We had the good fortune of connecting with Wayne Arrington and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Wayne, so before we jump into specifics about your story and work, let’s start higher level. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
To trust in God. I turn 65 years old this year and for 60 of those years I believed that it was all about me. If it was going to happen, I was the one that would make it happen. Don’t get me wrong, I always believed in God as a higher power that had created our world and universe, but I never thought of God as the reason I existed, and without His Will I would not be here. I have always believed that our lives are predestined, but never thought about God guiding us along the way. I looked at life as: we are born and then we are in control of our lives until that predetermined time comes and we die. If we have been good, we go to Heaven and if we have been bad, we go to Hell. So how have things worked out for me in the first 60 years? Well, from my perspective, I thought it’s been a good life. I was born in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1955. Grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, enjoying my friends playing baseball, football and basketball with neighborhood friends. I had a good childhood life, until January 21, 1968, I was 12 years old at the time. I was out in the front of my house shooting basketball and my dad was working on an old International Scout we used for hunting. As I was shooting hoops the ball got stuck on the roof of the house, so I went out back to grab a ladder so I could retrieve the ball. As I was standing on the roof, I saw my dad fall to the ground. I did not know what had happened, so I yelled out to him, “dad, dad are you ok”? He did not answer me, so I ran across the roof top, down the ladder into the house and yelled to my mom, “something is wrong with dad, he fell on the ground and is not answering me”. My dad had a heart attack that morning and died. Needless to say, this turned my whole world upside down, I loved my dad, he was always there for me and now he was gone. I felt all alone and hurt developed the attitude that it was all up to me now. My teenage years were tough on my mom, I rebelled against everything, school, mom, authority and then there was my stepfather. My stepfather was a good man, I just had a hard time accepting him into my life, we butted heads constantly.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
FirstLight Home Care is an industry leader for home care in The Woodlands, Northwest Houston, Cypress and Katy, providing companion and personal care for seniors and veterans, (We are Caregivers). We work hard to ensure we have the most skilled and trustworthy caregivers. When you choose FirstLight Home Care to be your home care agency, you have peace of mind knowing your family is in good hands. So, what sets us apart? Over the past 7 years we have built a strong compassionate team that have won several awards for outstanding customer service. We have grown from a small one room office in Tomball, serving a territory with about 275,000 people, to 3 offices serving 4 territories with over 1,300,000 people. When we started 7 years ago, we had 4 caregivers; one of them is still with us today, which is almost unheard of in this business. It’s because of our commitment in taking care of the of the people that take care of our clients that makes us successful. I have been very active in the community and believe in giving back to community, I’m the board for the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, on the board for TOMAGWA Health Care Ministries, member of Tomball Rotary Club and attend Grace Tomball Church. So, what am I most proud of? I’m most proud of our team members that come together every day, 24 hours a day to keep our seniors and veterans safe and independent.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So, Tomball is an amazing small town of 11,788 people in the Northwest suburbs of Houston. There are more than 10 festivals throughout the year to enjoy. The largest of them being the Tomball German Festival, celebrating the strong German Heritage that dates back to the mid-1800’s when they began arriving here from Germany. This festival is held in the spring and draws about 70,000 people over a 3-day period. One of the other big festivals is Tomball Night, that is sponsored by the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce, to support local businesses. In addition to festivals, Tomball has some amazing places to visit and eat. Don’t miss The Depot, Tomball’s historic 1907 Depot museum that contains train memorabilia, original art works, antiques, and two highly detailed model railroads. Saturday morning there is the Tomball Farmers Market, where you can pick up locally grown produce and sample a taste of some great food. Speaking of great food, some of my favorite restaurants are Pecos Grill for Fred’s Beef Tips, The Original Rib Tickler for Barbeque, Mel’s Country Café for a good Home Cooked Meal, Goodson’s Café for their Chicken Fried Steak and the Tailgate Grill for Fried Shrimp and Catfish. One of the other great things about Tomball with its small-town country feel is the fact that we are part of the Houston Metro Area, with more attractions than you can imagine: The Houston Zoo-a 55-acre park with over 6,000 animals, Space Center Houston, Houston Live Stock and Rodeo-the largest indoor livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world, Houston Museum District, the Theater District, Kemah Boardwalk- 60 acre amusement park built on the shores of Galveston Bay and lets not forget the Astros, Texans, Rockets and the Dynamo’s!
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Things really started changing in my life when I found Jesus Christ about 4 years ago. We had just purchased a house in Tomball, TX where I had opened my business FirstLight Home Care 3 years earlier. I was very active in the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tomball Rotary club. At one of the chamber events, I was approached by Judy Deyo, Executive Director for TOMAGWA (Tomball, Magnolia and Waller) Health Ministries and she asked me if I would consider becoming a board member for TOMAGWA, she said “I think you have a kind heart”. Well I was a little set back by that, because I was not a very good Christian at that point. I could not even remember the last time I had been to church. A couple of days later I met one of our new neighbors, Rick Bice, and I had noticed that over the past few weeks there were a lot of cars at his house on a Monday night. So, I asked him, “what’s with all of the cars at your house on a Monday night. Do you have a poker game going on over there”? Rick said no, it is a bible study group, would you like to join us? Again, I was a little set back, not being a really good Christian. So, that night I tell my wife Debbie, what had happened and I said to her I think God is trying to tell me something. She said I think so, you might ought to listen to what he is saying. So, that night my life changed forever, I did end up joining the board at TOMAGWA Health Ministries, joined Rick’s bible study group, started attending Grace Tomball Church, have been baptized and saved by Jesus Christ. Since that time, my life has gotten a whole lot better. I feel like my marriage is stronger, I am more forgiving, more generous and my business has improved. I attribute this all to 3 things; 1) God lead me to Tomball, TX, what an amazing little, God loving town on the outskirts of Houston, Gods Country; 2) Judy Deyo, for introducing me to Jesus Christ; and 3) My friend Rick Bice, for confirming I needed to listen to what God was trying to tell me.
Website: TheWoodlands.FirstlightHomeCare.com, NWHouston.FirstLightHomeCare.com, Katy.FirstLightHomeCare.com
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