Making New Friends at The Beach Club on St. Simons Island

Earlier this week, a Beach Club guest and her two sons came down to the office to speak with Mike Cross, the on-site manager. The older son had some questions about the tides and current. While Mike was answering, the younger son, two-year-old Zach, kept asking his mother an urgent question.

Mike, a father of two himself, said “what is Zach saying? Can we help him with something?”

Zach’s mother explained that he wants to know where the lady with the pretty hair is. Apparently, upon arrival, Zach noticed Debbie, the landscaper at the Beach Club and was mesmerized. When the family went to the beach or pool, Zach would find a stick and pretend it was a leaf blower or hedge trimmer. Each time they went outside, he’d look for Debbie and watch her hard at work. “We can’t get him interested in anything else… he’s been talking about the lady with the pretty hair the entire vacation,” his mom explained.

All of us at Hodnett Cooper aren’t surprised. Debbie has been keeping the Beach Club grounds beautiful for ten years. She’s outside all day, every day planting, trimming, blowing and beautifying. Guests often comment about how hard she works and how—without fail—the landscaping is always beautiful.

When Debbie heard she had a fan in Zach, she took some potting soil, a bright orange pot and a plant upstairs and paid him a visit. Zach put on his bright orange work gloves and the two new friends worked together to pot the plant. We think Debbie may have inspired the next generation of landscapers!

Zach has certainly reminded us how important Debbie’s contributions to the Beach Club are! She is obviously passionate, talented beyond description and the hardest working woman on St. Simons Island. Every day, we thank our lucky stars she works with us! We hope Zach and Debbie will continue their potted plant tradition for years to come.