Gibsons Celebrate 20 Years Of Home Instead Franchise Ownership

As Creighton and Tracey Gibson celebrate their 20 years of award-winning Home Instead^® franchise ownership in Statesville, North Carolina, their reasons for starting their in-home care agency remain fresh in their minds.

Creighton and Tracey didn’t want others to go through the same ordeal Creighton’s parents and family experienced when his mom and dad needed help to remain in their home. Before embarking on a career of service to seniors and their families in Iredell and Alexander Counties, the successful manufacturing executive and his wife prayed long and intensely. Having received spiritual inspiration, Creighton left a lucrative career position and joined with Tracey to start the Home Instead franchise Nov. 18, 2002.

Recalling their family caregiving challenges more than 10 years earlier, Creighton explained: “I looked for in-home care for my parents, and I could not find anyone in our area at that time who offered the type of care they needed, nor the level of compassion and understanding they deserved.”

Creighton lost his 58-year-old mother, an amputee, to diabetes in 1992. “I’ll never forget the evening when I went to Dad’s home and couldn’t find him until I searched outside the house. He had fallen in the garden and had been there all day. Two months later, he fell inside his home, didn’t want to bother anyone and waited for hours for us to come check on him,” Creighton said.

“Dad moved in with us, and a year and a half later, he suffered a major stroke. He ended up in a nursing home, and it was not a great experience. I fed him every day for two years. Two months after he died, Tracey and I were talking about creating a service for seniors and their families,” recalled Creighton, who researched in-home senior-care companies and narrowed the field from 15 franchise possibilities to three finalists.

“The faith-based aspect of Home Instead appealed to us. Nobody compared to Home Instead with formal training and dementia training. Their vision was my vision for serving others such as my father. Making the decision to quit a good, stable, 16-year career with J.C. Steele and Sons was the scariest day of my life and a real leap of faith. Having made such a major move, I wanted to be a trusted source of service in the community,” said Creighton, who is active in his community just as Tracey is. Creighton is a deacon at the Bristol Baptist Church. Tracey is serving as the board chairwoman at the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce as well as the secretary and treasurer at Bristol Baptist Church. 

The Gibsons’ Home Instead franchise provides compassionate senior home-care services with thoroughly screened, trained and bonded employees called Care Professionals. From companionship services to hospice-care support and many care needs in between, Home Instead offers a broad range of services that can be tailored to meet a family’s needs and preferences.

“The first of the four core values that Home Instead co-founders Lori and Paul Hogan wrote in 1994 is, ‘We honor God in all we do.’ Home Instead principles of ‘Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart’ also are meaningful to us and our Care Pros. Our Care Pros build trust by being responsible and professional in dealing with clients, their families and our office,” he said. “Our Care Pros take the lead by engaging clients in meaningful activities and encouraging them in many different ways. Our Care Pros also take the lead by prioritizing ongoing training such as the dementia, diabetes and COPD instruction. Our Care Pros share their hearts as compassionate, smiling and thoughtful senior-care specialists. We’re invested in our community on a very personal level.”

Creighton added: “All of our Care Pros are thoroughly screened, trained and bonded. We require a minimum of six references, and we do a criminal-background check and driving-record check. They are my employees, and I pay all taxes and workman’s compensation. I will always take my Care Pros to the client the first time to ensure the best possible peace of mind, and this also makes the meeting as stress-free as possible.”

Many past and present Care Pros offered praise for Tracey, Creighton and their office staff.

From Debra: “Creighton and Tracey are emblematic of the spirit of excellency. I feel they have been anointed to provide this service. They are in the right place at the right time. They are respected, proven leaders of the community and are dedicated to their service, and they do it on the highest level. The owners and staff work in harmony and unity. Furthermore, the Gibsons and the staff are concerned about their employees, in addition to their clients and their families.”

From Eyvette: “In one of the examples of our franchise’s concern for its employees, Creighton was ready to drive 20 miles one day when I had car troubles. I got the problem solved and called him to cancel the request for help, but he didn’t hesitate about responding to help me. All of the doors there are open. Rapport and friendship are great, from training to HR to the nurse’s expertise. Some people say my job situation is too good to be true, but I tell them I am truly blessed. For me, this opportunity is too good to give up – what could I find in place of it?”

From Tommacena: “When I returned to the office to accept their job offer, the entire staff lined up and shook my hand. I was immediately part of a family because every staff member has been so welcoming and helpful. We’ve got a bond. I have a lot of respect for the owners and staff. I see them as part of my extended family. Their care is not only for the clients, but also for their Care Pros. They are very good to their employees.”

From Lori: “Working for the office owned by Creighton and Tracey is like being a part of a compassionate family. All of the franchise’s values are faith-based, and that appeals to me because that’s how I am. I have always wanted to work for a Godly company with biblical principles. They truly care about their clients, which is great, but they care about their employees as well. Everyone connected to the company has been nothing but gold to me. I am very fortunate to work for a company like this.”

From Laurie: “When I had my interview with Creighton, my eyes welled up with tears. I never felt so comfortable at a job interview, and I wanted to thank him just for interviewing me. As I talked to Creighton, I could feel a burden lifted off my shoulders. When I heard about Creighton’s story and how he and Tracey started their Home Instead franchise, and believed in its principles of “Build Trust, Take the Lead and Share Your Heart,” it meant a lot to me.”

From Traci: “I enjoy working for Home Instead. I love what I do, and I love being a Care Pro. The office is great. Tracey and Creighton are two of the best people you’ll ever know in the world, and the Care Pros I’ve worked with have been part of the best experiences that have happened to me. The franchise set up  an employee support group where we can get together at the library and talk about our challenges if we are feeling a little blue or maybe burned out. What businesses do that for their employees?”

From Melissa: “I’ve been asked if I have any regrets about my job, and I absolutely do not. Tracey and Creighton are wonderful people. I love my clients, and working with the office is really great. There have been no problems. The office has been patient, kind and considerate as far as answering my questions and helping me along because I previously had not been a senior-care professional.”

From Barbara: “Before I became an employee, I had gotten acquainted with Tracey and Creighton’s franchise about eight years earlier when I first participated in the franchise’s highly successful ‘Be a Santa to a Senior^®’ program. The program reaches out to help provide gifts to seniors who have no family and are isolated. Some of the seniors are struggling financially or have recently lost a loved one. I was impressed with what Home Instead was doing.”

In all, Home Instead employs more than 100 Care Pros and CNAs who live and work in Iredell and Alexander Counties. The franchise continues to grow, having added another office in Mooresville. Creighton and Tracey also speak to companies and organizations on topics related to senior care for their employees.

Tracey and Creighton have 25 years of combined nonprofit management and leadership experience from previous roles in church leadership, Chamber of Commerce work in Statesville and Davie County, and various leadership roles in the community.

Tracey served on a national marketing committee that positions Home Instead as a global leader while “Changing the Face of Aging.” She is a past Statesville Theatre board member and past chairwoman of the United Way of Iredell. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Statesville where she is a Paul Harris Fellow, and Tracey is the chairwoman of the public and governmental affairs for the Greater Statesville Chamber of Commerce, as well as chairwoman of the Iredell Christian Missions board.

“I identify my keys to success as tremendous family and business support; taking many leaps of faith; having the courage to not waver in the face of challenges; possessing the ability to ask for help and a passion to help others by being a resource to seniors in our community,” Tracey said.

Learn more about Tracey, Creighton and their Home Instead team: https://www.homeinstead.com/location/455/home-instead-about-us/