Michelle Purdy is a member of the Ponte Vedra Woman’s Club and PV Women’s Civic Alliance, a businesswoman, a volunteer and a mom.
What is your background? Tell us about your business or your organization. What is your position and what are your responsibilities?
In college, I got a degree in early childhood education and a bachelor’s degree in social work. I always wanted to make a difference serving the community. As it turns out, there is not much money in social work. Fast forward, I was working as an account executive selling internet access to companies in the mid-’90s.
After our first child was born in 1997, I decided to stay home with our growing family. I was raising the kids full time and started small businesses for extra money. I watched babies in my home, and even started a moon bounce rental business.
In 2004, I started buying and flipping real estate while the kids were in school. The housing crisis in 2008 changed everything. We were able to keep the properties we had at the time and held on for the financial rollercoaster ride. It was a stressful few years, but we made it through, and in 2012 we embarked on starting a life insurance business.
With this business we have been able to incorporate fundraising and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Smile Train and Compassion International.
To date, Kevin runs the insurance company, and I still manage all the rental properties. When we moved to PVB, I was looking for a way to volunteer in the community and a charity to donate to. I had volunteered through the years doing many things like room mom, Girl Scout troop leader, preschool teacher in the church and team mom. With the move came a strong desire to make a bigger impact.
The Ponte Vedra Woman’s Club was just the place. We raise money for charities in the community and scholarships for local students. This year we presented checks totaling $60,000 to four local charities and $20,000 in scholarships to five local deserving students.
I have served as VP of ways and means, collect Christmas gifts for the boys residing at St. Augustine Youth Services seven years running, and lead our trunk show fundraiser with Underwood Jewelers, annually. In 2025, I will resume a position on the board as VP of charity.
Four years ago, two friends and I started a nonprofit called St. Johns County Safety Town. This nonprofit serves rising kindergarteners, teaching them safety skills when around water, poison, animals, streets, riding the school bus, bike safety and much more. There are around 75 children enrolled every year at our summer camp. We work in partnership with the St Johns County Sheriff's Office. They bring their assets like the helicopter, boat and motorcycles every year.
The kids can step into a firetruck and ambulance, too. They love meeting the firefighters and the police officers. Local high school students serve as team leaders and earn volunteer hours. The teenagers learn right along with the kids from the local experts.
It has been a wonderful way to serve the community making a positive impact. This July 2025 will be our fifth summer camp teaching our newest safety citizens.
What is a typical day like for you?
Every day is different depending on the time of year. I could be dealing with the rental business, preparing for the Safety Town summer camp, organizing Christmas for all of the SAYS boys. I also love cooking and baking for my family.
Serving on the board again this fall for the Ponte Vedra Woman’s Club will be a nice distraction from my new empty-nest status.
I am also a member of the PV Women’s Civic Alliance. PVWCA raises funds for our community and awards an annual grant. This year the grant went to Bit Of Faith Ranch. This is a wonderful organization serves autistic children through horseback riding.
Are you from this area originally, or did you settle here from somewhere else? If the latter, what brought you to this community?
I’m originally from Binghamton, NY. My husband and I met in college in 1990. Kevin and I lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for 22 years. In 2017, we made the move to Ponte Vedra Beach, seeking warmer weather and a beach lifestyle.
We just celebrated our 30-year wedding anniversary and have been blessed with four children. Two of them are grown and married. This year we just became grandparents! Our third child attends the University of Florida, and our youngest son will be joining her at UF in the fall.
What do you like best about living here?
We love the warm weather and of course the beach here in PVB. The best part is our children love it, too. Our son with his wife, and our daughter with her husband and new baby are living locally and working in Jacksonville. We love the proximity to the airport, football stadium, hockey games, theaters and the symphony all in Jacksonville.
How do you like to spend your free time?
We love to travel and take the whole family. We find cruising is a great way to show them all different places, and they only have to unpack once. We have been on cruises to the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean, Greece, Caribbean and to the Panama Canal. We also love Mexico and Costa Rica. Time with family is my favorite thing. I make a big dinner every Sunday for the kids to come around, eat and reconnect with each other. They are all the best of friends. I am grateful for that.
