Columbus and the Valley and the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals present 2009’s Five Under 40, our annual salute to young citizens who are making a difference through their leadership and dedication to family, business, faith and community.

The five awardees come from diverse backgrounds but have one common goal: to make Columbus a better place to live.

This year’s class includes a teacher, a CPA, an electrical contractor, a marketing professional and a financial planner. They were selected from dozens of nominees, each one dedicated to serving our community. There were so many, in fact, that the judges chose an additional class we call Rising Stars, who are five to watch. You’ll find them named at the end of this feature.

Among this year’s Five Under 40, look for common themes, like making tough choices for the sake of family and monitoring the challenges of fast growth. Look for a common thread in what these leaders like best about their community. But look between the lines, too, to see the passion each has for what they do. It’s that passion that pushes them to the top.

Jay Alexander, 34
President, Alexander Electric
Wife: Kellie; Daughters: Holland, 6; Julia, 4
Hometown: Columbus
Education: Colorado Mountain College, Georgia Southern,
Columbus State University

The family business had been around more than a quarter century when Jay Alexander was born. So he never gave a whole lot of thought about what he wanted to be when he grew up.

“I’ve worked here my whole life,” Alexander said. “Every summer, every spring break, every Christmas.”When he was 10 he swept the warehouse and organized shelves. By the time he was 15, he was helping wire houses. Now, at age 34, he is president of Alexander Electric, following in his father’s footsteps, who followed in his own father’s footsteps.

Alexander Electric employs about 200 people in its commercial, residential and service divisions. The men in the yellow trucks might be wiring TSYS’ Corporate Campus or hanging a ceiling fan at your neighbor’s house.

Although Alexander’s destination was set in his youth, he traveled a bit off course during his college years. He wanted to go to Auburn University, but didn’t think he was ready for that fresh out of high school. So he took off for Steamboat Springs, Colo., where he could ski and get his core classes at the same time. He got a job at an Italian restaurant making salads, and when the seasonal help went home, he worked his way up to the pizza guy and then chef. The skills he learned there have served him well both in business and in the kitchen. “Pasta carbonara is my specialty,” he said.

Next, Alexander followed friends to Georgia Southern (where he met his future wife) and finally moved back to Columbus to finish his business degree at Columbus State University. After college he went to work for his dad.

“It’s been a good opportunity for me,” Alexander said. “It’s provided a good living for us. Plus, it’s all I’ve ever done except cook in a restaurant, and let me tell you, chefs don’t make much money and they have terrible hours!”

Fort Benning has been a particularly good opportunity for Alexander’s company. In an economic climate where so many contractors are scraping for work, Alexander Electric is in good shape, having signed on four years ago to be part of the huge post expansion, even though they didn’t think they needed it at the time.

Alexander says that growth is also one of Columbus’ biggest problems. “I don’t think the city is ready for BRAC. I don’t think we’re ready from a housing standpoint, and I know we’re not going to be ready from a schools standpoint.”

He’s worried that too many folks have their head in the sand. “Everybody I talk to says, ‘yeah, we’ve been hearing about this since 2005 but we haven’t seen anything happen. Where are all the people?’ The base has $4 billion of construction going on, but must people don’t get to see it. It’s amazing what’s going on out there.”

Alexander says one solution to the school problem is to bring in a private contractor, someone who would not only build the building but fill it with desks and chairs and chalkboards and then turn it over to the school district. “But with this economy, I don’t see anybody in the private sector wanting to put their neck on the line.”

What Alexander likes most about his hometown is its size. “Everybody knows everybody,” he said. “If you went to Phillips Arena (in Atlanta) to see a show, how many people would you see that you know? Go to the RiverCenter and you’ll probably see 100 people you know. It’s nice to live someplace where you don’t get lost in the crowd.”

Alexander stays plugged into the community by volunteering, most notably with the Chamber of Commerce and United Way. He believes both organizations—one by bringing business to town and the other by funding social programs—are critical to the city’s success. He also serves on the finance committee at Wynnbrook Baptist Church.

Alexander and his college sweetheart, Kellie, have two little girls, Holland, 6, and Julia, 4. While they’re off at gymnastics, dance and vacation Bible school, he works with Sadie, his 11-month-old Boykin Spaniel. Alexander says the pup dutifully retrieves everything, “dove, quail, pheasant… and shoes.”

