Zeke Creasy is a guy who, in my view, personifies my favorite type of Athens Now client: one who puts his family first, and also really cares about his clients. His story is an interesting one, and his journey back to his Limestone County roots has been by way of Arizona and Costa Rica.
He graduated from East Limestone High School, and was a scrappy point guard all throughout middle school, and as an ELHS Indian. He went on to graduate from Auburn in Hotel and Restaurant Management, as well as Business Management. He also graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, and built up a highly successful catering business in Arizona, which is no small feat. It is not at all uncommon for haute cuisine chefs to put in 100 hours a week and think nothing of it, and for years, that’s what he did with joy.
However, all of that changed completely when he went to Costa Rica for the wedding of a friend, and met the love of his life, Angel. “One look was all it took,” he said, and because she had three young children, he knew that his life was going to have to change, and drastically, in order to be the dad of a ready made family. He and Angel also have a new baby girl, who was born here just a few months ago. They went through the arduous process of getting everybody to the States, and a radically different career door opened up for Zeke. This led to taking over and expanding One Love Hearing Concepts, and it is rare that I have met someone who loves what he is doing as much as Zeke Creasy does.
He had a family friend who was like an uncle who had one hearing aid store, and Zeke came to work for him, mostly to see if it was a good fit. Zeke told his “Uncle” that he “would work for free for a week,” and he was hooked. Just like falling in love with Angel and the kids, Zeke fell in love with helping people to hear, and on his first helped five people with their hearing.
Zeke had the experience of watching a man who had not been able to hear for decades hear the sound of his wife’s voice, and tears were streaming down the guy’s cheeks as he got in touch with what he had missed out on. Zeke told me that “hearing is a really emotional issue for people,” and to get certified as a hearing specialist involves what he described as “brutal testing.” To Zeke it has been completely worth it, and he knows he has found his calling.
I asked him what was different about One Love, and why I should come to him if I were in need of help with improving my hearing. “We are one big family,” he said, and went on to add, “A lot of people say that, but here it is true. My clients are not just clients. When we lose one, it’s like a family member has passed on.” He also said that “The biggest issue is trust. I am not going to sell one of my clients something they don’t need or want. Not everybody needs hi-tech.” I found out that there are hearing apps for Smartphones, and those are going to be much more attractive to young people. By the way, because of loudness of speakers at concerts, video games, industrial related assaults on hearing and other “noise pollution,” treating hearing loss is becoming a progressively greater challenge as clients become younger and younger. It is no longer a condition associated just with aging.
One of the things Zeke is very proud of is the company with which he is associated. He loves the Starkey Company, which is his equipment supplier, and is proud that they are American made. The Starkey Company is out of Eden Prairie, MN, and has the same passion to help people hear as does One Love, irrespective of their income level. Both Starkey and One Love offer premium technology, and they also refurbish hearing aids so that people can get them for as little as $40 a month. This is a real blessing for people on a fixed income. If you donate an old battery, they get recycled, and the jars of batteries in Zeke’s office are an interesting conversation piece. In a word, One Love will do all they can to help you hear because they love their patients. It’s as simple as that.
It seems that the truth that “Give and it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over” has been made manifest in Zeke’s practice, as now they have three locations. The one in Athens is located on Hwy 72 across from Spry Funeral Home in the strip mall with the pinkish clock tower. He is there Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The address for the Athens shop is 809 Hwy 72 W, Ste G. The other two are in Scottsboro and Hazel Green.
If you or a loved one are in need of tender loving care for your hearing, you need to call Zeke Creasy for a free consultation. He is board certified as a hearing specialist, the owner of his company, a native Athenian, a husband and a dad, and he has a big heart. He is waiting to show you that he means it when he says, “You deserve to hear.”
One Love Hearing Concepts
Athens location: 809 Hwy 72 W, Ste G, Athens, AL 35611
Phone: 256-233-3844
Scottsboro phone: 256-912-0376
Hazel Green phone: 256-828-5551
Email: onelovehearing@yahoo.com
Facebook: One Love Hearing
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8-5
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
