Monarch Live Debuts on In-House Television

It’s a local take on a national television show. Monarch Live, with Mary & Claudette, is a casual, hilarious, and informative version of TODAY with Hoda & Jenna. The show is streamed weekly at Monarch Living senior living community in Naperville for viewing on the in-house television station. The show highlights happenings in the community while also featuring amusing banter and topic digression, all in the name of good fun.

Mary Nunez, the resident relations manager and Claudette Schmied, the concierge, are the regular ‘hosts’ of the show. In addition, frequent guest appearances include Margaret Scanlon, the lifestyles manager, who shares the activity calendar, and Marissa Krueger, the fitness manager, who discusses ways to stay fit.

For however long the ladies want to be on camera, highlights of the community calendar are presented, including performances, programs, and special activities. “If you can’t find something to do here, you’re not paying attention,” said Schmied.

Planned discussion topics tend to go off on tangents to the delight of the audience who are watching the show from their apartments. For example, Nunez has broken into an impromptu demonstration of face yoga more than once.

A favorite part of the show is when Schmied unveils the official word of the week; always an authentic word, but never one that’s commonly used. This week, the word was bumfuzzle. “It means to be confused, perplexed or flustered. People are challenged to use the word during the week, in a sentence,” said Schmied, who added that one resident comes to the hosts immediately after the close of the show, with a sentence already prepared.

The team posts the show on Touchtown, Monarch Landing’s resident portal, where residents can watch it on demand.  There are often 50-100 on-demand views each week.

Monarch Live is a vehicle for sharing information but is, more importantly, a welcome break in the week. “We send out newsletters and electronic messages about what’s happening in the community, but this is more of a fun format,” said Nunez. “We started this just as a way of sharing announcements, but residents thought Claudette was hilarious. So, it went from there.”

Beyond any other message shared, Schmied commented that Monarch Live serves as an important reminder. “We’re thankful we’re together, and we’re in a good place,” she said.