One to Watch: Michelle Evans
One to Watch: Michelle Evans
Motorcycle maven Michelle Evans is not afraid to kick things into high gear or operate at one speed — as long as it’s fast.
A native of Tallahassee who calls Shalimar homebase, Evans rose through the ranks holding finance positions in various hotels and resorts. In 2008, she co-founded Premier Island Management Group, a resort management company in Pensacola Beach.
This happy-go-lucky hospitality executive is also a motorcycle maven. At 39, the petite blue-eyed blonde, who grew up riding mopeds and racing go-karts, is revved up about realizing one of her longtime dreams — owning a motorcycle resort.
The opportunity fell into her path, so to speak. While mapping out a motorcycle road trip, she stumbled upon The Lodge at Copperhead. Located 80 miles north of Atlanta, Copperhead is a scenic 40-acre resort community located in the Appalachian Mountains.
On the bike trip she and her fiancé, Anthony Cassulo, learned Copperhead was going to auction.
“We ended up falling in love with it and bought it,” she said. Evans commutes to Pensacola Beach once a month to oversee Premier’s rental properties.
The couple plans to market to a niche of riders who seek an elevated lodging experience.
“We want Copperhead to be the Ritz Carlton of motorcycle resorts,” Evans said adding, “There isn’t anything like this in the country that we know of.”
An unpaved road is no concern to an adventurous spitfire like Evans.
“I’m passionate about blazing a trail that others like me want to go down,” she said. — Zandra Wolfgram
