by Greg Schwem

I recently received a concise text message that, depending on your affection for canines, was adorable or unbelievable:
“Sorry, I can’t meet tonight. I have a swim class…for my dog. She is spoiled.”
“She” and her owner are exactly the types of travelers Harvest Hosts CEO Joel Holland has on his radar.
Holland, 38, purchased the 13-year-old travel membership network from its original owners in 2018. Aimed at “self-contained” travelers (aka campers and RV-ers,) Harvest Hosts partners with thousands of farms, wineries, breweries and other unique destinations only too happy to host camping vehicles ranging from your basic fifth-wheel to your tricked out Airstream, for a night. Occupants, and their pets, pay no camping fees; instead they are sort of on the honor system to purchase products — perhaps a wine club membership or a bottle of homemade bourbon — their gracious hosts are selling.
“We recommend a $30 purchase. But it’s not a requirement,” Holland said. People are very generous and tend to spend $50. That turns into $50 million that goes back into these small businesses.”
Harvest Hosts takes none of those profits; participating properties pay a fee to join the program and get listed on its site.
So what about those guests who just can’t leave their beloved pooches at home? Harvest Hosts recently found 52% of travelers base their routes, and destinations, on pet-friendly camping locations. If that location contains a body of water for dogs to show off their swimming skills, all the better. Holland estimates a quarter million Harvest Hosts travelers, mostly over 55 and empty nesters who consider a dog their “new kid,” take their pets along for adventures.
“We learned early on that we needed to have a filter that said ‘pet friendly,’” Holland said. “In the process of recruiting hosts, one of the things we angled for were pet friendly locations.”
Swilled Dog, a distillery of bourbon and cider in Upper Tract, West Virginia, has proven to be the perfect Harvest Hosts partner. Currently slammed with campers taking advantage of fall colors that complement their day hikes to Spruce Knob, Seneca Rocks and Smoke Hole Canyon, the property hosts up to four RVs per night.
Once parked, dogs have free reign.
“ Dogs are allowed to relax alongside their owners in both our cider tasting room and whiskey room or even play a game of cornhole outside,” said Lauren Hagman, Swilled Dog’s operations manager.
Upon hearing this, I texted my friend and asked if her dog was currently enrolled in cornhole lessons. I have yet to hear back.
Most guests abide by the aforementioned honor system, purchasing bourbon or cider for family and friends, Hagman said. The distillery also donates a portion of its profits to various dog rescue and adoption programs.
Holland, a seasoned traveler who believes “there is something fun to do in every state,” is only too happy to share his unique adventures, which include getting a massage from an 84-year-old nun, a proprietor of Heartland Farm, an Alpaca ranch in Pawnee Rock, Kansas. Although not listed on the property’s website, massages are a legitimately offered service.
“I learned it’s OK to be naked in front of nuns in the right context,” he chuckled.
With post-pandemic travel restrictions easing, Harvest Hosts business is booming as travelers opt for wide open spaces so they, and their pets, can roam freely. Holland says he’ll continue running the business, and seeking new dog-loving sites, “as long as it’s fun.”
What could be more fun for a dog than to belly up to a bar and join their owner in a glass of locally produced wine?
Particularly if the dog has completed Wine Appreciation school.

(Greg Schwem is a corporate stand-up comedian and author of two books: “Text Me If You’re Breathing: Observations, Frustrations and Life Lessons From a Low-Tech Dad” and the recently released “The Road To Success Goes Through the Salad Bar: A Pile of BS From a Corporate Comedian,” available at https://www.amazon.com/. Visit Greg on the web at https://www.gregschwem.com/.
You’ve enjoyed reading, and laughing at, Greg Schwem’s monthly humor columns in Senior Living News. But did you know Greg is also a nationally touring stand-up comedian? And he loves to make audiences laugh about the joys, and frustrations, of growing older. Watch the clip and, if you’d like Greg to perform at your senior center or senior event, contact him through his website at https://www.gregschwem.com/)

