BY TOMMY M. COOLEY, SR.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] man of vision, hard work, compassion, and generosity. It did not take me long to recognize these qualities in Joe Chapman when we attended Bay High School some sixty years ago. We have been friends ever since. On occasion Joe would remind me, “Don’t take the first “no,” because, if you do, you will never get there.” Joe Chapman was a stranger to defeat.

He pursued his goals with a passion and became one of Panama City’s most prominent and successful business men, philanthropists,  and leaders. His strong commitment to government put him on a first name basis with President Jimmy Carter, Senator Bob Graham, Senator Bill Nelson, and President Bill Clinton, among others.

We once visited Biloxi, Mississippi, together during a busy time of the year – Joe, wife Jeannette, my wife Olivia and I. A convention caused all the hotels to be booked. Using all his many charms, Joe tried to convince the receptionist of the hotel to find two rooms for us. Finally he asked her, “If President Carter were coming to town, would you have rooms for him?” “Well, yes,” the receptionist admitted. “Well,” Joe said, “I spoke with President Carter this morning and he’s not coming, so may we have those rooms!”

When I think back, even his high school years are indicative of his success later in life. As president of the senior class, with his tenacity and innate leadership, Joe initiated the idea of a place where students could socialize and dance. At that time, there was little for teenagers to do on Friday and Saturday nights except “circle” Jimmy’s Drive-In on Sixth Street in their cars. After Joe made several impressive presentations to the city, permission was granted to build a Youth Center next to Bay High School which was greatly enjoyed by the students for many years.
It was obvious how much Joe loved his parents. They had a very caring relationship. Joe’s mother retired from a career in education and then served as Bay County Supervisor of Elections for more than 30 years. Following her strong leadership, there were few things Joe undertook that he did not accomplish. Later in life, Joe’s father became ill and Joe made sure he remained a part of his business by

Later in life, Joe’s father became ill and Joe made sure he remained a part of his business by bringing him to his office for several hours each afternoon. Joe attended the University of Florida and was president of the freshman class, president of Sigma Chi fraternity, a member of the Honor Court, and Florida Blue Key. He received his Juris Doctorate in law and political science in 1963.
His first employment was with Governor Haydon Burns, serving as the governor’s Chief General Counsel as well as Chief Counsel for the State Road Board – he was the youngest to hold this title in Florida history.

While working for Governor Burns, Joe Chapman was instrumental in bringing Disney World to Florida. Joe returned to Panama City and entered the practice of law with Whitey Urquhart while serving two terms in the Florida legislature from 1968 to 1972.

In 1968, Joe started Royal American, a multi-family housing development company in Florida that developed quality affordable housing. Royal American has built and managed more than 20,000 units throughout the United States. In 1983, Joe started Peoples First Financial Savings and Loan and grew the financial business to more than 30 branches throughout north and central Florida with nearly two billion dollars in assets. Joe cared deeply about those less fortunate, resulting in his lifetime support of many local charitable organizations. He was particularly passionate about the welfare of children and their education, which led to his commitment to the Boys and Girls Club and Early Education and Care in Bay County.
Joe also served on the board of Bay Medical Center for 20 years, most of those years as chairman. He devoted many hours helping to see that healthcare is provided to so many who cannot afford it. It became his passion. Joe would be the first to admit that throughout his life he had help. He married a person with the same mindset of hard work and generosity.
Jeannette supported Joe in his endeavors and she is active in the community and business today. They are very proud of their family. His example of giving set a standard for them. With four children, thirteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, the Chapman name and generosity will live on.

Joe believed faith in God gave meaning and purpose to life and service to your fellow man was the best work of life. Joe Chapman will be greatly missed by this community.

SHARED MEMORIES

I met Joe in the late 50s when his family lived across the street from my aunt and uncle in The Cove neighborhood. My mother was one of eleven and her family has always been involved with politics. I remember when Joe’s mother ran for office and became Bay County’s Supervisor of Elections. My uncle ran for the Sheriff’s position at the same time. I was at all the political rallies and while handing out my uncle’s brochures, I would hand out Mrs. Chapman’s brochures as well. I learned from Joe that hard work and perseverance pays off. I also learned to give back to your community. I remember riding with Joe at the intersection of Thomas Drive and Front Beach Road. There was an elderly, homeless gentleman sitting on the side of the road selling pencils. We drove by and Joe did a U-turn, reached in his wallet, and gave the gentleman a handful of cash and shook his hand. The gentleman handed Joe all his pencils and Joe gave them back and told him to go to the Dollar Store, get some food, and buy more pencils. Joe was a very hard working man. His hobby was working. He always did his homework and was very successful in his endeavors. He is missed.
Philip Griffitts Sr., businessman and mayor of
the City of Panama City Beach, 1982-2000

