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Taylor Settles grew up in the panhandle of Texas.  Tired of wind and bad weather, he made a move to the Dallas area, and never left.  When Taylor was younger, his grandparents’ struggles with both Parkinsons and cancer made an indelible imprint on his life’s perspective.   Coupled with his wife’s career in home health, and a mother-in-law who worked in healthcare for 30 plus years, it was almost inevitable that Taylor would also work in the healthcare field.  Today he is Customer Relations Director for AmeriCorp Health Care Group Inc.  Taylor loves his work because he is able to provide a broad range of services to his clients, from durable medical equipment to home health services to hospice.  Taylor can be reached at 972-818-9488, or via email at tset35@aol.com.

Every 70 seconds, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimers disease.  It’s that time of year again!  It is time for the Alzheimer’s Association’s signature fund-raising event, the 2010 MemoryWalk.  Thanks to Sarah Biehl, Activity Director for Plantation South of Duluth, we were privileged to have a full house representing the North Fulton Gwinnett County Memory Walk.  Shannon Grady came to the Alzheimers Association from another non-profit.  She has a real heart for her work because she watched her mother care for her step father through an 11 year battle with Alzheimers.  Susan Howard, of Highwood Properties, and Lauri Mayo, of Patterson Heating and Air have similar stories about how their lives have been impacted by Alzheimers and other demential-related illnesses.  Susan and Laurie are co-chairs for this year’s event.  This event is held to honor and remember those who have been impacted by this terrible disease.  It raises funds for education and services to fight the disease and support both victims of the disease and their families.  The best part is that all the funds raised in Georgia STAY in Georgia.  Please come out and show your support for this event on Saturday, October 9 at the Duluth Town Green.  Registration starts at 8:30, and the 3 mile walk starts around 9:30.  For more information, go to www.alz.org/georgia, or www.georgiamemorywalk.org.

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Coming to the Senior Services industry in a bit of a circuitous fashion, Adam Mandel earned an MBA from University of Texas.  After spending time in the restaurant business and franchising, Adam had a personal experience that changed the course of his career.  His mother had both hip and knee replacements, and came home in a wheel chair.  Adam observed that during her recovery, his mother was really confined to a single room in her home due to narrow doorways and stairs.  As Adam looked for solutions, the entrepreneur in him suggested that there was a real need for experts in the field of Universal Design – a concept that purports improved accessibility and safety in the home, without sacrificing aesthetics.  Today, Adam is one of the owners of Independent Living Design, a firm committed to the design and implementation of safe, accessible and beautiful enhancements to the homes of seniors and disabled adults that improve their ability to stay safely in their homes.  Check out his website at www.independentlivingdesign.com, or call him directly at 214-505-6051.

Originally from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Elvis Rogers is the Dining Service Coordinator for Freedom Pointe Roswell, and Brookdale Senior Living Community.  Elvis is responsible for preparing a share of the 118,000 meals per day served to seniors living in Brookdale communities around the country.  Elvis is also honored to be a contestant vying for the Title of Ultimate Chef America, an event to educate the public on Heart Healthy Dining for the senior population.  Though it is a six city event, the Atlanta event will be held at Chambrel Roswell on Thursday, September 23 from 4pm to 7pm.  Come out and enjoy  food samples and visit with various senior services vendors that will have booths set up at the event.  There will also be a silent auction at this event to benefit the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation.  To reserve your spot for this event, please call (770) 594-4616 by September 17.

 Jill Butler has known since age 15 that she wanted to work with seniors, when she began working in a continuing care retirement center in her native Charlotte, North Carolina.  She went on to  pursue a recreation degree in geriatrics in college.  When her husband was transferred to Atlanta, Jill found Chambrel.  Today, Jill is Director of Sales and Marketing for Chambrel of Roswell.  Chambrel is an independent living center situated on an idyllic 35 acre campus that was formerly an apple orchard.  Jill tells us that one of the features of Chambrel is their Optimum Life Program that inspires wellness.  Call Jill at 770-594-4600 to arrange a tour, or visit their website at www.brookdaleliving.com.