Image by Freepik

Entering the empty nest phase can be both exhilarating and daunting. Parents often experience a mix of emotions, from sadness to liberation, as their children leave home. However, it’s also an opportunity for self-renewal and personal growth. In this helpful guide presented by Senior News & Living OK, we will delve into eight pivotal strategies for making this new stage in life truly fulfilling. These suggestions can help parents shift focus towards their own aspirations.
Unearth Hidden Talents: Cultivating a New Hobby
Ever wanted to write poetry or learn how to scuba dive? Now is your chance! Acquiring a new hobby or skill brings with it a sense of accomplishment. Empty nesters can utilize their newfound freedom to explore interests they never had time for before. From painting landscapes to cooking gourmet meals, this is an opportunity for both joy and self-expression.
Degree of Success: Furthering Your Education
Longing for a career change or promotion? Going back to school may be the right move. With fewer family commitments, it’s easier to focus on academic achievements. Opt for an online program that offers a flexible schedule and suits your specific interests and career goals, such as one with a bachelor’s degree in business. Such programs cater to adult learners and can pave the way for new career opportunities – all on their own schedule.
Wanderlust Unleashed: Visit Your Dream Places
Traveling as an empty nester offers a unique opportunity to rediscover the world and oneself without the constant demands of parenting. The freedom to spontaneously explore destinations or delve into long-desired adventures becomes a reality. For those who’ve dreamt of experiencing the magic without the constraints of child schedules, Disney World stands out as a mesmerizing destination. To make this dream more accessible, there are websites that offer deals and insider tips to ensure an affordable experience; simply click here to start the journey. Embracing this phase of life can be rejuvenating and fun.
Strengthen Family Bonds: Reconnect with Your Kids
Family remains essential, even when the nest is empty. The absence of daily responsibilities presents an opportunity to nurture family relationships in a new way. Empty nesters should prioritize family visits, gatherings, and even vacations. Moments like these strengthen family ties and create lasting memories.
Reinvent Your Castle: Home Revamp
With extra space and time, why not consider a home makeover? You can transform that old kids’ room into a cozy reading nook or a sleek (but functional) home office. Investing in home improvements like kitchen renovations or redecoration projects can be fulfilling. The result is a home that reflects your current needs and aesthetic preferences.
Serenity Now: Embrace Mindfulness
A quieter home offers the perfect backdrop for introspection and self-care. Activities like yoga, meditation, or even simple nature walks can be calming. Empty nesters can channel this tranquil energy towards better mental and emotional well-being. Incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine can yield a balanced, healthier life for years to come.
Expand Your Circle: Make Social Connections
Although your kids might have moved out, there’s no reason to feel isolated. Now is the perfect time to cultivate new friendships and rekindle old ones. Whether joining a book club, partaking in social gatherings, or engaging in community service, social activities can be a balm for loneliness. An expanded social circle can offer emotional support and enrich your life.
Community Engagement: Offer Your Time and Skills
Volunteering is a fulfilling way to give back and stay active. Offering your time to causes you care deeply about can be immensely satisfying. Whether you opt to volunteer at a local animal shelter, school, or charity, your efforts can make a difference. Engaging in community service can also provide a sense of purpose.

Transitioning into the empty nest phase is an exciting journey into personal freedom and discovery. By venturing into new hobbies, advancing your education, exploring the world, reconnecting with family, sprucing up your home, practicing mindfulness, widening your social circle, and volunteering, you can enrich this chapter of your life. Your nest may be empty, but your life doesn’t have to be. So, why not embrace this new phase and explore all it has to offer?

