You might have landed here looking for more information about the progress of The Golden Building. I wanted to take a detour from the business talk and share a little bit about us and how some of these five things had influence in our decision to invest in Downtown Tifton, GA.

1. We both graduated in 2015 from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College with a degree in Business and Economic Development.

I feel like I should share this information with you first. If you’re not from Tifton or unfamiliar with ABAC, as we call it, it is a local college that is part of the university system of Georiga. You can ask Justin, when we first started dating I was in my senior year of high school and was applying to major universities ranging anywhere from four to fifteen hours away from home. I refused to settle for the familiar saying of, “stay back at ABAC.”

I completed my senior year of high school while participating in dual enrollment college courses that ABAC offered.  I figured, hey, it will be smarter for me to stay here and finish my pre-pharmacy requisites. At this point, Justin was two years into college (at ABAC) and still had no idea what major he wanted to settle into.

Time passed and dreams and callings changed. It wasn’t long before pre-pharmacy was off the radar for me and we both changed our major to business. I look back and remember that being such a tough choice for me because I felt like being a pharmacist held more prestige than having a business degree that who knows how I would ever use.

I’m so thankful that we both redirected our focus and tuned in to God’s will for our lives. By pursuing a business degree at ABAC, we were able to have personal relationships with our professors who were also some of the most knowledgeable and experienced people on the planet with regards to management, marketing, starting businesses, and so much more. We were able to have classmates that are a lot like family even to this day. If it wasn’t for the bonds that we created at ABAC, we wouldn’t have had the knowledge and drive to have started the businesses we have today. Also, because of ABAC, we’re still here — deeply rooted in Tifton. 

2. We live in a place called Scooterville, Georgia. 

If I’m being honest, I get a little bit embarrassed when someone asks me where I’m from. Justin, on the other hand, takes great pride when we travel and someone chuckles at the name “Scooterville.” It’s a small, “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” community about 20 minutes outside of Tifton.

Regardless of the humor in the name, we love this little place and couldn’t imagine our lives anywhere else. We’re four wheeler-riding distance to lots of our family, have plenty of backwoods to explore, and many dirt roads to cruise. We live next door to our church, yet we never arrive quite on time. And you better wave at whoever is crossing in the other lane or you’re just downright rude. 

3. Justin and I have known each other since elementary school, but did not start dating until college.

To give a little back story, both of our parents were good friends in high school. Growing up, we lived five miles apart from each other, but with a slight age difference and not many mutual friends, we never got to know each other all those years. We tease each other how if we could’ve just found one another in elementary school, we could’ve saved each other from other failed relationships along the way.  

4. We come from a family of construction workers, specifically bridge-builders.

Justin’s grandfather started working for a bridge building company soon after he returned home from the Army. He and his brothers started as laborers on a crew. Those brothers worked their way to the top with sweat and integrity and one day bought out the entire company. Today, Justin’s grandfather is 84 years old, is the CEO of the company, and still goes to work everyday. We’ve learned so much from him concerning work ethic, people management, money management, and most especially that there is no time for idleness. (Even if that looks like “working” in the garden every Saturday.)

Most of the family works for the company. So, when we’re all gathered around the dinner table, construction is usually the topic of conversation between the men. While Justin did not choose to work directly for the family business, we chose to start our own concrete business that could provide subcontracting services to the big guys like this. 

5. We are the only ones in our immediate friends that have never watched The Bachelor/Bachelorette.

Ok, so this fact about us might be a little off topic, but it’s something that Justin and I jokingly take pride in among our friends. You can imagine us gathered around talking and the topic comes up. Justin and I, without fail, will give each other that side-eye like “are we really talking about this again?” No offense to anyone that enjoys these shows, we just think that it’s really funny that all these big, burly guys sit down religiously with their wives every Monday night to see what drama happens next. I think we’re to the point now where we will never watch it just for the sake of saying we’ve never watched it.

What about you?

Can you relate to any of these things? Leave a comment that will make me laugh or let me know if we have a common bond with any of these subjects!

---

Why did we choose this building to be the home of our business dreams? Find out here!