Meet the Neighbors

Don & Kathryn Manning

“For our kids, and for ourselves.”
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Ray Sward

“This was the best move I ever made.”
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Ruth Ann & Richard Miller

“It’s a wonderful balance.”
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Virginia Marshburn

“What I do here is what I’ve done all my life.” read more

Ruth Ann and I were always dreaming of retirement; so, when I was offered the chance to retire, I said, “Show me the door!” We lived in Northern Virginia at the time. Thanks to Ruth Ann’s sister and brother-in-law, we started bird-watching as a hobby. We came to Lynchburg to visit and go birding with them many times, and they helped us find a home in Forest. We moved to our apartment at The Summit two years ago, when home maintenance and riding a lawn mower across one-and-a-half acres lost its charm. Ruth Ann and I don’t have children, so we wanted to live somewhere we knew we would be taken care of, should we need it. We attended a marketing luncheon for The Summit and liked what we heard about life here, so we joined the Advantage Member Program without looking anywhere else. Just a month later we had an apartment.

—Richard Miller

We expected life would slow down when we moved here, but it goes by as fast as ever. But that’s retirement, doing what you want with your time, none of the hassles. Since I’ve been here, I’ve catalogued over 100 birds on my daily walks around campus. Dick and I both love the surroundings here, but we’ve always had the travel bug. Birding and history tours have taken us as far as Alaska, Europe, and Costa Rica, and we travel on nature tours and to Chicago to see Dick’s family often, but we like coming home to The Summit. With all the ways to be involved with our neighbors and community, you get to know everyone and feel welcome right away. Serving on the Residents’ Council and various committees are just a few ways you can meet your neighbors and have a voice in your community here, if you choose. I’m on the library and dining committees, and Dick is Vice President of the Resident Council.

The best part is we’ve never felt like we sacrificed our privacy for a sense of community. It’s a wonderful balance.

—Ruth Ann Miller