--- Building a Legacy, Our Story ---
In 2002, David Sapp had worked 20 years with Square D, an electrical supply manufacturer, and held a high level management position with the company. He enjoyed the work, and the people he worked with, but after 9/11 David began to think about other opportunities due to the extensive business travel, new challenges in air travel, and more importantly, the birth of a new grandson. He began to ask himself, “Is there a better way?” It was then that David, along with his wife Lee Ann, decided a change from this “Corporate America” lifestyle was needed.
Approximately four or five years earlier, David had investigated the Woodcraft Franchise opportunity. With his hobby being woodworking and his desire to “be his own boss," it all seemed to fit. However, the timing just wasn’t right. With kids to put through college and other financial demands, the “dream” had to be put on hold, at least for a few years. David and Lee Ann worked hard to rework their finances, sold their home, and reopened discussions with Woodcraft in late 2002, and by mid-2003 had signed a Franchise Agreement with Woodcraft for rights to the Nashville, Tennessee, market.
At the same time, David and Lee Ann’s son, Aaron, was a sophomore at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and working part time in the Woodcraft store there. Discussions had taken place within the family, and it was agreed that if this was going to happen it was going to be done as a family. Aaron moved back to Nashville to help open a Woodcraft store there. He planned to continue his education at a local college and work at the store.
On November 10, 2003, the Nashville store opened with David and Aaron working side by side, and it has been operating ever since. Aaron smiles as he says, “The best business teacher I could have ever had was also my life teacher as well.” Aaron completed his undergraduate degree in 2007.
Business was going so well that in 2013 another family decision was made to expand and open a second Woodcraft store in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On September 6, 2014, the store opened its doors. It is a slightly smaller store, as compared to the Nashville location, due to the size of the market, but it still provides an extensive inventory and the same quality service as the original location.
In 2015, David decided it was time to slow down, so he and Lee Ann could enjoy life a little more spending time with the grandchildren. By then, Aaron had grown into a real leadership role at the store and was the natural choice to succeed David. An agreement was reached on January 1, 2016, in which Aaron purchased the business from David and Lee Ann. The business has continued to grow under Aaron’s leadership. As David observed, “While the business has always grown year to year, Aaron brought, and still brings, a new youthful energy and new ideas to Woodcraft.”
Although Aaron is in charge, David is still involved at the store, but now he concentrates on the classroom and the educational programs and enjoys it very much. He also acts as an in-house consultant that Aaron uses from time to time...with no consulting fee!
