Images by John Alexander
 

By Janice Shay
Photography by Tim Johnson

First impression: Greg Parker makes everything he does look easy. A CEO who’s rarely seen in a corporate suit, his stylishly casual attire belies the many hours he spends working at his office upstairs from Parker’s Market on Drayton. I was surprised to discover that he’s chairman of the national industry that represents 146,000 convenience stores, he’s a sought-after speaker at business forums around the country, and is responsible for the gas card program that spawned a lawsuit against the state of Georgia and put more than a million dollars back into customers’ pockets in the last 15 months. That’s no small change.

This personal success is a result of Parker’s uber-popular business model. It’s hard not to notice one of Parker’s convenience stores. They are the modern and well-maintained gas stops you see around town and along the highways. There are 27 stores in the Georgia/South Carolina region, including Richmond Hill, Statesboro, Ludowici, Hinesville, Bluffton, Guyton and Savannah. Currently there are 17 more stores on the drawing board. Parker is quick to note that this is exactly the right time to grow a business, an idea that goes against the herd instinct of “wait-and-see” so prevalent in our down economy. Of course, that kind of progressive growth mindset demands a particular courage and knowledge of the market. Parker has both those in spades.

Parker’s convenience stores are not news to Savannahians. Most locals have steered their car into one of the Parker’s stores to gas up or grab a quick snack. Billboard and transit bus ads are a frequent reminder that we can save money on cigarettes and enjoy chewy ice in super-sized drink cups at various locations around our fair city. What is not so well known is that Greg Parker created this empire 38 years ago in Midway, Georgia, at the tender age of 21, using the same good instincts that continue to fuel his business decisions.

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

By Lauren Hunsberger
Photography by Jabberpics

Savannah-born Richard Kessler—visionary of the riverfront Bohemian Hotel, the Mansion on Forsyth Park and eight other luxury boutique hotels that span from Beaver Creek, Colorado, to Orlando, Florida—is the first to admit that the hotel industry has been through the worst three years since 1946. So how has he not only survived but thrived? He says it’s his penchant for passion and eye for luxury that sets him apart, and guests like Jennifer Lopez, Mandy Moore and Andrea Bocelli couldn’t agree more. It seems success for Kessler also comes from listening to his inner instincts; after all, the Georgia Tech grad-turned-millionaire  never took a single course in hotel management.

• Statistically, we’re running almost double what our competitive set is booking, all through ‘08,’09 and ‘10. Our competitive set includes Ritz Carltons, Hyatt hotels and Westins—top quality hotels.

• We like to build hotels where people want to be, not where they have to be, because where they want to be, they’re usually having fun and want something special. Where people have to be, they’re usually looking for a commodity price, two or three stars, the cheapest rate, a heads-in-beds kind of thing, where we’re anti heads-in-beds. What we offer is this bohemian experience, which is about art and music; it’s a feeling. It’s about the best food, color, luxury and all those things that people just love and have a passion for. When people come to our hotels they sense there’s something different, and what it is is the passion we put in them.

• It’s an inherited thing. I’ve always loved art and music, even when I was at Georgia Tech at engineering school, which is the antithesis of this because you never take an art course and you never take a music course there. Sometimes I wonder if I had to do it all over again would I go to an engineering school, and I don’t know. It really brings a lot of discipline, though.

• For our next wave of development, I’ll be looking at the East coast. It’s much harder to get people to move west than it is for them to flow up and down. What we’ve learned over time is we really like to be in the flow because if people are coming from Orlando, they drive and stay in Savannah or in St. Augustine; they go up toward Asheville, North Carolina. Many people are now planning their trips around our hotels. We’re looking at Charleston; we should be in Charleston for sure. We also need a beach location, and that might be in Miami. We should also be in New Orleans and Austin, Texas.

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

By Jeff Vrabel
Photography by Colin Douglas Gray

From personal training and embodying wrestler personas like The Devil’s Advocate to bouncing at night clubs and instructing personal security classes, Sean Haire has made a career of jumping from one tough-guy profession to the next. Now he’s trying his hand at something new: hair styling.

