National ANFP Conference

Creative Solutions in Healthcare Sends Record-Breaking Group of 60 Certified Dietary Managers to National ANFP Conference

Largest delegation at the national conference reflects Creative’s growing investment in foodservice leadership, resident dining and the people behind every meal.

Fort Worth, Texas June 25th, 2026 — Creative Solutions in Healthcare, the largest skilled nursing operator in Texas, sent a record 60 Certified Dietary Managers (CDMs) to the Association of Nutrition & Foodservice Professionals (ANFP) 2026 Annual Conference in Orlando. Making this the largest group the company has ever had attend the national event. 

Creative was also recognized at the conference as having the largest delegation in attendance — a milestone that reflects the company’s continued investment in dietary leadership and resident-centered dining. 

The recognition reflects years of steady growth in Creative’s nutritional services program. In 2025, the company sent 50 Certified Dietary Managers to the conference. This year, that number grew to 60, making Creative one of the most strongly represented long-term care organizations at the national gathering. 

For Creative, the number is more than a statistic. It represents a companywide investment in the leaders responsible for one of the most personal and meaningful parts of resident care: food. 

“Food is not just food,” said Gary Blake, President and CEO of Creative Solutions in Healthcare. “A good meal can bring comfort, healing, connection and dignity. It can turn an ordinary day into something meaningful. That is why we continue to invest in the people who lead our dietary programs. They are not just preparing meals. They are creating experiences for our residents.”

Creative Solutions in Healthcare is home to one of the largest groups of dietary managers who hold the national Certified Dietary Manager, Certified Food Protection Professional (CDM, CFPP) credential. Under Creative’s internal guidelines, only dietary managers who have earned the CDM credential are eligible to attend the national ANFP conference, making attendance both a professional development opportunity and a meaningful recognition of their achievement. Attendees participate in professional education, networking and industry-focused learning designed to strengthen foodservice operations. 

This year’s record-breaking group was co-led by Amy Wees, Vice President of Nutritional Services, and Melanie Presley, who was promoted to Vice President of Nutritional Services in March. Wees has helped guide Creative’s nutritional services program since the company was founded in 2000 and will retire at the end of the year. They are working together to lead the next chapter of the program, ensuring the same focus on quality, consistency, creativity and resident choice continues across Creative’s facilities. 

Creative Celebrates Dietary Excellence with Internal Awards in Orlando 

    Creative’s commitment to its dietary leaders extended beyond the conference itself. Gary and Malisa Blake, Co-Founders of Creative Solutions in Healthcare, along with Auston Clanton, Chief Operating Officer, joined the CDMs in Orlando for a special dinner recognizing their leadership and impact across the company. 

    Their attendance was a meaningful reflection of how Creative views its dietary teams: as essential leaders in the resident experience.  

    The dinner also served as an internal awards celebration, honoring the CDMs who continue to raise the standard for foodservice, team development and resident-centered dining across Creative’s facilities. 

    The awards celebrate CDMs who achieved measurable excellence in cleanliness, regulatory performance, budget management, team leadership and overall department operations. 

    This year, Creative celebrated a tie for its top White Glove honor, with two buildings earning a perfect dietary White Glove score of 100.  

    Creative’s awards are built around three key markers of excellence: 

    • Maintaining a White Glove score of 95 or above for the past 12 months 
    • Receiving no dietary deficiencies on the most recent full book survey 
    • Attaining the raw food budget for the past 12 months 

    Lola Story of Care Nursing and Cynthia Molina of Kenedy received the award, marking another year of exceptional performance for both leaders. The two also tied in 2025, each earning a White Glove score of 99.

    CDMs who achieved all three markers received Creative’s Platinum Award, one of the highest honors in the company’s dietary program.

    This year’s Platinum Award recipients included Lola Story of Care Nursing, Misty Goodman of Dogwood Trails, Edee Borger of Greenbrier Palestine, Joyce Watson of Village of Heritage Oaks and Rebekah Ruiz of Rio Mission Trails.

    From that group, Rebekah Ruiz, CDM at Rio Mission Trails, was named Grand Champion CDM of the Year. Ruiz earned the honor after achieving all three markers of excellence and maintaining a White Glove score of 98.

    The company also honored 12 CDMs through its Achievement Tiers Program, which recognizes dietary leaders who meet additional performance standards throughout the year. Five runners-up earned a trip to Fort Worth this fall for a dinner with Gary Blake at his favorite restaurant:

    • Arturo Tavarez, El Paso Health & Rehab
    • Aide Castro, La Vida Serena
    • Rosie Tovar, Normandy Terrace
    • Lola Story, Care Nursing
    • Conner Myers, The Hills in Decatur

    Seven champions achieved 12 or more tiers and earned a company-sponsored cruise:

    • Misty Goodman, Dogwood Trails
    • Kristi Pinkney, Greenbrier Tyler
    • Agnes Smith, Downtown
    • Cynthia Molina, Kenedy
    • Rebekah Ruiz, Rio Mission Trails
    • Amanda Edmonds, Mineral Wells
    • Gabriel Hernandez, Mountain View

    The awards also included recognition for Kim Kyle and Creative’s six Corporate CDM Travelers, who provide critical support across the company’s nutritional services program and help keep dietary operations strong across Creative facilities. 