Across
1 Sarah Spain’s network
5 Percussion set
10 Cards
14 “Go on, git!”
15 Tickle
16 __ were
17 Textile machine
18 Nigerian seaport
19 “Ciao”
20 Medic with an office at Fisherman’s Wharf?
23 Expert
24 Extremely chill
25 Leaders inclined to work as a group?
31 Extremely cold
32 Channel marker
33 Picked up the tab
35 BYU or NYU
36 Sun screen
37 Strive (for)
40 African country in the Maloti Mountains
41 Drains
42 Summits
45 Captain Hook’s incredulous assessment of his nemesis?
47 Statue base
49 Melber of MSNBC
50 Puts comfy shoes through rigorous testing?
56 Tropical spot
57 Safari equine
58 Most CFOs
60 Some game
61 “Middlemarch” novelist
62 Bend at a barre
63 Retired boomers
64 Action
65 Blood bank fluids

Down
1 Subj. for those wishing to be bilingual
2 Utterly beyond repair
3 Play down
4 Motto for the ruthless
5 Meteorological effect caused by refraction
6 Desktop with an AppleCare option
7 Literary award with a spaceship logo
8 Starting on
9 Lab work
10 Thinned (down)
11 Pulitzer-winning journalist Wilkerson
12 Early ICBM
13 Hung around
21 Play-__
22 “Science of Logic” philosopher Georg
25 Small ammo
26 Director Jean-__ Godard
27 LAX postings
28 Superhero once played by Stephen Amell on The CW
29 “__ Comes to Pemberley”: P.D. James novel
30 Obama daughter
34 Friendly honk
36 Rats, gnats, and brats
37 Element in an algebraic equation
38 Wall St. event
39 Key that exits full-screen mode
40 Brand of packaged bagels
41 Is extremely frugal
42 Ladybug prey
43 Shuts
44 “The Gleaners” painter Jean-Fran ois
46 River that rises in the Bernese Alps
48 Fuzzy states
51 Move to a warmer state?
52 Drama honor
53 Cut short
54 Ink
55 Place to hibernate
59 “Wide Sargasso __”: Jean Rhys novel

Matthew Pierce

Owner/Innkeeper of The Monastery at Forest Lake in Oklahoma City

Story and photo by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer

When Matthew Pierce purchased The Monastery at Forest Lake, located at 3500 North Coltrane Road in Oklahoma City, he knew the property had sat vacant for a decade.
What he didn’t realize was the amount of time and money it was going to take to bring the historic property, which served as the mansion home of Oil Baron and Oklahoma Governor Robert S. Kerr, back to life.
“Within the first few months of buying the house and as the hidden catastrophes kept emerging, I thought it appropriate to watch the old Tom Hanks movie, “The Money Pit,” and I began to realize what a financial and architectural challenge I had signed up for,” Pierce said. “Within 12 months I had gone through my entire life savings, almost $400,000, trying to get the 100 year old stone castle-like structure back in shape.”
The Monastery at Forest Lake features a 10,000-square-foot stone fortress on 14 acres, a swimming pool, two lakes, a wedding chapel, and starting in October, the 5-star Bed and Breakfast will transition into an Airbnb.
“We’re going to still offer The Cottage as an Airbnb, (which was Governor Kerr’s servant quarters until 1949) as our most historic suite,” Pierce said. “The Cottage also serves as one of our bridal suites for the wedding venue. And, the old bakery building from the monks’ time here, which is still on-site, that’s a big three-room stone building which is going to be restored into another big cottage so that families can come and stay. It will have a waterfront view and a deck that extends right out to Forest Lake.”
Pierce said the mansion was completed in 1926, and it has a plethora of Oklahoma history and characters. (STORY CONTINUED BELOW PHOTO)

