Derek is one half of the former brother and sister running duo of Jesweaks. Sister Marie’s profile was published in July 2017, the month she got married. Derek’s parents self-migrated from Detroit, Michigan to Brunswick, GA where Derek lived until age two. The family moved to Athens where his father became a fixture in the Athens banking community while his mother raised older son Derek and three daughters-Donna, Jackie, and Marie. Derek fondly recalls summer visits to grandparents in Brunswick after the family moved to Athens. At an early age, Derek enjoyed Trout and Bass fishing in North Georgia with his father and still does to this day.
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Derek graduated from Athens Christian and continued his education at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega where Derek earned a B.A. degree in Physical Education. Twenty-three years ago, Derek married wife Susanna. To date, they have limited their offspring to two pet dogs - Molly and Sally.
I never knew this, but a P.E. degree allows one to transition into selling BBQ. This is the career path Derek initially elected his first year out of college as a salesperson for Steadman and Son BBQ. Derek was so successful selling pork and beef to restaurants that the company eventually folded. His next target was the building supply industry. Derek joined the firm Alley -Cassetty twelve years ago. The firm is well known to contractors, builders, and architects, but not so much the public. Alley-Cassetty was formed in the 1880s in Nashville, TN and entered the building brick and related materials (stone) delivery business in 1971 and has become the largest independent brick distributor in the southeast, according to the company web site. The firm has ten offices in the southeast, with Derek working out of the Cumming location, servicing Clarke and Oconee counties. His position requires that he maintain contact with clients and thus he can be found most days on the road. Derek’s customer base is several hundred clients with close to five hundred job sites a year that feature brick or stone sold by Derek to builder/developers.
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Derek began participating in the Run and See, Black Bag, and Clover Glove race series in 2014. Derek remembers a form of Couch to 5K regime leading to his first race, the Habitat Run at the Oconee campus of North Georgia in Watkinsville. His time has slipped slightly due to the heavy commissions he is earning from the building industry robust return from the 2008-2009 housing recession. When Bob inquired if Susanna runs, Derek advised that she can out run him to an ATM. His only regret about running is the expense-not just the race fee but what Susanna spends when he is out on the race course. Obviously, they have come to an accommodation having been together for twenty-three years.
Derek usually runs fifty races a year, many with sister Marie. Derek was third in Run and See Georgia in the 45-49 age group in 2017, and currently is third place in his age group in the Black Bag race Series and second in the Clover Glove Race Series. Favorite races are any at Sandy Creek Park in Athens. If the series had a Clydesdale division, Derek would place first. Pound for pound Derek is a great runner and has earned my respect for how fast his large frame can move.
Bob checking out from the back of the pack. Watch for the profile of Rosie Barber and Randy Booth