Alexander seems to have settled comfortably into his role as keeper of the family business. “I never really wanted to do anything else,” he said. “I’d seen my dad work real hard and be rewarded. I was brought up with a strong work ethic, and taught that if you work real hard you might have some nice things in life. You gotta put in if you want to take out.”

Helena Haro Coates, 35
Partner, Media Marketing...and More!
Husband: Stephen; Son: Cully, 20 mos
Hometown: Aiken, S.C.
Education: Brigham Young University, Columbus State University

If Helena Coates had made one decision differently, she might be jetting off to Japan right now instead of finding photographers for the Teacher of the Year gala.

Coates co-owns Media, Marketing … and More! with Marquette McKnight. Their tiny staff provides public relations and advertising support to a cross section of businesses and organizations in Columbus. She’s been there 10 years, despite the fact she always saw herself as a highly charged (and highly paid) CEO of some major corporation.

A few years ago, an opportunity to jump on the fast track tempted her to make a change. But for the first time, she saw another future for herself.

“Had I taken that job, I would have been doing some of the things I dreamed about my whole life—traveling internationally, working with national media, all those goals I’d set for myself,” she said. “But I would have been choosing my career over a family.” And although she had no children yet, she knew she wanted to leave that door open.

A couple of years later, Cully was born. “He is the light of my life,” Coates said. “My only regret is that I did not have him sooner.” Her son, now 1, has had a profound impact on how Coates sees herself and the world she lives in.

“I don’t usually get to talk about the mom part of me. There’s no forum for that in the business world. But if I had to pick one thing I’m most proud of, it’s being a mom.”

Coates now appreciates the fact that working in a small business in a small city gives her the flexibility she needs to be both a mom and an executive.

At work, Coates’ business sense and fondness for numbers complement her partner’s creativity After hours, her passions take her in many directions, whether it’s teaching a fitness class, mentoring young women or helping the community forge its future.

A lifetime member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Coates is a bit of a square peg. While the church still encourages young women to focus on becoming a good wife and mother, Coates actively pushes those young women to do more.

Coates is in her second year leading the church’s Young Women program. Her goal is simple: to prepare the middle and high schoolers for what lies ahead and to help them become better people. She knows she has to be creative to keep their attention. Recently, as one of the girls was about to go on her first date, Coates set up a “practice date” for the couple at her home. She created lesson plans and invited the rest of the class to observe and help out. Coates cooked the meal and the classmates served as waiters. The etiquette skills and dating dos and don’ts they picked up will serve them well into adulthood.

“When you’re at that age, you’re setting yourself up for the rest of your life. It is when you are most impressionable. You’re finally breaking away from your parents and becoming an individual. You can ruin your life with some of the choices you’ll make at this age. You need good teachers and leaders to help.

“Most of these kids have great parents,” Coates added. “But even the best parents need help. I can be not just a leader but also the ‘cool friend’ that’s not always harping on them about making their bed.”

Coates admits to being a judgmental teenager with an attitude. “In high school it’s so easy to get caught up in making fun of kids because they’re poor or because they wear the wrong clothes,” she said. It was her husband, Stephen—whose upbringing was decidedly more difficult than Coates’—who helped her become a better person by pointing out that it’s what lies inside that matters.

Coates takes her passion for making the world a better place to the community, too. She’s very active in United Way, UPtown Columbus Inc. and the Business Improvement District. She is past president of Leadership Columbus Alumni, and was selected for Leadership Georgia as well. Having Cully has forced her to scale back some of her volunteering, but she knows she can still make a difference.

If I were the only one carrying the torch and trying to be a leader, I wouldn’t get very far,” she said. But there are so many people in this community who have that same passion. Goals and visions can only be achieved by a lot of people working together.”

What worries her most about Columbus’ future is who will be its next set of leaders. “It’s not the intellectual capital I’m worried about, because I do believe there are a lot of people smart enough to support the leadership, but where are the small handful of truly stellar people who love the community so much that they’ll give all to it?”

It’s not an easy question to answer. The younger generation is so fragmented in its passions and priorities, Coates says, that it could be difficult to fill the gaps. She says today’s leaders need to be carefully grooming the next generation. “We just have to be realistic about it and realize it’s not going to be the same.”