“In the summer of 1926, this mansion and the E.W. Marland mansion in Ponca City were both finishing construction,” he said. “This was all oil money. The financiers were Oklahoma oil barons of the 1920s, as well as politicians, law-enforcement, and even an occasional gentleman gangster. They formed a “Hunting Lodge” in name only, cleverly incorporated as “The Anglers Association”, which disguised the real purpose of the massive structure with 150-pound doors and 18-inch walls: an illegal speakeasy bar on 50 acres of walled and gated forest. The Twin Hills Golf and Country Club was built in 1918, so that predates it, there was a small lane that led to the Lodge from there.”
Pierce said that there is a tunnel under the speakeasy that allowed bar patrons to quickly escape to the lake, accessed by a hidden staircase.
Pierce said the membership of the lodge held a high-stakes poker game weekly, featuring high rollers of the state’s petroleum Industry. He said one night, the card game was moved to Oilman Charles Urschel’s home in Heritage Hills, and it became the scene of an infamous kidnapping involving Oklahoma gangster “Machine Gun” Kelly.
“His wife, who gave him the moniker “Machine Gun”, put him up for one last final caper, and then to retire from his life of crime,” Pierce said. “The poker game was here most Thursdays and it unknowingly presented a lucrative target for a big “score “, but on that particular night, they had moved the card game to oilman Charles Urschel’s house on NE 18th. Machine Gun Kelly kidnapped Urschel and another man, ultimately transporting Urschel to Texas in the middle of the night.”
According to Oklahoma Historical Society archives, on July 22, 1933, using his trademark machine gun, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, along with Albert L. Bates, interrupted a bridge game at Charles F. Urschel’s residence in Oklahoma City, abducting Urschel and Walter Jarrett at gunpoint while their wives helplessly watched.
The widower Urschel, oilman Tom Slick’s brother-in-law and a trustee to his estate, had married Slick’s widow, Berenice Slick, and combined their fortunes, creating one of the wealthiest couples in Oklahoma City. A criminal of relative obscurity, Kelly, born George Kelly Barnes in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1895, married Kathryn Thorne in 1930. Kathryn has been credited for creating Kelly’s underworld persona, because she bought him his first Thompson submachine gun and dubbed him “Machine Gun.”
After kidnapping Urschel, the criminals took him to a farmhouse in Paradise, Texas, and held him there for more than a week. The kidnappers released him on July 30 after a representative for the family paid $200,000 in documented bills. Kelly was convicted and sentenced to life in prison and served 21 years at Alcatraz, inmate No.117.
Pierce said the hunting lodge closed in 1933 when Prohibition ended nationally, but Oklahoma elected to continue prohibiting alcohol statewide (until 1959).
“The oil company executives freaked out, despite running an illegal bar for over a decade,” he said. “They’re like, “Nope, we’re done.” They shut the doors”.
Pierce said Kerr decided to buy the lodge sometime after it closed.
“He watched it sit for three years and said, “He said this is stupid. I’ll close the lodge. I’ll buy out my brothers. I’ll own the place. I’ll make it my home,” Pierce said.
Kerr later sold the home to Oklahoma City Children’s Hospital pioneer, Dr. John Colmore.
“Colmore bought it in 1949, and raised seven children here,” Pierce said. “We’ve been honored to have four of his now elderly children come and stay in the resort, in their old rooms from their childhood. “He was here until 1970”.
His widow, Mrs. Colmore, sold the house to 13 Russian Orthodox-leaning monks in 1971 for $38,000.
“They were a rather eccentric sect of Monks from Illinois, led by Bishop Burke and Brother John,” Pierce said. “They were here from 1971 to 1988. They raised ostriches for the OKC Zoo and were known citywide for their amazing baked bread.”
