Yes, I was born in Macon where my dad was an agricultural engineer with Ralston Purina.  My parents were from middle Georgia and when I was growing up we also lived in Milledgeville and Albany. My formative years were spent in Albany where I attended elementary school and graduated from Albany High School in 1973.  I followed in my parents’ footsteps and graduated from the University of Georgia where I studied landscape architecture and business.  After college I stayed in the south and lived in Nashville and Hilton Head.  In 1994 I moved back to Georgia and settled in Atlanta where I now reside.

Yes.  I needed to find a summer job that paid enough for my college education. I learned from another student that The Southwestern Company out of Nashville was hiring students to sell books, bibles and dictionaries, and I quickly signed up. 

My first summer was spent in New Hampshire and I worked 90 hours a week on straight commission.  It was exhausting, but I was determined and earned enough to pay for my school expenses. The next summer I recruited 25 of my friends and by the time I graduated from UGA, I had built a large organization.

I always say that I got my education selling books door-to-door and my degree from the University of Georgia. This was an education in life. I knocked on stranger’s doors and some welcomed me, but others did not.  I heard their stories about the town, the weather, and their families. I developed strong inter-personal skills and patience. Not every encounter ended with a sale, but I always walked away learning something new.

Selling is a conversation. I learned how to listen and determine what was important for people to know. If they believed what I said, then they believed in me. I know the strong principles and morals I grew up with contributed to my credibility and I maintain the highest level of integrity in all that I do.

After college, I continued working at The Southwestern Company on a full-time basis as a sales manager, handling recruiting, and managing a very large organization.

As with any first job, this was a key learning experience. I developed my sales skills, and business and management abilities.  I soon learned that these skills would be beneficial and applicable to any other field I chose to pursue.

Several of my colleagues went to Hilton Head to begin careers in real estate, an industry that had intrigued me.   I always had an appreciation for historic architecture, an interest in environmental development, and coastal community life.  Hilton Head beckoned me and I moved there in 1984 and started selling real estate.

At that time, there were about 25 of us who had previously sold books and slowly gravitated to real estate.  I think Jim Chafin and Jim Light were the first to go and help Charlie Fraser build the Sea Pines Company.

Other real estate colleagues included James Wedgeworth, Johnny Ussery, and Terry Weaver, all of who did well in this industry.

Real estate and I connected well, a natural fit.  In 1986, along with two colleagues I formed The Pinnacle Group, which quickly grew and became one of the top real estate companies in South Carolina.

Our services expanded and we represented large developments owned by paper and oil companies.  We handled the land planning, marketing, and sales for them.

At this juncture, my interests and efforts were focused on the development business. We were fortunate enough to work on projects like Wexford Plantation, Haig Point, and Moss Creek, all very innovative designs and concepts at the time.

Intrawest, out of Vancouver, BC, was a major player in developing ski and mountain communities.  They started with Whistler and Blackcomb and had just done Copper Mountain and Mammoth when they decided to diversify into the warm weather communities where golf is most popular.

After they bought Sandestin, Florida, I was hired as vice president and responsible for the regional growth east of the Mississippi, Mexico, and the Caribbean. My first project with Greg Norman was the Sharkstooth Course at Wild Heron in the panhandle of Florida, just outside of Rosemary Beach and Panama City Beach. We launched the first lot sales in October of 2001 and in one day, we completely sold out the first release, all 105 lots making Wild Heron a huge success.

Other projects with Greg Norman followed including one in Punta Mita Mexico.

I was looking for property to develop for Intrawest and found that Hampton Island, owned by John Morgan, was for sale with a price tag of $18 million. The 2300-acre island, located in Liberty County Georgia, only had three houses on it and a few limestone roads. It was connected to the mainland by an old causeway that crossed over the marsh and Payne Creek to a marsh island that had beautiful river frontage on the North Newport River.

Upon seeing this property, my first reaction was that I needed to protect and save it   from getting into the hands of a traditional developer who would not honor the land and the river.

 I met with John Morgan and shared my vision for developing the island with very low environmental impact, with no impervious areas and with no hazardous impact to the wetlands and waterways.   He too shared my vision and I was able to conclude a purchase of the tract from him.

About this same time, Cora Bett Thomas, a friend and a top real estate agent out of Savannah, had been working with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez who were interested in buying a magnificent home on the coast that would give them maximum privacy. Cora suggested that Ben and I talk and he was the first purchaser, acquiring the Big House, Oyster House, and 83 acres. Later I added another 1600 acres across the creek for a total of about 4000 acres with 12 miles of waterfront.

We had a team of exceptional architects and golf architects who worked on the development creating a great world class community. The island has won many awards for design, architecture, and marketing as a result of this assemblage of highly talented people.

After a meeting with the Governor in which I shared my vision for Hampton Island, he asked me to participate in a study he wanted the state to conduct on improving our quality of life by protecting our land and waterways.

After the study concluded, the Governor asked me to serve on the Land Conservation Council and gave the Council  $100 million for the purchase of land and ensuring its protection for future generations of Georgians to appreciate and enjoy.

I remember the Governor saying,  “If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you”. His quote inspired me to be an early pioneer in sensitive environmental development.

 I believe that you can find a balance between people and nature.  Often, we can look to nature and find solutions on how we might best design a lifestyle that brings peace and harmony.

As I have gotten older, I realize how important nature and land have been in my life. This love for the land has been a part of me since I was a kid.

 I remember my grandfather, who only had a third-grade education, had a farm in middle Georgia.  When he first bought it he said,  “ a rabbit would need to pack a lunch to take with him to get across this property.”

He took a raw piece of land, solid red Georgia clay, and transformed it into a farm that yielded enough produce to sell and put his three children through college of which one became one of the country’s leaders and pioneers in green development over the last 20 years, my uncle, Roy Bonnell.

Over the years I have collected books on conservation and my favorite is  “The Man Who Planted Trees” by Jean Giono and my favorite quote is from John Muir, “ In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks."

About four years ago, Governor Sonny Perdue asked me to visit Jekyll Island and give him my thoughts. This was my first visit back to Jekyll since I was a kid.  I was amazed, after so many years, that same indescribable feeling came over me that I experienced as a kid. A special feeling of excitement, joy seeing the blue water, the majestic live oaks, and hearing all the birds.  Nature greeted me when I was a young boy and it welcomed me back again. I will never forget it.

Jekyll Island is a unique place.  It has an incredible history, a magnificent beauty of the land, distinct architectural design found in the Historic Village, and extraordinary vistas looking out through the old live oak trees to the marsh and ocean.

My return to Jekyll brought back fond memories from my childhood. I remember discovering all the deer at night, discovering the old oak forest, and walking on undisturbed beaches for miles and miles. 

This connection, similar to my experience at Hampton Island, leaves me with a strong desire to find a balance between protecting this treasured environment for generations to come, while allowing for a vibrant island to emerge and offer Georgians a special place to come and visit, vacation, and experience nature at its best.

There are many Georgians, like myself, who only have fond memories of Jekyll and there are many Georgians who have none. 

My goal would be to reconnect Jekyll with those Georgians who used to frequent the island, and introduce this Jewel of Georgia to all others so they too can create fond memories.

I believe it is important that the development concepts incorporate several key elements. One, to develop green, making Jekyll Island a model for future green development.  Second, to ensure affordability for all Georgians. And third, to utilize the best in land planning and architecture using local materials and craftsman.