CHOOSING THE BLUE SKIES FAMILY
SENIOR LIVING IN THE TRADITION OF AIR FORCE VILLAGE
Executive REPORT
Darrell D. Jones Lieutenant General, USAF (Ret) President & CEO
The word “family” comes up a lot around here! Sociologists tell us there are many different types of families. Some researchers identify four types while others say there are ten or eleven different family structures. It’s a lot simpler in senior living where there are two types – the family you’re born into and the family you choose to be part of. This edition of the Courier is about the families who have chosen to be part of Blue Skies.
Talk to current members of the Blue Skies family and you’ll hear a diversity of interesting stories. Some folks had a long-term plan to live at Blue Skies because their parents or maybe another sibling lived here. That’s certainly the case for Jana Swigart-Smith whom you’ll meet in this edition of the Courier. Her parents lived here, and she visited them frequently. Jana’s story is not unique. Tom & Karen Keck, Glenda McCormack, Roger & Carol Hansen and Pat Perry are just of few of our current members who had a family connection at Blue Skies before they moved in. Some members of our community still have parents here. That’s a special gift.
The Gentrys – Desiree and Jack – came to Blue Skies because they did their research, and they knew a great opportunity. They began looking while they were still young and knew for years they would land here. They are not alone. Many retirees have committed and made a deposit with Blue Skies because we’re one of the best values in senior living. That’s why Holly and I are moving here along with many of our friends. We’re planning a big reunion.
In this edition of the Courier, you’ll also learn about our active governance structure at Blue Skies and how the Resident Council helps advise management. Residents are even part of the corporate governance with four residents on the Board of Directors. You’ll understand how our Resident Council chairs represent the community and play a critical role in the life of our campuses. They ensure we stay focused on those who live here.
Finally, this Courier shares one story of heartwarming generosity. Generosity is a common theme at Blue Skies. You’ll see how employees and residents team up to bring joy to children at Christmas. The core value of serving others runs deep in the fabric of this community for those who live and work at Blue Skies. Helping others, like serving others, is contagious.
If it has been a while since you visited Blue Skies or if you’ve yet to make your first visit, stop by and visit our family. See what makes us special!
RESIDENT COUNCIL Where Your Voice Is Heard
Being empowered with a voice and a vote is fundamental to American culture, and these privileges are among the many in this community that Blue Skies residents value highly. Numerous channels of open communication, along with standing and ad hoc committees, assure residents legitimate input in matters important to them.
The Blue Skies Resident Council (RC) is among the most influential avenues for being heard. The RC is comprised of residents who are elected by their neighbors to serve as officially sanctioned liaisons between residents and management. RCs meet formally and informally with their constituents and advocate for their interests and concerns in areas that include health, well-being, lifestyle and other consequential issues.
RC members represent their neighborhoods, and each campus elects an RC chair who attends quarterly Blue Skies Board meetings as an ex officio member. They are invited to make presentations on behalf of their fellow residents for the board’s thoughtful consideration.
Bruce Wilcox, RC Chair on the East campus, says, “Residents are invested in this community and need to know their voices are heard. The RC was established to give us oversight authority to elevate our concerns and observations to the appropriate level of BST management.”
Jack Church, RC Chair on the West campus, notes, “Residents appreciate that they have a voice, and I want to be their voice and let them know they are heard. RC members are volunteers, and we all have a stake in our community’s life and future.” He adds, “Now that the pandemic is hopefully behind us, we’re all anxious to get back to our pre-COVID paradise. When we say to Blue Skies visitors and residents, ‘Welcome to Paradise,’ we mean it. We’re here to have fun and enjoy life and they take very good care of us.”
Bruce Wilcox adds, “We all value the best of Blue Skies –the mission, the long-term commitment to excellence, and the hard work of management and the employees.” He
says that giving a voice to residents helps to build upon these positive attributes.
RC members are charged with making themselves known to the residents they represent and keeping well informed in the areas of management, finance, marketing, maintenance, construction, dining services and other areas of interest to members of the community. Residents are encouraged to follow appropriate chains of command to resolve issues before contacting their RC to ensure that all matters are resolved in the most effective manner. Blue Skies staff work diligently to keep the ship sailing smoothly, and to consistently provide quality, courteous services.
Bruce Wilcox, left, and Jack Church meet with the Blue Skies Board, acting in their capacity as advocates for the residents who elected them to serve.
