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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2010
Braselton honors founders of Chateau Elan
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
IT WAS almost 30 years ago
that Don and Nancy Panoz
first came to Braselton with
the vision to start a winery
and resort in the hills of North
Georgia.
Now, the town is honor
ing the couple for their con
tributions to the community
since developing Chateau
Elan - considered one of the
key economic engines of the
region.
The Braselton Town Council
awarded Don and Nancy Panoz
on Oct. 30 with its inaugu
ral Synergy Honor — which
may be given “periodically to
individuals, volunteer groups,
businesses or partnership enti
ties whose investments honor
the labors of the town’s found
ing brothers and whose vision
ensures an exceptional quality
of life for the years ahead.”
according to the town.
“The Panoz family has real
ly brought the town into what
it is today, in terms of all of its
opportunities,” said Mayor Bill
Orr. “We felt strongly about the
Panoz family having a major
impact (on the community).”
The Synergy Honor isn’t
designated as an annual award,
but a recognition given to those
who’ve had a “unique and sub
stantial” contribution or impact
on the town, Orr said.
“The Panozs had an impact
in our town years ago. but
I don’t think a lot of people
knew it,” he said. “When (Don
Panoz) said he was going to
build a winery, a lot of people
said it couldn’t be done. But
he actually had the impact and
he had the vision, and we "re
only just now recognizing the
full impact - you can clearly
see it.”
For Don Panoz, his business
ventures don’t just include
Chateau Elan - but extend into
other luxury resorts, auto rac
ing and pharmaceutical devel
opment.
Don and Nancy Panoz met in
West Virginia when Don was
attending Greenbrier Military
Academy. They both moved
to Japan, where Don was an
Army intelligence officer and
Nancy was a counter intelli
gence secretary.
When they returned to the
U.S., Nancy worked and raised
their five children while Don
studied business and operated
two drug stores in Pittsburg.
He then established Mylan
Pharmaceutical Corporation
- now known as Mylan
Laboratories - with a partner.
Don moved his family in
1969 to Ireland, where they
formed Elan Corporation. The
company holds more than 100
worldwide patents, including
the nicotine patch to help mil
lions from smoking.
It was during one of his
trips to Elan Pharmaceuticals’
research lab in Gainesville that
Don and Nancy first tasted
muscadine wine made from
local grapes. Told that growing
grapes in Georgia couldn’t be
done, Don Panoz took up the
challenge to build a winery.
Chateau Elan today spans
3,500 acres in Braselton and
DON AND NANCY PANOZ HONORED
The Braselton Town Council gave Don and Nancy Panoz, the founders of Chateau
Elan, its inaugural Synergy Honor on Thursday. A reception for the couple was held
at town hall. Shown are (L-R): Council member Dudley Ray, Mayor Bill Orr, Don
Panoz, Nancy Panoz (seated), council member Peggy Slappey and council member
Tony Funari.
features a winery, resort, con
ference center, golf courses,
spa and residential communi
ties.
The Panoz family also owns
the luxury resorts Diablo
Grande Winery and Resort in
California. St. Andrews Bay
in Scotland, and The Vintage
Golf Club in Australia.
In the late 1980s. Panoz
helped his son establish Panoz
Auto Development, which
builds sports cars from a fac
tory on Ga. Hwy. 124, near
Chateau Elan. He then became
the owner of Panoz Motor
Sports and the American Le
Mans Series, whose corner
stone event is the Petit Le
Mans.
Among racetracks, Panoz
owns Road Atlanta in Braselton,
Mosport International
Raceway in Canada and
Sebring International Raceway
in Florida.
Nancy is a director of
Fountainhead Development
Corporation. The Legends and
Chateau Elan. She also served
on the board of directors for
Wesley Woods. Inc.
The couple has been married
for 55 years, and has five chil
dren and 10 grandchildren.
Don Panoz said the couple
lives in Braselton from March
to October, and in Australia
from October to March.
The Braselton News, a sister
publication, asked Don Panoz
a few questions about getting
the inaugural Synergy Honor
and the development of the
town during a reception held
on Thursday at town hall.
BN: What does it mean for
y’all to be honored by the
Town of Braselton?
Panoz: Well, it’s kind of like
Christmas when everybody’s
opened all of the packages and
everyone eats Christmas din
ner — then we find this one
package still under the tree and
it’s for you.
We did this because we love
doing what we do and we love
this style of community. We
like the type of people; people
are quiet, they’re private, they
pay attention to what they’re
doing — and we like living
here. We did it because we
enjoy it. We’re very grateful
that we had a chance to do it
and we loved it.
BN: Why do y’all keep on
coming back here, if you’ve a
number of other properties.
Panoz: We have a lot of
business and friends; and, of
course, we "re trying to retire a
little bit.
BN: What was Braselton
like 30 years ago, when y’all
first came here to develop
Chateau Elan ?
Panoz: Well, first of all, there
were a 100 residents and it was
dry [prohibited from serving
alcohol]. There wasn’t any
thing on the exit of Chateau
Elan. There was the exit (Ga.
Hwy. 53) here in Braselton, but
we bought our first land here.
But when we finished a mar
keting study, we saw that we
didn’t have enough land - and
the only land available was
the next exit down (Ga. Hwy.
211). And we wanted to do a
winery, a conference center,
and a hotel - that was part of
the original plan.
I remember when we first
brought the first planned idea,
Braselton did not have any
sewerage, so we put up the
money for the first bonds.
