Former Avonlea director back to lead, refresh Tupelo assisted living facility
Dec. 9—TUPELO — Ken Long is sitting in his old office in the same building with the same furniture and the same walls he remembers from 24 years ago.
But all that is changing.
Long is an owner of Agape Senior Living, which last month purchased Avonlea Assisted Living for an undisclosed sum. Now renamed The Manor on Lawndale, the facility is back under local ownership and management after having changed hands several times over the years.
"For me, it's come full circle," he said. "Our kids grew up in this building; they had two rules — stay in the building and stay out of the kitchen. My daughter was born in 2000 at the Women's Hospital, and the first place she came to was the front door of this building. My kids are laughing about us being back."
Long is spearheading efforts to renovate the facility and to bring it back to the level of service and care for which it was known when he helped open it.
"In 1999, I was brought on to be the director of Avonlea," said Long, who at the time was in the financial services industry. "They asked me to do some research on what it would take to do it. I ran around looking at facilities, and what I found out was that the people who ran these came from all different backgrounds."
Describing himself as "young and dumb" and with three kids at home, Long said he accepted an offer to make a major career change after 15 years in financial services.
He thought it would be a short stint, but a quarter-century later, he hasn't left the assisted living business.
"For 25 years, I've either owned them, worked with people to make them better, relief-managed or gone in and turned them around," he said. "Now, I own six."
Avonlea was originally built by Danny Barrows, Mitch Colburn and Jud Vance, who offered Long an opportunity to become part of the ownership group in 2000. The group sold it in 2007, but Long stayed on for another year before going off on his own to do some freelance work.
Then in 2012, he, Larry Todd and Gene McDade formed Agape Senior Living. The company now owns six facilities, including The Manor on Lawndale.
Agape got its start with the purchase of Countrywood Manor Assisted Living in Mantachie, followed by Oak Tree Manor in Amory, both in 2012. Church Street Manor Assisted Living in Ecru followed in 2013, Creekside Manor (formerly Dogwood Plantation) Assisted Living in Saltillo in 2016 and Christopher Manor in 2019.
For Long, having The Manor on Lawndale under the Agape umbrella and under his purview is important. He had been looking for the opportunity for nearly 10 years to purchase the facility after seeing multiple out-of-state companies buy and manage it. It was his baby, after all, and he'd heard more than once that the place wasn't like it used to be. He wanted to change that.
"When I left (in 2008), there were 72 residents, and now there's under 40," he said. "So, we have plenty of opportunities. And we're in the middle of remodeling — not a total remodel, but a refresh. What I intend to do here is what we had here in the early 2000s, which was have the premiere facility in this area."
Long acknowledged that's a tall order given some of the facilities in the area.
"I know there's Landmark, which is based on the modern-build look, and I'm not going to be able to compete with them on looks," he said. "But we will compete with them on service. We're going to have the best staff and best systems in place with the 25 years of experience that I've gotten."
As far as Long can tell, The Manor on Lawndale hasn't been refurbished or remodeled since it first opened. It's the same office furniture in the offices, the same dining room tables and chairs, the same flooring and carpet from his time here previously.
"The good thing is, the carpet is still good; we put in a good quality carpet," he said. "It doesn't look new, but it doesn't look worn."
Among the changes Long's making, besides the carpet, is replacing the wood floors with more durable vinyl flooring and repainting the wall. The lobby area is currently being remodeled, and later, walls will be removed for a major renovation.
All the rooms have kitchenettes, but The Manor at Lawndale also serves three meals a day in the dining room. The menu is being reworked, and the old kitchen manager that Long had when he last ran the facility has returned.
A variety of activities are available, and outside visits for the residents will return once the vans are safety checked.
As for the renovations, they will take months for everything to come together.
"We're not changing a lot, but we are refreshing," Long said. "The design has been very good and functional. We don't have issues with that, but it's just some parts of the building haven't had anything done since the time I left. It's time."
The Manor on Lawndale is licensed for 72 people, but could be licensed for double that number if needed. But Long doesn't expect that to happen.
"We can double up the rooms, and most of the time that's a husband-wife," he said. "I've had sisters live together, a mother-son, a father-daughter. I've had as old as 111 and as young as early 30s. It's assisted living. We're here for when staying home isn't safe. Or if they're not comfortable staying at home by themselves."
Long said his goal is simple: It's taking care of the residents.
"I tell everybody here on my staff that I don't pay their paycheck; these residents every month pay us not because they have to, but because we've done a good job," he said. "That has always been important to me. We are here for the residents."
