Lodestar Farms

Bruce Ratliff & Donna McLaughlin

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.

Donna Ratliff is a former trucking executive, business owner, and land developer. She owned and managed Classic Oaks Through-bred Horse Racing farm since 2000. Donna’s business experiences give her the ability to relate with our clients to see the potential advantages or obstacles in a real estate transaction.

Bruce & Donna have bought, sold, and developed millions of dollars of investment properties in Florida & Georgia. They have a vast understanding of land ownership, land development & management. JKA has a wide range of experienced associates with very unique skill sets, Bruce & Donna are another example of the quality associates of JK&A.

Knox Daniels

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

Jon Kohler

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.

Walter Hatchett

Prior to joining Jon Kohler & Associates, Walter Hatchett served for 30 years as a land manager to several of the south’s most esteemed properties, including Rock Creek. As a former property manager himself, and a consistently ranked “Top Sales Producer” nationwide and achieved “APEX Top 20 Land Broker” multiple times, Walter has a keen eye for the best in habitat management.

“It has been my pleasure to work with Walter Hatchett for more than 25 years. As a highly valued member of our team, he was instrumental in providing sound advice and enhancement implementation on more than 300,000 acres of the land we have owned and managed. Walter is both a friend and professional colleague. He has a unique expertise in identifying value and implementing decisions for the long-term enhancement of land investments. I am confident he will do the same for his future clients.” – Arthur L. Cahoon, CEO, Rock Creek Capital

Cole Schwab

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.

Lori Weldon

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.

Tim James

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.

Scott Sumner

Growing up on his family’s farm in Worth County, the perennially ranked top county in Georgia for big whitetail bucks, Scott has witnessed firsthand the growth in demand for recreational and working lands. Following his belief in staying close to the land, he has chosen to remain in his hometown, seeking to support his local community and carry on his family’s agrarian tradition. As such, farming and the outdoors will always be essential parts of his life. Scott believes that skill and integrity are the keys to success, combined with good old-fashioned discipline and hard work.

It all comes back to the land for Scott…

“It at once brings solitude and joy. It grants me independence and sufficiency I could never find in city living. I can derive livelihood from it if need be. It develops patience within me when waiting for the harvest or a good bite. I share it with the deer and turkey, among the multitudes of God’s creatures. It makes a home for them and will continue to once I am gone. It teaches me of self-sacrifice and reminds me of the importance of community. It soothes my soul, and I long to leave it better than I found it.” – On what land means to him

Scott considers himself fortunate to be able to meet and represent others who share his passion for land stewardship. His personal experiences and knowledge in many areas, including farming, agricultural/recreational land uses, wildlife, lake/pond management, and timber enable him to offer a unique perspective. He can’t wait to advise you on your path to reaching your land ownership and stewardship goals.

Jason Hewett

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.