Boyd Realty (Sarasota Business Magazine)

The Boyd family legacy of real estate excellence began in Manatee County in 1952, and continues today due to the drive and devotion of Brenda Boyd May.

Visionary developer Wilbur Boyd Sr. set his sights on buying and selling land throughout the county over 50 years ago. His real estate success parlayed him into a 20 year political career as a state legislator. Today the widely familiar Boyd name still stands for integrity and professionalism, as his daughter carries on the tradition of growth and expansion in the family-owned Boyd Realty firm. Her pride and dedication to her roots, as well as her career, places May at the forefront of the real estate market in Manatee County.

Boyd Realty offers "niche properties", as May refers to her business. "Our focus is on 'agrichic' properties as well as coastal living properties with charm and character" on Anna Maria Island, the River District (an established neighborhood near downtown Bradenton), and Ocala, rather than mass marketing. "I take my business from the beach to the barnyard," says May. She points out that her family also owns Catcher's Marina on Holmes Beach and the Anna Maria Island Beach Resort. Furthermore, they have begun purchasing farms and vacant land in the center of the state, opening the Double M Land office in Marion County this past January.

May is assisted on the home front and in business by husband Milt May, a former major league baseball player and coach, and son Scott May. Wilbur "Weston" Boyd III has just joined the company. The Boyd Realty family is highly qualified to compete with the best, says May. "We're not the biggest fish in town, but we swim with the sharks everyday!"

Mingling Business and Whimsy (Bradenton Herald)

When she was a little girl Brenda Boyd used to ride with her dad, Wilbur, all over Manatee Country as he looked at real estate he was buying or selling.

Today, the daughter of the developer and 20-year state legislator is adding her whimsical touches to the business he established in 1952.

First there were the black and white checks bordering her signs, repeated on antique painted furniture in her office and reinvented as bright-colored checks on her fish logo.

Then there was the new vocabulary she invented to describe neighborhoods in Manatee County - "agrichic" for the decidedly un-barn like new construction on large rural lots, "River District" for an established neighborhood near downtown Bradenton bordered on the north by the Manatee River, and "Coastal Living" referring to waterfront homes that are one of the firm's specialties ('Think local, buy coastal," is her motto).

Boyd Realty is a boutique firm that focuses on the character and charm of niche markets, in keeping with the personality of the broker/owner, a vivacious mother of two. The company sells properties currently on the market, some before they got to the market, and some that never get on the market, she says, adding, "We are not the biggest fish in town, but we swim with the sharks every day!"

May employs 11 associates, including her daughter and daughter-in-law, and is proud that the firm is a third-generation, family business. The Boyd family created and built more than 25 projects in Manatee and Sarasota counties, including the Bradenton Financial Center downtown. Boyd realty has handled more than 25 developments for other developers.

With an impressive list of developments and exclusive agency agreements, the private client broker says the more personal her sales, the better; her favorites include first-time home buyers who are friends of her children.

She and her husband, Milt May, a former major league baseball catcher and coach, split their time between their Riverview Boulevard home and one on Anna Maria Island, where the company has two offices, Catchers Marina, 5505 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach and renovated cottage at 409 Pine Ave. Anna Maria.