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Greg Gerendas is not a native Texan, but acknowledges he got here as soon as he could!  He was trained as a Lutheran pastor, and now serves as the Executive Director for Senior Adult Services, a non-profit organization committed to caring for seniors as they face either short or long term changes in abilities caused by illness or age.  Senior Adult Services provides supportive services such as home delivered meals, home modifications and transportation to seniors and disabled adults in the cities of Farmers Branch, Carrolton, Coppell and Addison.  Help support Senior Adult Services in a fun way by signing up for their 2010 Tee Up for Seniors Golf Tournament being held at Riverchase Golf Club on Monday, October 4!  Contact Greg or Barbara Ball at (972) 242-4464, or visit their website at www.senioradultservices.org.

Wayman Parks graduated from Morehouse College and started his career in human resources for a major corporation.  Though he enjoyed the work, with a young family, he didn’t so much enjoy the requirements to be out of town frequently.  About seven years ago, Wayman joined the Sunrise family working for their homecare division.  After several years there, he made the move to one of their communities.  Today he shares the role of Director of Community Relations at Brighton Gardens of Dunwoody with Julie Vickers.  Julie’s background is in property management, working for Post Properties in Atlanta for 22 years.  In 1998, Sunrise opened a new community that was on Julie’s drive to work.  She told herself that one day she would work for that company.  It only took her 12 years of driving by to make good on that promise!  Both Wayman and Julie note that they love Sunrise because its mission statement matches their own personal mission statements:  To champion the quality of life for all seniors.  To contact Julie or Wayman, or to arrange a tour, call (770) 730-9333.  You can also visit them on the web at www.sunriseseniorliving.com, or click here to get right to the community.

Brian Baker tells us he had his first job at the age of two!  He also tells us his first girlfriend was 80 when he started seeing her!  Hmmm!  Brian remembers accompanying his mother as she cleaned the homes and assisted the elderly.  Wanting to help out, his mother put him to work!  As a child, Brian had an elderly neighbor across the street that was unable to keep her yard in order on her own.  Brian started taking care of her lawn for her, and told her that she was his first girlfriend!  Brian has had a fond place in his heart for the elderly ever since.  Brian wen to Seminary at the University of Biblical Studies in Bethany, Oklahoma.  He took a position at Baxter Travenol’s Caremark Group (now CVS Caremark) in 1989, and there began his professional association with the senior services industry.  Today, Brian is the Community Resources Director for Cornerstone Medical, and organization that specializes in oxygen therapy equipment an other respiratory products.  Brian notes that it is the wide variety of delivery methods for oxygen that make Cornerstone Medical unique.  Brian can be contacted at (770) 361-8333, or via email at changemefirst@gmail.com.

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It’s been hot in Dallas!  No one is more acutely aware of that fact than Cheryl Acres, a native of Canada.  Though she’s been here for years, I’m sure she misses the cool crisp mornings (or even afternoons) of her northern home.  Cheryl went to school in Canada to be a nurse.  When there were no jobs available in Canada, she made a big move to the Big Easy.  A number of years later, she relocated to Dallas has been using her nurse’s training ever since.  Having worked as a nurse and case manager in both private healthcare and in the Medicare environment, Cheryl took the plunge about four years ago and went into private practice as a case manager for the elderly.  She is the President and Owner of Comprehensive Care Management, and is proud to be a Certified Case Manager.  While she is licensed to provide clinical advice and care, Cheryl tells us that she’s done almost anything that can be done for a client, including feeding the pets!  Cheryl can be reached at (972) 446-4789, or check out her website at www.txcasemanager.com.

