Team Spotlight: Jeff Mathis

There is no doubt in Jeff Mathis’ mind that he’s working in the right field. In fact, his interest in construction and design goes all the way back to high school. As a teenager, the South Carolina native worked on construction projects and decided this would be a good college major and career path. He graduated from the University of Florida’s Rinker School of Building Construction, one of the country’s most prestigious construction science programs, and went on to become a South Carolina licensed general contractor and homebuilder, EPA certified lead safe renovator, and LEED Green Associate.

Before joining Sea Island Builders, Jeff worked with both a large international contracting firm (J.A. Jones) and a regional commercial contractor (Edifice, INC.). He also managed construction of a luxury condominium project in downtown Charleston. Through his early work, he discovered his passion for combining luxury homebuilding with environmentally-friendly construction and design, which has become an important foundation for Sea Island Builders.

Jeff co-founded Sea Island Builders with Sam Fowler in 2004 and is now the company’s construction manager. While he stresses that everyone shares duties at Sea Island Builders, his main responsibility is to oversee all construction projects once they are permitted and under construction. He says the most challenging part of the job is keeping employees and subcontractors motivated, but Sea Island Builders meets this challenge through careful selection—they only work with true professionals who take pride in everything they do.

Any on-the-job stressors are far outweighed by the positives for Jeff. He loves construction because of the satisfaction that comes with working on a tangible product. To him, custom homebuilding is both an art and a science, and a completed project is something to be proud about. When asked what he loves most about his job, Jeff says it’s celebrating a completed project with the clients, and that “there is nothing better than completing a gorgeous, well-crafted dwelling for a family.”

Jeff himself is a family man both at work and at home. Sea Island managers Sam and Jason Fowler are his relatives, and he says working with family creates a relaxed but goal-oriented environment. At home, he and his wife Blair have two children—their 4-year-old son, Buck, and 7-year-old daughter, Gracie – and Jeff enjoys spending time outside with his family and taking in all that Charleston has to offer, including camping, boating, and the beach.

It’s hard to think of a better career and company fit for Jeff Mathis. His work at Sea Island Builders gives him the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors around Charleston and create beautiful, environmentally-friendly houses so more families can live comfortably in South Carolina.