Karen Pohl has worked at the Abervale retirement village for more than 24 years

Meet Abervale's Village Administrator Karen

Sunday, 18 May 2025

"You’ve gotta be a little crazy"

Karen has been the Village Administrator at Abervale for more than 24 years. She reflects back on what it has been like to work at the retirement village for more than two decades.

An unlikely start to the job

Karen started out her journey at Abervale as a cleaner, but quickly progressed into the role of village administrator and receptionist. But when asked about how that progress happened, Karen doesn’t really have an answer herself.

"They needed someone I guess," she laughs. "I actually didn’t apply for the job. I filled in for the role a couple of times and I already knew a lot of the residents as well. I was probably a bit more computer savvy than some other people."

Karen has a personal connection to the village

Karen's mum moved into the village after Karen started working there and they got to spend a lot of quality time together. "It was good having her here. I got to see her and catch up a fair bit," Karen remembers.

After her mum sadly passed away, Karen found comfort in her work as the receptionist and interacting with residents and their families on a daily basis. When asked what the best part of her job is, she has a very quick answer.

"It’s interaction with the residents. And milestone events. There were some really special times. 100th birthday celebrations, the village anniversary and we even had a wedding here not long ago. This is fantastic. This is when we can make the residents happy."

The living embodiment of the Keyton values

As a self declared introvert who doesn't like to talk about herself, Karen feels at home behind her reception desk. "I am very, very introverted. But you put me behind that desk and I can have a chat to residents and talk about things they want to talk about."

Receptionist Karen speaking to a resident at the Abervale retirement village anniversary

Normally an introvert, Karen loves chatting to residents

Former Abervale Village Manager Andrew, who has worked alongside Karen for many years, finds clearer words to describe her. "Karen is the backbone of the village, she holds all the history, knows every resident and their families, she is loved dearly by every resident and every member of staff," he says. "She is smart, witty, full of fun and vitality and is the living embodiment of the Keyton values."

"Karen is the backbone of the village."

Resident Nance seconded the wonderful words spoken by Andrew. "We love Karen, she is always there," she says.

"I just keep turning up for work"

When asked if she will celebrate her 30 year anniversary at Abervale in the future, Karen just laughs and says she is taking it one day at a time.

"I’m going on a holiday shortly, to Canada and Alaska. I will be overseas for three and a half weeks. But other than that, I’ve got nowhere else to go at the moment, so I keep turning up for work," she smirks. "You’ve gotta be a little bit crazy to be in any job for that long."

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