Mark and I are proud Spelman and Morehouse College graduates. Yes, we are a “SpelHouse” couple. While we did attend college, at the same time, on campuses across from one another and shared many friends, amazingly, we had never met. Fast forward five years post-college graduation, in Cancun Mexico, I was celebrating my medical school graduation and Mark celebrating a friend’s wedding engagement, the beaches would be our meeting place. Two years after that, on a double date, we danced the night away to Reggae music in Buckhead Atlanta at CJ’s Landing. We’ve been together ever since and happily married 21 years. We’ve called Waterford Township our home with our 3 teenagers for almost 4 years.
Mark and I have been business partners for the entirety of our marriage. Mark has an eager entrepreneurial spirit, which was infectious for me. We owned a home building company in the early 2000’s, centered on renovating and building homes in downtown Atlanta, mostly Grant Park, where we lived. Like many, our real estate company suffered in the market downfall of 2008 allowing us to change course. We relocated to the suburbs of Covington with our 3 little children at the time. It was 2009 and I joined a physician owned hospitalist medicine group at Newton Medical Center, where I would take care of seniors who were repeatedly hospitalized due to preventable issues. Mark and I were looking for a new business opportunity and Right at Home, In-Home Care and Assistance, proved to be an ideal service. With Mark as the Agency Director, Right at Home East Atlanta opened its doors in 2012 and has grown to serve 11 counties to date. We provide personal care services in the home including medication assistance, bathing, dressing, meal prep, companionship, and transportation. We have a unique therapy dog, named Myla, she’s a Portuguese Water Dog. Myla stays busy visiting seniors in assisted living communities and nursing homes.
It was December 2016, when I started the extensive search for our new home in Snellville. The outstanding Brookwood schools and our desire to grow Right at Home in Gwinnett County became top priority. Leaving our Covington friends was difficult but, our kids were very active tweens and needed an environment that could support their many interests. Four years later, we all agree that our move here has fulfilled our desires.
We remain a very active family. Our oldest daughter Mikayla graduated from Brookwood High School in May, where she played varsity soccer, currently a freshman at Spelman. Our son, Mark Jr. is a junior at Brookwood H.S. where he plays soccer and participates in the business and engineering academic pathways. Marlie is our youngest daughter and she loves to travel and plays violin and basketball. She recently received and accepted a scholarship to attend boarding school in New Hampshire.
Yes, we love our safe family-friendly neighborhood, Waterford Township, full of sidewalks throughout, which allows us to safely take long runs, walks, and talks as a family. We’re lucky to have family members that live only a few miles away and the kids have made many friends in the surrounding neighborhoods. Myla loves hanging at the dog park near our home. We have volunteered with, Mending the Gap, where the Ross kids have delivered food to Gwinnett County Seniors in their homes. Gladly, life is good here and we plan to stay a long time as we continue to grow and to ask ourselves “how can we serve”.