Our Founder

When people ask me why I created the SOCO Chamber, the answer isn't found in a business plan. It's found in my childhood.

I grew up here.

South County isn't just where I lived. It's where I learned what community feels like.

I remember riding my bike to Shop 'n Save and Walgreens. I remember when I would go and get the all-you-can-eat ice cream bar at Ponderosa. Pizza Inn, The Ground Round, Rizzo's, and more fill my mental photo album. Working out at Power House Gym or eating dinner with my mom at The Pasta House on South Lindbergh. I played baseball at St. Simon. I remember special dinners at Bartolino's South. The first time I had P'sghetti's bread, buying my first car at Dave Sinclair Ford, and spending countless hours at Clydesdale Park, now Officer Blake C. Schneider Memorial Park.

I remember popcorn at The Ground Round, getting action figures at Toy Chest, and my first train ride at Grant's Farm.

I remember Friday night football games at Mehlville, Oakville, and Lindbergh.

I remember cruising Lindbergh with friends—driving way too slowly on Friday and Saturday nights, and then way too fast on Green Park Road.

I remember watching movies when Ronnie's was still a drive-in theater. Then I watched it become Ronnie's Cinema. Then Ronnie's 20. Now Marcus Ronnie's 20.

I remember my dad buying our home off Mueller Road and riding my bike through the neighborhood without a care in the world. I still remember the phone numbers of all my friends from that neighborhood.

Those memories aren't just moments from my childhood. They are reminders of what South County once represented.

A place where businesses were part of people's lives.
Where communities felt connected.
Where people knew their neighbors.
Where there was pride in where you lived.

Over the years, I watched some of that change.
Actually, a lot of that changed.
Businesses struggled.
Some disappeared.
Parts of our community lost the energy and pride that once defined them.

I found myself asking a simple question:
What if someone decided to do something about it?

I've never believed we should wait for someone else to fix what's broken.
If you care enough to see a problem…
And you're capable of making a difference…
Then you have a responsibility to act.

That's why I chose to build NexCore here.
It's why I relocated ReVitalize here.
And it's why I created the SOCO Chamber.

Not because South County needs another organization.
But because it deserves an organization willing to lead.
An organization willing to connect businesses, nonprofits, educators, civic leaders, and residents around a shared purpose.
An organization committed to creating real value instead of simply talking about it.

This has never been about me.