Charlie Wilson serves as senior vice president of Buckner Retirement Services. Today, he’s sharing his thoughts on why, when it comes to our hospitality philosophy, we work to roll out the red carpet for senior adults at each Buckner senior living community. The entertainment world just finished awards season, and from the Grammys to the Academy Awards to the Emmys, there was plenty of pomp and circumstance to go around. What do people remember most about these ceremonies? It’s often not the speeches, the performances or even the awards themselves. It’s the red carpet. Famous for it’s flashy fashion and high-profile attendees, the red carpet is where we honor these celebrities for the work they’ve done. At Buckner senior living communities, we roll out the red carpet for every resident every day. Not literally of course, but we do strive to make each resident feel like a celebrity because to us, they are. The residents at Buckner senior living communities are veterans, teachers and philanthropists. They’re doctors, parents and pastors who’ve made a deep impact on the world we live in today. It’s because of their hard work, their sacrifice, that we’re able to enjoy the world we do today. People like Billie Schmidt who worked as the assistant to the associate director of NASA and John Ramsey who spent 45 years in the ministry, including 27 overseas, inspire us to dream. Others like Virginia Derry who leads music for residents with Alzheimer’s and Jane Wulf who makes quilts for charity remind us to make a difference right where we are. These are the kinds of people we want to honor. Rolling out our own red carpet for these residents means that every Buckner team member goes above and beyond to serve residents with excellence. We’ll go out of our way to ensure each resident has the opportunity to live a vibrant, positive lifestyle. Wilbrun Gage, a Buckner Westminster Place resident, said it best: “Anything you want done that needs to be done, they’ll do it! If you want ice cream, they’ll go get it. They take care of people.” At Buckner, we ensure each resident feels like a valued member of the community—someone worth celebrating. To put it simply, we roll out the red carpet for residents because we’re the ones honored and privileged to have them at Buckner.
Why we roll out the red carpet for residents
