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Jason Stand named 2020 North Dakota Long Term Association Volunteer of the Year

Jason Strand, recently named 2020 North Dakota Long Term Association Volunteer of the Year, was born and raised in Bismarck. A lifelong North Dakotan, Strand graduated from engineering school at UND, and works as a professional civil engineer for AE2S in Minot, working with many small towns in the area.

Living in Surrey since 2006, Strand has served his small community in the past as mayor, city councilman and park board member. Strand got married to his lovely wife, Amy, in their backyard in the summer of 2018, and they continue to raise their children, Kaitlyn and Kaden. Jason loves spending time with his family and going to his kids’ sporting events, and also enjoys playing with their dog, Mylo.

Jason first began coming to the Wellington in the fall of 2017, when his wife, Amy, took a job working as the Wellington’s Life Enrichment Coordinator. Jason would visit Amy during his lunch hour and soon began shooting pool with Wellington resident Ray Curtis. This started a long and ongoing friendship with Ray, which has also blossomed into a number of other residents who come to visit and watch the pool competition every week day at noon.

Jason and Amy love to brainstorm ideas of activities for the Wellington residents to enjoy. Early on, Amy noticed that most of the residents enjoy watching the Price is Right every morning and thought Jason could put his woodworking skills to good use and build some games to play. In a matter of a few short months, Jason and Amy had created a full Price is Right show, consisting of homemade pricing games, the Big Wheel, and lots of prizes for the contestants to win. Their Price is Right show was a huge hit, and is now played each spring and fall with new prizes and exciting games.

Jason has also built an 8-foot-tall Jeopardy board, which Amy has used to host Jeopardy tournaments with the residents, using questions the two of them have created. Jason has also built other carnival games for various events, including Kerplunk and bean bag toss games. Jason also enjoys spending time when The Wellington has music events in the dining room. You can often see him up on the dance floor, dancing with residents and having a good time. There have even been a couple occasions in which Jason has dressed up as Elvis Presley and sang a few songs with a local musician who plays at The Wellington!

One other activity that Jason really enjoys is dressing up as Santa Claus at Christmas. Jason and Amy visit a number of local places as Santa and Mrs. Claus, including a nursing home, a daycare, and city Santa Days in multiple small towns. Each of the past three Christmases, Santa and Mrs. Claus have visited The Wellington, taking photos and spreading Christmas cheer to residents and their families. Being Santa is truly Jason’s favorite time of the year, and he loves to bring a smile to someone’s face with a simple Ho Ho Ho!!

Jason would like to thank his wife Amy for being a wonderful partner in their volunteering endeavors, and The Wellington for the opportunity to volunteer and have fun with the residents. It’s been a real highlight of his life and has brought him a lot of joy and fun memories.

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