I have been a Broward County resident for the past 15 years. I live in Hollywood with my wife Elisabeth and my two children. I am president and CEO of Lowry Group Properties (LGP), Inc. a real estate development company in business since 1993.
Upbringing
I was born in Philadelphia in 1959. The oldest son of a Presbyterian minister, I and my family moved to Cocoa Beach Florida in 1969, to the first of many churches. From a very young age, I developed a love of U.S. History and the Constitution of the United States… a love that continues to the present. We moved to Delaware in 1978, and in the following year I began my studies at the University of Delaware.
The Switch
A student of sociology in my early college experience, I was a committed liberal (as many students typically are) attending rallies and marching on Washington D.C. That was until travels to East Berlin, Prague, and other parts of Europe, opened my eyes to the dangers of socialism, causing me to take another look at my political commitments. I made a dramatic change to conservatism, and never looked back.
When I returned from my travels in Europe, I switched degree choices and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. I had found that the only way to effectively change the world was through sound economic principles, and a commitment to Free Market capitalism.
Business experience
Throughout my diverse business experience, I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit:
The Dream
Immediately after college, I worked in the financial services arena, which included earning both a securities and insurance license. I worked with average folks, high net worth individuals, and businesses, helping them achieve their financial goals. The pinnacle of my financial services career was earning the esteemed two year certified financial planner designation (CFP).
The Reality
In October of 1987 the market crashed which made it hard to get appointments, and to know when and where to invest. Nobody trusted the system. The financial services sector experienced massive layoffs, I was one of them. During this critical time, a friend offered me the opportunity to learn his reprographics business. Expecting a management position, I was surprised when my first day entailed unloading spools of blueprint paper from an 18 wheel trailer in the August heat of downtown Wilmington, Delaware. Near exhaustion, I requested to speak to my new boss regarding my “new duties”, to which my boss calmly replied “I’m going to teach you to earn a living the old-fashioned way”. He further explained that “you cannot manage something that you’ve never done yourself”. This philosophy is as true today as it was then. Within two years, I had worked in almost every department of that company. The principle of learning a business from the ground up, and earning respect by rolling up my sleeves, working along side my fellow employees is paramount in my company today.
With the advent of computers, the industry was evolving, and I saw the opportunity to bridge the gap from the old reprographics industry to the new. I presented this new technology to my coworkers with the hope of increasing the success of my friend’s company. Perhaps the move was too bold, the investment too large, or the technology to daring. As a result the proposal was turned down, and I decided to strike out on my own to join with the new software company. It was a disaster, and within 10 months I was again starting from scratch, poorer in wealth, but richer in experience.
Starting Over
With a diminishing bank account, I was offered the position of Project Manager of a medical development firm that just opened a South Florida office. My first project was developing a medical office building in Aventura, Florida. Having never developed a project from the ground up before, I immersed myself in the world of architecture and construction. I began working along side each construction professional to learn their trade – utilizing the learned philosophy that: “you can never manage what you haven’t done yourself”. This first successful project led to other successful development opportunities throughout the state, and for the next 15 years under the banner of Lowry Group Properties (LGP).
Meeting a need
Like so many seniors living alone after the death of their spouse, My grandmother was experiencing physical difficulties which required her to eventually move in with my parents. The family was strained. After several more years experiencing the aging process, my grandmother’s deterioration became too much for the family to reasonably bear. I began touring several assisted living communities, searching for an appropriate place for my grandmother. I found that while many of the smaller communities offer the required compassion, they could not offer the continuity of care. Many of the larger communities offered the continuity of care, but without the compassion. I saw a need, and compassionate conservatism was the solution.
In 1998, I purchased a 35 bed assisted living facility (ALF) that was in foreclosure. Within two years, utilizing all my hard-learned, prior experience, I nearly tripled the community’s size, which included the development of the first residentially based secured dementia unit in Sebring, Florida. I had provided an affordable, family-oriented, guiltless, compassionate alternative. LGP helps seniors return to a healthy vibrant life. I had seen the need and filled it.
Today, I have expanded that model to an additional two communities, offering a total of 300 beds, in three different counties. LGP is still expanding…
As a small business owner, I understand the omni-importance of fiscal responsibility and the ability to create jobs. Now over 100 employees call Lowry Group Properties home, as well as the hundreds of residents that live in our three communities.
Local involvement
In my local community, I’ve been extremely active in my Presbyterian Church serving both as ruling elder and church treasurer. It was this involvement that led me to help spearhead a collaborative effort with Temple Beth El, a local Hollywood synagogue, in reaching out to help support and establish orphanages in Haiti. This outreach is specifically for HIV positive children. They now have several such orphanages in Port-au-Prince. I had the privildge to lead our youth group on a mission to the Bahamas to build a church. We helped the Eleutherans, as well as taught the youth group the value of volunteerism and charity.
I have organized many fund raising efforts for organizations such as Samaritan Touch, Easter Seals, Alzhiemer’s Association, New Hope, and other non-profit organizations that benefit Seniors.
