroke health professional via StrokeLine, the foundation’s information and support service.

After handing over the cheque, Kym announced that Ryman’s charity partner for the upcoming year would be the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

That partnership will see a host of fundraising events and activities held at the village, she said.

She heaped praise on the “fantastic” generosity of everyone at the village who contributed to the donation.

“But before we get to that, for now just pat yourselves on the back for a wonderful job supporting the Stroke Foundation. I reckon we’ve done ourselves proud.”

“StrokeLine is a vital - and confidential - service. In fact, for many it’s a lifeline, so thank you for this valuable contribution to keep StrokeLine open and free.”

Pictured: Weary Dunlop Village Manager Kym Faulkner, right, and Stroke Foundation chief executive Sharon McGowan.

Ryman Times • 8

Smoking ceremony marks a new beginning in Geelong Smoke slowly wafting into the cloudless coastal sky has marked the official start of construction of Ryman’s new retirement village in Geelong.

A Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony was held at the South Valley Road, Highton, site, followed by a ground breaking.

The smoking ceremony, held in July, was performed by Wadawurrung representatives Michael Cook and Billy O’Toole and attended by staff from Ryman’s construction, development and sales teams.

After the ceremony, Ryman’s Victorian Construction Manager, Martyn Osborn, and Project Manager, Tom Robinson, broke ground nearby.

Martyn said the Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony were an important milestone in the life of the new village.

“So much work has already gone into finding and purchasing the site, then getting all the approvals needed to build it,” Martyn said.

and 60 serviced apartments, as well as offering low-care, high-care and specialist dementia care.

“Having the Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony is a really big deal for us because it’s about acknowledging the traditional owners of the land – the Wadawurrung people – and paying due respect to their connection to what we’re doing.”

The village will be Ryman’s fourth in Victoria. Its first, Weary Dunlop in Wheelers Hill, was opened in 2014 and Nellie Melba, also in Wheelers Hill, was opened earlier this year.

Another village, in Burwood East, is under construction.

“So much work has already gone into finding and purchasing the site, then getting all the approvals needed to build it.”

The Geelong village, when completed, will comprise 57 independent townhouses, 23 independent apartments,

Ryman Times • 9

The company has purchased a further seven sites in Victoria, including Geelong and one in nearby Ocean Grove, with proposals to build retirement villages on each of them.

The first residents are expected to move into the Geelong village late next year, with the project scheduled to be completed in late 2022.

Pictured: Ryman Healthcare's site administrator Kurt Hiller.

UBC bowls over Melbourne Seventy-two of the world’s best lawn bowlers in 24 teams, battling it out over 139 matches across two days, and it all came down to the very last bowl of the competition.

Throw in an electrifying atmosphere at Deer Park in Melbourne as hundreds of raucous fans cheered every ebb and flow, and the Ultimate Bowls Championship’s promise to revolutionise the sport has been well and truly realised.

UBC, sponsored by Ryman Healthcare, held its second of three events at the Deer Park Club in Melbourne in August.

The new format of the sport sees teams from Australia, New Zealand and Asia competing under modified rules, which allow players to score points from every bowl and for both teams to accumulate points in the same end.

The result is much faster, higher-scoring games.

And, with $500,000 in prize money on offer across the three events, UBC is the most lucrative bowls competition in the world.

“Great games, entertainment on and off the greens, and lively crowds soaking it all up.

It was just brilliant.”

Sixty-thousand dollars of that prizemoney was riding on the very last bowl of the most recent event, with Northern Irish star Gary Kelly, playing for the Dandenong Club, unable to snatch victory from Taren Point Bowling Club in a dramatic finish to the final.

UBC director Mark Casey said it was “the perfect finish to an amazing two days of bowls”.

Ryman Times • 10

“To have the world’s best bowlers all under one roof, displaying some out-of-this-world skills right up to the very last bowl of the final, you just can’t ask for more than that,” Mark said.

