Team

Highlands Cove Realty is a second career for Ed. For 36 years he was a General Manager at Crown Automotive, with a focus on customer relationships. After living in the Highlands/Cashiers region part-time since 2003, he finally “retired” here in 2009 and fell in love with the area and the Old Edwards Club community. When he discovered real estate brokerage, he knew his second passionate career had begun.

“As a broker AND resident of Old Edwards Club, I have a thorough knowledge, unique perspective and complete understanding of our incredible community and the surrounding area. This helps me provide clients with not only the highest level of professional service, but also personal guidance in choosing the PERFECT residence and real estate investment for them.” Ed

Testimonials:

“Ed is an inspirational leader. Over his years at Crown Automotive, he managed and developed people throughout the organization. As a General Manager, he successfully achieved objectives and grew sales. Ed was a wonderful asset to the organization.”

“Having worked with Ed for many years, I experienced a level of positive professionalism that is difficult to find. Articulate and enthusiastic, Ed is a strong leader who demonstrates outstanding motivation and team building skills. I highly recommend him.”

Jennifer transitioned to Highlands Cove Realty from the Highlands Cove Country Club, where she was Food & Beverage Director for almost three years. Like Ed, she decided to turn her passion for the Old Edwards lifestyle into a new career and joined Mountain View Properties in 2008 as a Broker and Rental Manager. When the brokerage was purchased, Jennifer was promoted to Broker in Charge.

“I believe the key to my success as a real estate agent is my ability to listen, understand and visualize what my clients are looking for so that I can use my market knowledge to help them find the right property. I am a very driven and focused professional with a passion for what I do. I hold myself to high standards of integrity, am very patient and work diligently to find my clients exactly what they are looking for.” Jennifer

Testimonials:

“Jennifer is a hard working very focused professional with a passion for what she does. Jennifer has character and integrity, a great work ethic and a tremendous attitude.”

“Jennifer was and is a pleasure to work with. She was our agent in purchasing a second home in NC. We were totally satisfied with Jennifer in every way. We have developed trust in her as a professional and have found a new friend. We would highly recommend her!”

“Thanks to Jennifer, we were able to sell our condo and purchase a nearby home in a very short amount of time. Her negotiation skills, listening skills and prompt responses were critical and were perfect! If you’re looking to buy or sell in the Highlands area, Jennifer is the perfect choice as your agent!!”

“Jennifer is dedicated to helping people find properties and has extensive knowledge of the Highlands area. She is always available and takes the time to get the job done! I highly recommend Jennifer Blake at HIghlands Cove Realty.”

Darlene is a graduate of Western Carolina University with a degree in Finance and Economics. Prior to raising a family, she worked the financial industry; IPO’s, Leverage buyouts, Mergers, Institutional trading and finally working on special projects within International Trading. She transitioned from the financial world to working for various groups doing charity fundraising. A few years ago, she began doing renovation/remodeling work for a private investor’s rental properties. That naturally led to moving into the Real Estate Sales profession. Darlene currently holds a license in the State of Georgia and the state of North Carolina. She is also a published author of children’s books. Darlene and her husband, Paul, are residents of Highlands Cove at Old Edwards Club.

“My family’s roots are embedded in the Mountains of Western North Carolina. My mother was born and raised in Asheville where her family names of the Morgan’s and Smather’s are part of the history of Buncombe County. While attending Western Carolina University, I met my husband Paul. Our love of the Mountains brought us back here years ago, where we built our retirement home. I feel that my greatest strength is the love of the area and knowledge of what this area has to offer who wish to move here.”

Testimonials:

“We have purchased 8 homes in 4 states over the past 13 years and this was by far the best experience. Ironically it was also the least expensive home since it was a weekend getaway. Darlene did all the leg work one would expect from a real estate agent and also went well beyond to inspect each house before our arrival. We have 3 young children who attended this process so you can imagine her patience level in a car for 2 days without even blinking. She found the exact place in the perfect location for our family. Even after several months of ownership she continues to help with contractors gaining entry to our place for upgrades. If you are looking for agent your can trust, one that cares, and follows through with your best interest STOP as you have found her.”

“I have been a real estate broker for over 30 years and was, obviously, very particular about choosing the right agent to find my vacation home in Highlands. Darlene met and exceeded all my expectations. She was knowledgeable, organized and always prompt. Her upbeat, positive attitude made my search extremely enjoyable as well. ”

Bill has experience in Highlands, NC real estate as owner of The Glendale Group, LLC in Georgia, which specializes in Highlands’s vacation rentals.

