Founder and CEO of Southern Land Company Tim Downey was the keynote speaker at the annual UTC Real Estate Luncheon. Photo by Angela Foster.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga welcomed alum and CEO of Southern Land Company Tim Downey back to campus.
Downey served as the keynote speaker at the annual Real Estate Luncheon hosted by the student-run UTC Real Estate Club on Monday, Feb. 9, at the Wolford Family Athletic Center.
“This event is designed to bring together students, faculty, staff, industry professionals and community leaders to celebrate and explore trends in the ever-evolving world of real estate,” said Senior Associate Dean of the Gary W. Rollins College of Business Michael Jones. “These students are the future of the industry and we’re grateful to be part of such a supportive community.”
Downey opened with a presentation reflecting on the start of his journey, founding Southern Land Company in 1986 after beginning his career in the cleaning services industry. He chronicled his successes and failures over the years at the organization.
He then highlighted projects throughout his 40 years of experience.
Following the slides, Downey answered questions from audience members ranging from personal advice to his opinions on industry trends.
Tim Downey founded Southern Land Company in 1986.
Freshman Caleb Henderson, a finance major with a minor in professional sales, said opportunities to listen to speakers like Downey are why he joined the Real Estate Club.
“It was an amazing experience to not only meet with a lot of industry professionals, but also to learn from one of the best in the industry,” said the Murfreesboro, Tennessee native. “How often do you get to sit at a table across from a billionaire and learn about how he scaled his business from the ‘80s all the way until now?”
Downey’s parting message to the students in the room was to “be kind,” a key takeaway also emphasized by the club’s faculty advisor, Dr. Hunter Holzhauer.
“It’s probably been my favorite real estate luncheon we’ve had in terms of what Tim brought to the table with both his passion and his details on advice for real estate,” said Holzhauer, the Robert L. Maclellan and UC Foundation Associate Professor of Finance. “He gave the students not only a lot of verbal instructions, but he showed them a lot just through his pictures, slides and video.
“That really should open their eyes to what you are capable of doing if you live a purposeful life, you have good goals and you have good drive. And like he said, ‘if you’re kind to people.’”
Henderson said the club has been an important outlet for him as a new student and encourages classmates to join if interested.
“It’s been awesome to find like-minded people to connect and invest in,” he said. “It definitely takes some effort. In college, nothing is spoon-fed to you. You have to show up and put in the work. If you show up and do that work through connecting and talking to people, good things will happen.”
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