June 27, 2006 > National honors for Merrill Gardens

Earlier this month in New York City, Merrill Gardens was voted a Finalist in the Most Innovative Companies category of the 2006 American Business Awards - the Oscars of the business world.

Competing with some 1500 other companies in more than 40 categories, Merrill Gardens took top honors in their category, along with Expedia Travel and AT&T.\

"Active Living," a cutting-edge program of physical activities for seniors earned the judges' accolades. "We believe that (Active Living) really speaks to the acceptance and understanding of the work we do at Merrill Gardens," said Bill Pettit, president. "We started the company 13 years ago with just one community and as we grew we focused on breaking the mold of what people expect from a retirement community."

The family-owned, private company out of Seattle, Wash. owns and operates 68 independent and assisted living retirement facilities in 11 states.