Ex-NFL star lands dream job working with seniors

Former NFL wide receiver Webster Slaughter, far left, is enjoying his second career as concierge for the Atria Sugar Land senior living community.

Slaughter hadn’t technically worked since retiring from the National Football League after his 13-year playing career as a wide receiver, so he scrapped the application altogether.
“I had been retired from football for 10 or 11 years, and I wanted to be home with my kids,” Slaughter said. “I wanted to be there when they came home, and I wanted to be there when they left in the morning. Once my son got a little older and was about 10, I didn’t want him coming home and seeing his dad on the couch. I always wanted to work with the elderly. Some of the other places wouldn’t have taken me to where I wanted to go, and that was to a more spiritual place.

Slaughter decided to write a letter to Atria Sugar Land about who he was and what he had done over the last few years.
“I just let them know why I wanted to work there,” he said. “When I was hired, they asked for a year, and now, more than three years later, I’m still here.”
After he was hired as the community’s concierge, Slaughter’s excitement took off. On a daily basis, his routine is far from that. He takes residents to doctor’s appointments, picks up prescriptions, takes residents to the theater, leads a Bible study class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and also coordinates the Thursday “Lunch Bunch,” in which he gets a group of residents together to have a meal at a local restaurant.
“I pretty much do whatever they want me to do,” Slaughter said. “Grocery store, cleaners … whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it. I feel like anything positive I can do for them, I’ll try and do it.
“Doing what I do is not only satisfying to me, but helpful to (the residents).”

NAME: Webster Slaughter
AGE: 48
OCCUPATION: Former NFL wide receiver, including 1992-94 with the Houston Oilers; current concierge
COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Works at Atria Sugar Land
FAST FACT: He stays busy with his children’s numerous extracurricular activities.

Matt Mackinder is a freelance writer. He can be reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.