Christine Truitt grew up with James Brown.  OK, no she didn’t, but she did grow up in his home town of Augusta, Georgia!  Christine went to school at Augusta Tech, then went across the river to University of South Carolina.  She started her career in a hospital, but moved to home health in the early 80’s.  She fell in love with the patients, with the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, and with the opportunity to “become a member of [her patients’] family.  Today Christine is Nurse and Clinical Account Executive for Gentiva Healthcare. She’s been providing services for patients at home for more than 20 years!  Though not brave enough to give out her cell phone number, you can contact Christine via email at christine.truitt@gentiva.com (she assures us she is an email junkie), or visit Gentiva’s website at www.gentiva.com.

Like so many of our guests, Ron Porter selected his profession based on a personal experience.  In his case, while he was attending the University of Tennessee, Ron’s father was in an accident.  Through the careful attention of a skilled physical therapist, Ron observed the benefits to his father first-hand.  After graduating from Tennessee, Ron attended Emory University, where he earned a graduate degree in Physical Therapy.  After a number of years working in facilities and homes, Ron turned his attention to a slightly different aspect of physical therapy.  Ron notes that many of the issues that physical therapy deals with are preventable.  Specifically, people come in many shapes and sizes, yet their living and working environments have a tendency to be “one size fits all”.  Today Ron is the Director of Back School of Atlanta.   Back School of Atlanta is dedicated to applying ergonomics principles and total wellness as a means to good health, injury prevention and increased productivity on the job and at home.  According to Ron, this can be as simple as improving lighting, using an appropriate chair or adding steps or a ladder to reach cabinets that would otherwise be reached by standing on a chair or other unstable item.  Ron can be reached at 1-800-783-7536, or visit the website at www.backschoolofatlanta.com.

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An Atlanta native, Raquel Bustos started her career in administration and corporate meeting planning.  Though she was good at it, this was clearly not her life’s work.  As she looked to do something that had a more significant impact on people, she landed a job as an Activities Director at a local assisted living.   Music played a big role in Raquel’s childhood, so it was only natural that she brought music to her work as an Activities Director.  She liked singing so much, she decided to perform on a broader scale.  Today she performs in more than 75 senior centers, assisted and independent living facilities.  While she loves to perform, even more, she loves to take her audience on a trip down memory lane, getting the audience to perform with her.  Raquel can be reached at (404) 444-6335, or via email at raquelbustos@bellsouth.net.

Bo Levine’s father was conscripted to the army of Czar Nicolas II in the early 1900’s.  Unwilling to participiate, her father, Jacob, fled to China.  After working ten years to earn enough money, he went back to Russia to bring out his soon-to-be bride.  That is how Bo became the product of the British Public School in Shanghai, China.  After graduating high school, she attended St. Johns University, and then emigrated to the US through San Francisco, then moving to Eastman, Georgia, where her uncle lived.  She then went on to the University of Georgia and received her degree in Journalism.  She was married, and raised three children.  Bo has outlived three husbands, telling us the name of her next husband will be “No Mo'”.  A number of years ago she wrote a diary over the course of two years as she cared for her late husband, Nate Levine.  This got her creative juices flowing, and she is now using her Journalism major as a columnist for The Jewish Georgian.  To see one of her columns, check them out on the web at www.jewishgeorgian.com.

A native Georgian, Ruth Matthews grew up in Macon, and stayed there to attend Mercer University.  She graduated in 1980, and began her career with the Georgia Radio Reading Service.  It as there that she fell in love with helping people for a living.  She later worked for the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, another passion for Ruth.  A number of years ago a friend recruited Ruth to work in a senior community.  For the past six years, Ruth has worked as the Director of Community Relations for the Renaissance on Peachtree, an independent and assisted living community at 3755 Peachtree Road in Atlanta.  Ruth tells us one of the unique features of the Renaissance is its team of dedicated drivers that escorts residents “in style” in Town Cars and Limos, rather than buses!  To contact Ruth or arrange a tour, call the Renaissance at (404) 841-6161, or visit their website at www.renaissanceonpeachtree.com.