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6 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | OCTOBER 2014 | COMMUNITy NEWS Terry Fears Has Designs On Four Seasons foUr SEaSonS SPotLiGHt By Leighton McLaughlin Terry Fears is contributing his considerable talents — and a good bit of time — to the redecorating all the floral arrangements in the Lodge, the Lobby, the Ballroom and the bathrooms. The original decorations were put in by builder K. Hovnanian Homes when the Lodge was finished, some eight years ago, and the HOA Board decided they needed to be updated. Fears has a lifetime of professional experience in design and he's adding a twist to the decorations that will be unique to Four Seasons: each season will have its own display over the mantle in the Lobby entry. "After all, that's what we are — Four Seasons," said Fears. Right now the summer display is up, soon to be displaced by fall. Winter and spring will follow in turn. He used much of the original décor, disassembling, repairing and cleaning it, then adding new elements to freshen it up. He started in the design business when he was 14, in high school in New Albany, Ind., "just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Ky.," he said. He was hired as a kind of handy man by a local antique store and "started at the bottom. I washed the windows, put the manikins up and took them down, did window trimming. I stayed in retail from then on." As an adult he worked as creative director for three different nationwide store chains: Casual Corner, Store of Knowledge and Tommy Bahama. "Every retailer has somebody like me," he said. The creative director is the one who decides how to best display merchandise so it will sell well. During his time with Tommy Bahama, it had the highest sales per square foot of any national chain. "I never had the luxury of formal training," he said. He did a lot of reading in his field to get ideas about how to proceed. "I'm all self-taught. You have to able to sell yourself and your ideas. It was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.' Since moving to Four Seasons some seven years ago he has employed his talents decorating for community events and richly decorating his own home for the Event Systems Committee's annual fundraiser, the Holiday Home Tour. Two years ago he redid the "Holiday at the Lodge" Christmas décor to great effect and he donated the wreaths that brighten the entry gates, doors to the Lodge and the Lodge itself. Fears and his wife of 50 years, Betty — his high school sweetheart — have four grown children, two boys and two girls, and nine grandchildren. Four Seasons Activities Director Cindy Graves said Fears is an "amazing, talented and interesting guy… We can't thank him enough for the investment of his expertise… (he) is the master of all things beautiful." Terry Fears puts the finishing touches on the Lodge's mantle decor

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