The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce has named John Floyd, founder and owner of Ole South Properties, Inc., as the 2015 Business Legend of the Year. He will be honored at the Chamber's annual Business at its Best celebration onFriday, Jan. 22, at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel & Conference Center.
At age 23, John Floyd began buying rental property as an investment for the future, and met Howard Wall, who encouraged him to leave a job in the grocery business to enter a career in real estate. In 1985, at the age of 25, he took Wall's advice and joined the firm of Snow and Wall Realtors. This led to his entry into the homebuilding business in 1986.
While actively involved in the building industry, he excelled in sales for Snow and Wall, and was named the top real estate agent in Rutherford County for five consecutive years. He then pursued an even more active role in building and developing, causing his business to grow at an even greater rate. In addition, he worked with his peers for the benefit of all builders, serving as president of the Rutherford County Homebuilders' Association in 1993. In 1995, the RCHA selected him as Builder of the Year.
Additional community and civic roles Floyd has held include serving as a member of the Tennessee Homebuilders' Advisory Board for the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, MTSU College of Behavior and Health Advisory Board, City of Murfreesboro's Commerce Center Task Force, MidSouth Bank Board of Directors, Murfreesboro Housing Authority Board of Directors, Destination Rutherford Campaign Leadership and Murfreesboro City Schools Foundation.
Floyd has contributed greatly to his community by serving on the board of directors for the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties and Boys and Girls Clubs of Rutherford County. He organizes a golf tournament that has proven to be one of the most supported annual charitable events for the past 10 years, with proceeds going to worthwhile charities such as Good Shepherd's Children's Home, New Frontiers and the Child Advocacy Center, to name a few. He is recognized for contributions to the Primary Care and Hope Clinic, Rutherford Heart Ball, Discovery Center, and Special Kids. He was a major contributor in establishing the Murfreesboro City Schools Foundation and the 2008 construction of Oakland High School's building trades vocational building.
In 2001, Floyd was named the Chamber's Business Person of the Year. For the past 10 years, he has been recognized by TVA as the largest EnergyRight independently-owned builder in the seven-state region and was inducted into the Home Builders Association of Tennessee's Hall of Fame in 2015. He is also a partner in the following businesses: Toot's Restaurants, Tri-Star Title & Escrow and Indian Hills Golf Course.
Floyd is engaged to Gina Moulder and has a daughter, Stephanie, and a granddaughter, Zelda.
The Business at its Best reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at 6:30 p.m.Reservations are $70 for Chamber members and $90 for non-members. To reserve your seat, please contact the Chamber at 615-893-6565 or visit www.rutherfordchamber.org.
The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, which includes the Convention & Visitors Bureau, Destination Rutherford, Economic Development, Workforce Development and the Business Education Partnership, seeks to promote economic development and a quality of life to benefit all residents of Rutherford County. Programs, events and services are offered to both its nearly 1,600 member organizations and non-members. The Chamber operates out of a main office on Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro, and has branch offices in Smyrna, La Vergne and Eagleville. Learn more at www.rutherfordchamber.org.