Pierce said Dr. Andrew John bought the property from the monks when Burke moved the church to Nebraska, and he was there until 2004.
“Dr. John modernized the air conditioning, the plumbing, added 4,000 square feet of living space, put in the pool, and put in the whole north wing where the pool table is,” Pierce said. “He did all of that work, but his masterpiece was eventually sold at Sheriffs Auction in 2004. Retired World Cup soccer player from Peru, Chico Villar, and his wife Judy bought the empty mansion and enjoyed it as a weekend lake house, and I bought it from them.”
Pierce said the monks operated a bakery called Brother John’s Bread for over a decade.
“Most of us here locally, we remember that the monks were the Forest Park Volunteer Fire Department,” Pierce said. “One day I was sitting in my office and I saw an older gentleman, in full monk garb with a rope for a belt, step out of a vehicle in the parking lot. Incredibly, it was Brother John stopping by unannounced for a visit.”
Pierce said it was Brother John’s first trip back to the Monastery since 1982.
“We had a grand time visiting, and I finally got to ask Brother John a question I had wondered about since childhood: “How in the world did you guys become the Fire Department? Pierce said. “I told him I had a copy of the NBC television feature which was aired in April 1979, of him and the “Firefighting Monks”. He remembered NBC filming it but he had never seen it.”
Pierce said Brother John told him the story saying the fire department was across the street where the school is now, and one day he accidentally caught the bakery on fire.
“We waited and we waited and we’re running around with little water hoses and we’re trying to put this fire out,” Brother John told Pierce. “We could see the windshields of the fire engines just 50 feet away in the station. Finally, the volunteer firefighters, they arrived, they jumped in the trucks, drove across the street, and put the fire out.”
Pierce said the local fire chief asked Brother John if the monks would consider helping them fight fires because they were literally just steps away from the fire station.
“With Bishop Burke’s approval, we agreed that that would be a righteous community service. And so that’s how we became firefighters,” Brother John told Pierce.
Pierce said The Monastery has also been home to several businesses.
“The Colmore’s raised national award-winning AKC Dobermans until the late 60’s,” he said. “The same structure which became Brother John’s Bakery, was originally built as a kennel for Dr. and Mrs. Colmore’s show dogs.”
Pierce said there were so many unknown money pits discovered during renovations of the property. At one point they were constructing a parking lot for the bed-and-breakfast resort, and Pierce’s contractor could not figure out why the gravel base would seemingly disappear overnight.
“Every time we would pour a semi-tractor load of gravel out here in the parking lot area, within a day, it was gone. It would sink and mud would bubble up,” Pierce said. “Finally, the contractor’s like, “Dude, you’ve got a natural spring out here.”
Pierce said a University of Central Oklahoma professor did some research on the property, and found the cause of the water issue.
“Greg James starts looking at the abstract and some photos from the Oklahoma Historical Archives and says, “You know Matt, this place had a commercial fish hatchery on it in 1928.”
Pierce said there are some exciting projects beginning over the next few months, including several custom lakefront homes slated for construction by his business partner, Mike Menzel, on the east side of Forest Lake.
“It’s exciting to see my original vision take shape, at such an important place of my childhood memory. My grandmother and I would stop at the bakery here and buy bread from the Monks in the early 1970s.” he said.
For more information visit https://themonasteryatforestlake.com or call Mattew at (405) 760-9984.