Coates has an obvious passion for Columbus, and in fact could not name anything she thinks is lacking here. “To me, there’s so much to do in this community, you can’t keep up. A) I wish I had more money, and B) I wish had more time to do it all.”

Frequent trips to the theatre aside, Coates does seem to be doing it all. She credits her self-discipline. “It’s not something I created in myself, I was just born with it. I’m lucky, I guess.”

Brantley Boyd Ford, 38
Teacher, Shaw High School
Husband: Nathan; Children: Lauren, 12; Wilson, 5
Hometown: Columbus
Education: Auburn University, Troy University,
Columbus State University

As a teen, Brantley Boyd Ford sat in her Shaw High School history class, with no clear idea of where her future would take her. She certainly had no idea it would take her back to the very same spot.

Fifteen years later, Ford is teaching history and current events at her alma mater.

In college, Ford studied history, business, anthropology and religion. “I did not see myself going into teaching,” she said. “But now that I’m there, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

The teaching career followed a decade in the business world. With a master’s degree in instructional technology, she went to work as a technical writer, business analyst and product development manager.

Getting married and having children soon followed, and as it happens with so many professional women, changes would have to be considered for the sake of the family. That’s when Ford, whose mother is a Muscogee County media specialist, decided to get a teaching certificate and go back to school.

High school was her first choice. “I don’t have the patience for elementary school, and middle school, well middle school is just …” She takes satisfaction in knowing that her 15- and 16-year-olds are grasping the concept of making a difference in their community.

At the end of the school day, Ford spends a good bit of energy teaching her students about environmental stewardship. She keeps a recycling bin in her classroom and warns students about the size of their carbon footprint.

“One day, one of my students said he’d like to start a Green Club and asked if I would sponsor it.” In two years, that club has taken off. Forty kids signed up for it last year, 50 this year. The whole school is now recycling newsprint, plastic and aluminum.

And because of her outreach efforts, lots of other schools are likely to follow suit. Ford goes to elementary and middle schools to teach them about becoming good stewards of the environment. For her efforts, Ford has been recognized by Keep Columbus Beautiful and WTVM’s Drive for Green program.

It’s no surprise that Ford goes green when asked about what Columbus should be doing better. “People in this community need better access to different types of environmentally friendly practices. The blue bin program is great, but we need more than that. There are so many opportunities we’re not taking advantage of.”

Ford is equally passionate about diversity. “We’ve come a long way, but there is still a lot of segregation in Columbus. Our world is changing and we need to be ready to accept diversity.

“I was in the store the other day,” she recalled. “One person next to me was speaking Spanish, another was speaking Japanese and I was speaking English. This is what our community is now.”

Ford says she and her husband Nathan value other ideas and cultures and encourage their children, 12-year-old Lauren and 5 year-old Wilson, to do the same.

She hopes the younger generation will help the community find the answers.

“It starts with the kids,” she said. “My kids go to the Thompson-Pound Art Program every year where they work side by side with kids from all kinds of backgrounds. That’s great, but—what is that—60 kids maybe that are getting that education? It needs to be bigger than that.”

Despite these weaknesses, there’s a lot Ford likes about Columbus. First and foremost, its size. “Not too big, not too small. We have the benefit of cultural opportunities and higher levels of education, but the city is not so large that you can’t get there.” She does believe a comprehensive mass transit system would be a major asset for Columbus.

Although school is out for the year, Ford keeps moving at full speed. She reads a lot, both novels and news, is very active at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, watches Lauren play soccer and listens to
Wilson sing in the church youth choir. If there’s a TV on in the house, it’s likely tuned to the Food Network, because 5- year-old Wilson wants to be the next Iron Chef. The family likes to go camping, and right now Ford is renovating the kids’ bathroom.

“I’m not happy unless I’m busy,” she said. Looks like Ford has enough to keep her happy for a long time.

William Taylor, 38
Taylor CPA & Associates PC
Wife: Jo Ann; Children: William, 3; Megan, 2
Hometown: Venice, La.
Education: Tulane University

Will Taylor says if you look at Louisiana like a boot, he comes from its big toe.

