1. Ponte Vedra Recorder · March 19, 20156 One of UsOne of Us
What did you do prior to this?
I was pursuing hospitality for the last
10 years. So I was working in various
restaurants, hotels, casinos in different
service and management capacities and
I found my way about six years ago
down to South Florida because that was
kind of like the mecca - if you could
handle restaurant hospitality in South
Florida, you could do it anywhere.
What made you change your mind
about your career path?
About a year after I moved down
there, my dad got sick with cancer.
He’s fine now; he’s in remission. I
kind of had a career change mindset.
I thought this has been okay what I’m
doing, but am I really giving back?
What is my purpose at the end of the
day other than making money? So, I
decided that I needed to go back to
school to make a career change.
What do you plan on doing with your
degree?
The idea ultimately is to work my
way into a leadership position oversee-
ing probably operations for aging ser-
vices. It’s sort of a broad way to say it.
That could end up being a specialized
area like memory enhancement, it could
be as a director of activities and pro-
graming. I think the point more impor-
tantly is that I am open to and receptive
to whatever I feel my way through.
What are your responsibilities as the
program assistant?
My whole objective here every day
is simple. I design programs and activi-
ties to make the lives of the seniors
as good as they could possibly be for
today. I plan musical entertainment,
I bring in educational speakers for
therapy and for medical or financial
purposes, I plan games and field trips,
but mostly, I try and get out and just
sit and talk with them, ask them how
they’re doing and what’s going on and
what they might like to see.
What do you enjoy about your job?
I enjoy giving of myself to others.
As far as professional growth and
development, it’s been very good to
learn how to stay organized with our
financial records, learning administra-
tive skills, building schedules, planning
activities, coordinating events, hiring
musicians, networking with our speak-
ers to get them to come back.
What do you do in your spare time?
I’m family-oriented. So, my free time
is spent with my girlfriend and my cats.
I call my mother five times a week and
my grandmother five times a week, and
any vacations we have, I like to go visit
friends and family. I love to exercise. I
love science. My girlfriend and I love or-
ganic gardening. We spend a lot of time
buying and appreciating locally grown
fruits and vegetables, and I like to cook.
— Carrie Resch/The Recorder
Jonathan Dickeris the new program assistant at The Play-
ers Community Senior Center, a position he’s held for about six months. Dicker is
originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pitts-
burgh in 2002 with a general business marketing degree. Dicker, an energetic people
person, started his career in the hospitality business but has decided to make a ca-
reer change and work with seniors. He moved to Jacksonville in 2013 to attend the
University of North Florida where he is pursuing a degree in health administration
with a focus on aging services. He’s interned at both Bartram Lakes assisted living
facility and Taylor Manor assisted living facility in Jacksonville. Shortly after relocating
here, Dicker met his girlfriend Jill at the Jacksonville Beach Bonefish Grill where he
works on the weekends. The pair lives in Ponte Vedra Beach with their three cats.