Mercer Island residents who wind their cars down North Mercer Way and glance toward the Covenant Living at the Shores front building on Fortuna Drive can see the massive sign. It features a heart and is emblazoned with bold black letters that read: “Heroes Work Here.”
Bob Howell is one of them.
On the afternoon of Oct. 30, Howell, the retirement community’s executive director, was honored as the grand marshal for another of his popular and uplifting 4 p.m. “wave walks” for residents standing on their balconies during the pandemic.
On “Bob Howell Day,” he stood face to face with a banner of himself dressed as Superman when he arrived at work. Resident committee member Carol Winter was the lead organizer of the day’s events.
“It’s a wonderful honor. I’m humbled, but I think what it does, is it recognizes all the efforts all our staff have gone through the last nine months,” Howell said. “I just happen to be the point of the spear. I think it’s a great way for the residents to say thanks for helping them stay safe, secure, to have that sense of community and build on those relationships that we’ve built over the years.”
Bob Howell waves to the crowd following the parade. Andy Nystrom/ Reporter
Howell began leading his walks on March 23 at the start of the pandemic, said Roxanne Helleren, resident life director, who donned a Wonder Woman costume on Oct. 30.
“We’re trying to just stay in touch with everybody because it’s hard being isolated,” Helleren said of the walks, which took place once or twice a week when residents couldn’t have visitors on campus. They now can have visitors meet them outside, so Howell has discontinued the walks.
During the super-heroes-themed walk, Howell dressed as Superman and “flew” around the grounds.
“He is our Superman, he really is. He’s not only an amazing boss, but he really truly cares about the residents. They all know him,” Helleren said. “He’s very positive, he’s very team oriented.”
Other walks featured Doctor Seuss, Disney and other themes, and residents even exited their apartments to join the activity.
Residents are grateful for Howell’s leadership and putting safety precautions into play during the pandemic by not allowing any visitors on campus, moving from dining-room service to full-menu service in their apartments, adding temperature screeners, shopping for people to get them their prescriptions and more.
“We did everything we could to keep people safe, and we haven’t had a COVID incident on this campus since the end of July,” Howell said.
Helleren added that residents wrote a touching letter to Howell, “Saying what attributes they appreciate and all that he’s done and given of his own personal life to make us safe here — staff and residents.”