    Tiers Program Celebrates the Best of the Best 

      For Creative’s dietary leaders, attending the national ANFP conference is already an honor. The highest-performing CDMs can go even further through Creative’s Achievement Tiers Program, an additional recognition program designed to celebrate excellence across the full scope of dietary leadership. 

      CDMs who meet elevated performance standards throughout the year earn the opportunity to participate in a company-sponsored weeklong cruise or other foodservice-related excursion. In past years, award recipients have traveled to the produce fields in Monterey, California, and Yuma, Arizona, gaining firsthand exposure to food sourcing and production. 

      This year, 12 Creative CDMs completed the Achievement Tiers Program. Five runners-up earned a trip to Fort Worth this fall, while seven champions achieved 12 or more tiers and earned a company-sponsored cruise. 

      The awards also included recognition for Creative’s Corporate CDM Travelers, who provide critical support across the company’s nutritional services program and help keep dietary operations strong across Creative facilities. 

      Together, the awards highlighted not only individual achievement, but the depth of leadership within Creative’s dietary program — from clean kitchens and strong survey results to sound budget management, team retention and resident-centered dining.

      Food as a Core Part of Care 

      Nutritious Meals is one of Creative Solutions in Healthcare’s core pillars, and the company has continued to build programs that make food a meaningful part of daily life in its facilities. 

      At Creative, menus are not built once and left alone. At least twice a year, the company’s registered dietitians and Certified Dietary Managers come together to redesign the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter menus from the ground up. 

      Every meal is reviewed. Every item is evaluated. Nutrition, flavor, variety, resident preference and overall enjoyment are all part of the conversation. The team looks closely at how each entrée pairs with its sides, where menus may feel repetitive and how each meal can better serve the residents who will be eating it. 

      That same intentional approach inspired Creative’s Hispanic Heritage menu. To build it, 12 El Paso-based & Texas border communities dietary managers traveled to Fort Worth to help create meals that reflected both cultural heritage and regional preference; Honoring the residents, their backgrounds and the foods that feel like home. 

       

      Creative also keeps innovation in the hands of the people closest to the residents. Through regular recipe competitions, dietary professionals are encouraged to create new meals, test fresh ideas and bring resident favorites forward. Winning recipes earns a place on the next seasonal menu, giving teams a direct role in shaping what is served across Creative facilities. 

      The same spirit drives Creative’s appetizer program. Before lunch, Dietary Managers partner with Activity Directors to create a small-plate experience that feels part cooking show, part social event. The goal is simple: bring residents into the dining room, spark conversation and make mealtime something to look forward to. 

      Each appetizer is reviewed seasonally and selected with purpose, designed to complement the meal that follows while adding a little extra excitement to the day. 

      Gary Blake remains personally involved in Creative’s dietary program and regularly attends product tastings. His belief in the power of food has helped shape the company’s approach to resident dining. 

      As Creative celebrates its largest-ever group of CDMs attending the national ANFP conference, company leaders say the milestone is not the finish line. It is part of a larger commitment to growing talented dietary leaders, strengthening facility teams and continuing to raise the standard for foodservice in long-term care. 

      “Our CDMs are some of the most important leaders in our buildings,” Blake continued. “They know our residents. They know their preferences. They know how to lead teams, manage operations, and create meals that people look forward to. Investing in them is investing directly in our residents.” 

      As Creative celebrates its largest-ever group of Certified Dietary Managers attending the national ANFP conference, the milestone reflects something bigger than record attendance. It reflects a companywide belief that food is a vital part of care, and that the people leading dietary programs deserve to be trained, recognized and celebrated. 

      From national certification and conference attendance to the Tiers Program, seasonal menu development, recipe competitions and resident-centered dining experiences, Creative continues to invest in the leaders who make meals meaningful. 

      For Creative Solutions in Healthcare, 60 CDMs in Orlando is a statement loudly showing: Food matters. Residents matter. And the leaders behind every meal, matter. 

      About Creative Solutions in Healthcare: 

      Founded in 2000 by Gary and Malisa Blake, Creative Solutions in Healthcare is a family-owned company headquartered in Fort Worth, TX. It started with the first acquisition of Granbury Care Center and has grown to currently operate 182 long-term care communities throughout the state of Texas. Each location still runs on the founding principle, ‘a life lived for others is a life worthwhile’. Its mission is to provide the highest quality of care to aging adults, by investing in cutting-edge technology and embodying core values of Compassionate Clinical Care, Nutritious Meals, Enriching Lives, Valued Employees, and Unparalleled Cleanliness.

      Media Contact:

      Leila Jones 
      817.734.4840 
      News@csnhc.com 

       

      Skip to content