Founders

TRIB • UTE: An act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration.

Our Founders

Tribute Senior Living was co-founded by Charles Hodges of HODGES Architecture, Rex Paine of Kingsbridge Capital and Mark Rushing of Sodalis Memory Care and Assisted Living.

Tribute Senior Living is a passion project for each of them. It is the culmination of almost two decades of research, work and team building.  Tribute is a community designed to help people get better.

Charles Hodges

Charles’ journey into senior care started in 2001 when his own father, Mr. Chester Hodges, was in need of senior care. Charles experienced the shortcomings of senior care available in our area, and he recognized the need for a much better model.

So, he set out to create Tribute.

The name “Tribute” pays homage to his late father and all parents and loved ones. For Charles, it was not only about changing the culture of Assisted Living and Memory Care.  He envisioned creating a community where residents can actually improve.

As an award-winning architect, Charles understands design and how to create an incredible feel through structure and decorating. But he knew more was needed. After his fathers’ passing, Charles researched cutting edge care models and therapy programs around the world.

He then put together a team to make this vision a reality.

Knowing that outstanding senior care would require a solid financial foundation, he pulled in his long-time business partner, Rex Paine.

“It’s about taking the disease head on.”

Rex Paine

Rex learned first-hand how hard it is for families to make difficult decisions about memory care, so he wanted to help create a community that is sensitive to not only the residents’ needs, but to the families as well. Having managed a real estate equity investment company that was part of a Malcolm Baldridge Award-winning team, he understands what it takes to make sure that a business flourishes and can meet the needs of its customers for the long term.

“This project is a passion project for me. My mother suffered from Alzheimer’s and lived in a memory care community. Having had to learn for myself all that a family goes through in making these difficult decisions, Tribute Senior Living Communities will be sensitive to not only the resident’s needs, but to the families that have chosen us as their care provider. We have done a tremendous amount of research and will continue to do so to make sure our community will have the finest design elements and resident care techniques.”

Mark Rushing

Charles visited countless senior care organizations and met Mark Rushing, who leads multiple care centers in Texas. There was a warmth and love in these communities that stood out Charles knew had to be a hallmark of Tribute. Mark saw his own family go through senior care and understood the need for Tribute. Charles asked Mark Rushing to be the third partner, helping him on this journey to create a new concept in senior living.

Together the three created the amazing center that is Tribute Senior Living.

The missing piece was the research component and that is where renowned, nationally recognized researcher Dr. Paula Grammas came in.

“We don’t accept the common approach that there is not much you can do for a person with Alzheimer’s.”

Dr. Paula Grammas

Charles’ goal is to create a community where the latest research and breakthroughs don’t just end up in published studies, but actually make it to those dealing with age-related conditions, including Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Charles believes in the importance of clinical research actually making it to the community right now, when it can help, or as he calls it – bench to bedside.

Paula Grammas, Ph.D., is a consultant neuroscientist and currently serves as Chief Research Officer for Tribute Senior Living.

Dr. Grammas was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science Circle of Fellows in recognition of her contributions to Alzheimer’s disease research. In addition to the AAAS Fellow designation Dr. Grammas has been honored with a Zenith Award from the Alzheimer’s Association and the Chancellor’s Research Award from Texas Tech University.

Impact Statistics include:

  • Published 150 peer-reviewed papers in the areas of aging, AD, and vascular pathobiology.
  • Secured 24 million dollars in peer-reviewed research funding.
  • Trained/mentored 58 undergraduate, medical and graduate students.
  • Supervised 26 post-doctoral fellows, residents and research faculty.
  • Delivered 145 invited presentations to scientific conferences and academia.
  • Served 50+ times as grant reviewer.

Dr. Grammas has extensive executive leadership experience serving as the Director of the Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience, at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center (1999-2004), Executive Director of the Garrison Institute on Aging at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (2004-2014), and Inaugural Executive Director of the Ryan Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Rhode Island (2015-2019).

Dr. Grammas’ research career has spanned 30 years and has focused on understanding how vascular dysfunction promotes neuronal injury in the brain and was the first to hypothesize that pathologic “vascular activation” contributes to AD pathogenesis. Currently she is engaged in translating her novel research findings into clinical therapeutics.

“As a scientist who has spent over 25 years researching Alzheimer’s disease, it’s exciting to be part of a team that is committed to rapidly bringing scientific discovery to real-world care.”

“Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the status quo and develop anew where few have dared to go”.

– Steven Jeffes