by Jon Kohler, JD
Most of the world’s great temptations – the ones that can cause an otherwise steady man to stumble – run through the familiar trinity of sex, drugs and money. But, if I’m being candid about the world I actually live in, I’d have to put hunting right at the top of that list. I’ve watched friendships strain over a deer track worse than an unmarked property line.
I’ve seen neighbors feud, dogs disappear and grown men argue over things they had no business arguing about. There’s something about the pursuit – the sacrifice, the competition, the possibility of a big buck – that reaches down into the deepest, most primal parts of human nature. At least in the people I know.
I’ve often thought the Devil must run a customized “North Florida Cracker Plan.” A trophy buck behind somebody else’s fence. Roosting wood ducks past shooting hours. A gobbler strutting just off the road. He can keep his A-team of drugs and easy money largely on the bench. Around here, he’s got better material to tempt us with.
King Solomon said there’s nothing new under the sun. Every fear, every desire, every temptation – same as it’s always been. Just reaches us through a different set of facts. I tell my boys it’s like reading a baseball pitch. There are only so many pitches and only so many right ways to handle them. Whoever learns to recognize the Devil’s delivery early wins a stronger walk with God and a more purposeful life on this earth.
Maybe that’s why I’ve wondered what Proverbs might look like if Solomon had been a deer hunter. The wisest and wealthiest man who ever lived had 700 wives and 300 concubines – and the Bible says his wives turned his heart away from God. That was his downfall. Perhaps if he’d had one good woman and a thousand genetically superior whitetails scoring over 200 B&C, history reads differently. Because, in my experience, no man has ever been wise enough or wealthy enough to manage that either.
The emotions the Devil exploits haven’t changed since the Garden – envy, pride, jealousy – just wrapped in modern camo.
I think of Marty McFly. Good kid, level-headed, right up until Biff called him a chicken. Then he’d risk everything to prove a point that didn’t need proving. The trap wasn’t Biff. It was Marty giving Biff the power to spring it.
I had a broker call me not long ago in a panic. A widow was trying to sell her late husband’s home – a man who’d hunted all over the world. The South Florida house was filled with magnificent trophies. Buyers walked in and were aghast at animal heads on every wall. She had to have them removed just to sell it. Unless Bass Pro Shops was building a new store, there was no market. What a man had spent a fortune and a lifetime collecting was worth almost nothing.
I was in Mike’s Marine in Panacea not long ago and noticed some magnificent old whitetail mounts collecting dust in the corner. Same story at the Cypress Inn in Cross City, where I’ve been stopping since I was a kid – except there I point out those old 100-inch B&C deer to my boys and they grin. They’ve never known a time when a buck that small was worth mounting. I try to make them understand that back then, someone was very proud of those deer.
But here’s the truth those walls can’t hide.
Whatever feels urgent and important today will fade. Every trophy, every record, every award – all of it temporary. The only thing that follows us past this life is our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jesus didn’t say, Well done, good and successful hunter.
He said, Well done, good and faithful servant.
That’s the only scoreboard that matters. Peter once asked Jesus about another disciple. Jesus replied simply: What is that to you? You follow me.
I’m a third-generation land broker who has spent most of his life chasing whitetails across the South. And, the longer I chase, the clearer that answer gets.
From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.
Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Cole’s dedication to land management lies in his family roots. As a fourth-generation timber expert, Cole’s earliest memories were spent with his father managing timber investments. With a degree in Food Resource Economics from the University of Florida, Cole is the epitome of an up-and-coming leader. He grew up with a hands-on approach to learning land management and conservation and has spent the last 15 years learning every angle of the real estate and forest industry. Cole is a member of the Florida Forestry Association, Red Hills Quail Forever, Southeastern Wood Producers Association and he uses this platform as an advocate for landowners and their land investments. His family has dedicated the past 60 years to providing landowners in North Florida and South Georgia with professional land management services focused on improving and protecting one’s forestland and wildlife investment. In fact, their family business, M.A. Rigoni, Inc., was one of the first to introduce whole tree chipping to the Red Hills Region.
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.