Turtlegrass is on hold indefinitely. Here’s why. →
In a new piece for the Cincinnati Business Courier, Turtlegrass founder Bob Coughlin makes the case for a retirement defined less by leisure than by purpose. The Paycor founder and creator of the Flying Pig Marathon now puts his energy into conservation, youth development, and support for people with disabilities, much of it through the Bob and Jeanne Coughlin Foundation, which gives more than $5 million a year to causes across Greater Cincinnati and the Bahamas.
A good deal of that purpose has taken root in Exuma. The Coughlins built a home here a decade ago, and Bob went on to co-found Friends of Exuma, a nonprofit working on conservation, youth development, sustainable living, and cultural preservation. Turtlegrass Resort. a small, low-density ecotourism project on Big Sampson Cay grew out of the same conviction: that you can build a place worth visiting without negatively impacting the environment it ecists in.
The Courier is honest about where Turtlegrass stands today. Plans for the resort are on hold while Bob opposes a far larger, proposed development by the Miami-based Yntegra Group, one that would turn the pristine North Bay surrounding Turtlegrass into an industrial shipping channel. On the road ahead, he is clear-eyed:
"The way I've always dealt with challenges is to take a long-term view."
It's a long view that runs through everything here: the foundation, Friends of Exuma, and the fight to keep North Bay intact for the generations of Exumians and visitors who have fished and enjoyed it.
