Annie Powell

Teacher Turned Realtor Takes Beaufort by Storm

story by JEANNE REYNOLDS                photos by PAUL NURNBERG

Annie Powell remembers the moment she knew Beaufort was the right place for her.

It was the summer 1999, and the newly minted Columbia College graduate had just moved to town for her first teaching job at Beaufort Academy.

“I stayed at the Bay Street Inn, which was a bed-and-breakfast at the time. They were filming Forces of Nature in town, and most of the directors were staying there,” Powell says. “They invited me to visit the set, and I sat right next to Sandra Bullock. We weren’t supposed to talk to the stars, but she turned to me and said, ‘It’s really hot.’ And I thought, here I am, right out of college about to start my first job, and I’m sitting on a movie set next to Sandra Bullock — how amazing is this?”

More than 20 years later, Powell is her own force of nature, transitioning from a rewarding career as a middle school teacher to a successful new venture as a real estate agent — plus adding a husband and three sons along the way. And it turns out her brush with Hollywood glamour isn’t the only interesting connection that influenced the direction of her life.

Powell’s story starts in Laos, where she was born after her French mother, an airline flight attendant, met and married her Laotian father, a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. The young family relocated to Paris, then immigrated to the United States, settling in Spartanburg.

“They wanted a better life, and America is the land of opportunity,” Powell says. “The textile industry was big in the Upstate in the 1980s, and a great-aunt lived not far away in Tennessee.”

Making an Impact in the Classroom
Although she enjoyed playing school with her younger brother as a child, Powell planned to become a doctor until she took an education class in her junior year in college. “I fell in love with teaching,” she says.

Fortunately, Powell was in the perfect place for that switch, thanks to Columbia College’s renowned teacher education program. A bachelor’s degree in biology positioned her well for that first job teaching “mostly” middle school science at Beaufort Academy. After 13 years, she moved into public school education at Lady’s Island Middle School, where she spent the next seven years.
“Most teachers start in public schools, then go private. I flipped it,” she says. “Working in a public school setting gave me more insight into the community and better prepared me to be a realtor able to understand and meet the needs of many different kinds of people.”

Powell says her 20 years in education helped lead her to the next step in her career and had long-term effects. “I see my former students in our community and how successful they are, and I know I made an impact.”

Making Long-Term Connections
A few years after moving to Beaufort, another connection — this time from her past — again altered the path of Powell’s life: A high school friend from Spartanburg had a brother, Eric, who also had moved to Beaufort. The two met again here and quickly became friends.

“I remember being a kid, the first day I went to my friend’s house to study, back in high school, and her father opened the door. I never imagined that man would one day become my father-in-law,” she says.

The friendship led to dating and eventually a proposal at the iconic Hunting Island lighthouse. The couple married at St. Helena’s Episcopal Church and will celebrate their 20th anniversary this June. They’ve also added three sons to the family during that time: Nathan, 12; Luke, 9; and Samuel, 8.

With the roles of wife and mom added to her responsibilities, Powell began to feel a growing need for more flexibility in her life. She tested the waters by working part-time as a real estate agent with Keller Williams Lowcountry — after school and on weekends — during her last year of teaching.

“I realized I was pretty good at it,” she says. “My husband and his brother own Powell Brothers Construction, so I’ve always been interested in housing because of his work. And I’ve been helping children for a long time. In real estate, I’m still able to work with people and help them go from one place to another in their lives.”

Her overlapping careers in education and real estate are connected in other ways too, she says. “You have to be prompt, detailed, responsive, able to deal with different situations, a multitasker, understand people, and want what’s best for them.”

That philosophy of wanting what’s best for others is highlighted in her personal business motto: helping you live your best Lowcountry life.

“It’s not always about the money — it’s about relationships,” she says. “Buying a home is one of the biggest investments in your life, and I’ll take as much time as I need to find you the right property. I’m building clients for life — in fact, a lot of my clients have become my friends.”

Powell says her specialty is in the luxury market, and she prides herself in giving white-glove concierge service to all her clients. Her connection with Keller Williams means she brings distinguished branding to the table too. “Keller Williams has the largest referral network in the world, connecting with clients and providing exceptional service from beginning to end. The company’s mission statement is ‘to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning, lives worth living, experiences worth giving, and legacies worth leaving.’”

Real estate is very competitive in today’s frenzied home market, Powell acknowledges. While most of her business comes from within her “sphere” — people with whom she has relationships — many new clients are arriving from out of town.

“Beaufort is getting a lot of attention,” Powell says. “When people come to visit, I hope they’ll buy, but most of the time, they’re coming to see what we have to offer. I feel like I’m an ambassador for this beautiful town. Our taxes are still relatively lower than in other areas. We’re a small town, but we still have the conveniences of Hilton Head, Savannah, and Charleston nearby. We’re three hours from the mountains and a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the beach. It’s like being on vacation all the time because you always see water.”

Making Time For What — and Who — You Love
Despite her packed schedule, Powell says entertaining and travel are two of her family passions. Easter weekend included a visit to Washington, DC, visiting museums, attending services at Washington National Cathedral, and participating in the White House Easter Egg Roll, a 144-year-old tradition restarted after a two-year pandemic break. Powell says the entire family has become avid Jacksonville Jaguar fans, and her sons attended Trevor Lawrence’s youth football camp earlier this year (despite being a house divided between Clemson University and University of South Carolina followers). And when Christmastime rolls around, the family will host 16 or more people for dinner, another annual tradition. (Insider tip: If karaoke is on the menu, Powell might surprise folks with her mad Madonna skills.)

“People sometimes ask me, ‘How do you do it all?’ And it’s not always perfect,” Powell admits. “It’s about trying to find that balance. You’ve got to enjoy life, appreciate the present, and love the people in your life. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.”