Sean Haire is a former professional wrestler/mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who has also been a 17-time Toughman competition winner, boxer, personal trainer, strip club bouncer, bodyguard, trainer of other bodyguards, and three-time WCW World Tag Team Wrestling Champion. He still looks the part: At 41, he’s 6′5″, 280 pounds, and with the fire-and-spiderweb tattoos, it’s hard to miss him in a coffee shop that’s currently really into Jack Johnson music.

Two or three times during our interview, Haire says something cool and outside the window, perfectly timed lightning shatters the sky. Some people have a flair for the dramatic. Which is one of the reasons he plans to make a great hair stylist.

He’s also got a flair for the gregarious, and a disarming forthrightness. He mentions, not without regret, the days and nights that found him “really mean,” and then worries how that would sound in this article. His past has been on occasion messy—I mention I used to work at the paper on Hilton Head, and he responds half-jokingly, “Oh, so you’ve read some bad stuff about me.”

On the other hand, he has an awful lot of pictures of his cat on his phone.

Over the course of two hours, we blaze through his history as a fighter (street and otherwise), his handwritten and long-abandoned professional wrestling personas (including Sean O’Haire and the never-quite-finalized Devil’s Advocate), his partially reconstructed and reinforced titanium jaw and orbital socket, the National Kodak Medallion of Excellence award he won for photography in high school, the time he fought a K-1 kickboxing champion and didn’t know it (he lost), his boxing stint in New Jersey, several stories involving “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, two marriages, two divorces, an almost-detour into professional mountain biking, his girlfriend of four years, a Savannah anesthesiologist he calls a “calming influence” and enough WCW/WWE name-dropping to deeply entertain a writer who grew up watching scrambled WrestleManias on pay-per-view.

One could be forgiven for struggling to find the thread that connects all of this, but before long it’s clearer: a mix of constant motion, found opportunities and an inclination to take the unplanned detours at the moments when many people would find excuses to back away. Sean finds a way to think, “Why not?”

To read the full story, grab a copy of South magazine.

Interview by Sarah Jones
Photography by Tim Johnson

Judge Tammy Stokes, recently appointed as Chief Judge of the Chatham County Recorder’s Court, found her way to law school and eventually back to Savannah unexpectedly. Sixteen years after returning to her hometown, she is the chief judge of what she describes as the face of the criminal justice system and is in court five days a week addressing traffic, misdemeanor and ordinance charges. Judge Stokes spends her time combating Chatham County’s issues—both on and off the bench—by doing her best to follow her own good advice: “Be yourself. Do your homework. And know that it’s not all about you.”

On how she became a judge: I was a psychology major and my plan was to become a clinical psychologist, but as part of volunteer work I did, I read to a blind law student. Technology wasn’t what it is today, so if you were a blind law student, you had to figure out, the best way you could, how to get all of that reading done. So I was a reader. And we became friends, and when I became friends with him, I became friends with his friends, and we’re all still friends today. I hung out with them. Instead of studying at the regular library, I studied at the law library, and would hear them talk about school. That old adage “association brings about assimilation,” well, I got interested in what they were doing and instead of planning on graduate school, I switched over to law school.

On how she decided to move back to Savannah from Atlanta: It was a culmination of little things and big things that just kind of all meet. For me, I just woke up one day and realized, I’m going to Savannah. It was on a Thursday—I called my family and told them I was coming home. And they thought, “Yay, she’s comin’ home to visit,” but I said, “No, I’m coming home to look for my office.” So by Friday morning I drove around downtown Savannah and I found my office—which was at 114 Jefferson Street—I had my furniture, I signed up for a bunch of stuff, all before noon. Took my momma to lunch and said, “See y’all in 30 days!” My friends thought I was crazy. My family thought “she’s movin’ too fast.”

On why she loves the law as her work: I always had an interest in the balance of the state versus the individual and what all that means and the growth of our system over the course of time. It’s a system that’s always continuing to grow.

