Meet Cody Akridge, our Senior Executive Director at Ellery Arbor Memory Care located in Colleyville, Texas. He has been with the community since April 2020 and holds over eight years of experience in senior living with job titles such as Interim Administrator, Executive Director and Human Resources Director, among others.
Cody’s career journey looks a bit different than most as he’s also a talented singer who has been singing for most of his life but took it to a professional level in 2012 when he produced his first independent album. To promote the album, Cody and his band performed at casinos in Las Vegas, WFAA’s Good Morning Texas show, headlined a county fair in Colorado and many other venues across the United States.
“That was a very exciting year,” said Cody. “Since the music on the album is made up of original songs that I wrote along with some traditional country music, our residents here in Colleyville really relate to the music.”
It’s not uncommon for Cody to perform for the community’s residents. He says that when he performs for them, he will always choose their favorite classic country songs from familiar icons such as George Jones, Hank Williams and Conway Twitty.
“My favorite part of my job at Ellery Arbor is our Music and Memories program,” said Cody. “I’ll be singing a song and a resident with Alzheimer’s who maybe hasn’t spoken in a while will sing the lyrics to a song with me. It’s amazing to see how that song has some kind of connection to them and to watch them recollect on something they enjoyed at some point in their life.”
We are so blessed by Cody’s willingness to share his talent with our residents and to see how his music sparks memories of the past. In addition to changing the lives of our residents, he’s also passionate about supporting the community’s associates and helping them to be as successful as possible in their roles. “I want our associates to reach their full potential,” he said. “I really enjoy mentoring our associates so we can provide the best quality care for our residents.”
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