Venice, La., is a tiny community as far south in Louisiana as you can get by road. It’s mostly a gateway to oil rigs and fishing charters. Taylor grew up on his dad’s shrimp boat. His graduating class had only 21 students, but he was at the top of the class, with a knack for numbers.

“Every time we were out on that boat, my dad would find a reason to tell me why I need to do something else,” he recalled. “I don’t mind working, but nobody likes earning a living on shrimp boat.”

It was Taylor’s mom who helped him decide what he wanted to do with his life. “My mom took me to Disney World when I was 12, my first time on a plane. At the airport she told me to pick out a magazine. I remember picking up a Fortune or Forbes magazine and there was a man on the cover in a suit. I read that magazine the entire flight. And I decided right there, ‘Man, I am going to do something where I can wear a suit and tie.’

“The shrimping made me who I am, but I knew I didn’t want to do it the rest of my life.”

Taylor found further direction at Tulane University, where he racked up records on a track scholarship until an injury his junior year sidelined him. “That was the best thing that could have happened to me. It hurt me athletically because I had been nationally ranked. But academically, it bought me another year of school.” And that allowed Taylor to go to grad school and walk away with no debt.

Taylor began his climb up the business ladder at Arthur Andersen, one of the most prestigious accounting firms in the nation before its Enron-related fall in 2002. “It was a great experience. Like being a resident physician, you get exposed to everything. But you have no life. So I vowed to work hard, and that if I ever opened my own firm, I’d make sure my employees saw daylight.”

Taylor’s hard work paid off. He took a mentor’s advice and moved to Columbus, where the climate was reportedly ripe for entrepreneurs. He started out at Robinson Humphry, and in 1999 he opened his own CPA firm.

Ten years later, Taylor’s biggest challenge is growth. He says the firm has grown 15-20 percent a year and he has potential clients on a waiting list. He has opened an office in Atlanta, and encourages his staff to earn their licenses so he can promote from within.

“I’m not interested in a humongous firm,” he said. “We’re growing, but we’re growing at my pace.”

That pace allows Taylor, 38, time for his wife Jo Ann and kids William, 3 and Megan, 2. Their favorite pastime is jet skiing.

It’s the family feel he likes best about Columbus. “People here are naturally Southern,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about no one talking to you. Everyone seems to have a family here; this is not a swinging singles kind of place. And for me that’s a plus.”

What frustrates Taylor most is financial illiteracy. He cites statistics that show 98 percent of Americans are financially illiterate. “People are afraid to talk about money,” he said. “But you have to talk about it to learn how to maximize it.”

He wishes Columbus would find ways to help its residents become more financially savvy. “There are efforts to bring people together to talk about how to raise kids, how to fight crime, how to reduce teen pregnancy. There are government programs to help you buy a house, but no effort to bring people out to Kinnett Stadium to teach people all about it.”

Taylor has tackled the education problem himself. He and a friend sponsor an annual competition in which the winner—a high school junior or senior—can start his own business. One started a cleaning business, cleaning Taylor’s and his friend’s offices after school. He had to stick to a schedule and if he couldn’t make it, he had to find someone to take his place. He eventually hired some help, but found himself paying his employee more than himself. He came away from the experience having learned how to hire, fire and negotiate compensation. He learned to put 10 percent of his salary to church or charity and 10 percent into savings. He learned to balance his job, homework and his social life. “When Logan looked at the $5,000 he got versus the time he put in, he realized he could make $15 an hour as an entrepreneur, far more than any minimum wage job.”

Taylor also holds a track camp every year. But it’s not all about track. “I ask these kids, ‘would you rather have a $30,000-a-year job with a 3-5 percent increase every year for the rest of your life or win a million dollars in the lottery?’ Every kid wants the million dollars. But when I break it all down and show them what their money can do for them and ask that question again, they all say they’ll take the job and just spend a dollar on the lottery!”

Taylor was just a youngster himself when he set out on his own independent path. Next to his picture in the high school yearbook is written: “Will will own his own business in ten years.” And that’s exactly what happened.

Tyler Townsend, 37
Vice President Investments, Townsend Investments
Wife: Eleanore; Sons: Aiden, 5; Chase, 3
Hometown: Columbus
Education: Georgia State University and Georgia Tech

Tyler Townsend starts each day making breakfast for his two young sons and ends each day reading them a bedtime story. And that’s why, in his mid-30s, he put the brakes on a lucrative career and started all over again.

