Member Spotlight

GrayEnterprizes

Hear directly from Jonathan Gray of GrayEnterprizes, an ambassador of the Chamber and the entire business community of Williamson County.  Hear how his passions allowed him to discover his first career path and evolve that even after retirement.


Growing up, I just wanted to play, mostly outside.  From a heavily wooded forest with swinging vines and hollowed-out trees in the buzzard capital of the world, Hinckley Ohio, to critter-filled creeks running through the farm in our backyards in Charlotte NC, I sought out cool places to play.  Yes, there actually were farms in the backyards of Charlotte neighborhoods in 1965.

Later, playing outdoors gave way to real life.  I guess good play requires concert with people.  Playing alone is not quite as satisfying.  So, somehow from this, I developed an altruistic bent.  I knew I wanted my working life to be with people, to work for people, to solve problems for them, to be one of the good guys, to help others in any way I could.

How do you focus, though, on others without sacrificing your own stability?  My sage father suggested a legal career as one offering both service and reward.

And he was right.  A forty-year career later as an attorney in and around Chicago, after defending or asserting people’s rights in a multitude of courtrooms, anticipating pitfalls and detours in their business efforts, and in certain cases helping them through life’s most difficult personal challenges, I am prideful that I served my clients with effective and affordable representation, while also securing a modicum of success for my family.   Now, it was time to retire, to play again, this time more purposefully, though.

But, we were done with Illinois.  Forty years of good service does not make ridiculously high snow and equally high taxes any more palatable.  A list of five retirement cities quickly became one, once we visited Nashville on a Tuesday in February 2015 and took in the Grand Ole Opry and Broadway.  Hearing of our interest in Nashville, a church friend mentioned Franklin.  After a few more days here, we became hooked.  We had dinner at Gray’s on Main, of course. And we saw we could have not only the “It City”, but also, we could live in a bucolic, caring neighborhood located in one of the most dynamic growth cities and counties in the United States.

Having moved here in September 2015, it was not long before Williamson, Inc. made its presence felt to me.  I went to Outlook Williamson in April 2015 at the Factory.  I networked like crazy not knowing a soul, or really what I was doing.  Everyone that took a moment to talk to this outsider seemed honestly interested in my story.  I came away from that event convinced not only on the wisdom of our move to Franklin, but also, on the value and relevancy of Williamson, Inc. to everyone in Franklin, members or not, but especially members.   I knew after an hour of the event that I needed to be a part of Williamson, Inc., whose clear focus is to advance the economy of Williamson county, assist its businesses to succeed, ultimately bringing tangible benefits to the hard-working citizens of Franklin and beyond, even while trying to support itself, sort of like my own career.

But I wasn’t employed anymore, for myself or otherwise.  No more an attorney, what the heck was I anymore?  This place is very calling card centric.  I noticed that right away at Outlook.  I didn’t have a card, at least one that wasn’t retired.  No card, no business to offer, no identity.  So, I turned my retirement into a business.  Real estate investment can be a great alternative income stream, and low-hanging fruit around these parts.  So, we bought some property and started renting them.  Dee, my wife, also found a wonderful skin-care product she loves called Nerium, which we directly market.  Violà, GrayEnterprizes was born, initially for want of a card to hand out.  Now, we are a productive member of the business community.  We provide smooth skin, other healthful products and nice apartments.  The “z” is for freedom and whimzy.  Remember, we are here to have fun.

So, I am back where I began.  I found in retirement a cool place to play.   Instead of in the woods of northern Ohio and with critters, I play with grown-ups now in a wonderful place called Franklin.  People who care about their community, who promote other people’s success and who want the best for everyone around them.  These people may not use the word playing to describe their actions, but I do apply it to mine.  Whatever gives me great satisfaction is like play for me, even if it takes work and plenty of it.