Meet Bob Porter. Bob is a Property Developer who’s enthusiasm for Sedona and the Verde Valley means that he makes many contributions to the community. He is a well known and well loved personality.
Q: Please tell us about yourself.
A: I received a degree in English from Mercer University. I’m an English major, novelist, and home builder. Soon, I’ll go back and finish my second novel – the fourth version is saved in my laptop. I got into the banking business right out to college, and then I pursued the construction lending side of banking. Afterward, I went from banking to a real estate investment trust, basically the old version of the hard money lender. We were a New York Stock Exchange trade company based in Washington D.C. I ended up as Chief Financial Officer of this real estate investment trust at the age of 28. I had no clue what I was doing, but my boss, the President of the company, trusted me and said, “You figure out what you need to know. The guy we had here before I couldn’t trust, and I can trust you”. That’s par for the course of my career path. I’ve stepped in the things that I had no idea but learned how to do them, and it has worked.
Q: How did you end up in Sedona?
A: I came to Arizona in 1981, and when you’re in Arizona, you visit Sedona. I’ve been familiar with it for years. My late wife and I came here in 1987 for the Harmonic Convergence. We didn’t participate but merely observed. We had lived in Nevada for 12 or 13 years, and we spent time a lot of time here – it was a great place to getaway. We were here for my late wife’s 49th birthday and stayed at the Enchantment. We looked at a lot and had no intention of buying anything, but the realtor had me hooked. We bought it that day – it was my wife’s birthday present. We moved here full-time in 2010. At that time, her health was failing, and I lost her in 2013.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Sedona?
A: Terrie Frankel. She’s engaging, fun, and Fred is a perfect compliment. I met her in 2014. I was comatose for more than a year after C.C died in 2013. I became involved with the campaign for Diane Jones and met Terrie. Diane Jones put together the C.C Porter Award to honor women.
Q: What age would you be again, and why?
A: Thirty-seven. That’s my age when my wife and I got married. It was magical, and we were together 24/7, 365 days a year for 30 years. I would go back to age 37, not because of any physical thing, but because my life was perfect in that year.
Q: How would your closest friends describe you?
A: Kind, I think! I love my children and my grandchildren – so kind and loving.
Q: What would you consider your greatest accomplishment?
A: First, it would be my six children, and two of them are C.C’s. Next would be that I got to marry C.C. It was not just an accomplishment but a blessing. After that, It’s all the homes we built over the years.
Q: Choosing anyone with whom would you love to have lunch? Why?
A: It would be Clint Eastwood. I’ve met a lot of pretty wonderful famous people, but he fascinates me.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
A: Rome, to go to the Vatican. I’m a good Catholic boy, and it’s something I’d like to do. I’ve been to France, England, and Scotland but never to Italy. While I’m there, I’ll stop off at the Amalfi Coast.
Q: What is your favorite music or band?
A: John Mayer, Keith Urban, and many others, but if I had to pick one, it would be John Mayer. I never heard him live, but those two guys together are great. That’s what’s on my Pandora.
Q: When someone comes to visit you in Sedona, where do you take them?
A: When the kids came for our first Thanksgiving and Christmas, we went to Tlaquepaque’s “Festival of Lights.” So first, it’s Tlaquepaque, next hiking, and our favorites are Slide Rock, Bell Rock, and Devil’s Bridge.
Q: Is there anything else that you would like us to know?
A: Well, about my writing. It’s what I love to do. It’s a weird transference, but when I’m writing, I visualize a movie in my head, and the words are pouring out. I love to do that. It’s very intimate, very personal, very private, and it’s fun.
From the interview with Jonelle Klein
