Bill and Bob Thomas
SENIOR STAR
1516 South Boston Avenue Tulsa, OK 74119 (918) 592-4400 seniorstar.com
40 years ago, on August 31, 1976, Bob and Bill Thomas had recently graduated from the University of Tulsa when they partnered to found Gemini Properties — today, Senior Star. Identical twins, the brothers chuckle to share that they’ve really been business partners since the founding of a neighborhood lawn care business at the age of 12. “We are a people-first business, all these years later,” says Bob. He notes that this philosophy is expertly driven home through the company’s Chief of Operations, Anja Rogers, tenured since 1983. Tulsa communities — Burgundy Place (East 89th Street and South Lewis Avenue), Woodland Terrace (East 71st Street and South Mingo Road), and The Arbors (East 102nd Street and South Yale Avenue) — are among the hosts of the 2,200 Senior Star residence apartments in six states, where services are offered in independent living, assisted living, memory support and home healthcare.
“At Senior Star, we have an established set of values and goals that are at the very core of everything we do,” says Bill. “We call it the ‘Senior Star Difference.’” This difference recognizes that discovering a senior living community to call home is not only about finding a new place to live — it is about finding a new and exciting place in life. This “difference” also insists that connection to community be front and center. In stride, the company fosters a strong philanthropic culture, where associates champion several causes. Chief among these is the Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, a program focused on large-scale fundraising for the cause. Of 54,000 Walk teams last year, Senior Star associates raised $570,000, making them 2015’s second highest Walk performer. They’re on course to reach the same goal this year.