We introduce you on the next three pages to two couples who’ve chosen the Blue Skies family to be their family. Jana and Rick are transitioning toward Blue Skies – a move they’ve long awaited and expect to finalize in 2024. Desiree and Jack recently moved into their 12th floor apartment and are fully engaged in the community – making friends, having fun and grateful to be here. We invite you to read their happy stories.
Second Generation Resident To Return To Her “Hometown”
Janice Swigart-Smith grew up without a hometown. She was an “Air Force Brat,” a respectable epithet that means you’ve traveled widely, learned to adapt, and gained invaluable life experiences … but likely never stayed anywhere long enough to say, “That’s my hometown.”
Janice, who renamed herself “Jana” during a semi-rebellious phase in her adolescence, was not too adversely affected by the lack of a hometown. Like her father, she chose the Air Force life, and enjoyed a 25-year career of her own, retiring from Randolph Air Force Base as a Colonel.
Following In Her Parents’ Steps
It wasn’t until her parents, Lt Col William J. and Jo Swigart, retired at Air Force Village (now Blue Skies of Texas) in 1987, that she found her long elusive hometown. “I was stationed at McGuire AFB when my parents moved to Air Force Village, and I was able to visit them before I was PCS’d (permanent change of station) to Comiso Air Station, Sicily. Over the years of visiting, I saw how comfortable and happy they were and their Village became my Village. It became my hometown.”
Continuing her lifelong passion for horses, Jana volunteers at the Saddle Light Center for Therapeutic Horsemanship.
She made many friends during her frequent visits, and in 1998, her mother gave her a cherished gift – the down payment on an application for residency at Air Force Village. “My husband Rick and I always knew we would move here, and initially planned to arrive in 2016. We’re only eight years late. Our arrival date is now 2024, and we can’t wait!”
Jana’s familiarity with Blue Skies goes beyond the many years of visiting her parents and friends. She served on a planning committee that explored the development of luxurious single-family homes and condominiums in the community. It was a gratifying mission that has resulted in neighborhoods of modern, spacious, beautiful residences on both Blue Skies campuses.
Rick Smith served in the Army for two years and then became an Air Force spouse, cheerfully traveling with Jana to places foreign and stateside. “He was the stay-athome parent who raised our daughter,” she says. A professional silversmith, Rick was able to take his work with him, although finding the materials and guilds he needed was often a challenge. Rick also is retired now and along with Jana, he knows that the friendly, secure lifestyle at Blue Skies includes a continuum of care options should the need arise for them down the road. Jana’s mom was a Freedom House resident at the end of her life, where specially-trained healthcare professionals and nationally-renowned research scientists address memory care issues, and Jana marveled at the loving care she was given there.
Jana is eager to dive into the active lifestyle that matches her own. A longtime horsewoman, she volunteers at the Saddle Light Center for Therapeutic Horsemanship, a place dear to her heart.
The Freedom Of Blue Skies
She is grateful for “the freedom of being in the Blue Skies community.” Jana and Rick currently live in Schertz, TX, and enjoy going downtown to take advantage of the fine dining, plays and concerts. “Not only do they promote those activities at Blue Skies … they provide transportation!” She also likes “the idea of the different neighborhoods where people get out and walk and exercise. The gym, pool and clubs all sound wonderful,”
she says. Being able to take their cats along for the adventure is a huge plus.
They’re planning to move to the Oaks on the West Campus, a neighborhood with plentiful trees and hospitable people. And they can leave home maintenance woes behind. The cottage is smaller than their present home, so she is in the throes of downsizing. Once ensconced, she’ll hit the ground running. A master gardener, she hopes to ply her green thumb at a new plot with other gardening enthusiasts and begin growing produce to eat and to share – it’s the Blue Skies way.
And she’ll feel right at home in her hometown, where she already has friends who are eager to see her return, bringing her energy, wisdom and positivity with her. Rick and the cats are ready to return home, too.
“Our World, Our Home, Our Friends!”
Each time they drive through the entrance gates to their new home at Blue Skies East, Desiree and Jack Gentry feel the joy: “We are happy and thrilled to be here. This is our world, our home, and these are our friends,” they say.
Enthusiastic and well-traveled, these young retirees, born in the 1950s, are eager to savor this new chapter. “We have been investigating Blue Skies for 20 years,” Desiree says. “Even before we were old enough to retire, we knew this sounded like a good deal. Everything is
Jana and Rick captured in a sweet moment. “We were a bit younger then,” she laughs.
here – security, a support system, healthcare, all that is needed for aging in place. And as we’ve gotten older and Jack has had some medical issues, it has become even more attractive.”
