Family helps deck halls at senior community

Orion, who along with her husband owns Willowbrook Pharmacy, is dedicated to making a difference in the community, and she considers this to be one of the most important aspects of running a local business.

“Our motto is impacting lives of everyday people, so what we do on a regular basis is not only deliver medicine at no cost to people who just can’t get out,” Orion said. “We really try to make sure we get involved with the communities we built into.”

When she heard that the activity director at Paradise Springs wanted to put up Christmas trees around the facility, she immediately recognized it as an opportunity to help out.

“What I did was grab my kids and a couple of other kids I knew and go out and help her,” Orion said. “We just went in.”

The afternoon turned out to be a great deal of fun for everyone involved, residents and volunteers alike. During the four hours Orion and her friends and family were there, they put up numerous trees and decorations, and her daughter Gabrielle even played Christmas songs on her violin for the residents.

While the Orions have participated in events at Paradise Springs -- a regular delivery stop -- before, it is not the only way they have gotten involved in the community.

“In other facilities, we’ve put together Veterans Day events,” Orion said. “I always go through the facility and ask what’s going on and if there’s anything we can do to help. We don’t want to just be a business to them. We want to be a family.”

Orion and her family have lived in the Spring area since 1998, where she started out in the real estate business, a company she remains involved with, before branching out with the pharmacy.

Although their entrepreneurial efforts have been financially successful, Orion tries to emphasize that this is of secondary importance compared with the value of being a valuable member of the community.

“One of the things we did when we came to the immunity was stress to (my children) the importance of getting involved,” Orion said. “I stressed, when you own businesses in the area as well as you work or live in a community, the importance of really working within the community.”

About Demethra Orion
Age: 42
Occupation: Real estate/pharmacy
Community Connection: Helped decorate Paradise Springs, located in Spring
Fast Fact: Serves as precinct judge during elections

Chris Marshall is a freelance writer. He can reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.