Every month, the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce brings its members together at a different host site for Chamber Night Out, giving members a chance to network in a relaxed environment. For October, the Chamber selected Lucy Corr.
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, roughly 50 Chamber members filled the Mast Auditorium from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with members of Lucy Corr’s leadership, Health Center Commissioners and Lucy Corr Foundation trustees on hand to help host. Lucy Corr CEO Michael Cunningham took the stage to welcome guests, and Chamber President Jonathan Greenhill spoke about the community, its history and the Health Center Commission that governs Lucy Corr.
Tuesday offered Greenhill his first look at Lucy Corr. “We knew it was in the community, but I had never been here,” he said. “Just walking in, it’s warm.”
He further noted how far Lucy Corr has come since it opened as the Chesterfield County Nursing Home more than 50 years ago: “It’s an organization that seems to keep growing and evolving into something better. Each iteration seems better than the last.”
The Lucy Corr story began with public service. In 1967, Lucy Virginia Corr, affectionately called Miss Lucy, asked the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors to open a nursing home for older adults. She oversaw its construction and became its first director when it opened in 1970. Originally called the Chesterfield County Nursing Home, the facility became her namesake in 1984, six years after her retirement. Today, her values of care, compassion and kindness still guide Lucy Corr’s mission.
Guests had plenty to talk about over hors d’oeuvres, drinks and dessert, courtesy of Lucy Corr’s dining team and its new executive chef, Chris Salyer. The food drew compliments all evening, and a raffle offered bottles of wine as prizes.
Greenhill noted that a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community hosting local businesses made more sense than it might seem. “Every family has folks who need senior living,” he said. “It is such a need in our community, and it’s something where we need more facilities like Lucy Corr.”
Lucy Corr sits along Chesterfield’s Route 10 corridor, minutes from Route 288 and major medical centers, and close to the county courthouse and government complex. For Greenhill, that location is part of the appeal: “Everything is just conveniently in one spot.”
“Lucy Corr has been part of Chesterfield for more than 50 years, and the business community is a big part of that story,” Cunningham said. “We were proud to open our doors.”
