Meet Terry and Abraham Williams, they are the faces of Sedona Winds Independent Retirement Community!

Q: What inspired you to do what you do?
Terry: I am the Executive Director of Sedona Winds Independent Retirement Community. I started at the front desk and nine months later was promoted into the Executive Director position. I have a background in food and beverage for 30+ years and casino surveillance management. This is my dream of a job -I found my niche. I would come and volunteer for the Alzheimer’s walk, and I’d help them out Toys for Tots.

Abraham: I started after my graduation year in 1977. A friend of mine decided that we went to the Waterfront in Washington DC to get a summer job at Hogate’s restaurant. We washed dishes at $2.58 an hour. Two months into that summer job, the Executive Chef came over to me and said, ‘Abraham, I’m going to make a chef out of you.’ He started training me as a chef. The Executive Chef’s name was Julie Wright, and she was one of the best chefs in D.C. at the time. That’s where my culinary career began. In 1983, I decided to leave Washington DC and moved to California but moved back five years later to Washington D.C. and worked at the Holiday Inn Capitol.
Terry’s parents are in Arizona, so we decided to move to Arizona. That’s how we ended up in here.

Q: What’s the best part of your job?
Terry: I have five department heads, and I let them run their departments. Seeing them happy, seeing the residents smile at me is the best part of it. The residents are the reason why we’re there. They have so much to offer. I like to listen to their stories, see them smile and laugh.

Q: And how do you plan your meals there, Chef?
Abraham: I plan out four weeks in advance, and I write all the daily menus every day for those four weeks.

Q: What exactly does Sedona Winds offer?
A: Sedona Winds is an independent retirement community. We’ll help people maintain their independence as long as possible. We have certified caregivers. If somebody needs medication assistance, assistance with a shower, maybe they want to have their dog walked or have breakfast, we can do that. It includes everything but their rent, telephone and internet, and any food they have on their property. We have activities that are going on. We take them shopping, go on tours, and take them to doctor’s appointments.

Q: Is there anything I have left out, or you’d like somebody to know about Sedona Winds?
A: In my opinion, it is the best place in town to come and reside for your next chapter of life. There used to be people that would come in their seventies, and we have one lady who’s going to be 103. She is awesome.