Story and photos by Darl DeVault, contributing editor

The free 2023 Second Half Expo connecting seniors to valuable resources begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, October 21st, and finishes at 1 p.m. for the third year at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in northeast Oklahoma City, which offers free parking.
In its fifth year, organizers call it the largest senior expo in Oklahoma and bill it as “Everything for the 50+ Generation.” It features more than 100 exhibits tailored to people in the “Second Half” of their lives. This is for those Oklahoma seniors looking to connect with the latest products, services, and educational resources needed to live as they have imagined. Oklahoma’s largest senior-related businesses will be present, providing education and demonstrations of their products and services.
Not just for the retired, the day will be loaded with fun and activities, including free educational seminars, food samples, drawings for prizes and music from some of Oklahoma’s best talent.
“We firmly believe the senior years can be lived with dignity and purpose with the right guidance and resources,” said founder Bob Loudermilk. “We strive to support seniors and their adult children, honoring and assisting their aging parents.”
This year’s free panel session at 10 a.m. is titled “Is Your Estate Plan Retirement-ready? – Asset Protection Strategies in an Ever-changing World.” It offers four community thought leaders sharing their expertise. This timely information for seniors approaching the Second Half of life is about securing their financial future. The panelists will explain how asset protection strategies are paramount for folks entering the Second Half of life, particularly concerning retirement, investments, asset management, Medicare, and new marriages.
Entering new marriages later in life necessitates asset protection to preserve pre-existing assets and ensure desired distribution. Older individuals relying on Medicare must protect these benefits to maintain a stable income during retirement. By proactively implementing asset protection strategies, Americans can secure their financial well-being, preserve retirement funds, and safeguard assets for themselves and their loved ones.
The panel session featuring Brian Hill, David Chaney, Tim Hast and Susie Brown will begin at 9 a.m. with coffee and pastries, allowing for networking. The discussions begin at 10 a.m. and end at 11:30. Seating is limited. Please RSVP to reserve your Meet the Panel – Second Half Expo seat. Details of topics and bios of the four panelists are available on this page.
Hill is a partner at Ball Morse Lowe, PLLC, whose practice is focused on Estate Planning and Probate. Hill has guided clients in estate planning, probate, and trust administration for more than 18 years. He has served as an Oklahoma Bar Association Estate Planning Section officer. As a frequent speaker for various organizations, he has provided insight and practical advice to estate planning professionals.
Chief Executive Officer and founder of Legacy & Succession, LLC, Chaney, ChFC, CLU, has received numerous industry awards and accolades in his more than 35-year career. He holds multiple industry designations, including Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), which he obtained in 1997.
Hast provides coaching and training in leadership, team building, and people skills and helps people in the workplace get along. He is the author of “Powerful Listening, Powerful Influence,” available on Amazon in paperback, e-book and audiobook.
Brown is the co-owner of Senior Benefits Consulting and has 24 years of experience with Medicare and employer benefits. She teaches educational events on how Medicare works and meets with groups and individuals to consult with them on their Medicare options.
The panelist will impart crucial steps to safeguard your retirement, investments, and assets while ensuring a secure future. This session will equip you with valuable insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape, from managing risks to maximizing growth potential.
Ball Morse Lowe, Attorneys and Counselors at Law, is this year’s presenting sponsor. It is also presented by “OKSenior Journal,” with “The Oklahoman” as the National Media Partner and Oklahoma’s News 4 as the media sponsor. Also a sponsor, “Senior News and Living” and “Oklahoma Nursing Times” will provide their publication at their booth all day.
Produced by Second Half Events, Inc., the expo is hosted by The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum at 1700 Northeast 63rd St. For more information visit https://secondhalfexpo.com/.

Story and photo by Bobby Anderson, RN, Staff Writer

Your skin is your largest organ and the only one you can actually see and feel.

So as you age you might want to pay a little more attention to skin changes to prevent something minor from becoming something major.
That’s what one of the leading dermatologists in Oklahoma City tells her patients.
Dr. Elise Brantley is a board-certified dermatologist who has been practicing for more than 10 years.
Her practice at Scissortail Dermatology focuses on protecting your skin year-round.
“I think it’s a good idea for people to be aware of what the signs and symptoms of skin cancer are,” Brantley said. “Just so they know whether or not they need to come in. Another thing is for people to be aware of potential risk factors they may not realize.”
Scissortail Dermatology has offices on both the north and south sides of the metro.
You can learn more at their booth at the upcoming Second Half Expo being held at The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, on Saturday, October 21 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The free event is the largest senior expo in Oklahoma and will feature 130 exhibits, lots of free giveaways as well as information on senior living, education, and retirement planning.
When it comes to people and their skin, oftentimes they’ll ignore the proverbial warning signs.
“Honestly, everyday especially in the younger population who work outside,” Brantley said. “A lot of people who spend or have spent a lot of time outside (are at risk).”
All those ball games, summers at the lake, and work outdoors will eventually catch up.
As you start to age accumulated exposure to the sun can begin to take its toll, resulting in blemishes and forms of skin cancer – some of which can be deadly if left untreated.
“Especially when they reach retirement age, that’s when the problem arises,” she said. “Before you get to cancer some people experience pre-cancers that are uncomfortable, tender, and make the skin rough. The skin surface is altered and a lot of our patients struggle with that.”
Brantley’s practice focus is the evaluation and treatment of growths of the skin with an emphasis on detecting and treating skin cancer.
She is a native Oklahoman from Broken Arrow.
After graduating high school from the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics she attended the University of Tulsa for undergraduate studies.
She received her medical degree from the University of Oklahoma and completed her residency training at the University of Cincinnati where she served as chief resident.
She has been serving the Oklahoma City metro area for more than 10 years.
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. However, when detected early, melanoma can be effectively treatment. You can look for signs of melanoma by following the ABCDE method
Asymmetry is where one half of the spot is unlike the other half.
The spot has an irregular or poorly defined border
* C stands for color. The spot has varying colors from one area to the next, such as shades of tan, brown, black, or areas of white, red, or even blue.
* D stands for diameter. Melanomas are usually greater than six mm, or about the six of a pencil eraser, but can be smaller.
* E stands for evolving where a spot looks different than the rest or changes in size, shape, or color.
Performing a skin self-exam means taking note of all the spots on your body, from moles to freckles to age spots. Skin cancer can develop anywhere on the skin and is one of the few cancers you can usually see on your body. Ask someone for help when checking your skin, especially in hard-to-see places like the scalp and back.
The annual cost of treating skin cancers in the U.S. is estimated at $8.1 billion: about $4.8 billion for nonmelanoma skin cancers and $3.3 billion for melanoma, according to the Foundation.
Thanks to increased education and screening by dermatologists like Brantley, the diagnosis and treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers in the U.S. increased by 77 percent between 1994 and 2014.
“It’s a great idea to come in for at least one assessment,” Brantley said. “Get an idea of what your risk factors are. You may not need to come in more than once a year. You may need to come in more often.”
For Brantley, an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.