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

By Tom Cunneff

Admit it, you’d love to be one of those people who can sit on a beach all day, reading and napping the time away. But that’s about as likely to happen as skipping your morning coffee. Power professionals like to relax by playing as hard as they work, and no sport lends itself to that better than a round of golf on a challenging course at a first-rate resort. Many of these have multiple courses, so playing 36 holes a day is not only doable, but expected. Play an early round, break for lunch and perhaps a swim, then it’s back out for an afternoon game, followed by a hard-earned visit to the 19th hole and dinner. Repeat.

One of the great things about living in the Savannah area is that our golf cup runneth over with options, from Georgia’s Lake Country to the Sea Islands and the Lowcountry of South Carolina. What’s great about the game is that unlike, say, tennis, the skill level of your partners doesn’t matter (though etiquette does) so you can play with spouses, friends, business associates or bosses. What does matter is that you choose a resort that will meet your expectations. The 10 that follow most certainly will.

Cuscowilla Golf Resort

Located on beautiful Lake Oconee about three hours from Savannah, Cuscowilla isn’t so much a golf resort as it is a retreat. Featuring the only Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore golf course in Georgia, Golfweek ranked Cuscowilla the second best public-access course in the state. This design duo’s trademark minimalist style and shaggy bunkers are on full display. The course winds through pine valleys and fescue-lined meadows, while a few of the holes are set right on the lake. For accommodations, there are country-style cottages that are as well designed as the course and are the epitome of rustic elegance. Lake and Mediterranean villas are also available on both the course and the lake. For dining, there’s the Golf House Grill overlooking the 14th green inside the 14,000-square-foot Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired clubhouse. The Waterside Restaurant offers a fabulous view of the lake, which offers plenty of watersports. cuscowilla.com

Kiawah Island Resort

What makes a great golf resort truly great? It’s got to have a first-class hotel with fantastic restaurants, of course. It also really helps to have a superstar of a course that every true golfer must play at least once in his or her life. And then it must have a supporting cast of courses that add value and diversity to a golf trip. Kiawah Island checks all the boxes. Its legendary Ocean Course will host the 2012 PGA Championship August 9–12—the first major ever played in South Carolina. Designed by Pete Dye, the layout curves through dunes just south of Charleston and is renowned for its difficulty, particularly when the wind blows. But if it’s ocean views you want, there’s no better place: 10 of the holes are set right on the Atlantic—more than any other course in the Northern Hemisphere. Perhaps the second best course at Kiawah is Tom Fazio’s Osprey Point with its private club-like conditioning and atmosphere, but Jack Nicklaus’ Turtle Point is also a must-play. You might consider booking late tee times, though, because it’s hard to pull yourself away from the five-star luxury of The Sanctuary, the resort’s beachfront hotel whose 225 rooms have the feel of a seaside mansion. Throw in a world-class spa, a top-ranked tennis program, and lots of nature programs, and a week’s stay just might not be long enough. kiawahresort.com

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

Guns, Money and Drugs
Written by Lauren Hunsberger
Photography by Colin Douglas Gray

Although few people have ever heard of them, about 10 minutes outside of downtown Savannah, a team of elite agents works tirelessly to rid Chatham County of illegal drugs. Aided by cutting-edge technology and a few other unique advantages, it’s no wonder they’re quickly becoming the South’s leaders in law enforcement.

It sounds like a late-night TV drama: A large group of local law enforcement personnel is about to close in on three principle suspects they believe are responsible for orchestrating a large-scale cocaine ring anchored in West Savannah. After several months of conducting intense undercover investigations, employing high-tech surveillance techniques and conducting extensive intel research, they’ve decided it’s time to hit the dealers’ houses and make arrests, starting at the top and working their way down a chain of dealers.

Earlier that day the team gathered, as they do before all their large raids, at the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT) headquarters, a nondescript yet heavily secured building on Ross Road, where about 45 drug agents, a handful of administrative personnel and two assistant district attorneys make up one of the most technologically advanced, well-trained and unique local drug units in the Southeast. While at the campus, they ran through details of the raid down to the last factor, mapping out where each agent will go and who will be responsible for what. Their surveillance over the previous months has been so effective they know exactly what time the kilos of cocaine are going to arrive at the houses.

