Your neighbors, Jay and Ann Stone, moved here in the summer of 2005 from McLean, VA, a suburb of Washington DC, where Jay had worked for 30 years. 

One weekend in 1999, Jay had a business meeting in New Orleans, so he suggested that Ann come along and visit this area with him since a friend had told them about it. While staying at one of the high rises on the beach, and having lunch one beautiful spring day on the beach at Elephant Walk, Jay turned to Ann and said, “Why aren’t we living here?” They called the real estate office and had an agent drive them around the resort.  

They purchased one of the last lots available in Prestwick Place and built a “vacation” house the next year. They visited several times a year. One day, they found out that high speed internet had come to the resort and their home in Virginia was worth more than they ever expected, so they took the leap, sold their home, and moved here full time. For the next couple of years, Jay went back and forth for work but eventually retired completely.

Jay and Ann both grew up in small towns in Louisiana and Iowa, respectively, with little room for advancement. Jay won a scholarship to Tulane University, and Ann was granted a loan from a local Rotary Club in Iowa to attend nurses’ school at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. They both graduated, and Ann relocated to Denver as an operating room nurse for a famed kidney transplant surgeon, while Jay joined the Navy and was commissioned in Pensacola.  He was sent to a training academy for intelligence officers in Denver and met Ann through mutual friends.

They parted when Jay was sent to two combat tours in Vietnam.  Ann wrote often but they only saw each other a couple of times over the next three years. When Jay was finishing his tour in the Navy, they decided to marry and move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There, Jay got a job which involved some political activities and Ann became a nurse in a doctor’s office. Soon they had their first child, a girl. 

Over the next few years, Jay ended up being the campaign manager for a man running for Congress in 1974. Unexpectedly he was elected and asked Jay to come with him. So, the family moved to the Washington area. Not long after that, they were blessed with another baby girl. 

After seven years as Chief of Staff to the Congressman, Jay started his own consulting firm representing the State of Louisiana, the Louisiana World’s Fair, and several Louisiana and national clients. Following this, Jay was hired as a Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs to President Reagan.

After President Reagan’s term, he was chosen to be the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Energy under President Bush. When that term ended, Jay joined a new consulting firm as a Vice President. The firm quickly became the second largest in the city.

Jay was very successful in that position and began retiring after 15 years to move here. Staying active, he was appointed to a committee by the SOA to draw up new documents to reflect the turnover of the property from the developer to the owners. It was a yearlong project that formed the basis of our current governing structure.  Jay continues to serve on the HOA board.

As if that wasn't enough to keep busy, Jay and Ann co-founded a new church on the resort known as The Gathering. It was a very successful church and beloved by many when it closed its doors after 11 years. 

Jay and Ann also travel extensively, taking over 21 ocean and river cruises, seeing the country and the world. When they're not aboard a ship, the Stones love entertaining their kids and grandkids here at home. One of their daughters is the CEO of the Livestrong Foundation and the other is a Radiation Oncology Therapist.  

Today, the couple enjoys the Beach Club with the beautiful beach that first attracted them. Jay claims he has played over 2000 rounds of golf at Burnt Pine Country Club. They still have the original house they built in Prestwick Place, and have remodeled and updated it several times, and still call it home.