Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. He could have been describing John S. Booth III, a member of Caldwell’s board of directors.
John was already a Caldwell client when he joined the board in 2009, and his knowledge of the company went much deeper. He was here when his father, Sam Booth, worked with Roland Caldwell, R. G. “Kelly” Caldwell Jr. and a few others to found Caldwell Trust Company. Nevertheless, he was surprised when Kelly invited him to become a director. Kelly told John, “What we want is a common-sense approach to handling the trust business.” With his no-nonsense demeanor and a carefully reasoned methodology, John is a perfect fit.Of his Caldwell board assignments, he spends the most time with the investment committee, reading reports—some of them daily—from Caldwell’s financial consultants. He reviews them as a client. “Because Mary and I have investment accounts, my interest is more than casual or intellectual. The information affects me personally, more than if I were simply a money manager.”
John’s soft-spoken manner belies his successes as a 14-year-old deejay, TV sports reporter, cable TV pioneer, real estate broker and agency owner, community developer and digital super-tech. He was president of Chambersburg Broadcasting, WEEJ-FM in Port Charlotte, Venice Area Board of Realtors and United Way of South Sarasota County. From this diverse background, he draws some of his fondest memories from his days in radio and TV.
“I grew up in broadcasting,” John says. His dad had started a radio station in John’s home town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, so John’s experience predated his deejay stint and continued for years.
As a student working at Princeton’s radio station, he was assigned one day to cover the Trenton arrival of then-President John F. Kennedy. He chatted on the tarmac with a man who turned out to be New Jersey’s governor, Robert B. Meyner. The governor invited young John to interview his house guest, former president Harry S Truman. “I asked if he thought the presidency had become too big a job for just one person,” John said. “He gave me a long version of ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’”
John got to cover Kennedy’s visit, of course. “It amazes me now to realize that he was only about 30 feet away,” he says, noting that the days of easy access have been replaced by heavy security.
He transferred to the University of Missouri, where he earned a B.S. in journalism. He also became sports director at KOMU-TV “A college town is a great place to be a sports reporter,” he said, mentioning interviews with many sports stars.
Now John has retired—but not really. He maintains his broker’s license, manages a small investment firm and converts books to Kindle format for a friend to sell online. He and Mary travel extensively as members of home exchange programs. They also enjoy visiting with daughter Carey and granddaughter Hannah.
