When Thomas Watkins retired from Winn-Dixie in 2003 after a 24-year career, he approached a young man he’d watched grow up in the grocery business about joining a construction venture. Nathan Harris, who had started at the store at age 16, initially said no.

• “He said, we’ll do everything we can to make you feel secure. We know that you’re coming from a completely different background — we will train you in this,” Harris recalled. “And I promise you, it’ll be a good experience. And I guess he was right.”

Twenty-one years later, Harris has obtained his contractor’s license and launched Aroha Builders, carrying forward the values and team that made Watree Construction a trusted name among Okaloosa County military families. His mentors, Watkins and co-founder Brent Acree, aren’t just stepping aside — they’re championing the transition.

“People say, man, where’d you get him from?” Watkins said of Harris and his wife Chimera, who serves as office manager. “He’s got the field knowledge, he’s got the business knowledge — he’s the complete package. It took two of us, me and Brent, to do it, and Nathan and Chimera are doing it by themselves.”

The story begins at Winn-Dixie.

Watkins started with the grocery chain at 16 and became a store manager at age 20. He opened multiple locations, including stores on Beal Parkway and in Bluewater Bay, before retiring at 40.

• “I owe a lot of credit to Winn-Dixie for learning how to manage people and provide customer service, and how to join both of those together,” Watkins said.

Those management principles became the foundation of Watree Construction, which Watkins formed in 2004 with Acree, a third-generation local builder whose father also built homes in the area. The company name combines their surnames: Watkins and Acree.

The two had an unusual discovery when they first met through their draftsman, Roland Godwin. Despite graduating from the same high school class of 659 students, they’d never crossed paths.

“We actually graduated together. Didn’t know it,” Watkins said. “He’s three months older than I am.”

Their partnership began years earlier when Acree built Watkins’s house in 1996, then continued through townhouse developments before they formally established the company.

Launch of Watree

When Watree launched in December 2004, Watkins knew who he wanted on the team. But there was a problem.

“The first man that came up was Nathan,” Acree said. “But we couldn’t afford Nathan at the time.”

They started with another Winn-Dixie employee to get job sites cleaned up, then brought Harris aboard once the company found its footing.

The Winn-Dixie connection runs remarkably deep throughout the organization. Harris’s wife Chimera worked there. Former Superintendent David Vaccari, who recently retired after more than 19 years with Watree, worked there, as did current Superintendent Carie Schaeffer, who has been with Watree for over 13 years.

• Administrative staff member Kim Wright, employed for more than 12 years, has ties through her mother’s 30-plus year career with the chain.

“Everybody worked at Winn-Dixie except for me,” Acree said with a laugh.

For two decades, Watkins and Acree trained Harris in every aspect of the business — not through formal instruction, but through daily work and trust.

“Nathan’s always had a lot of potential from the beginning,” Watkins said. “I’m all about helping people, but they have to help themselves. He took it and ran with it.”

The mentorship has evolved to the point where Watkins measures success by silence.

“He doesn’t call us very often at all anymore,” Watkins said. “But when I get the phone call, I know I still matter to him.”

He compared it to raising children: “He used to say, ‘Hey, I need this.’ Now it’s ‘Got it, dad.'”

The opportunity with Aroha

Harris said the opportunity carries immense weight.

• “They’ve always had my back over the years and have been open to our input,” he said. “For them to have that confidence in me and our whole team — to take that forward and know that we’re going to continue the strong relationship with our buyers and with the community — it’s just an immense opportunity.”

The new company’s name reflects values Harris said he learned at Watree. Aroha is a Maori word from New Zealand that translates as “love” but encompasses deeper meaning: thought, introspection, life force, generosity and prosperity.

“When we were presented the opportunity to create our vision in starting a new home building company, we knew we wanted it to send the message of the legacy that we hoped to leave behind one day,” Harris said. “The message was one of community, of connection, of generosity, of compassion, of family.”

For buyers considering new construction, Watkins and Acree want one thing understood: the team delivering Aroha homes is the same team that built Watree’s reputation.

The entire staff is transitioning to the new company. Harris will continue managing Watree projects during a multi-year transition while building Aroha’s portfolio. The companies currently operate joint projects, including three spec homes in Fort Walton Beach off Carmel Drive.

Aroha Builders plans to maintain Watree’s focus on spec homes for military families and first-time buyers, the strategy that sustained the company through the 2008 recession and beyond.

“If you make your customers happy, you’re going to be successful,” Harris said. “It may set you back a little bit at the time to make them happy, but they’ll remember that.”

The attention to construction quality will also continue.

“If you open up the walls, we know what’s in there, and we’re proud of it,” Harris said. “Our attention to detail shows in our homes.”

Supporting the next generation of builders

For Acree, 62, retirement means more time on his boat with his wife. But he admitted the transition brings mixed emotions.

“It’s odd. It’s a little different to think that you’re retiring from something you’ve been doing for so many years,” he said. He hopes Harris will “still let me walk through the doors” after the transition is complete. “I look forward to being able to do a little bit more traveling and stuff like that. But still be able to come over here and feel like I’m a part of something.”

Watkins, who has become what he calls “a farm hermit,” plans to focus on agricultural pursuits and a ministry project building facilities for families who care for children from difficult situations.

But watching Aroha succeed, he said, may be the greatest reward.

“We’re very blessed to have the opportunity to watch Nathan and the whole team grow and succeed in their new company,” Watkins said. “That’s immensely priceless to us, and at the same time, we have the blessing of being able to step back a little bit.”

For more information on Aroha Builders, visit arohabuilders.com.