He has had a well-respected career in sales, operations and account management at both CenturyLink Technology Solutions (SAVVIS, Inc) and Sprint where he consistently ranked nine times in the top 10% of sales nationally as a Major Account Manager and was number one nationally two years in a row.

Bill holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Stetson University. He also holds a PMP certification and is a member of the Atlanta Chapter of Project Management Institute.

Testimonials:

“Bill is an empathetic leader who facilitates organizational change through open, honest and frequent communication with various groups. His expertise, knowledge and relationship skills gift him the influence required to drive any project, process, training or organizational change to success.”

“He is a consummate professional with keen client insight and interpersonal skills. He is technically proficient and was often our subject matter expert on various topics and disciplines. Bill is a strong business leader.”

“WOW … What a fantastic experience I had finding my mountain home. Bill Gilmore is totally organized, fantastic in communications, has a great sense of humor, and just fun to spend the day with looking at houses!”

Bill retired to western North Carolina from California in 1998. He has profited from a multifaceted career that included Viet Nam service as a decorated Air Force pilot following AFROTC and a BA at Colgate University in pre-architecture and fine arts, and then earning a Harvard MBA in Boston. This led to portfolio management on Wall Street, retail lending and property sales and management in Los Angeles and then fifteen years as a collision repair entrepreneur in Santa Barbara. He returned to real estate sales and property management in 2006 because he enjoys problem solving and the intellectual stimulation that real estate activity provides. Bill and his wife Sheila purchased both a house and a Turning Leaf condo in Highlands Cove in 2004 where his wide-ranging interests have included woodworking, gardening, art and architecture, technology, automotive restoration, reading, genealogy, heraldry, birding, humor, and trading securities and cryptocurrencies. His current preoccupation is learning Spanish.

In addition, while Sheila concentrates on supporting her church, Bill has been active on the boards of the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society, Kelsey Hutchinson Founders Park and The Committee for Non-native Plant Management (Kill that Kudzu and Japanese Knotweed.)

Ashlee grew up in the Highlands/Cashiers area where she graduated from Highlands High School. While attending Highlands High School, she was a member of the National Beta Club and goalkeeper of the women’s varsity soccer team each of her four years. Now attending the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, she is a member of Alpha Chi Omega and seeks to graduate in 2018 with both a degree in marketing and business administration. Outside of her schoolwork, she loves to travel, play on an intermural soccer team, and engage in outdoor activities such as hiking.

“I am very thankful for the opportunity to have an internship with Highlands Cove Reality. I know that each day I will be faced with challenges that give me the chance to not only learn from my successes, but my failures as well. I feel as though my time with Highlands Cove Reality will excellently prepare me for my professional career by allowing me to apply and understand skills I have learned in the classroom as well as in the development of new, professional skills.” Ashlee

Alicia grew up in the sailing community of Newport, RI. She earned a Bachelors of Science degree in biology from the University of Rhode Island. She found the mountains calling to her and has spent most of her adult life in amazing places and specifically, world renowned destination resorts. Alicia focused her career to hospitality where she chose to live in such places as Vail CO, Steamboat CO, Lake Tahoe, Jackson Hole WY and Grand Teton National Park. She was most recently a General Manager of a hotel at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Ski Resort. Her extensive experience at managing exquisite properties in mountain destinations will be invaluable as we strive to ensure our renters have exceptional and memorable experiences as they vacation with us in our gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains.

A native of western north Carolina, Kim has a great appreciation of the mountains, and all the beauty they hold. She has raised two sons here, and is now enjoying her first granddaughter Charlotte. She loves her 4 rescue dogs, and enjoys hiking with them. After working for Highlands Cove Realty for 12 years as a lead housekeeper she is looking forward to assisting Highlands Cove Realty with taking their rental program to the next level by overseeing the quality and cleanliness of all the properties in our program.

Vanessa grew up in the Highlands-Cashiers plateau and has remained volunteering actively in her community and working locally for Old Edwards Club. Vanessa joined our team in the Fall of 2018 taking on the role of Administrative Assistant focusing on keeping the office organized, managing the financials and assisting Management with their daily needs.
She recently attended Southwestern Community College as a New Century Scholar to attain her Associate of Science Degree in hopes of pursuing a career in the fields of marine biology and/or veterinary medicine. Currently she has decided to pause her studies in an effort to further explore careers independent of her favored field. Vanessa values the development of new skills, enrichment of the mind, and surrounding herself with like-minded people that have a drive and passion to work hard and are never satisfied with the knowledge that has already been obtained.
In her downtime, Vanessa takes pleasure in nourishing her love for music; learning to play various instruments and studying musical composition