Meet the Staff of Melody Living Lake in the Hills

Meet Dina Blackmore

Dina is our Sales Associate here at Melody Living Lake in the Hills. Dina is originally from Omaha, Nebraska where she was born before she moved to Palatine, Illinois when she was 14 years old. She has lived in Lake in the Hills and Crystal Lake for the last 27 years.

Dina’s favorite thing to do in Lake in the Hills is going to the outdoor concerts that are held at Sunset Park during the summer. She says, “It's nice to hear the music and catch up with her friends and family. It reminds you that it’s nice to live in a smaller town where you run into people you know.”
 
​Dina has been in this position for six months and has learned so much, and she says she still has much more to learn. Working in sales allows her to interact and get to know Melody Living Lake in the Hills residents and their families before they move in.

​She enjoys meeting them all and hearing their stories. Her own parents lived in assisted living, and she was there for every step of their journey. Leaning on her personal experience helps her to be able to ease the minds of the families and easily relate to what they are going through while transitioning loved ones to the community.

​She loved the community that her parents were in for Assisted Living, and she felt drawn to it. Dina says her parents were amazing and always so kind and welcoming and she got to know many of the staff and residents at their community since she was there so often.
 
Her parents have both passed away since then and working in this community allows her to feel as though she is honoring them through her job.

​She feels close to her parents every day. Dina loves listening to the stories our residents share, she says, “They have so much wisdom and experience to impart to others if we only take the time to listen.” 

Dina loves spending time with her family and friends, she is the proud mother of four great adult kids. Whenever they are all over at her house, she feels as though her nest is full.

​Dina often hosts firepits at her house and her friends and family are always welcome to join. She loves spending time with all of them and catching up on their lives while roasting marshmallows.

​Everyone who knows Dina knows that she is spontaneous and will say yes to most adventures. She recently tried ziplining and now it’s her goal to try to do ziplining on each trip that she takes.

Recently, she has begun to travel more often, she loves to explore new places and learn about what makes them unique. Her next trips will be to New York City and then Costa Rica where she can’t wait to zipline!
 
Dina’s favorite holiday is Christmas, she continues the traditions that she started when her kids were young. She says that decorating the yard, the house, and the tree can’t help but put you in the holiday spirit!

Dina’s family bakes cookies together and each member of her family makes a different kind of cookie while they laugh and reminisce. She loves opportunities to create lifelong memories, she also has a big extended family and when they get together the fun and laughter just take over. ​

Fostering Puppies

​In her spare time, Dina helps the local animal shelter by fostering puppies.

​To date, she has fostered more than 20 puppies. She likes to know that she is helping to give the puppies a good start in life, and she gets to play with puppies for a few weeks each time she fosters. She says it’s a win/win!