He told me about the shoe shining business he had as a young kid growing up in Millville, to make money. Clearly, he was always a hard worker, even as a kid. He was in the community for the community, especially his neighborhood in Millville. There are tens of thousands of kids, adults and seniors who have been impacted by the donations Mr. Chapman has made to this community; and almost none of them know it. But if they have been to the Boys & Girls Club, or Head Start, or the Council on Aging’s Senior Center, they were able to do so because of his generous donations. With Mr. Chapman, nothing was impossible. He would call out of the blue, invite me to lunch, just so he could see if there was anything he could do to help. He seemed to have a knack for knowing when there was a need. He was not only willing to give a hand out, but also a hand up. When we were having fundraising drives, we always had lots of supporters; not only would Mr. Chapman personally donate, but he would donate on behalf of his companies. He opened all his pockets and made sure we knew he believed in what we were doing and wanted to make sure we had what we needed for the Boys & Girls Club.
Paul Mosca, Boys and Girls Club of Bay County, Executive Director
from 1990 until retirement in 2015

1996 during the presidential election, Joe helped arrange for President Clinton to make a campaign stop in Panama City. Rarely had I seen him as excited and happy as he was during the event. He believed that government could improve people’s lives but he also knew its limitations, so he wanted to positively affect the political process. And he loved the game of politics. He set an example for others to make the most of life, in business, and community service. He had great  financial success, but he was never satisfied to just write a check. He and Jeanette were not afraid to get their hands dirty by working hard for the charities and causes that they believed in. Together they made an incredible impact on this community that will be felt for generations to come. Joe Chapman was very demanding so he could be difficult to work with. But I always knew that this was because he was determined to make a success of whatever project we were working on. He coaxed everyone into doing their best and giving their most to the cause that we shared. This made him a very effective leader.
Scott Clemons, President, The Clemons Company, Inc.

I met Joe Chapman when I moved to Panama City in 1954 and started Bay High School. One of the first days I was there, Joe walked up to me, introduced himself and invited me to a key club meeting and insisted I join. That started a relationship of more than 60 years in which Joe never took “no” for an answer. A “no” would motivate him to go after his goals with even stronger force. He would not accept that there was something we could not accomplish. Throughout our college years and later as business partners and during my 32-year career with Royal American, Joe always insisted that everything could be done. Over a quarter of the century he expanded his real estate holdings through Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina and always looked for new opportunities and consistently welcomed fresh faces with fresh ideas. Following his graduation from law school, Joe worked on the campaign staff of Mayor Haydon Burns of Jacksonville when he was elected Governor of the State of Florida. I was serving in Germany with the U.S. Army at that time and received a phone call from a jubilant Chapman who announced that he was at the election party and that the governor had offered him a job as chief legal counsel of the State of Florida and chief councel of the State Road Board. He was the youngest chief legal counsel in the history of the State of Florida. He helped an awful lot of people very quietly and backed and supported upcoming entrepreneurs. He was extremely loyal to his friends.
I remember his habit of throwing salt over his right shoulder for good luck every time he sat down in a restaurant for a meal. We studied at the University of Florida together, were roommates and fraternity brothers and every time we came home to Panama City, Joe had to stop at the bridge that crosses the Suwannee so that he could throw a coin into the river for good luck. After a couple of years of stopping, he finally just slowed down the car to throw the coin out of the window. We did not have to stop anymore.
Bill Holland, co-owner, Somethin’s Cookin’ Gourmet Center

When I first started at the hospital many years ago, Joe was the chairman of the board of trustees. It was amazing to see him leading the group. He had a great vision for where the healthcare industry was going and he made sure the hospital was well prepared for the changes, and well-positioned to meet the growth needs of the community. Whether it was starting new programs, adding new technology, building new buildings – he always worked to make sure a full range of high tech and quality healthcare services were available in Panama City without the need to travel out of town. In fact, he was instrumental in bringing the heart program to Bay Medical. That program has continued to grow and thrive and has received national recognition for quality. In addition to giving so much of his time, he also raised large amounts of money for the hospital. Through personal gifts and by getting others to donate. He was a master at getting people excited about the hospital.
Tammy Newton, Vice President, Planning and Marketing,
Bay Medical Sacred Heart

