The Eby Group, Inc. was founded by Donald and Judie Eby in 1991 following Don's successful career in the heavy equipment industry. When Judie's mother, Mary Bickford, was diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer's disease the family was faced with a difficult decision in selecting the appropriate care residence due to the limited options that existed at that time. After extensive research and determining that many other families faced similar issues, Don and Judie made the decision to build and operate their first assisted living residence in Olathe, KS. This residence opened in 1992.

The caring, homelike environment was quickly embraced by families in need of solutions for their aging loved ones. This led the Eby's to expand their newly formed assisted living concept to other cities and states. As this newly formed company began to expand into Nebraska and Iowa during the remainder of the 1990's it became evident that additional development and commercial construction capabilities were needed. EBCO Construction Group (see EBCOConstructionGroup.com) was formed to meet the need of gaining better control of costs and quality in addition to minimizing the time it took to add new residences. The company began to provide development and commercial construction services for third party clients as well during this period of time.

In 2001, the company realized another milestone by purchasing Lund & Associates, a 30 year old commercial design firm. This newly acquired division of the company was subsequently renamed Eby Design Group (see EbyDesignGroup.com) and is quickly becoming recognized around the Midwest as an organization with dynamic, creative energy with a focus on client wants and needs. In 2001, the company also formed the Eby Financial Group (see EbyFinancialGroup.com), a financial services broker focused on identifying conventional and creative financing solutions for the Eby Group as well as other clients needing assistance in this area.

In early 2004 another new division of the company was founded, Eby Commercial Realty Group, LLC, a full service commercial real estate broker.

Today, the Eby Group, Inc. remains a privately held family owned and operated business across six states. The company currently operates twenty-seven senior living residences providing independent, assisted and memory care solutions for the elderly. An additional four residences are currently under construction as summer 2004 (see Bickford Senior Living Group for locations). Plans are currently under way to further expand operations into a seventh state during late 2005.

In closing, we would like to thank our clients across the Midwest for their trust and their confidence. Additionally, we give thanks to the many dedicated Eby team members who fulfill the core values the Eby family embraces (Commitment, Value, Service, Family and Quality) as well as our financial partners who help provide valuable resources. Finally, we extend our appreciation to the many vendor partners who, through the years, have supported the organization with quality people, products and services that have played a valuable role in helping fuel our company's ability to grow.