Tom Herron: Everything Old is New Again

Tell me about your life and what brought you to the Grand Strand.
I was born in Ohio but spent most of my childhood in the DC area. I worked for a trade association outside of Washington, but quickly shifted my focus to marketing and advertising. In 1979 my father and I formed our firm, Herron and Associates, and following his retirement in 1984, I expanded the company and renamed it The Marcom Group – we were really the first “hi-tech” ad agency around, utilizing computers and “floppy disks” to write and design everything. Marcom continued until 1993 when I began to experience advertising agency burn-out (which I now refer to as Mad Men Syndrome).

That same year, I partnered with legendary Gary Player to develop a new, up-scale approach to the golf travel business. I moved to the beach with my wife, Jaci, to set up shop. To this day, I still do quite a bit of advertising, marketing, and public relations work. After 40 years, I have pretty much thrown in the towel on political consulting. Instead, with my love of this country, I launched a nonprofit organization called Up with America!

How did you get involved with Covenant Towers?
In 2012 I received a phone call from Covenant Towers because they felt they needed new marketing. Once I learned of their unique property, I began telling everyone about the place. It’s the only not-for-profit, independent senior living place on the Grand Strand where everyone owns a piece of the rock. I would say if you’re 55 or older, “on a dollar for dollar basis, you can’t beat it!”

Not long after Jaci passed, I decided to move to Covenant Towers. So, at the ripe old age of 67, I abandoned yard-work for a life of leisure – and have been busier than ever! It’s tough for an old golfer like me to look out our windows and see the beautiful fairways of Pine Lakes Country Club. Since my health was strong and I didn’t need any sort of “assisted living,” I elected to become an active part of this community… offering a safe and comfortable place to enjoy my life. I was elected to serve on the Board of Directors here in the fall of 2017. I served as Vice President from 2018-2019 and am currently serving as President.

What about this work makes you feel grateful?
I genuinely enjoy the work and collaborating with the other residents here. My fellow board members all have different but exceptional backgrounds. All playing a role in deciding what’s best for our residents and this property and making huge contributions to what we do. It’s humbling to be a part of the culture change we have launched here, actively embracing the variety of backgrounds and talents from the individuals who live here.

I also want to applaud our almost 200 residents for their cooperation and understanding as we began handling the Corona Virus pandemic. We quickly, but carefully shut Covenant Towers down in mid-March. I do not doubt that it’s a combination of luck and foresight, but to date, we have had no residents test positive! Since the holidays, in general, are a big deal here and typically revolve around our delicious food, we’re hoping to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving dinner… even if it requires 2 or 3 seatings.

How do y’all develop community within Covenant Towers?
We encourage our residents to engage with each other. When you think of senior living, you think of shuffleboard, but to be honest, few ever use our existing shuffleboard because we have so many other activities to offer, both on and off-campus. It’s true the pandemic has put the squeeze on some of our activities, but not all. We moved some of our activities outside and we have also continued to have our music and arts events. We still offer 5 or 6 church services a week – some in our glorious garden, which the residents plant and care for themselves. About 18 months ago, I started “Music Mondays” which often attracts 25-35 residents or more. Using YouTube and a blue-tooth speaker, I act as the DJ and ask the audience to shout out their favorite tunes!

From the entertaining times we have together, to the fact that we live only 5 blocks from the ocean, it’s easy for me to say that Covenant Towers truly feels like an oasis.