I first met Joe Chapman in early 1979. I’d known of him for years. He was known as a former legislator, a young mover and shaker, and a well-connected leader/politico, but I had never traveled in his circles. As a young attorney, I had the chance to meet him in a real estate closing – he was friendly, talked about my family, my football playing days, and my interests in the practice of law. Two days after the closing, he called and asked me to come to his office for a visit. He described his company and the need he had for assistance. He painted a very bright future for the company and for those who would help him grow it. I was impressed. I joined his company a month later. 30 years later, he had developed thousands of apartment units, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, condominiums, and one of the fastest growing banks in Florida. And I was still there. It was quite a journey. I appreciate the opportunities. He was one of a kind – a leader who cared. He wanted to make a difference and he did!
Jimmy Barr, attorney; Market President, Ameris Bank

When I first came to work at the Bay County Council on Aging, 35 years ago, I was looking through some official agency document. I noticed that Joe Chapman’s name was on the original Corporation documents as President of the Board of Directors. When I mentioned this to his mother, Gladys at another meeting, she told me he had been very involved in establishing the agency and incorporating it as a 501(c)3.
Joe always supported the BCCOA and we received many gifts and donations from his business and his family. The one that makes me the most proud is the generous gift he gave to us to help transform the old fire station located next to the Senior Center into a Facility Based Respite Program for persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other memory impairments. The Chapman family continues to support our agency and the programs that help seniors remain independent in their own homes. We all miss Joe’s larger than life presence and his genuine concern and commitment to our community and to those who are in need of assistance to maintain their quality of life.
Elizabeth N. Coulliette, Executive Director, Bay County Council on
Aging, Inc.

THE LEGACY

My first experience with Joe was a nail-biter… I was more than an hour late for my first date with his only daughter. He and sons met me in the driveway! No one thought at that time that Mary Marie would become my wife.
Joe was seen differently for all the ventures, viewpoints, and causes he was involved with. To some, he was “the banker,” to others, he was “the democrat.” Others knew him as “the developer” or made him synonymous with “Bay Medical.” For local charities, he was the “generous giver.” He came from very humble beginnings and was very dedicated. He respected other opinions, and if you agreed with him on everything, he would value your opinion less. If your opinion contradicted his, especially when it was brought forward with a passion, he would respect you more. This is genetic. Rather than saying “let’s agree to disagree,” the family is passionate about discussing viewpoints. He worked hard, and he was dedicated to Bay County. All his children live here and are raising their children in Bay County. Under Joe Chapman’s leadership, Royal American, Peoples First Community Bank, and Peoples First Insurance thrived. The construction of a 90,000 square foot, nine-story building adjacent to Royal American’s 40,000 square foot corporate office at One Stanford Centre was the pinnacle of success for Joe and our family. The company lost the building in the economic downturn. Almost seven years exactly, from the day FDIC took the building from Peoples’ First Community Bank, we completed a $6.6 million purchase transaction. It is our intention to rename the building and heavily invest in this premiere office location in Panama City, just a few days before. We wish he could have shared this moment. When the building was opened in 1999, it was positioned well above any other office building in Bay County, not just in size, but in design, finishes, and technology. Some 18 years later, there are only a few buildings that compare in Bay County. Over the last several years, there has been some deferred maintenance for the building and the grounds. We have already begun making those repairs and will complete that effort in the coming months. We have also committed to making automation upgrades to the HVAC system controls and LED lighting throughout the building. One of our primary objectives is to achieve much greater energy efficiency and sustainability. We hope there will be opportunities to install renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic solar panels and possibly wind turbines in the near future. Modernization can be expensive, but also rewarding. The building was originally developed as Two Stanford Center and will be formally renamed later this spring. New signage will be installed at the monument directory sign, main entry, and the lobby directory. Additional opportunities for signage could become available. The building has great leasing opportunities. The ground floor has a premium space that can overlook the main lobby. The entire third floor is an unimproved shell space with four covered balconies. The eighth-floor penthouse is very unique and has the potential to enjoy exterior courtyard spaces. The remaining spaces in the building are traditional, class “A ” office spaces

Scott Clemo, Corporate Broker, Vice President Commercial Division, Royal American Management