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‘This dinner is very good for the community. Bonding is important’
Published Jan 01, 2025 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 3 minute read
Chairs were organized, tables laid and decorated; everything ready for guests. Luxor Management’s Alicia Roy (left) is the leasing agent and superintendent of St. Andrew’s Place. The building on Larch Street celebrated a half century and has multiple floors of apartments. Scott Darling (right), president of the St. Andrew’s board of directors, called the 40 years of tenant Christmas dinners vital to the sense of community. Hugh Kruzel photoArticle content
Scott Darling calls it a tradition – the Christmas dinner at St. Andrew’s in downtown Sudbury.
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“It is the highlight of not just the season, but the year. We have been doing a Christmas dinner for the tenants for over 40 years,” said Darling, St. Andrew’s president of its board of directors. “We celebrated the building’s 50th last year.”
Darling has been president of the board for a long time. “Born in Sudbury. I attended the old St. Andrew’s church. It is sort of cradle-to-grave, but I don’t live here – yet. The board is all volunteers. There is the church part, the residential part, and the commercial tenants like KuppaJo Espresso Bar.
“There is also 111 Seniors and now we have two additional church groups using the space. This is a multifunction complex. Luxor is our property manager. We have 149 apartments; some for individuals and some have couples.
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“It used to be for 65 plus, but we brought it down to 50 years old. This is an exceptional place. We used to put on the Out-of-the-Cold dinners weekly, but we don’t do that anymore … not since COVID.
“We still know how to put dinners on. This Christmas dinner is one thing we have been able to maintain. I’ve been here since 8:30 this morning.”
Darling vowed to stay help with the washing up. “Yes, I will be doing dishes,” he laughed.
I caught up with Darling and Luxor Management’s leasing agent and site superintendent Alicia Roy on site just before the annual Christmas meal was being served.
Residents were already patiently waiting in the hallway but could see the second-floor community space was ready and bedecked red tablecloths. There was a decorated tree and the in-house choir was prepared to sing.
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You could breathe the fragrance of turkey and stuffing spices. “During the dinner, we encourage people to mix and mingle. We have about 130 confirmed for dinner today,” shared Roy.
For those who could not come down from their apartments, individual servings were being packaged up. “The menu is put on by St. Andrew’s United Church,” Roy said. “There (are) 120 pounds of turkey and volunteers have been preparing everything these last two days.
“We will deliver these to shut-ins before we do the main service. Maybe they are just not feeling well enough today, but we want them to feel included and appreciated.”
Cassie Beaulieu is the coordinator at 111 Seniors. “This is my second Christmas here. I am grateful to be here. We have about 17 shut-ins to visit. They will get the same meal. They will feel the Christmas cheer. There is definitely a holiday spirit.”
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There are not many couples in the building. Suzanne LeFrancois and her husband Victor have been married for 57 years. “We’ve now lived here at St. Andrew’s a little over a year,” LeFrancois said. “We are very social and have attended many of the gatherings over the years. We know most of our neighbours.
“This dinner is very good for the community. Bonding is important. We have lots of fun here. We have a long relationship with this building as Victor was the building maintenance person for 16 years.”
Victor is part of the choir and plays the guitar. “It’s a nice gathering, I used to help with the set up for the dinners,” he recalls fondly.
It definitely takes a village, and good leadership to make great things happen. St. Andrew’s Place feels like a very special place not just now, but across the whole calendar, in all they do.
Sudbury Spotlight is a regular feature in The Star highlighting Sudburians who help others. If there is someone you think we should spotlight, send an email to managing editor Don MacDonald at dmacdonald@postmedia.com.
The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government.
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