For more information or to make an appointment visit https://scissortaildermatology.com/ or call (405) 562-6222.

Fortune® magazine has again named Legend Senior Living among the Top 25 Best Large Workplaces in Aging Services. The 2023 list has just been released, and this is the second time Legend has been included in Fortune’s Top 25 list of large workplaces. Legend is a Wichita, KS-based, privately owned senior living provider with over 50 residences in six states, including independent living, assisted living, personal care and memory care.
Fortune partners with Great Place to Work to determine the Best Workplaces in Aging Services. Surveys of more than 140,000 employees are analyzed from Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies in the aging services industry. Employees share confidential quantitative and qualitative feedback about their employer’s culture, rating it as a great employee experience in terms of “trust, respect, credibility, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.”
To be considered for the list, companies must be Great Place to Work-Certified™ and be in the aging services industry. Companies with 1,000 employees or more are considered for the large category.
“It’s especially humbling to be named to the top 25 Best Workplaces in the country because the ratings come from our employees and are completely confidential and objective,” said Matt Buchanan, President of Legend Senior Living. “We have the best-trained, most dedicated employees in senior living, and they know the culture better than anybody. A great workplace has a direct impact on delivering great service. It means we’re supporting an overall culture of independence, dignity and purpose.”
Legend residences are recognized as Great Places to Work®, have ranked among the Top 25 Best Senior Living communities in the country by Fortune magazine, and appear on U.S. News & World Report’s Best of Senior Living.
Wichita, Kansas-based Legend Senior Living® is a privately held senior housing and services company and one of the nation’s leading senior living providers. The company owns or operates over 50 senior living residences across six states – in Florida, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
To explore career options with Legend Senior Living CLICK HERE.
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LEGEND SENIOR LIVING OKLAHOMA RESIDENCES INCLUDE:
ACCLAIM LIVING – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
ARBOR HOUSE OF MIDWEST CITY – MIDWEST CITY, OK
ARBOR HOUSE OF MUSTANG – MUSTANG, OK
ARBOR HOUSE OF NORMAN – NORMAN, OK
ARBOR HOUSE REMINISCE – NORMAN, OK
GREEN TREE SAND – SPRINGS, OK
LEGEND AT COUNCIL ROAD – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
LEGEND AT JEFFERSON’S – GARDEN EDMOND, OK
LEGEND AT MINGO – ROAD TULSA, OK
LEGEND AT RIVENDELL – OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
LEGEND AT TULSA HILLS – TULSA, OK
PRAIRIE HOUSE BROKEN – ARROW, OK
RIVERMONT ASSISTED LIVING AND MEMORY CARE – NORMAN, OK
RIVERMONT INDEPENDENT LIVING – NORMAN, OK
THE STONEHAVEN – TULSA, OK