When Marketing Director Jamie Townsend took a job with Montereau, our first-class, locally owned retirement community in Tulsa was just an idea. She and three other employees began working out of a trailer while Montereau was in development.

“I’m a native Tulsan, and I wanted to work in an environment that did something for our city,” Jamie explained. Since college, she had been working with her brother’s advertising agency, and when the Warren Foundation invested the start-up capital to build a retirement community to serve Tulsa and the surrounding regions, Jamie leapt at the chance to spread her wings.

“We’re one of the few locally owned and operated senior living communities in the region, and that’s made a huge difference,” she said. “We make all our decisions right here at Montereau, which has allowed us to grow and stay connected to Tulsa. “I sometimes think of us as Tulsa’s friendliest neighborhood.”

This summer marks 18 years of operation for Montereau, and Jamie has enjoyed watching the community develop. “It’s hard to believe, but we’re getting into our second generation of residents. We have 14 residents now who had parents or another relative among our original residents. They saw first hand the value of support their family experienced, and now that they’ve joined us, it’s added to a true feeling of community.”

Community is a popular word in the senior living industry, but that intangible sense of connection and belonging is part of daily life at Montereau.

“It’s hard to explain to our future residents what it’s going to be like, but once they’re here the biggest comment is, ‘Why didn’t we do it sooner?’” Jamie said. “We’re like a small town within a bigger city, where you truly know your neighbors and have opportunities to join together on projects and attend events together.”

One of the most popular activities is the lost art of breaking bread. The world today has a fast-paced, always-on-the-go culture, so Montereau residents enjoy being able to sit down at one of our on campus dining options, enjoy leisurely meals and great conversations with neighbors who become friends.

“We have people from so many walks of life here—we have residents from 30 states outside Oklahoma and one foreign country—but that sense of community and shared interests are a common thread,” Jamie said.

As for Jamie, she and her colleagues feel privileged to work in such a friendly environment where they can make a difference for residents. “This feels like home,” she said. “Everyone is kind, philanthropic minded, and gracious. I’ve loved seeing our community grow.”