Round the world journey brings woodworker back home Latest work to include custom works at Olympic park’s new boathouse

Shore Lines

From the fascinating to the remarkable, Lake Lanier harbors many personalities and places along its shores. Lakeside presents “Shore Lines” – stories about people who live, work and play around the lake and the places that make the area special.

By Pamela A. Keene

A couple of years after Wes Price graduated from Etowah High School in 2010, he embarked on a journey that radically changed his life. After a gap year in El Salvador to teach English, he connected with Gainesvillebased nonprofit Adventures in Missions, met his wife, Allie, embarked on a World Race that took him to more than 50 countries around the globe, and started his own business.

All this before he was 22 years old – accomplishing more than many people do in a lifetime.

Growing up in Woodstock, the son of a general contractor, Price admits that the scholarly life was not really on his radar.

“I’d worked with my dad’s company during high school and after, but I knew there was more to see and do,” says the North Hall resident who owns Brother

Jack Woodworking on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Gainesville. “When I heard about Adventures in Missions, I checked it out and it was just what I was looking for.”

As he prepared for the organization’s 11-month World Race in 2013, he was chosen as team leader to guide a group of people ages 21 to 35 who would be traveling the world to serve others.

“I had just turned 21 and here I was, taking off around the world with 50 other people,” he said.

“As we were building the team, a staffer introduced me to Allie and suggested that she be the treasurer for our group, and that’s how we met.”

They indeed traveled the world from Mozambique in Africa, to India, Thailand, Nepal, Vietnam and Malaysia, plus Moldova and Romania.

“After the World Race, Allie and I looked at each other and decided to make a life commitment, and that’s our story,” he said. “God brought us together; he had that all figured out.”

When they returned to Gainesville they married, staying involved with Adventures in Missions. Their son Jack, now 6, was born in 2017, and two years later their daughter Lucy, now 4, was born.

Price put his woodworking experience to work, creating one-ofa-kind furniture from tables and chairs to entertainment centers and built-ins.

For the holidays, Price also began making wood-inlaid cutting boards, coasters and charcuterie boards with different designs and a broad range of wood.

“They were perfect for gifts, and everyone encouraged me to do this full-time,” he said. “So we decided to take the plunge. Then came the question of a name.

“As we were thinking about starting the business, the name ‘Brother Jack’ just kept coming up. It was right around the time we had Lucy, and the name just stuck. So that’s how Brother Jack Woodworking came to be.”

He connected with the Atlanta

Braves through Lakewood 400 in Cumming, where Price was showing his work. Soon he began making VIP items for visiting teams and sponsors. Now he’s been contracted to refurbish the woodwork in the Truist Park VIP suites. His latest close-to-home work for the Lake Lanier Olympic Park boathouse includes restoration and adaptations/modifications to two classic wooden rowing shells.

“We’re making a 32-foot glasstopped cocktail table from one of them; the other will be restored and mounted on the wall of the lobby,” he said.

He will also be building the custom shadow boxes that will display various memorabilia in the boathouse.

Price’s company business has grown to include a shop manager and a second shop employee, plus a marketing associate and an administrator. His shop includes a showroom and work space.

“I spend seven days a week there, but doing custom fine woodworking is what I love to do,” he says. “People are starting to ask us to create high-quality furniture and woodwork and my goal is to create pieces that will last for generations.

“For instance, there’s a lot of life that takes place around the dining room table, and those memories can live on through a custom-built table that’s one-of-akind,” he said. “I talk with people and find out about their lifestyle, then I build each piece with intention. I do everything I can to make each piece come to life.”

For more info: www.brotherjackwoodworking.com or call 770 362-8027.