BN: What do you think
now when we see the town,
especially how much it has
changed in the past five to 10
years?
Panoz: Well, it’s amazing
... There’s a famous old say
ing that ‘each one in his own
time....’
We have the role of (for
mer mayor) Henry Braselton,
which was to say: ‘Yeah,
you’re welcome.’ We’ll offer
you sewerage if you do that.
Then we had the problem
with making wine - we couldn’t
sell it anywhere. Then we had
the problem of getting annexed
into Braselton because Barrow
County was dry and the winery
was in Barrow County. And
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Photo by Kerri Testement
we overcame that. Then we
were able to get votes - there
were only so many registered
voters - so that we could serve
alcohol at Chateau Elan, at the
winery. We got that done.
Then, you’ve got people like
(former mayor) Pat Graham,
who had a bigger vision.
So, each one in their time.
Each one of these people
played a role for this whole
community to grow.
BN: What do you think
will be the big factors in
Braselton’s growth in the next
20-30 years?
Panoz: That’s hard to say.
Certainly, if you put in any
infrastructure. We have a lot
of square mileage in this com
munity. There’s a lot of room
for growth.
And it depends on who the
next generation is, because,
quite frankly. I’ll probably be
quitting soon.
BN: Since you’ve been a
good entrepreneur, do you
have any advice for anyone
who’s struggling in this econ
omy?
Panoz: Yes, I do. First, you
should always have dreams
in your life. That’s important.
And then, you need to devote
the time and the effort to make
your dreams come true. And
then, you gotta work to make
your dreams come true.
Nobody will give it you.
Don’t try to be cute. Don’t
try to figure out how to get a
government grant. Never have
a rebate on tax, nothing. If
it’s good enough to do it, you
should do it. If you need free
money, or free things, then you
shouldn’t do it.
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BY KERRI
TESTEMENT
THE economic
times may be tough,
but one company
is celebrating its
major investment in
Braselton.
SafeliteAutoGlass
- the nation’s largest
provider of vehicle
glass repair and FENNEY
replacement services
- officially opened its Jackson
County distribution center on
Sept. 23 with 77 employees.
Eventually, it will house 120
jobs.
“While other businesses
are facing setbacks, Safelite
continues to invest in the
state of Georgia and in the
United States.” said Thomas
Fenney, president and C.E.O.
of Safelite Group.
The 357,000 square-foot
facility located on Braselton
Parkway in the “Park 85 at
Braselton” development is
the largest of two distribution
centers for SafeliteAutoGlass,
which signed a 10-year lease
for the building. It’s also the
largest distribution center for
its parent company - Belron, a
United Kingdom-based com
pany that serves 33 countries.
Gary Lubner, C.E.O. of
Belron, said the size and
beauty of the Braselton facil
ity took his breath away when
he first arrived.
“The scale of this is quite
remarkable,” he said, while
adding that 14 of its Athens,
Greece distribution centers
could fit inside the large
Braselton facility.
The local distribution cen
ter is part of a global project
by Belron to provide better
customer service in the U.S.
and Canada, according to
Lubner.
That plan includes four
large distribution centers
- one in California, two in
Canada and the latest build
ing in Braselton. Planning for
the project started in 2007.
With the new Jackson
County facility, the nation
wide market and supply
chain for Safelite AutoGlass
is divided into two halves
- the Western half served
by the distribution center in
California, and the Eastern
half served by the Braselton
distribution center.
Next year, the facility is
expected to have 3 million
out-shipments, and will store
350.000 windshields and
other vehicle glass parts.
This year, Safelite is invest
ing more in its company than
ever before, according to
Fenney.
“I’m proud
of all we’ve
accomplished
with this
incredible
distribution
center.” he
said. “We are
glad to be
able to offer
economic
opportunities
and some
for the great
positive news
state of Georgia.”
Safelite is working with
QuickStart - Georgia’s eco
nomic development program
- for job training, and Lanier
Technical College with
ongoing training programs.
Operations began in August
and are expected to become
fully operational by Oct. 11.
“We have found an excel
lent group of managers and
hourly associates.” said Kemp
Edwards, manager of the new
Braselton distribution center.
After a grand opening cer
emony, the company offered
tours of the facility to give
guests a behind-the-scenes
look at its operations.
Safelite Group, which
has been in operation since
1947. includes four major
business operations: Retail
vehicle glass, which provides
mobile vehicle glass repair
and replacement services to
more than 95 percent of the
U.S. drivers: insurance claims
management; wholesale vehi
cle glass; and windshield
manufacturing at a facility in
Enfield, N.C.
The Columbus-Ohio based
operations has more than 750
retail locations and served 3.8
million customers in 2009.
The Braselton facility will
provide products for its small
er warehouses, which sup
plies windshields and other
auto glass for the company’s
more than 3.700 repair tech
nicians in the U.S.
Company officials also
noted features of the envi-
ronmentally-friendly build
ing, which include measures
to cutback on stormwater
pollution, reducing water
consumption by 44 percent
and energy conservation
occupancy sensors on more
than 75 percent of lighting.
Safelite has applied to the
U.S. Green Building Council
for a Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design
(LEED) designation.
Safelite also marked the
beginning of its involvement
in the community recently by
donating $1,000 to the Boys
and Girls Club of Jackson
County.
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JACKSON
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70 MEDICAL CENTER DRIVE • COMMERCE, GA 30529