THE PROTECTOR

from Social Coastal | August 2023

JANE LEE COASTAL CREATIONS

The story of someone’s why can be incredibly inspiring, and the backstory behind Timothy Harry’s work—both professionally and in the community—is no exception.

The owner and founder of Severance Security, Harry launched his company after experiencing the loss of multiple friends to suicide. The underlying commonality between those friends was military service and a return Stateside after deployments that haunted their minds and their dreams. Knowing they needed to be given a sense of purpose outside of their military service, Harry created a professional executive protection firm that would employ former military and law enforcement to provide them with that purpose. Now, the company protects some of the world’s most influential people.

In addition to protecting those high-profile clients, Harry dedicates his life to protecting those whose vulnerability made them targets of a different kind: children. As a board member of Children’s Rescue Initiative as well as a security expert, Harry does more than just send money to help the cause—he’s hands on in training the boots on the ground. “We rescue women and children from sex and labor slavery as well as human trafficking all over the world, including here in the US,” he says. “It’s something that a lot of people have never been aware of, and if they are, they don’t know how to help.”

Harry first became involved in CRI five years ago, after hearing of their work and donating money in support. “They sent me so many photos of the little kids that had been helped, and I was just hooked,” Harry recalls. “I wanted to do something.”

So he has, locally serving on the board and training a rescue team of 50 each year with the support of the City of Orange Beach, who hosts the training program. “In the 12 years that CRI has been in operation, we have rescued over 2300 children and adults from modern day slavery and rescued more then 20 during a recuse two months ago,” Harry says. “What we do is so important because little kids are being sold for sex. It’s a terrible reality and something that needs to be stopped.”

Harry is actively working towards that as part of CRI, whose end goal is to end trafficking and slavery in every corner of the world. As a 501c3 nonprofit, all their funding comes from donations, which makes financial support incredibly important—but clearly, that was not enough to satisfy the burden Harry felt on his heart to do something. “After seeing those photos and becoming more educated on what was happening, I couldn’t just stand by.”

In his free time, Harry stays involved in the local community by serving as the Orange Beach High School skeet shooting coach and sitting on the Orange Beach Board of Adjustments. When he has time to himself, he loves to take advantage of living on the coast by going boating as much as possible. He recently became engaged and is looking forward to building a life with his fiancée.

Orange Beach Billfish Classic

The Orange Beach Billfish Classic kicked off with a lively party the evening before fishing began. Guests enjoyed great food, a full bar and live music. The OBBC is the largest tournament donor to The Billfish Foundation, a worldwide organization dedicated to conserving billfish by synthesizing science and policy into effective, yet reasonable, fishery management solutions- solutions that are good for the fish but not punitive to recreational anglers.

Orange Beach Billfish Classic

Photos by Jenni Guerry Photography

The Orange Beach Billfish Classic was the first major fishing tournament of the 2023 season . This event, which is a part of the Gulf Coast Triple Crown Series, has the reputation of attracting some of the best big-game anglers in the nation, showcasing both their skill and dedication to sustainable fishing practices . Competing in a field of 42 boats, Mollie, a 63' G & S from Destin set the new OBBC record with a 776.4 Blue Marlin to win this year's tournament at The Wharf in Orange Beach.