She’s U.S. Navy Retired
Desiree retired from a 20-year Navy career as a Commander, and Jack spent a few years in the Navy Reserves. In Desiree’s career, she worked in anti-submarine warfare, intelligence, computer technology and finance. After leaving the Navy, she worked for the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service and, an aficionado of all things botanical, she served as a volunteer in the White House flower shop. (How many of us can say that?)
Jack took his career on the road as a dutiful Navy spouse. An educator – from public schools to universities – he was able to adapt to new locales and, he says, “I got to be a stayat-home parent, tending to our son while Desiree worked in the daytime … and after she came home, I taught in the evenings.”
Desiree expresses gratitude for the food options that include two restaurant venues on each campus, saying, “I’m tired of cooking,” which compels Jack to quip, “I insulted her cooking early on and she never cooked again. She didn’t complain when I cooked for 30 or 40 years.” She interrupts playfully,
“That’s a bunch of bunk.” Then she concedes, “Yes. He is the cook in the family.” Their affable banter stems from 46 years of happy marriage.
Just weeks into adapting to their new retirement home, they’ve already enjoyed dinners and parties and forged new friendships. Desiree is a master gardener whose lush landscape at her former home in San Antonio attracted much admiration from passersby. She looks forward to expanding her knowledge of plants and to growing vegetables in a plot at the community garden.
She also describes herself as a “wannabe writer.” Her next project honors a promise she gave to her friend, the late Vice Admiral Samuel Gravely, Jr., the first African American admiral in U.S. Navy history. “He asked me to write about him, and I have all the notes, resources and firsthand references to get started,” she says. “Now I just have to do it.” Jack, who taught composition and rhetoric at the college and university level, has his red pen at the ready, prepared to assist. We can’t wait to read the story!
Grateful For The Security
Jack especially appreciates the sense of security they have found at Blue Skies. In their former neighborhood, he says, “I slept with one eye and one ear open. Here, I sleep well and enjoy peace of mind knowing that we’re surrounded by physical security and that someone is downstairs monitoring 24/7.”
They enjoy the expansive vista from their 12th story apartment where they can relax on two cozy patios and savor the good life, Texas style. A native Texan, Jack has happily responded to the gravitational pull to land in the Lone Star State. “I am such a Texan that when we fly, I can tell when I’m in Texas air space. It’s instinctive. And it’s good to be home.”
Now that they’re home, they’re thinking about hitting the road again. Avid RVers, they’ll be storing their “monster” RV at Blue Skies West and planning their next adventure. “We’ve traversed most of the east coast from Maine to Florida, and across the southeast,” Desiree says. Now they can explore the vastness of the southwest and western U.S., and travel with a sense of peace, knowing their home is securely awaiting their return.
Desiree and Jack relax in their lovely 12th story apartment.
(Continued from previous page)
Vanessa DeHoyos, left, and Kathie Estrada of Human Resources survey the massive outpouring of gifts for employees’ children. Vanessa organized the event and said, “Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and lending a helping hand to families was a blessing and a great opportunity to learn.”
other employees are invited to select a name and play the role of Santa, bringing festively-wrapped toys and goodies to brighten a child’s holiday.
In 2022, inflation bumped up the number of requests to a record 85 children from 41 families. With inflation impacting givers as well as recipients, some of our generous residents stepped up to fill in the gap, along with friends from Vanguard Resources, our plant operations
and maintenance management contractor. Especially heartwarming were the employees who provided gifts after having been recipients of “Adopt-a-Child” in the past. Every child’s wish was granted and they could feel the love.
Pure joy, generosity and kindness make this a tradition that is as dear to those who give as it is to those who receive. It’s another way the Blue Skies family shows its big old Texas heart and lives out the Air Force adage: Taking Care of Our Own.
OUR VISION
We will set the standard of excellence in senior lifecare through our relentless pursuit of innovation, service, and compassionate care.
OUR MISSION
We will improve lives by providing exceptional retirement living and continuing care with an emphasis on individual quality of life and dignity.
Blue Skies of Texas is an exceptional retirement community with an extraordinary charitable mission –reaching out to the widowed spouses of retired Air Force officers who would like to live in this safe community and may need some financial assistance to do so. Our mission comforts those in need and gives purpose to our community that transcends the ordinary.
If you know of an eligible widow of a retired Air Force officer who might qualify, please call (210) 568-5029 or (210) 568-3282. All assistance is strictly confidential.