That time has now arrived, and sitting in their cars, waiting, they just want to get on with it before their nerves get to them too much. In the minutes just before the suspects and drugs arrive, some of the agents call their spouses and loved ones to say, “I love you,” just in case. Others count the seconds.

And then suddenly, all their plans unravel. Thanks to their surveillance techniques, the team finds out in real time that the three principles aren’t just transporting drugs; today they also happen to have three acquaintances they have kidnapped over a petty theft of some construction tools. As the agents keep gathering information, they learn that without a doubt the dealers are preparing to kill the kidnapped victims. The team now has to quickly transform into a rescue unit, and they have to hit the house with the victims first. On the fly, they make a new plan and split up. The waiting is cut short—it’s time to go.

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

Where to Eat, Play, Shop & Stay with Your Four-Legged Friend
Written by Richelle Laughinghouse, Reporting by Sinjin Hilaski
Photography by Angela Hopper

Savannah is one of the most pet-friendly towns around, which means there is no shortage of places to stay, play, eat and shop with your furry friends. Dozens of Savannah eateries allow dogs to chow down alongside their owners, and doggy day cares, unique pet stores and even dog bakeries make pet life in the Lowcountry something to wag your tail about. The South’s Greatest Pet Contest winners test out some of these favorite local spots.

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

Written by Shawndra Russell
Photography by Greg Ceo

Have an important business meeting coming up and need the perfect setting? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our guide to power lunching in Savannah. From central downtown to its bordering neighborhoods and atmospheres ranging from commanding to laid-back, our guide will help you land that deal, make that connection, impress your boss, or woo a great hire at one of these local gems ideal for business or pleasure. You’ll find four sections to help you choose where to satisfy your hunger in any professional situation: Downtown Fast & Fun, Leisurely Local Secrets, Downtown for Out-of-Towners and Surrounding Meeting Points.

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

Clothing is literally the fabric of our lives. It’s a necessity, an art form and a piece of history. I had the rare opportunity of meeting a fascinating woman, Jacqueline Thelen, who had a large collection of vintage clothing that spans over six decades. The clothes tell the story of style throughout the years. I had the chance to interview her about the experiences that shaped her extraordinary life. The clothing featured in this story proves that good fashion is timeless and outlives any trends.

Thelen started her exciting journey through life as an airline stewardess in the 1940s, traveling all over the world. Her many accomplishments as a model, entrepreneur, columnist, TV host and mother of four children have proven that a woman can thrive under any circumstance. Thelen continued to keep up with current fashions and modern day culture until her death in June 2012.

Where have you lived?
Italy, Ireland, Scotland, the Philippines, Greece, Egypt, Hawaii, Cuba, New York, New Orleans, Miami, San Francisco, La Hoya and other cities in the U.S.

Tell me about your days as an airline stewardess?
It was 1941; I was only 19 when I started flying for National Airlines. It was owned by Mr. George Baker, and they used to call us Baker’s dozen because there were only 12 stewardesses flying at the time. I met my husband through my job, and he was one of the first Blue Angels. When we married in 1948, I had to resign as a stewardess. By law you weren’t allowed to be married and be a stewardess at the same time. There were many restrictions and requirements in the flight industry in the early days. To be a stewardess, you had to be between 20 and 26 years old. You also had to be a registered nurse when you flew abroad.

For the entire story, see the current issue of South Magazine on shelves now at these local retailers.

Photographers: Travis Teate & Jessica Ashmen Teate
Fashion Stylist: Andrea Serrano
Hair Stylist: Charlotte Belk at Elysium Salon
Makeup: Jonny Sherwood at Jonny Cosmetics
Set Design: Matthew McLaughlin
Models: Sadye Claxton, Lara Lill
Produced and Written by Charlotte Belk & Andrea Serrano