Karen Hughes, Ridgeland High School principal, addresses the crowd. She is joined on the stage by Greg Vital, Morning Pointe co-founder and president. The project is under construction near Ridgeland High School.
Community leaders and investors break ground for the project.
Community leaders and investors break ground for the project.
Karen Hughes, Ridgeland High School principal, addresses the crowd. She is joined on the stage by Greg Vital, Morning Pointe co-founder and president. The project is under construction near Ridgeland High School.
Ridgeland High School JROTC took part in the event.
On Tuesday, Oct. 18, community leaders and leaders from Morning Pointe Senior Living broke ground for an assisted living and memory care campus on Happy Valley Road in Rossville, set to open in fall 2023.
After a welcome from Franklin Farrow, Morning Pointe Senior Living co-founder and CEO, the Ridgeland High School choir sang “Homeward Bound,” followed by an invocation from Steve Wells, pastor at Mission Glen Baptist Church. Ridgeland High School’s JROTC led out in a flag ceremony and pledge of allegiance.
Greg Vital, Morning Pointe president and co-founder, gave an overview of the Morning Pointe at Happy Valley project and spoke about the rich history of the Happy Valley Farms property, which is well-known in the area as the site of first an award-winning Jersey cattle and dairy farm and later a world-class American Saddlebred horse-breeding facility. The Morning Pointe campus is planned in the southeast portion of the property across from the Happy Valley Legacy Barn.
“It’s a special day for Morning Pointe, and it’s also a special day for Walker County,” said Vital. “We needed to be here in North Georgia, and this is the place. This was a special place for a lot of individuals.”
Other speakers included Shannon Whitfield, Walker County Commission chair; Rossville Mayor Teddy Harris; and Jennifer Martin, president of the Walker County Chamber of Commerce. They shared about the need for housing in the area with the population growth and the local interest in the developing campus.
Dan Phillips, development director for the North Georgia area for the Alzheimer’s Association, shared his thoughts as well.
“To be able to have a facility right here to be able to take care of people with Alzheimer’s is exciting,” he said. “It’s personal to me as well — my grandmother passed away of Alzheimer’s, and it was so hard to see what my mom went through. And now my mom was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”
Karen Hughes, Ridgeland High School principal, joined the lineup of speakers enthusiastic for the new senior living site.
“Happy Valley Farms is a very special place to me and my family,” said Hughes. “I am so excited for the opportunity to share a partnership with Morning Pointe.”
After a video presentation about what Morning Pointe Senior Living campuses offer to their communities, the Ridgeland High School Choir performed “Unwritten.”
Leaders and investors then made the first symbolic digs into the site.
The ceremony also included special music by 2004 thumb-style guitar champion Wesley Crider and breakfast hors d’oeuvres from Farm to Fork.
“Rossville is coming back, and we are excited to be part of that,” said Vital. “We are going to continue to be a great place to live, work and retire.”
“Once we get the property finished, we will be open 24/7, and it will be home for 82 residents,” said Farrow.
In the greater Chattanooga area, Morning Pointe operates assisted living and memory care communities in Chattanooga, Collegedale, Ooltewah, Hixson and Athens.
Founded in 1996, Morning Pointe Senior Living operates 37 assisted living, personal care and Alzheimer’s memory care communities in five southeastern states. Throughout 2022, Morning Pointe is celebrating its silver anniversary.
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