Jeff C. Annis was born in Augusta, Georgia, in 1956 and grew up in a family in which leadership and public service were part of everyday life. His father, Larry Annis, was a business and industry leader, while his mother, Betty “BJ” Annis, served for more than two decades on the Richmond County Board of Education. Those examples helped shape Jeff’s belief that leadership carries an obligation to build strong organizations, serve the community, and leave institutions better than one found them.

Jeff built his professional career in managing, owning, and running ten different small businesses starting his senior year in high school.  The biggest success came from the pest-management industry as the owner of Advanced Services in Augusta. Over the years he grew the company and became a recognized leader in his industry. His professional service extended beyond his own business, including appointment to the Georgia Structural Pest Control Commission on which his father had also served—a distinctive father-son tradition of industry and public leadership. Jeff was also the youngest person ever elected president of the Georgia Pest Control Association. After a long entrepreneurial career, Jeff sold the business in 2021 and shifted an increasing share of his time toward philanthropy, civic work, and mentoring.

Public service has been another major chapter of his life. Following the example established by his mother, Jeff served on the Richmond County Board of Education from 1995 through 1999. His leadership experience has also extended into civic, nonprofit, and community organizations. He has served on the board of the American Heart Association of Augusta, Forest Hills Lions Club, Augusta Jewish Museum, Pregnant Choices Medical Clinic, where he helped organize Men for Life, an initiative designed to engage men in supporting the organization’s mission. At Brandon Wilde, his retirement community in Evans, Georgia, he chairs the Projects and Improvements Committee, helping gather resident input and advance projects and programs intended to improve quality of life across the community.

Leadership for Jeff has never been limited to business or formal boards. A lifelong sailor and competitive sailboat racer, he served as Commodore of the Augusta Sailing Club twice and competed in sailing events around the country. The sport reinforced qualities that have appeared throughout his life: preparation, judgment, teamwork, resilience, and the ability to make decisions under changing conditions. In 2018, he added aviation to his service activities, becoming a pilot and flying Angel Flights for patients traveling to Augusta for specialized medical care.

Philanthropy and legacy have become increasingly important in Jeff’s later career. Following the sale of Advanced Services founded a charitable fund with a particular interest in children’s health and has continued to devote time to educational, historical, community, and charitable initiatives. He is especially interested in developing future leaders, preserving important stories, strengthening community institutions, and creating opportunities for people to contribute their experience and talents.

Across nearly seven decades, the consistent theme in Jeff Annis’s life has been leadership through action: building a successful enterprise, accepting responsibility in public office, leading civic and volunteer organizations, serving others, and investing in the next generation. His leadership philosophy is grounded less in title than in stewardship—the idea that leadership means accepting responsibility, bringing people together around worthwhile goals, and using one’s experience, resources, and influence to make a lasting positive difference.