05/07/2026
The Road Band of Tuscan Lakes
By FACETS Director James Colquitt
There are moments during our biggest events at Grand Living at Tuscan Lakes where I stop for just a second and look around the room.
Maybe it’s during Armchair Travel when residents are laughing over themed cocktails while Fred is telling stories about some faraway destination like he’s been there his whole life. Maybe it’s during a packed Social Hour while Lindsey is still adjusting centerpieces five minutes before guests walk in. Maybe it’s during a major holiday event where Stacey is quietly scanning the room like air traffic control while Bri is carrying decorations in one hand and helping a resident with the other. Maybe it’s during one of Quin’s Luminations programs where she’s somehow balancing structure, patience, energy, and compassion all at once.
And every now and then I think to myself:
“This feels less like an activities department and more like a grizzled road band.”
A weird comparison? Maybe.
But honestly, it’s the best one I can think of.
Because that’s what this life feels like sometimes.
You rehearse. You plan. You argue over details. You haul equipment. You improvise when things go wrong. You perform your hearts out for ninety minutes or two hours. Then when everybody else goes home smiling, you tear everything down as quickly as possible because there’s another show tomorrow.
Another gig.
Another crowd.
Another opportunity to make people feel something.
And I could not ask for a better band to be on the road with.
If you’ve attended one of our major FACETS events over the last year, chances are you’ve seen Fred Boyles in action.
Fred has become an integral part of what makes our department successful.
Fred possesses something you cannot really teach. Charm. Timing. Presence. He knows how to bring people together and make them feel welcome. Some people can host an event. Fred can command a room without ever making it feel forced.
That’s rare.
He is the perfect tour guide for our Armchair Travel adventures across the globe. Whether we are exploring Australia, Cuba, Italy, or somewhere else entirely, Fred has a knack for making residents feel like they are part of the experience instead of simply watching it.
But honestly, the thing that makes Fred invaluable is not one giant talent.
It’s the little things.
The extra detail.
The extra joke.
The extra touch.
The willingness to go one step beyond what most departments would do.
Those “First Class Happiness” tweaks are what separate good events from memorable ones, and Fred understands that instinctively.
I often view Fred as my right hand because I know that when things get chaotic, complicated, or unpredictable, he is capable of doing what needs to be done. He is seasoned. He is honed in his craft. And truthfully, I have no doubt he could run his own activities department successfully.
But while he is still part of our little road band here at Tuscan Lakes, we are going to appreciate every ounce of talent he brings to the stage.
Because at the end of the day, all of it points toward the same goal:
Our residents.
Every band needs somebody holding the rhythm together.
For us, that person is Stacey.
Stacey has been at Tuscan Lakes longer than any member of our FACETS team, and there is something incredibly comforting about her consistency.
She is steady.
Reliable.
Dependable.
And in this business, those qualities are priceless.
Stacey possesses an undying desire to make our residents happy. She goes above and beyond constantly to ensure they are cared for, comfortable, and safe. During our biggest events, while everybody else is focused on the obvious things happening in front of them, Stacey is usually noticing the things nobody else catches.
A resident who may need assistance.
A potential issue before it becomes a problem.
A detail that needs attention.
She is hyper aware during hectic situations, and that awareness is invaluable because it allows us to solve problems early instead of scrambling later.
But what I love most about Stacey is simpler than any of that.
She is the same person every single day.
You never have to wonder which version of Stacey is showing up to work.
She is steady.
She is kind.
She is genuine.
And if our FACETS team really is a band, Stacey would absolutely be our bassist. That steady thump underneath the music that quietly holds the whole thing together.
You may not always notice it immediately.
But you would absolutely notice if it disappeared.
Quin is one of the youngest members of our team, but she walks into one of the most demanding environments in senior living every single day.
Luminations is not predictable.
No two days are alike.
No script survives contact with reality for very long.
And somehow Quin walks into that environment with confidence and purpose every single day.
If you watch her with residents, one thing becomes immediately obvious:
She does not shrink away from difficult moments.
She meets residents exactly where they are in that moment.
That matters deeply.