Townsend, now 37, is vice president of investments at Townsend Financial, his father’s financial planning and investment management company. It’s a very different path from the one he started on.

In 1998, Townsend had two degrees: criminal justice from Georgia State and industrial engineering from Georgia Tech.

“It was a good time to be interviewing for jobs. I had several offers and narrowed it down to three, and they were all very good jobs. I chose a software company that consults businesses in supply chain technology,” Townsend recalled.

“It was a small company when I started, and it grew significantly while I was there. I loved it, and it gave me a lot of good opportunities.”

But it required a lot of travel, often overseas. And when his second son was born, he realized the job wasn’t as fun as it used to be, and he started dreading the out-of-town assignments. “Monday morning through Friday evening, I couldn’t plan to do anything with my family,” he said.

So he went back to square one and looked for a career in which he could combine his math skills with his enjoyment of dealing with clients. That’s when he asked his dad to consider teaching him the financial planning business.

That was two years ago. In his first year he became a Certified Financial Planner. Now he’s studying to become a Certified Financial Analyst. And Monday through Friday he goes home to spend time with wife Eleanore and sons Aiden, 5 and Chase, 3. He coaches Aiden’s soccer team, something he never could have done in his previous job.

He’s on the Better Business Bureau board of directors and is a member of this year’s Leadership Columbus class. He and his family are active members of St. Luke United Methodist Church.

Townsend’s other passions are Georgia Tech basketball and football. In fact, he says that’s the only reason he has for leaving town. But he says it hasn’t always been this way.

“When I left Columbus in 1990 (after high school), I thought I was never coming back. The choices in restaurants, entertainment were nothing like they are today. I went to Atlanta and I thought ‘this is the best thing in the world because there’s so much to do.’ But now Columbus has entertainment just as nice as in Atlanta.”

What Townsend likes best about Columbus is its friendly, small town feel. “When you’re in Atlanta driving down the street, you’re racing to get where you’re going. Nobody cares about the person in the next car because you will never see them again. But when you come to Columbus and somebody pulls in front of you, you almost apologize, like ‘I’m sorry you had to cut me off!’

“The difference is, that person may sit next to you in church on Sunday. I’ve noticed it in business, too. The people we do business with are the people you see at Rotary and go to church with. That has been a huge difference between Atlanta and Columbus and that’s probably been my favorite difference.”

But Townsend sees that Columbus is facing challenges, too. Namely, growth. “We’re challenged to be smart about growth,” he said. “That includes land use and development, transportation, infrastructure, education. We have to grow all these things wisely.”

Townsend says he can’t complain about what’s going on in the city, because there are so many opportunities to have input. For instance, the city is considering an overlay district to regulate development near his north Columbus home. “I can very easily see Veterans Parkway being poorly
developed, being run down and unattractive, and I can imagine what that would do to my neighborhood. Whether the overlay district passes or fails, it’s hard to be frustrated about it because at least the public has had a chance to discuss it.”

He’s confident the city will make the right decisions about all of its challenges. “People here really care about the future of the city. I think it’s because a lot of them are from here, and they want their children to grow up here.”

Townsend says he has no regrets about moving back to Columbus. “I love this job. I really enjoy working with my dad and getting to spend more time with him. We’ve always known we were a good father and son, but we didn’t know how we’d be as boss and employee. Fortunately, it’s worked out really well!”

RISING STARS

Dr. Almesha Ramsey, 36
Principal, Russell County Middle School
Son: Phillip
Education: University of Alabama, Troy University,
Auburn University

Brad Clements, 35
CPA with Abbott, Jordan and Koon, LLC
Wife: Ashley, Son: Hobbs
Education: Columbus State University

Merri Sherman, 28
Columbus Sports Council Assistant Director
Husband: Russell; Children: Dustin and Dylan
Education: Columbus State University

Brian Sillitto, 37
Vice President of Economic Development, Greater
Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce
Wife: Jennifer, Daughters: Isabel and Sophia
Education: Columbus State University

Brenda Coakley Williams, 38
Vice President, CB&T Commercial Real Estate
Husband: Tony, Son: Jalen
Education: Columbus State University

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