Inside Buzz

“When Rosie’s brother (Abe Wagner) was the director of Ranch Camp in the late ‘50s, he had a handful one day when Rosie dropped by the camp for a social visit. Abe had two very sick children. He asked Rosie if she could take them to a Denver emergency room — this was back when we didn’t have waivers, release forms and things like that. Of course Rosie gets them to the emergency room and everything was taken care of. Memory of the incident faded as the years passed. Then one day an adult woman stood before Rosie’s desk and asked, “You don’t remember me, do you?’ It was one of the sick children. She wanted Rosie to know that she was signing her son up for Ranch Camp because she wanted her son to experience a camp that exuded such concern and care. She and her son were from out of state, so it was a serious commitment to send her son to Ranch Camp each year.”

“I’ve worked with Rosie for about 11 years now. Two years ago she noticed an odd freckle on the top of my lip. It would scab then heal, and scab and heal. She was really concerned about it and nagged and nagged me to see a doctor. Although I put it off for awhile, I finally did go to see a dermatologist. It turned out to be skin cancer, but thanks to Rosie’s attention and concern, it was caught in time and hadn’t spread. That’s the kind of person she is — she notices everything about a person and really cares about you.”

“Rosie has done so much for senior programs. For example, she did wonderful things when she took over the weekday VOA senior lunch program. Her energy, direction and attention to detail ensured it was smooth transition. She made sure we that we met the required standards of food service for every meal, such as taking food temperature readings and recording them and waiting for the Rabbi to bless the food before the container seals were broken. Rosie always found enough volunteers to serve every meal. Her devotion to this service went beyond good management though. She treats every senior with dignity and kindness — she knows every single one of the by first name.”

“In the old days, when her office was near the current executive offices, Rosie would tape a sign on her back once every two weeks. It said ‘If you want to get paid, leave me alone.’ More often then not, she would wear that sign on payroll days. You would see people walking in ready to ask her a question, stop, read the sign, then sort of tip-toe away.”

“Rosie is like the mom of the JCC. She is always concerned if she didn’t see you for a few days. She’s concerned if you are late for work. She worries why. She always checks to see if something is wrong in either case. She wants you to sit down next to her desk and tell her about your family and your weekend — this kind of care and attention is very nice! You also can’t go to a single place in the city where she doesn’t know someone. Just today we went out to lunch and she ran into three people she knew.”