Meg Wynne

Director of Marketing and Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Bay Street Realty

story by LINDSEY LENOIR
photos by JOHN WOLLWERTH

2018 was considered the ‘Year of the Woman’. Across America, a chorus of voices arose bringing awareness to the fact that women were still enduring a plethora of gender injustices in the workforce. Their song could be heard in even the remotest parts of the country. The coastlines, the bustling cities, the open farmland, and the sleepy southern towns were all tuned in as the journey unfolded. It was a year that would invoke change and reform that we the people have needed for a very long time. Heading into the fifth month of 2019, we are beginning to see, and more importantly hear, the chorus rising as women young and old, from corporate America to the classroom, the CEO to the stay at home mom, women from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds are achieving greatness and making their mark. One of these amazing women resides right here in Beaufort County.
Meg Wynne is a young woman with a vision. Speaking with the conviction of a lifelong resident, her devotion is undeniably contagious as she speaks of her love of life here in the lowcountry. “Everyone you meet here seems to really want to connect. Everyone has such an interesting story to tell and you can typically get a history lesson out of most people you meet. My husband and I have made it a habit of rushing home and writing down as many of the stories that we can because we just cherish them so.”
Meg grew up in Greensboro, NC. She was raised by her father who, “is the reason I am who I am today. He instilled that, with hard work and dedication you can achieve anything you set your mind to.” She said that many people in her life encouraged her to be who she wanted to be, to include her stepmother and grandmother who would’ve been 99 this year. “My grandmother was always such an inspiration to me because she went to college, and not only that, she went to college out of state, all the way to Arizona from Virginia. That was something not many people, much less women, did at the time.”
Right out of college she began a career working as an educator for Head Start, “I absolutely loved my job at Head Start, it brought so much meaning to my life to help others. I had a degree in education from the University of South Carolina. I didn’t come from a long line of educators, so it was unusual that I chose that as my profession.” During her time as an educator, she was able to touch many young lives and also help many families. She went on from there to teach at a school outside of Charleston. That year she was voted rookie teacher of the year. However, she soon began to sense that a change was needed. She recalls having a conversation with a confidant about how and why she was feeling so unfulfilled in a teaching capacity, “Meg, it’s because you should be doing something that speaks to your creativity!” her friend replied. It wasn’t long after this encounter that Meg would begin selling real estate for City Walk and Pinckney Retreat. It was during her time there that she would travel to the “Ideal Living” expos throughout the north. “Ideal Living” is an expo for patrons and agents alike to review and compare different living options as they face retirement or relocation. It’s also a forum for agencies to provide hands-on, informative presentations about the industry and where it is headed. It was while attending these shows that she began to discover the scope of influence that Berkshire Hathaway, in particular, was having on the future of the industry. “I knew, myself, how strong Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices was,” but it wasn’t until she sat down one evening, in a hotel restaurant, at one of the expos, that she would begin the path that would eventually land her where she is today. “To my right and left were two gentlemen that kindly introduced themselves as being two of the four owners with Bay Street Realty Group in Beaufort.” As they began to talk, the gentlemen revealed to Meg that within a month, their real estate firm would be joining Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices as an independent franchise. “It was then I knew I wanted to be a part of something incredible! HomeServices is the largest residential brokerage firm in the United States.” Bay Street Realty Group would become Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Bay Street Realty Group on March 13, 2018.

The proverbial stars would align and point Meg into a career that she was not only amazing at, but one that fueled her creativity and love of history. “I never considered myself a particularly creative person. I’ve now discovered I am, just in a different way! I’ve been able to use new gifts and talents that I didn’t realize I had before. I think it is the coolest thing to be able to incorporate my love of beautiful architecture and history into one. When listing historical homes, for instance, I get to research and find out different things about each of the homes and the life it has lived.”
Meg and her husband Rob moved to Beaufort in the spring of 2015. Rob opened Beaufort’s first Allstate Insurance as a ‘scratch agent’ meaning his book of business started at zero. “We moved here because he had the opportunity to open Allstate.” At the time, he was the youngest person to ever own their own Allstate Insurance. “I’m so proud of what Rob has grown. It’s insane to think what he has done in the past four years. We both see that we have an opportunity to help be a part of the future of Beaufort.” When they first moved to Beaufort, the couple lived right downtown. Meg recalls, “I didn’t know anyone when we first moved here. One day I decided to just get out and walk. I would go into every store and greet the people working there and just visit for a minute. It didn’t take me very long to start forming relationships in the community.” To her, there is no place quite like Beaufort, “I love Beaufort and I want to play my part in preserving the uniqueness of it, but I also want to see our town moving forward in a constructive way. I want to use the resources that are available to me to remain smart about that growth. Ensuring that traffic is maintainable and keeping with the overall community cohesiveness.”
Meg is not only passionate and devoted to her career, she also has a heart for her community. When asked to talk about the various ways she has served Beaufort she replied, “ I really feel like I haven’t played my part very well here lately.” However, her countless hours of volunteer work as last year’s chair for the “Lafayette Soirée,” which is one of the major fundraising events for the Historic Beaufort Foundation, would suggest otherwise. The foundation is a non-profit organization that has played a vital role in conserving many of Beaufort’s historic homes and buildings for over fifty years. “Since its inception, it has upheld its mission to ‘support the preservation, protection and presentation of all sites and artifacts of historical, architectural and cultural interest.’” Meg also volunteers with CAPA and offered her services to help families in need after Hurricane Matthew devastated our community. Meg recalls, “I literally could not pick up another limb or pull up another tree from my own yard. I told my husband, ‘I’ve got to do something to help!’ I was told about relief efforts through the Red Cross and that they were serving meals out of St. Helena Elementary to emergency responders and to the community who were left without power and water.” She would have her husband drop her off every day at St. Helena, “My husband would drop me off with a twenty dollar bill everyday. He said that’s all I needed because if I had any more than that I would give it all away!” She, along with some of the other ladies volunteering, were instrumental in coordinating the set up of getting food to people that were unable to come and pick it up, “we were only able to give enough food for the people that were actually in the car. In talking we found out that there were a lot of people who couldn’t make the trip due to illness or being housebound. We compiled a list of people and because much of the island isn’t paved, the Red Cross trucks couldn’t make their way into some of the communities. We ended up loading up meals and taking them in our cars to those people. We were in turn, able to find out the types of repairs they needed and would report that back to the Red Cross. They were then able to get supplies from Charleston to help them.”
As a young woman in a very competitive field, Meg stands out because of her drive, commitment and level of success. “ I have always been a driven person. I come from a long line of hard-working people. If I could give anyone advice, it would be to not settle. With hard work and dedication, we can become who we want to be. I encourage all women to work hard and stand up for themselves. I’m lucky to be surrounded by an incredible support system here in Beaufort.”