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ack in 1975, as a ski instructor at the newly developed Wintergreen Resort, Jeffery Caudill was living the college student’s dream. Thirty years later, his life has taken many turns, and now brings him home again to the mountains of his youth to discover his calling through Winterwoods Homes. The vision for Winterwoods Homes came to him one night in a log home on a 23 acre farm covered with snow. When he returned to Wintergreen, the vision came back with clarity. Standing next to a Wintergreen creek amid snow-covered stones in the woods, he snapped a photo of the bare trees against the snowy forest. That snapshot became the signature backdrop for his company identity, Winterwoods Homes. Caudill trekked home to start the due diligence process and to
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create a “Best-of-the-Best” partner program that could bring his vision of architectural log and timber frame homes to life. His background dovetailed perfectly with the business plan, using his 20 years in investments and financial services as the means to drive the success of this new venture. He wasn’t an artist, a designer, or a builder. But he was the quintessential entrepreneur with a vision and a plan. His passion was contagious and attracted the best in the field, including Slifer Designs who helped shape the initial concepts. With
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sketchbook in hand, he began drawing his heart out, creating 18 designs. Now there are more than 40 designs, and his design team can customize designs for home builders with a vision of their own. Recently, Caudill took a $2 million leap of faith that culminates the Winterwoods’ vision with the establishment of the Winterwoods Homes Foundation and its flagship home, the Dobie Mountain Lookout. The Dobie Mountain Lookout brings all of Jeffery Caudill’s passions under one roof. Located in Ellijay, Georgia, this home is constructed with reclaimed, recovered, recycled, and renewable materials. This