South magazine 73: Power Issue | Page 18

PUB LETTER A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER through the highs and lows of his mesmerizing life story. It’s a hospitality he learned from his Sicilian mother, who made sure if you were in her house you were getting fed. Mel’s the same way, only he feeds you some of the most incredi- ble stories you’ll ever hear. As we began to near dead- line, however, I could tell Mel MEL CHANCEY AND LOU VALOZE... TWO TITANS OF THEIR WORLDS THAT began to worry he’d told us BEGAN ON OPPOSITES SIDES OF THE LAW - NOW BEST OF FRIENDS. too many stories. The struggle I could sense in him says a lot about the measure of this man•he’s quick to AS I WALKED INTO THE SANCTUARY OF THE NEWLY make friends and tell stories, but he doesn’t want RENOVATED LUTHERAN CHURCH, THERE HE WAS ON those stories to define him. He wants to be more HIS KNEES. THIS WAS NO SHOW. IT WAS WHO HE WAS than what he’s grown beyond. The outlaw life, the NOW. I HAD SPENT ALL DAY WITH HIM, LISTENING crazy stories of life on the wrong side of the law, TO HIS TALES OF VIOLENCE AND CRIME AND NOW WE he views it all as preamble to the Second Chance WERE ENDING OUR DAY AT ONE OF THE MOST HIS - he’s found since. That’s what defines him. TORIC CHURCHES IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. AND MEL In truth, that’s the story we wanted to tell, too. CHANCEY, THE GUY WHO ONCE SAT NEAR THE PIN - It’s not a story that romanticizes the life of drugs, NACLE OF A VAST OUTLAW EMPIRE, NOW PROSTRAT- guns, and violence. It’s a story that mines those ED HIMSELF IN PIETY AND HUMILITY BEFORE THE dark days in his life for the humanity that would ALTAR OF A CHURCH HE’D NEVER VISITED BEFORE. one day flourish when Mel Chancey embraced his The irony of it was almost too much. It’s hard to imagine that second chance. That’s his story. It’s one that has someone can change that drastically. He was once the president inspired countless people around the country as of one of the most vicious motorcycle clubs in the world yet one Mel has made it the central message to his fitness of the most likable guys I had ever met. I could not imagine the and medical ventures and to the bodybuilding dark side of him that I had heard so much about. committee who views him as everyone’s big You can prepare yourself for just about anything, but nothing brother. could prepare me for who I was about to meet. Mel Chancey It is, ultimately, the story of a second chance. has been called “the scariest guy I’ve ever met” by some of the We might not all have the kind of stories Mel has, scariest guys I’ve ever met. A man like Mel usually lives and dies but we all have something for which we could use by the sword. They rarely change. But this story, the one we a little redemption. Hopefully Mel’s story inspires were now lucky enough to tell, is a story of a man that did just you as it has us. that. We would soon find the depths of purpose that lies behind his simple two-word mantra, “Second Chance.” It’s become a means of redemption for himself, sure, a way to draw strength from his faith to rewrite the story of his life. But it’s more than that. It’s an inspiration to thousands of others, looking to re- write their own stories, that all it takes is faith and a willingness to make amends. It’s easy to see how this one man’s story has been able to reach and influence so many. It’s very easy to like Mel Chancey. He’s the kind of guy who will call you brother after meeting you once, quick to welcome you into his life with stories that roll off his tongue in a free-flowing train of thought that takes you 18 SOUTH MAGAZINE June | July 2018 MICHAEL BROOKS PUBLISHER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR ABOUT THE COVERS Mel Chancey was considered by many to be one of the most dangerous men in the world of outlaw motorcy- cle clubs. Now after spending time in prison and working hard to get his life in order, Mel spends his days “praying-up” to keep him from falling back into the world that nearly cost him his life. Read his incredible story of redemption on page 96 as we tack- le the second part of the series in the life of ATF Agent, Lou Valoze. Cover photography by Blake Crosby. Cover design by Michael Brooks. When people think of Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Compa- ny, they naturally think of the Motor City: Detroit, Michigan. But as it turns out, the famed industrialist had strong ties to the Coastal Em- pire as well. In the 1930s, Ford built his winter estate on the site of an old rice plantation located just outside of Savannah. Today, The Ford Plantation is home to one of the top residential golf courses in the United States. Read more about the course and its designer, the legendary Pete Dye, on page 56. Cover photography by Russ Bryant. Cover design by Michael Brooks.