Honoring 75 Years of Leading and Service

For 75 years, ThriveMore has grown, adapted and imagined new ways to serve older adults across North Carolina. Behind that evolution have been generations of leaders who believed deeply in the organization’s mission and were willing to lend their time, expertise and vision to help move it forward.

On Friday, that legacy of leadership took center stage as current and former members of the ThriveMore Board of Trustees gathered at Taylor Glen in Concord for a special 75th anniversary celebration.

Held following the board’s regular meeting, the catered luncheon brought together people whose service spans different chapters of ThriveMore’s history. It was a chance to reconnect and reminisce, but also to recognize the important role board leadership has played in shaping the organization of today and preparing it for the future.

Current Board Chair Mike Taylor welcomed those gathered, followed by remarks from incoming Board Chair Phil Feagan and former board member Brady Dickson. Together, the afternoon offered an opportunity to look back at how far ThriveMore has come and ahead to what the next chapter might hold.

For Feagan, that perspective stretches across nearly four decades. He first joined the board in the late 1980s and has served multiple terms over the years, giving him a front-row seat to tremendous change within the organization.

Through it all, however, he sees a clear constant.

“The consistent through line is the excellent quality of care for our residents,” he said.

Feagan also pointed to ThriveMore’s longstanding commitment to benevolent care as one of the most meaningful aspects of his service. At the same time, he has watched the organization expand beyond traditional models of senior living to embrace at-home services, innovative approaches to memory care and other new ways to serve.

Looking ahead, Feagan sees more opportunity on the horizon.

“I think we're going to continue to grow,” he said. And when asked why he has continued returning to board service through the years, Feagan came back to the people ThriveMore serves.

“I've always believed that we provided the best care, quality of care of residents,” he said. That belief, coupled with the organization’s continued growth, has made the work meaningful to him.

“The general direction of growth that we've had all along is exciting to be a part of,” he said.

Evolving While Staying Grounded

Current board member Powell Dew has also watched ThriveMore evolve through significant chapters in its history, including its transition from Baptist Retirement Homes of North Carolina to ThriveMore.

Dew sees an organization that continues to explore new communities and innovative approaches while remaining connected to the communities and traditions that helped shape it.

“Resident focused care has always been a high priority,” he said.

Dew spoke enthusiastically about the organization’s forward-thinking leadership and innovations, as well as its commitment to honoring the communities that have long been part of its history.

“Honoring the past and leading to the future and being a part of that is a wonderful thing,” he said. “It’s been inspiring to see.”

It was a fitting sentiment for a celebration devoted to honoring the past while looking ahead.

A Mission That Becomes Personal

For some board members, the connection to ThriveMore began long before their own service.

Betty Lyne Johnson remembers becoming familiar with what was then Baptist Retirement Homes when she was a child. She would watch her grandmother sit at the kitchen table and write her weekly offering, always designating a portion to Baptist Retirement Homes.

“One day I'm going to the Baptist Retirement campus — that's where I'm going to live,” her grandmother told her at the time.

Eventually, Johnson’s grandmother did make her home there. Johnson remembers visiting her and seeing how meaningful that home became.

“So I have had a very soft spot for this place,” Johnson said. Years later, when Johnson was recruited to serve, she was thrilled to have the opportunity.

Her story is a reminder that ThriveMore’s 75-year history is measured in much more than buildings, programs and organizational milestones. It can also be found in relationships and memories that stretch across families and generations.

Compassion Across Generations

Former board member Henry M. Skinner Jr.’s connection to serving older adults also began early.

“My parents taught me years ago how to care for those that were older than I was,” he said.

Over the course of his board service, Skinner watched the environment surrounding senior living change significantly. Families became more geographically dispersed, communities changed and expectations around aging evolved.

When asked what had stayed consistent at ThriveMore despite all that change, Skinner began his response with one word: compassion.

That commitment to caring for people remains particularly important as the needs of older adults continue to evolve. Skinner reflected Friday on the growing need for memory care, the challenges of isolation and the importance of continuing to build support systems for people as they age.

Looking Ahead with Confidence

Current board member Rhonda Lowe sees ThriveMore’s willingness to innovate as one of the most exciting aspects of the organization today.

She pointed specifically to newer living and care options, including the Green House model and the EverTogether residence, as examples of how ThriveMore is thinking differently about the future of aging.

“I think those are unique and pretty progressive,” she said.

She also sees tremendous potential for what comes next.

“Looking at the growth opportunities seem pretty endless,” she said, adding that ThriveMore is in good hands to take advantage of those opportunities.

“I think the leadership is strategic and forward-thinking, but also pretty careful and making sure that the risks that are taken are good ones,” Lower said.

Celebrating Those Who Helped Build ThriveMore

The voices gathered at Taylor Glen on Friday represent different eras of ThriveMore’s story, but their reflections point toward something special: ThriveMore has never been an organization that stands still.

Across 75 years, it has responded to changing needs, embraced new ideas and expanded the ways it serves older adults. Buildings and communities have changed. Models of care have evolved. New programs and innovations have emerged. Even the organization’s name has changed.

But through those transitions, the commitment to people has remained.

That is a legacy made possible in part by the generations of volunteer leaders who have guided the organization along the way.

To every person who has served on the ThriveMore Board of Trustees during these 75 years, thank you. Thank you for the meetings attended, questions asked, expertise shared, decisions made and time given in service to this organization. Thank you for believing in the importance of caring for older adults and for helping ThriveMore grow thoughtfully while remaining grounded in its mission.

Friday’s celebration was an opportunity to honor that service, celebrate what those leaders helped build and recognize that their impact continues well beyond their own years around the board table.

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