Bruce Holmes has had a lifelong commitment to helping others and giving back to his community, evident through his 12 years of service as a Henry County Commissioner, followed by this most recent appointment to the HCWA Board.
Although Mr. Holmes has deep family roots in Jones County Georgia, he was born on a military base in El Paso, Texas, while his father was serving in the United States Air Force. After being raised in Michigan, he moved on to earn his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Minnesota in 1987, prior to earning his Master’s in Business Management from the University of Minnesota St. Mary’s.
Shortly after his election in 2010 to the Henry County Board of Commissioners, Holmes established the Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation (CBHYF), with mentoring components called “Project Exposure” & “Project Blossom” to help guide youth in a positive direction by exposing them to environments meant to open their minds to potentially new possibilities and horizons.
FMM recently caught up with Bruce Holmes for our Power & Influence Digital Cover Issue.
FMM: We’re so happy to catch up with you! Please… Introduce yourself to our audience.
BH: I was born in El Paso, Texas and migrated to Detroit, MI at the age of five. I moved on to the University of Minnesota at the age of 16 on a Football Scholarship where I earned 1st Team All-Big 10 honors. I moved on to play 7 years of professional football between both the NFL/ CFL where I was the league leading tackler with a single season record that stood for a number of years in the CFL.
My career ended with a season /career ending injury against the San Diego Chargers on Nov 5th 1993. I spent the next 20 plus years in the pharmaceutical, biotech and molecular diagnostic industries in sales and worked my way into heading national / corporate accounts. After relocating to Atlanta as the Director of National Accounts with Johnson & Johnson, I began to recognize changes that could be made to improve my community.
I decided to run for office in a county that was only 25% African American and during the General Election in 2010, I was the only Democrat in the State of Georgia to unseat a popular Republican incumbent Statewide with virtually no support from the local civic organizations which included the local Democratic Party and NAACP. I believe I made the largest impact on this County than any other person ever elected to local office in Henry County’s history.
FMM: What circumstances led you to your industry?
BH: I became interested in both commercial development and media during my twelve years of elected service in Henry County, GA. I set out to learn everything I could about development and construction during my time in office. I got on my hands and knees to learn every aspect about construction and construction management. I’ve worked on a number of major projects that have garnered my company respect in the commercial space.
Painting with a Twist, God is Dope, Slutty Vegan and Hotworx are projects we’ve done, just to name a few. Media has become my newest passion. Three years ago, I accepted a contract to become the Executive Producer and Host for Nubian TV’s The Black Vote. We interviewed a number of prominent guests such as Tony Dungy, Mayor Andre Dickens, Ex Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Bahamian freedom fighter Prescott Smith, and Ahmaud Arbery’s father, sister and uncle.
I learned so much about media and production, I decided to invest in my own studio and start my own production company called BIG “10” Media. It has been rewarding to focus on two passions under the BIG “10” umbrella.
FMM: How did you decide to make it your own?
BH: I learned a lot over my years of leadership. I learned to take risks and never shy away from things that are foreign to me. I remember walking away from football at the age of 27. My gut told me that I would never receive another call. My gut was correct. I remember during the offseason, I used to go downtown in the mornings and watch people walk into office buildings all dressed up. I used to dream about doing this same thing .
However, at that time, I had no idea what it would take to become something other than an athlete. I was tired of people looking at me as an athlete, which is the reason I rarely discuss it today. My former college coach Lou Holtz implanted the idea in my head that I was more than an athlete and although he thought that I would go far in professional football, he taught and prepared me to always be ready for my next move.
He taught me to create great relationships with others, give back and treat others the way I wanted to be treated. I promised him that I would live my entire life that way and I have been blessed. Yes, I have made plenty of mistakes, however I’ve learned from all of them and always came back stronger than ever spending the next 35 plus years trying to improve the lives of others.
FMM: What has been your greatest challenge in your industry? Why?
BH: Anything worth having will come with challenges. I don’t see a challenge as a setback. I see challenges as opportunities to learn, improve and become a better person. In that light, I developed a youth foundation to expose the youth to opportunities so they would not have to take some of the licks I took trying to become the person I am today. I have learned that my greatest weakness is wanting to help too much which has allowed too many people with negative intentions to get too close to me.
Although I have a strong gift for giving and helping others, I also have been blessed with a very strong sense of discernment which has helped me navigate life and has protected me from evil.
Questions about people involved
FMM: Who else has helped you evolve into the person you are today?
BH: There are too many to name. I have never discounted anyone’s words. Sometimes God sends someone with a word that you least expect. You can learn a life lesson from just about anyone. I’m always alert and pay close attention to anyone who’s in my stratosphere. I’ve learned from people growing up in the streets of Detroit, Coaches like Lou Holtz, Tony Dungy, Peter Carroll as well as others. My father and mother were both key figures in my life as well. I’m always seeking to improve even at this age. I never discount others.
FMM: Can you share a time that forces were working against you? How did you overcome the challenge?
BH: Whenever you’re climbing, people will always work against you. I remember years ago as a new elected official, I appointed someone [to an esteemed staff position] whom I helped elect and raised nearly $30k for her in the last month of her election. Absolutely NO ONE thought she would win except me. Although I was in her corner, I recall hearing the words from a former commissioner who is now deceased “IT’S THE PEOPLE CLOSEST TO YOU YOU NEED TO WATCH.”
While I knew he didn’t care for me for a reason or two, my circle wasn’t very large and I began to distance myself from this [politician] although she continued to work [with] me for over a decade. After I got her elected, she began to work against me along with [key officials] to have me removed from office because I was fighting to stop the Inland Port, warehouses from being built in our neighborhoods and against low-income housing from coming to our communities. It was the largest act of betrayal I’ve ever experienced in my life. I went from never having a challenger in twelve years to being written out of my seat with the stroke of a pen.
Although I was hurt and couldn’t understand why this was happening to me, the spirit said I need you to take some time to develop yourself in new areas. The spirit knew the game against me was huge and planned. Local laws were changed to come after me, my trusted colleague was drawn in to my district and given the fact that the district number was changed from 5 to 2 locked me out of challenging for my seat for two years because I was now considered to be living outside of the district because I was the District 5 incumbent. When [the politician] had a local judge declare the seat vacant, she then was granted the power to appoint someone with no education or legitimate work experience to the seat I held for well over a decade without a single challenger.
Local media stopped covering the facts and news as if there was something hidden or some dark secret. As the news void developed, I saw it as an opportunity and began covering the stories through my media company on @SouthMetroTV YouTube Channel. The many acts of deceit turned out to be a tremendous blessing helping me to develop interest and skills in two very different areas.
Questions about your expertise
FMM: What sets you apart and makes you/your gift truly special?
BH: The fact that I have climbed to the top of the food chain in every area of human endeavor makes me special. The fact that I have the ability to go on the offensive and counter when I need to makes me special. I have never failed at anything that I’ve ever done. There is no such thing as status quo for me. If I decide to participate, best believe I will be in it to win it. I was told many years ago that a setback is just the starting point for a comeback. We all can learn from setbacks, we just need to meditate and take time to really understand our true mission and why we’re truly here at this moment.
FMM: How can others work with you?
BH: I can work with anyone. If our mission and objectives align, we can get off to an outstanding start. However, we know that this isn’t always the case as in politics. You won’t survive in Corporate America if you can’t work with people. For companies like Cell Therapeutics, Cepheid Molecular and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, I was the only African American in the entire company as Director of National Accounts covering the entire country. I’m very easy to work with if someone can demonstrate the same desire to work with me.
