John and Laura Powell are parents to five kids. John is a building contractor, and Laura is a family nurse practitioner as well as a wellness advocate with the Juice Plus Company. They are also Nonahood residents. Read our conversation with them below!

Nonahood News: What is your job?

John Powell: I am a building contractor. So, I do commercial builds, new construction, intended buildouts, residential, remodels, all kinds of things like that.

Laura Powell: I’m a family nurse practitioner, and I am a wellness advocate with the Juice Plus Company.

NHN: What is the Juice Plus Company?

LP: The Juice Plus Company is a company that is into growing your own food and fruits and vegetables to better people’s health. It’s a company that has found a way to put 30 fruits and vegetables in capsules without losing its nutrients. They have these aeroponic tower gardens that they have at Epcot, the man that developed that, he actually started a tower garden company. He developed it at Epcot, and then he sold it to the Juice Plus Company about eight years ago.

NHN: What does your day-to-day schedule look like?

JP: We have five kids. Four of them are still in school. So, I wake up early, 6, get the high schoolers fed and out the door, take them to school. Then, I come back and I get the middle schooler up, get him fed, and then hopefully she can take him to school when she goes to work, and then I can take off. Then, I go through my day of going to job sites and all that craziness, and then I’m rushing back to get them from school [laughs].

LP: I do home visits, so I’m actually gone in the daytime. My territory is Orange County, Seminole County, and Lake County, so I go pretty far and sometimes I have to leave really early, so he does all the dad duties in the morning. I used to, but now since I’m driving so much … I see patients in the daytime, about seven a day. For the Juice Plus Company, I do a lot of consulting for health and wellness usually through phone, sometimes meetings.

NHN: What would you say is the most challenging aspect of your job?

JP: It’s hard to find people that have the time to do the stuff that you need done. There’s so much work out in this area, in Orlando, in East Orlando, Southeast Orlando, that the trades are doing everything they can to bring in people to work for them also. You’re really handcuffed by what they can handle. I have to depend on other people to not only have the capacity to do what they need to do but also come and do it when they say they’re going to come and do it.

LP: Probably the hardest thing about my jobs is just seeing a lot of people suffering with diseases all day long that, a lot of times, I know can be prevented with the right education and healthy lifestyle, and a lot of it can be improved with healthy lifestyle … that’s why I’m so passionate about prevention. 

NHN: What would you say is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

JP: For me, when you see a bare piece of land that there’s nothing there, and six months to a year later, you have something beautiful that you can put your name on; that’s a pretty powerful thing for me to be able to know that it can affect somebody’s life and give them a better home, and it’s something that they’ve been dreaming about forever.

LP: Mine is turning around poor health conditions and helping people to enjoy a healthy life through lifestyle, diet, exercise, and just promoting wellness and seeing change happen from illness to wellness.

NHN: What got you interested in doing your current job in this area?

JP: There’s a lot of opportunities here on both sides, commercial and residential. Even with the brand new homes, you see people who want to do remodels instantly when they walk into a brand new home. I’ve got a job that we’re going to be starting here soon, putting an apartment over the top of a garage. So, even though it’s a brand new home, they’re ready to make a change. It’s a good place to be.

LP: I’ve been in Orlando for 25 years. We lived in North Shore, and we were there since 2002 and we just moved over here. I’ve always worked in this area because it has a big population, so there’s always a ton of work available. The Lake Nona area I prefer when I’m in Orange County, where I can stay local; it’s even better because there’s less traffic. I haven’t left because of the schools, and my kids are in the schools. Even if there’s opportunity elsewhere, it’s really the community, the schools that keep us here.

NHN: What’s your kids’ age range?

LP: 11, 14, 15 – he’s going to be 16 on Saturday – 17, and 20. So, the 20-year-old’s at UCF, then there’s three in high school, and one at Lake Nona Middle. So, it’s our first year with no elementary school kids.

JP: Yeah, it’s been a while since that hasn’t been the case.

NHN: Where do you see yourselves in the next five years?

LP: I see myself still here because Alex, the baby, will be a junior. I hope to be working full-time with Juice Plus Company because I’m really passionate about prevention rather than treating illness all day. Everything else, the same, but I’d like to [not be] traveling around three counties, but just home and doing my business from home and help other people grow their businesses.

JP: There’s only so much one person can handle, and I’m not really looking to blow up my company but just stay steady with project after project after project in a manner that’s capable for me. At the same time, meeting the needs of the family. Be consistent. 

NHN: Do you have any interesting hobbies, collections, or interests?

LP: Tennis just became my hobby. That’s one cool thing about the neighborhood is when people say, “Hey, you want to join a tennis league?” And, we’re so close to USTA. We’re so lucky and fortunate to be able to play on these awesome courts. The other thing, we like to travel a lot as a family. We try to do a couple big trips a year; skiing is a lot of fun.

JP: My hobby? I guess golf. I love to play golf when I get a chance. I used to play baseball. I played professionally with the Texas Rangers until 1999; I had surgery on my right elbow so that kinda shut my career down.

LP: He was a pitcher.

JP: So, that skill couldn’t become a hobby because I really can’t play anymore, can’t throw much anymore, but I guess golf keeps me busy most times.

NHN: What brought you to Lake Nona and when did you move here?

LP: We were actually here before it was Lake Nona. We were in Kissimmee, and then they were building North Shore in 2000 or 2001 and that’s when we moved over. The first area was wide open, there was nobody there, and it intrigued us to come over and take a look at it.

JP: Our first house was between Kissimmee and St. Cloud. We had bought a home that needed a lot of remodel to it. Then, we had Alaina, who’s now a senior, and so when she was born, we decided to move. They were building houses over here, so we came to look at them and we fell in love with the area. It was really peaceful, nice, and I like the location because it’s right by the 417 to 528, and it’s a great location for me because I travel for work. Every time you open your eyes, it’s another thing popping up. It feels fun, but for families.

NHN: So, you moved from North Shore to Laureate Park?

LP: He was actually building some houses over here, and I had never even known this place existed. One day, I asked to see some of the houses that he was building, and they were beautiful. I loved it. So, I said let’s move in here, so we did. We needed a bigger house with five kids; we outgrew that one over there. And, it has all the schools we want. That was huge because we knew we wanted to not hop around more schools. I love the community. It was neat how it has all the family-friendly activities, like riding bikes on all the trails. It’s just a great place to live.

NHN: Where are you from originally?

LP: I’m from Satellite Beach, Florida. Like an hour east, on the beach. He’s from Snellville, Georgia.

JP: You can say Atlanta; that sounds better.

LP: Snellville, where everybody’s somebody.

JP: It’s 45 minutes east of Atlanta, between Athens and Atlanta.

LP: We met at Auburn; we both went to Auburn.

NHN: What would you say is your favorite part about Lake Nona?

LP: I love to ride my bike around all the trails with my daughter. We’ll go ride around and they just have all the little parks and little places. It’s just neat to have everything right here in its own little community. I love it even more because so much more is going to happen out here. That’s my favorite part is probably all the accessible outdoor areas and places you can do. Being so close to the tennis courts was nice. I love being active, so it’s awesome.

JP: I think the one that is fun is how the community in Laureate Park decorates. I mean for Halloween, people go crazy. It’s a lot of fun, and everybody comes in and in Christmas.

NHN: What would you say to anyone who is considering a move to Lake Nona?

JP: If you’re with a family, I think it’s a great place to be. As this continues to grow, even for the younger adults, it’s going to get even better. It’s phenomenal. So close to the med school and great opportunities.

LP: I’d say move, come in, get involved with the community. I think that’s the key.

Photos Courtesy of Laura Powell