Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Lori Henderson, left, smiles while being presented with flowers and a plaque while being honored with the Community Impact Award at FirstLight Home Care on Feb. 12. Henderson might not have the name recognition that many community leaders do, but those who know her said they’re hard-pressed to think of anyone who has impacted the Grand Valley more.
Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Lori Henderson, left, smiles and hugs staff at FirstLight Home Care while being celebrated after receiving a plaque and being honored with the Community Impact Award on Feb. 12. Henderson started at FirstLight 11 years ago and now as the owner, she has “tripled” the company’s operations.
Jace DiCola/Daily Sentinel
FirstLight Home Care owner Lori Henderson poses for a picture alongside her office assistant, Ollie, one of many stray cats she has taken under her wing.
Jace DiCola/Daily Sentinel
A framed photo of Briana Grossnickle, bottom right, and her family hangs prominently inside FirstLight Home Care owner Lori Henderson’s office as a reminder of her best friend, who inspired Henderson to purchase and operate the agency in Grossnickle’s honor, after the mother of four passed in a car crash before she could purchase the home care agency as planned.
Lori Henderson, left, smiles while presented with flowers and a plaque from Lisa Smith, Alzheimer’s Association Development Manager, while being honored with the Community Impact Award at FirstLight Home Care on Feb. 12, 2026.
Lori Henderson, from left, Cheryle Shriver and Daniel Jones share a chat next to their motorcycles before the Ride2Zero Poker Run, a four-stop poker run fundraiser that spans both Mesa and Garfield Counties, at the Vietnam War Memorial in Fruita on Sep. 2, 2023.
Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Lori Henderson, left, smiles while being presented with flowers and a plaque while being honored with the Community Impact Award at FirstLight Home Care on Feb. 12. Henderson might not have the name recognition that many community leaders do, but those who know her said they’re hard-pressed to think of anyone who has impacted the Grand Valley more.
Over the past year, an array of needs across the community have continued to rise — whether it be hunger, homelessness or health care — and the resources available to address those needs have only dwindled.
Many people have stepped up to help, but just as many have wondered: “Can I even make a difference?”
The answer is apparent in one Mesa County local, Lori Henderson.
Henderson might not have the name recognition that many community leaders do, but those who know her said they’re hard-pressed to think of anyone who has impacted the Grand Valley more.
“I see the Lion’s (Club) and the chamber do their ‘Citizen of the Year’ award, and I’ve always teased Lori that she’s our Citizen of the Year,” said Lisa Smith, development manager for the Western Colorado Alzheimer’s Association.
“She’s not a part of those groups because she is a group. She is on her own mission, and she could single-handedly compete with some of those groups.”
Just one example, according to Smith, is Henderson’s involvement in the Alzheimer’s Association over the past decade — helping organize annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s fundraisers in Grand Junction and Montrose, supporting countless families with dementia and donating over $60,000 to the Colorado chapter. All those contributions led Smith to create the association’s first “Community Impact Award,” of which Henderson was the inaugural recipient.
Lori Henderson, left, smiles while presented with flowers and a plaque from Lisa Smith, Alzheimer’s Association Development Manager, while being honored with the Community Impact Award at FirstLight Home Care on Feb. 12, 2026.
The regional association was one of 30 local organizations, and counting, that Henderson has supported in the last year. According to Henderson, the goal for 2026 is 50.
“There are a lot of people who would take their winnings (after) being able to overcome so much, put it in their pocket and say, ‘Look at how far I can go.’ But she’s choosing to share the wealth,” Smith said.
“TO THINK OF WHO I USED TO BE, AND WHO I AM NOW; I DIDN’T KNOW THAT WAS POSSIBLE.”
Henderson’s story started about three decades ago, when the Denver-native and then-legal secretary went through an “ugly divorce.”
Like the majority of Americans, Henderson was one crisis away from becoming homeless, and that crisis came swinging.
Her experience of being unhoused was far from a cake-walk, but after taking the first steps to stabilize herself, Henderson said she was fortunate enough to have a friend in Kansas who helped her get a “fresh start.”
Within just a few days, Henderson’s new life began, without her even realizing.
“I had some money saved when I moved there. I thought, I’m just going to take some time for myself and get my head on right.’ But I have ADHD,” Henderson said. “Within a matter of days, I needed something to do, so I volunteered at a nursing home. On the third day, the director of nursing, Terry, came and said, ‘I want you to go to school, I want you to get your (nursing assistant certificate), and I want you to come work for me.’ I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Henderson said she was instantly infatuated with the work, so when she moved to Grand Junction 11 years ago, she decided to work for a brand-new home care agency called FirstLight.
There, she met Briana Grossnickle, the owner’s niece, who quickly became Henderson’s best friend.
Throughout the years, Henderson slowly climbed the corporate ladder; she looked forward to working under Grossnickle, whose dream was to buy the FirstLight business from her aunt after its first 10 years.
Nine years into the business, however, Grossnickle and her husband, Casey, were both killed in a head-on car crash while driving toward Meeker, on Colorado Highway 13. The parents of four were both 39 years old.
