Devon — Founder & Lead Technician.

Born on a barrier island.

Devon grew up on Oak Island, North Carolina — a small barrier island where salt air corrodes equipment, hurricanes rearrange the neighborhood, and your reputation is your résumé. From the men who fixed his family's AC, plumbing, and outboard motors, he learned a simple rule that still governs Maritime Air Co. today: you take care of your neighbors, and they take care of you. There's no shortcut around that.

Started in the trade in high school.

Devon began working in HVAC and moisture control while still in high school — commercial dehumidifiers, crawlspace encapsulation, mold prevention. That work taught him the science most HVAC techs in Florida never learn: dewpoint, latent load, vapor barriers, the difference between a system that "cools" and a system that actually conditions air. Florida's humidity makes that knowledge non-negotiable, and it shapes how Maritime Air Co. designs every install.

By his early twenties he'd been promoted into estimating and service management, leading crews and writing scopes for commercial projects. He saw how a service department either earns trust or torches it — and made a long list of things he'd never do if he ever owned the place.

A detour into tech — then back to the trade.

Devon spent a chapter of his career building successful technology companies. The operations, marketing, and customer-communication discipline he picked up there still shapes how Maritime Air Co. runs. But software doesn't keep a charter captain's boat cool during tournament week, and it doesn't keep a grandmother in Fort Pierce safe in August. HVAC does. So he came back to the trade.

Why he started Maritime Air Co.

The breaking point came when family members — in this very market — got sold equipment they didn't need by commission-driven HVAC shops. Devon had been refusing to play that game on the job for years; now it was personal. He started Maritime Air Co. with one personal vehicle, a limited tool bag, a wife and three children depending on every call, and almost no money in the bank.

The first customers came from free maintenance offers posted on Nextdoor — real free service, no strings, no upsell. He honored every one. They became referrals. The referrals never stopped. That's still how Maritime Air Co. grows.

What he does today.

Devon still rides on emergency calls. He still picks up the phone. He runs Maritime Air Co. out of a downtown Fort Pierce shop, leads the marine and moisture-control divisions personally, and trains every tech who wears the company shirt. His wife runs the office. Their three children are growing up watching their parents build something honest.