Serving from the Heart: Honoring Excellence at Resort Lifestyle Communities

Every year, Resort Lifestyle Communities honors excellence. Though we reward excellence every day, there’s one event that has proven particularly meaningful to the communities and team members who deliver elevated experiences: The Ron Herron Service from the Heart Award.

Ron Herron represented the best of us. A manager from 2003 to 2011, Ron passed away from cancer after years of exemplary service to the company and our residents. Even during his treatment, Ron continued to look for opportunities to serve residents in his community. Both he and his wife, Annette, epitomized the attitude and character we look for in every team member.

The Ron Herron Service from the Heart Award memorializes Ron’s enduring contributions to our company and our moral character. The spirit of the award lives on in Ron’s memory, and the recipients have provided truly outstanding service to residents throughout the year. To receive the award is the highest honor our company can bestow on team members.

All of them are equally deserving.

The winners of the 2025 Ron Herron Service from the Heart Award:

• Kiel Hovland, Maintenance, Sky Pointe

• James Payton, Sous-Chef, Daniel Pointe

• Erin Maten, Lifestyle Director, Willow Pines

• Deborah Babcock, Lifestyle Director, Pebble Springs

• Nadia Helland, AM Server, Huntley Springs

• Deborah Rice, AM Cook, Lakeline Oaks

Though the recipients have many different backgrounds and lines of work, they all share one thing in common: They keep our communities the best in the business. A Resort Lifestyle Community isn’t just a retirement community – it’s home. Thousands of residents across the country call an RLC community home, and we’re immensely proud of all the team members who work each day to ensure it’s the place they want to live.

We talk about serving from the heart, but what does that look like in practice?

Performing job duties quickly, professionally, and always well

• Friendly, positive demeanor and good work ethics
• Helpful and warm interactions with residents and other team members
• A spirit of service and humble dedication to each task, no matter how small

It can be hard to define an exact criterion for excellence, but we always know it when we see it. Kiel, James, Erin, Nadia, and Deborah displayed service excellence consistently and visibly. They truly live up to the meaning of serving from the heart.

Thank you to everyone who won, and a huge thank you to everyone nominated. Being considered for the award is a terrific achievement alone. And for everyone who continues to work hard every day and serve from the heart at an RLC community, just know your efforts are seen, you are appreciated, and we hope to see you win the award soon, too. When we all serve from the heart, we all win.