ILA Member Spotlight – Rickey Spencer

If you know Rickey Spencer, then you know how passionate he is about helping others, especially through his work as an Independent Living home owner. Rickey grew up in San Diego where he played football in high school and moved on to Oregon State University where he studied education. After college, he pursued a brief career in football, and then started to work for FedEx where he spent eight years.

Rickey aspired to do something for himself which led him to a career in real estate. Using his background in construction, Rickey began flipping properties and originally had the idea to open a group home. He encountered some obstacles in his attempt to open the group home when a friend of his found out about the Independent Living Association (ILA) and told Rickey about the organization. Rickey attended the ILA New Membership Course shortly thereafter: “I was blown away from the information I received”.

Rickey joined the ILA in 2013 when he opened Rick’s Independent Living in San Diego. When asked about his favorite thing about being an Independent Living owner, Rickey says, “I love helping people and working with people. I always love giving back and working with people; it’s really changed my life in so many different ways”. His passion and enthusiasm for the Independent Living business has not gone unnoticed. At this year’s A Celebration of Success owner recognition event, the ILA honored Rickey Spencer as the Owner of the Year for his unwavering commitment to spreading the word about the ILA and advocating for its growth to other areas of California and beyond.

In addition to being the owner of his Independent Living home, Rickey is also a real estate agent with Century 21. Rickey says he has “been accused of being a workaholic for my family and friends”, and when he does have free time he loves attending educational business seminars and enjoys traveling, working out, and coaching football. For more information on Rick’s Independent Living, visit http://ilasd.org/listings/ricks-independent-living/.