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The following was submitted by New Horizons at Choate:
New Horizons at Choate announced the appointment of two new trustees at its annual board meeting, held Oct. 30 at the Woburn not-for-profit independent and assisted living community.
Phillip Beltz and Marie Lingblom will officially begin their three-year terms on Jan. 1, 2025.
Beltz brings more than three decades of management experience in human services, housing, and municipal government to New Horizons’ board.
Named director of Winchester’s Council on Aging and Jenks Center in 2016, he is charged with senior program development and implementation as well as grant writing and administration, and clinical staff oversight.
Beltz lives in Boston and holds an M.S.W. in Health Policy from University of Pennsylvania.
A lifelong Woburn resident and Woburn Memorial High School graduate, Lingblom worked as a local journalist before transitioning in 2009 to become assistant to former mayor Scott Galvin.
Lingblom was appointed Woburn Council on Aging and Senior Center director in 2020, during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. She remains focused on delivering meaningful programs and services for Woburn residents aged 60 and older.
“Phillip and Marie are both dedicated advocates for the local senior community,” said Christine Coakley, the long-time executive director of New Horizons. “And given that the majority of our residents are from Winchester and Woburn, they are well positioned to act as advisors as we continue our mission to best serve those living at New Horizons.”
Coakley, a Woburn native, marked 30 years of employment with New Horizons earlier this year. During the meeting, she thanked outgoing trustees Stephen Braese of Woburn and Mary Anne Magee of Winchester for their years of service.
The meeting’s high point came with the board’s vote to waive any increase in 2025 to the monthly service fees paid by current New Horizons residents. As a result, all residents who moved to their apartment within the last 30 years will continue — for at least one more year — to pay the same monthly fee as they did when they moved in.
The basic monthly service fee at New Horizons includes not only the monthly rent but also three home-cooked meals per day and all utilities except phone and cable. Also included in the low monthly fee are social activities and events, weekly housekeeping, apartment maintenance, groundskeeping, snow removal, 24-hour front desk reception, group transportation to local shopping and special events, and more.
Based on the respective size of each unit, most monthly fees range between $2,500 and $4,200 per month.
“Our elationship with Cummings Foundation has enabled us to offer residents this unheard-of benefit,” said Coakley. “Given the economic instability of recent years, it’s reassuring for the people who live here to know that one of the primary items in their personal budgets will not increase for another year.”
According to Coakley, the Foundation covers most annual cost of living and operational increases, effectively subsidizing the monthly fee for all residents at New Horizons.
New Horizons at Choate is home to about 115 retired individuals. The 21 Warren Ave. community recently completed a series of improvement projects, including a complete restoration of the building façade, sliding windows for the oversized apartments in its newly constructed Courtyard Suites wing, and new carpeting, luxury vinyl flooring, and furnishings for the lobby and common areas.
More information about assisted and independent living at New Horizons at Choate is available at www.NewHorizonsatChoate.org.
