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MEET OUR TEAM

Ashley Kirk

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

What do you get when you blend a passion for serving and caring for others with a gregarious and compassionate personality? You get Ashley Kirk, our Executive Director for the Gardens of Somerset. Born and raised in Monroe, LA, Ashley graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and has been in the senior living business for almost ten years. Her vast experience gives her first-hand knowledge of the daily operations of a community but also just how important it is to meet and exceed the communities’ needs.

Ashley has been involved with the Gardens of Somerset since its inception. She has been there every step of the way planning and designing a community unlike any other. But her input has not stopped there, Ashley is working closely with P. Allen Smith and his team to ensure the inside is just as spectacular as the outside.

Ashley believes in building a strong team of successful people around her to achieve the best possible outcomes. She believes in building those up around her, total transparency, and surrounding herself with positive people.

Ashley lives in Monroe, LA with her husband and their two young boys. She enjoys spending time with family and watching their boys play baseball, basketball, and football. Ashley and her family also enjoy evenings fishing on the Bayou and going for rides in the boat.

Rodney Thomason

CEO

Rodney Thomason is a successful entrepreneur and corporate leader who has proven himself in diverse businesses. When the medical device company for which he was working sold in 2000, Thomason founded Medical Imaging Sales and Service – later renamed Southeast Imaging LLC – which now serves five states and represents well-known imaging brands such as Sectra PACS, Carestream, Quantum, and Fuji Medical. Thomason has since developed several additional medical-related companies, which include medical billing services, health care facility development and management, and senior living centers. He and his team established Medical Assets Holding Company in 2000 to provide administrative, payroll, financial management, and other services for companies within the corporate family. Thomason and MAHC currently operate 4 senior living communities in Arkansas. A native of Arkansas, Thomason attended the University of Arkansas and began his professional career in pharmaceutical sales before transitioning to medical equipment and real estate development. He is a member of the Arkansas Heart Hospital Foundation Board of Directors.

P. Allen Smith

P. Allen Smith has parlayed a lifelong passion for the natural world into a career that allows him to share garden, home, and lifestyle knowledge and insights with a worldwide audience. As a conservationist, author, and television host he is a trusted resource for tried-and-true methods as well as cutting-edge knowledge in the small farm and garden communities. Whether it’s old-school flocks, eating local or green innovations, he combines them all at the farm he designed at Moss Mountain—a place grounded in history, inspired by his southern upbringing and guided by a modern-day application. He created his farm to serve as a place of inspiration, education, and conservation and provides visitors from around the country with tours of his property.

Mission

P. Allen Smith and his partners have designed a Continuing Care Retirement Community that will connect areas of activity and harmonize the interior with the exterior for an engaging garden lifestyle. Specifically designed formal and informal gardens, green spaces, walking paths, water elements and nature preserves (and their views) will be available throughout the property, with each interior room no more than one room’s distance in view or accessibility. The Gardens of Somerset through design, programming and lifestyle will be the leading provider for laterlife consumers in the region.

The Gardens of Somerset, an 18-acre community located in Sterlington, LA, is designed to bring unparalleled living options to Ouachita Parish for older adults. Centered around outstanding architecture, The Gardens of Somerset will offer community members independent living, assisted living and memory care and a lifestyle focused on the things they love and cherish such as gardening, the culinary arts, exercise, and family.

Gardens of Somerset
340 Lonewa Road
Monroe, Louisiana