Quin invests herself fully into “her people,” and there is a sincerity to the way she approaches Luminations that residents can feel immediately. She brings structure and stability into an environment that often requires enormous patience and emotional adaptability.
Not everybody is built for that work.
The truth is, many people are not.
But Quin embraces it with an energy and vigor that is genuinely humbling at times.
Of course, she still has things to learn. We all do.
But the thing Quin possesses that many people never develop is belief in herself. She walks with confidence and passion, and when those two things combine with experience, special things tend to happen.
I genuinely believe Quin is going to do amazing things in her career.
And honestly, it is a privilege for me to play even a small role in a story that I know is only getting started.
Then there’s Bri.
Bri is artistic, cheerful, and always eager to jump in wherever she is needed.
Sure, she helps transport residents safely to their destinations. But the real value Bri brings is the way she invests in people. She listens. She notices things. She helps without being asked.
Sometimes that means carrying an extra heavy bag.
Sometimes it means lending an ear.
Sometimes it just means making somebody feel seen that day.
Those little moments matter more than people realize.
Bri also brings her artistic talents into the department through her popular pour painting classes, where residents get the opportunity to create something colorful, expressive, and uniquely theirs.
And then there are her shopping trips.
Now officially, Bri helps residents find cool vintage stores, hidden gems, and unique treasures around town.
Unofficially, I’m fairly certain this is also just an elaborate excuse for Bri herself to find cute vintage stuff.
We’re onto you, Bri.
But honestly, that excitement is part of what makes her fun to be around. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and our residents feed off of it constantly.
Every band also needs somebody who can somehow play five instruments at once while saying something sarcastic under their breath.
That would be Lindsey.
Lindsey is our jack of all trades.
She teaches one of our most popular weekly craft programs, where residents create handmade cards for every imaginable occasion. And somehow she manages to make it approachable and fun even for residents who claim they are “not crafty.”
Then there are the decorations.
If you attend one of our larger events and notice beautiful centerpieces, themed decorations, or small details tying the room together, there’s a very good chance Lindsey had a hand in it.
Actually, there’s almost a one hundred percent chance.
What I appreciate most about Lindsey is that she never pretends to be anything other than herself. She is quirky. Sarcastic. Funny. Entirely unique.
And our residents absolutely adore her for it.
Watching the relationships she has built with residents is genuinely fun because there is an authenticity there that cannot be manufactured.
People know when somebody is real.
Lindsey is very real.
And then there’s me.
The guy somehow attempting to direct all this beautiful chaos.
I’ve always viewed myself as the frontman of this strange little road band. My job is not to stand above the team. My job is to connect the FACETS team with our residents and make sure every experience we create actually means something to the people attending it.
That’s the goal.
Whether it’s a massive themed production in the Forum Theater or a small conversation in the hallway, I genuinely love curating experiences for our residents.
A lot of people ask our FACETS team what the “secret sauce” is behind why many of our events are so successful.
So today, I’m finally giving away the secret.
Here it is.
The secret sauce is relationships.
That’s it.
We develop sincere relationships with our residents, and then we allow those relationships to guide our hands when we build our calendar and experiences.
At Grand Living, Principle One states:
“I build meaningful relationships by personalizing my service while anticipating and fulfilling each resident’s wishes and needs.”
For our FACETS team, the key word there has always been meaningful.
Not surface level.
Not transactional.
Meaningful.
That philosophy shapes everything we do.
The funny thing about this job is that there are not many opportunities to sit still and celebrate victories.
There’s always another event.
Another calendar.
Another setup.
Another teardown.
Another rehearsal.
Another crowd waiting for the curtain to rise.
That’s why this moment felt important to me.
Because behind every successful event at Tuscan Lakes is a team of people hauling decorations, moving tables, solving problems, improvising solutions, making residents laugh, staying late, showing up early, and giving pieces of themselves every single day.
We really are like a road band sometimes.
We rehearse and rehearse.
We set the stage.
We pour our hearts into the performance for an hour and a half.
Then we pack everything up as quickly as possible and head toward the next gig.
And honestly?
We are incredibly lucky to get to do it.
I would write more.
But we’ve got another show to get ready for.