Henderson continued working at FirstLight, and within roughly two years, Grossnickle’s aunt asked Henderson to take over the business. Owning a company was never on Henderson’s radar, but with her best friend’s dream in mind, she took the leap in January 2022.
Jace DiCola/Daily Sentinel
A framed photo of Briana Grossnickle, bottom right, and her family hangs prominently inside FirstLight Home Care owner Lori Henderson’s office as a reminder of her best friend, who inspired Henderson to purchase and operate the agency in Grossnickle’s honor, after the mother of four passed in a car crash before she could purchase the home care agency as planned.
“I kept doubting myself, maybe because of my past,” Henderson said. “But since I bought it, I’ve tripled (our operations).”
With such sudden financial success, Henderson felt that “God put something on my heart.” She said her homelessness was something she used to be ashamed of, but it made her who she is: someone in a position to help others. So, why not help?
“More people need to know that (you can succeed after homelessness). They need to know that,” she said.
”I never saw myself as a business owner. I never saw myself as giving back to the community. To think of who I used to be, and who I am now — I didn’t know that was possible.”
GOING ABOVE & BEYOND, FROM STAFF TO STRAY CATS
In the past few years, Henderson has wasted little time trying to share the wealth, including causes like Habitat for Humanity, Foster Alumni Mentors, HomewardBound and the Gift of Love.
But her friends and employees added that her impact spreads far beyond assisting area nonprofits. Even the local stray cats are familiar with Henderson, according to Henderson’s daughter, Jessica Lamos.
She said that Henderson owns roughly a dozen rescue cats at a given time, even making room for pregnant stray cats that she has found in the neighborhood.
“If there’s a pregnant cat in her neighborhood, she’ll bring it in, feed it, let it have her babies in her house and give the kittens vet care out of her own pocket,” Lamos said.
Henderson added that she considers herself a “foster failure,” since she wound up adopting a handful of different kittens she fostered from Grand River Humane Society.
Jace DiCola/Daily Sentinel
FirstLight Home Care owner Lori Henderson poses for a picture alongside her office assistant, Ollie, one of many stray cats she has taken under her wing.
Her care for local strays is even apparent at her job, where one stray cat, Ollie, has made a new life for himself as the office pet and Henderson’s executive assistant.
FirstLight Community Relations Coordinator Parker Isakson said that Henderson’s philanthropic attitude has influenced the workplace in other ways, like her allotting 10 work hours per employee to volunteer for an organization of their choice instead of working the usual shift.
“I don’t know of another boss who does that,” Isakson said.
Isakson and FirstLight Human Resources Compliance Manager Brooke Brown added that Henderson has gone above and beyond to help them and other staff through trying times, when other employers might have turned a blind eye.
During Brown’s last three and a half years with FirstLight, she worked her way up from a certified nursing assistant to HR compliance manager. The past few years have also been spent rebuilding her life, which she said Henderson had played a role in from the moment they met.
“Me and my son went through a tornado (in Alabama) and lost everything. So when I came here, like, I didn’t know anybody, didn’t have any resources, nothing,” Brown said. “I applied here and had a job immediately. Ever since then, whatever I needed, I reached out to her, and she made sure I had access to it or got it for me. It was (a big move), but Lori found me, and Lori saved me.”
Larry Robinson/The Daily Sentinel
Lori Henderson, left, smiles and hugs staff at FirstLight Home Care while being celebrated after receiving a plaque and being honored with the Community Impact Award on Feb. 12. Henderson started at FirstLight 11 years ago and now as the owner, she has “tripled” the company’s operations.
“In Alabama health care, we was just a number. That’s not how I feel here,” she added. “It was like a breath of fresh air. When you’re not used to something, you don’t know how to handle it at first because you’re like, ‘This is a setup,’ But it’s not.”
Henderson’s efforts at FirstLight have been inspirational to more than just her staff, as Lamos said she plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
While Lamos has worked for different home care agencies previously, she said Henderson introduced her to the importance of the industry. In the past few years, Lamos has transitioned from a nursing role on the Front Range to assisting with operations at FirstLight.
Eventually, Lamos and Henderson said Lamos will take over the business and continue the legacy of her mother and Grossnickle.
“To be honest, I can’t say enough how inspired I am by her. She beat the odds, and she is not a statistic,” Lamos said. “It makes me feel like, ‘Damn, if she can do that, I can.’”
“I know Brianna is up there smiling upon me,” Henderson said. “I don’t believe in ghosts, but every once in a while, I’ll feel her spirit in here, or hear a little whisper.”
Those interested in supporting Henderson can consider attending her annual Alzheimer’s Association fundraiser, a Purple Poker Run, on May 10. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m., at Teddy Morse’s Harley-Davidson, 2747 Crossroads Blvd.
Lori Henderson, from left, Cheryle Shriver and Daniel Jones share a chat next to their motorcycles before the Ride2Zero Poker Run, a four-stop poker run fundraiser that spans both Mesa and Garfield Counties, at the Vietnam War Memorial in Fruita on Sep. 2, 2023.
Henderson will also host a ribbon-cutting for FirstLight’s new office building, 1131 N. 21st St., at 11:30 a.m on March 24.
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