“ That ’ s how I got connected with this place . So down through the years , we were just all good neighbors ,” he said .
He said that several years ago when one of the Dorminey sons had come down to do some work around the property , he asked him if he and Nancy could take over the upkeep of the place . So they struck a deal with him and did just that .
“ About 18 years ,” said Nancy .
Billy said , “ We kept it up and it got to be like it was ours and I ’ d cut the grass and I ’ d look out at the pond just trying to figure what I could do with this piece of property if I were ever to get a hold of it . And these folks started asking me about a place to rent .”
He said that he thought it would be an ideal spot for an event center because it was in the country but close to town . So , they eventually made a lease to purchase deal with the Dorminey family and bought the property .
Billy said that the first thing that they did was drain the pond . He said that he and Rod worked for about three years to clear the pond out and install a new drain system . The dirt removed from deepening the pond was used to build the foundation that the venue is sitting on and the peninsula out into the pond .
When they decided to build the Lily Pond Farm Event Center , they went and talked to their neighbors and got their blessings to do it , he said .
“ That ’ s one of the reasons we don ’ t go past 9 p . m . on weeknights and we don ’ t go past 11 p . m . on the weekends . We didn ’ t want to build a juke joint . We wanted to build something that the average working family could afford and enjoy ,” Billy said . “ If you can ’ t do it during the daytime and by 11:00 at night on a Friday or Saturday night , take your business somewhere else . We want something very respectable .”
He said that when they started on the building , they tried to use local vendors and to buy everything they could from people in Colquitt County .
“ We built this without an architect . I built it off of a drawing on a cocktail napkin ,” Billy said . “ Rod and I moved flags for six months trying to get this thing lined up right for the sunsets and stuff like that for the photo ops way before we even had a building contracted for .”
He said that he wanted to do business with as many local people as he could because the community had been good to him and his family and he also wanted to give something back to the community .
He said that a friend of his who was a real estate agent told him that water sells property because people are attracted to water .
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