On any given day, Jody Simrell is a business owner, a chef, a musician, and a pyrotechnical expert. Some days he’s all those things.
Born in Illinois the youngest of four boys, Jody moved to Northwest Arkansas with his family when he was young.
Around that same age, Jody picked up his first instrument, and his love of music took root.
His mom, Janet Simrell, says that he can play almost any instrument, learning through instinct and self-taught lessons. But she believes where his true talent shines is at the piano.
“He can practically make a piano talk. And he has a wonderful voice to go with it,” she says.
Jody began performing in high school and released his first album in 1984. In order to reduce costs, he started his own publishing company, Skipper Productions.
Along with playing, he also taught himself how to read music so he could write songs. To date, he has written around 25 songs, with his most success coming from the song “I Shall Always Be There for You,” on his 2012 album, "Alone, Here I Stand."
Jody’s music career led to his next career as an employee of Walmart. After performing for a few grand openings at Walmart Supercenters, he transitioned to working for the company for about eight years in what was then called the Accuracy Relations Team. He says his time in working for the corporation helped him build his business skills and gave him the opportunity to learn from upper management and legendary businessmen like Don Soderquist.
“It was a beautiful time,” he says, referring to his time with Walmart. “It taught me so much about management skills. I wouldn’t be the same without it.”
When his time with Walmart ended, Jody stepped into a whole new adventure alongside his family—opening Ventris Trail’s End Resort in Garfield.
The resort opened its first cabin on May 17, 1997, and over the past 28 years the property has grown to include eight full-cedar log cabins, a lodge that includes a restaurant and two more apartments, and amenities like a covered and lit boat dock with a fish cleaning station and a large covered pavilion perfect for events.
Jody credits a lot of the resort’s success to his mother who once worked in the culinary industry in Chicago. For years she hand made all the desserts for the resort’s restaurant, and today she still makes her famous pies for guests to enjoy. Jody develops the recipes and plans the meals as the head chef at the restaurant, which serves hundreds of people a night during peak season.
He says that cooking brings him joy, seeing similarities between creating a recipe and creating a song, with both bringing individual pieces together to make a beautiful whole.
Running the resort has also given him a chance to improve his handyman skills, and a few years after the resort opened he took on a new title: pyrotechnical expert.
For the last two decades, Jody has helped to make the Fourth of July a special time on Beaver Lake. After viewing one of the amazing fireworks shows at Epcot in Orlando, he decided to become trained and licensed as a pyrotechnician. Over the years, he and a crew of volunteers have developed a turn-key Independence Day fireworks show over the waters of the lake. Jody designs and sets the show, choreographing the explosions to be timed with music.
Originally developing the show in order to promote the resort, he says the event is now more about the community. Designed to be viewed while on the water, the display can be seen anywhere along the lake, with thousands coming out to watch every year.
As much as he enjoys doing the show, he’s hoping to find someone to take over for him after next year’s 25th event. “It’s hard, hot, and incredibly tense work,” he says.
And while he may eventually back away from his pyrotechnical work, he knows he will have plenty at the resort and in his musical career to keep him busy.
After all, a self-taught man is never bored.