DONOR SPOTLIGHT: Land Deleot ’93

Though it’s been nearly 30 years since he graduated from Woodberry, the Forest and its people are never far from the mind of Land Deleot ’93. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not working with a Woodberry person,” said Land.

Land, who lives in Nashville, is president of Equitable Property Company, a commercial real estate business that primarily focuses on the retail sector. He means what he says about always working with a Woodberry person literally — his classmate, Giles Ward, is Equitable’s chief financial officer. But there are also plenty of Tigers involved in Equitable’s various real estate deals, both in Nashville and around the country.

“Even my first job after college was landed through a Woodberry referral,” he said.

These three decades of Woodberry connections have led him to join the Walker Society by making plans in his estate to support the school by including a provision in his will naming Woodberry as one of the beneficiaries of his life insurance.

Land came to Woodberry from Winston-Salem. He knew about the school through cousins who had attended and from his godfather Robert Jewell ’63. Ginger Griffin, wife of Haynes Griffin ’65, was childhood friends with Land’s mother and also told the family about Woodberry.

As a student he was a prefect and a two-year member of both the varsity soccer and lacrosse teams. After graduation he attended Sewanee: The University of the South.

Land works with his classmates to rally support each year for the Amici Fund, and he made a gift to the Campaign for the Boys to support the restoration of the Walker Building. He says giving back to the school is a way of saying thank you for what he learned at Woodberry.

“I learned how to form relationships and friendships and how to think critically,” he said. “I use those skills every day.”