Some future talent was also on display, with 12-year-old Koby Cromie taking out the Ryman Healthcare Knockout Challenge, which saw people chosen from the audience squaring off in a ‘closest bowl’ competition.

“The whole night was just what we wanted,” said Mark.

“Great games, entertainment on and off the greens, and lively crowds soaking it all up. It was just brilliant.”

The third UBC event will be held in Moama, NSW, in December.

Pictured from left: Roger Stevens, Bronwyn Stevens and Andrew Kelly.

Ready for Burwood East When people sit down with a salesperson to inquire about a product they instinctively try to gauge if they genuinely believe what they’re telling you.

So, when people looking into their retirement living options walk into Ryman Healthcare’s sales office for its new Burwood East retirement village, they sit down for a cuppa and a chat with two people who can speak with unrivalled expertise and authenticity.

With Nellie Melba now open and thriving, Michelle jumped at the chance to bring her sales expertise to the new village at Burwood East.

While Lina hasn’t been at Ryman as long as Michelle, her connection to the company runs even deeper.

“I just thought this was going to be a really successful village because of the location.”

Sales Advisors Michelle Shaw and Lina Benedetti know their stuff, and believe it in their bones.

Her mother, who has dementia, has been receiving care at Ryman’s Weary Dunlop village for four years.

Michelle joined Ryman as an executive assistant soon after the New Zealand-based company first arrived in Australia more than five years ago. She believed in what Ryman stood for so much she moved into a sales advisor’s role at Nellie Melba retirement village.

“I saw Ryman from the other side, from looking in and seeing how mum was treated and how they took such good care of her, and I felt that it was a company that actually did look after the residents,” Lina says.

Her role at Ryman has allowed Lina to apply her many years of sales

Ryman Times • 11

experience in other industries to a product she has a deeply personal connection with.

“When we sell independent apartments and they do ask about aged care it’s lovely because I can say ‘yes, it’s not an issue because I know first-hand you’ll get well looked after’.”

In that sense, Lina isn’t selling a product – she’s sharing her story.

Given Michelle and Lina’s passion for what they do, it’s perhaps not surprising the Burwood East retirement village is one of the fastest selling in Ryman Healthcare’s 35-year history.

They’re sharing their own stories about a company that cares, and people are hearing them.

Pictured: Burwood East Sales Advisors Michelle Shaw and Lina Benedetti.

Making a Mark at Nellie Melba Managing a Ryman retirement village requires a rare mix of skills and experience not many people have.

Mark Owens is one of the few.

Nellie Melba’s new village manager has 30 years’ experience in the hospitality and events sector, where he held a number of high-level business, leadership, sales and service delivery roles.

He has led hospitality teams at multiple AFL Grand Finals, Boxing Day test matches, the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

His most recent role, with American hospitality organisation Delaware North, saw him leading head office functions, including procurement, marketing, business development, construction, assets, remote mining camps and travel hospitality sectors.

“I think a lot of the ingredients that go into those roles that I had previously are similar to the ingredients that are required here, because you’ve got some residents and customers and facilities and teams and all of those complexities.”

“I felt confident I could manage and at the same time teach them new things, challenge them in different ways and it’s been a great start.”

After having success at the highest levels in his previous career, Mark felt “there wasn’t much more I could do”.

“At a particular age milestone I thought I can either look forward to the next X number of years and continue to sort of go around the block with the same kind of work, or I could take a step out and into what I think is a somewhat related but new and challenging field.”

Ryman Times • 12

Cue the opportunity to lead Nellie Melba.

“This role had various components – retirement living, the aged care, the development phase – all of those ingredients there that I felt confident I could manage and at the same time teach them new things, challenge them in different ways and it’s been a great start.”

While Mark’s been on a steep learning curve since starting in May, he says he’s enjoying the different challenges and rewards of village life.

The goal? Building Nellie Melba’s reputation as the first choice for anyone looking to work, live, or be cared for at a retirement village.

Pictured: Nellie Melba Village Manager Mark Owens.