I knew Chrystonia from the days of sailing school. In those days I was the youngest kid around, enduring the incessant haggling, quarrels and scrapping. She hailed from the Nassau Yacht Club and I the Royal Nassau Sailing Club, so our groups while overlapping were separate.

I somehow made it through those years and off to boarding school and college and back to Nassau in 2003. A few jobs later, varying from deck hand to soil testing to construction scheduling for Atlantis’ latest phase, I took over TMC Engineering from my late father, Terry. For the past 8 years or so we’ve grown from a small semi-retired company that my father was operating to a steel building and project management company handling medium to large scale projects.

A few years ago I got back into shape through triathlons, swimming, biking, running, etc, and realized there were few events in the Bahamas catering to this market on a professional level. I started another company offering event management and RFID (chip) timing. Working with Jason Robertson, and others, we’ve been able to bring local events to world class levels. Our three biggest events are currently the Great Abaco Family Fitness Weekend, the Bahamas Half & 10km, and the 242 Colour Run, and we work with various other events during the year.

Chrystonia and I had been friends through the years, not close but hanging out when she was in town. When she moved back in 2011 we were in the same group of friends and spent more time together. One night at a Rotary event, I was sitting with her brother Jason and said, “I think I’m going to ask your sister out”, to which he asked which one. “Does it matter?” I replied, and he shrugged and said not really!

Around the time of my 30^th birthday, I had begun asking Chrystonia out. She declined most times, mainly due to the lack of planning on my part: “Hey, want to go to a wedding tonight?” Surprisingly, she didn’t. For my birthday dinner a few friends went out to eat; I had arrived first and her second, and I jokingly said “it’s just us actually”, and she turned beet red. She did finally accept my dinner invitation one evening, and that’s when we started dating.

Over the past two years or so, we’ve been inseparable. We’ve travelled to various locations, done events together, worked together and played together, and it’s been amazing. I can’t imagine my life without her and I’m looking forward to starting a new life with her.

Last year we purchased a house in Treasure Cove and, unwittingly, started a major renovation.

I can’t wait to be in the new house with my two dogs, two cats, and new wife in tow!