Brooke Temple
Brooke Temple has been an active REALTOR for nearly 50 years. He is the principal broker and one of the founders of Toles, Temple & Wright, Inc.
Originally from Meridian, Miss., Brooke’s family eventually made their way to Birmingham, Ala. This allowed his mother to be closer to Camp Skyline Ranch, a summer camp for girls that she founded and ran for nearly 40 years. In Birmingham, he attended Mountain Brook Middle School and Shades Valley High School.
It was Shorter College that initially brought Brooke to Rome. In 1968, he graduated with his degree and decided to stay in town and make the community his permanent home. Few will know that as a young man, Brooke, an athlete and competitive water skier, won the Georgia State Trick Ski Championship! Around that same time he had been serving with the U.S. Coast Guard, which he joined in 1966, completing his service in the Reserves in 1972.
In the early 1970s, he was approached by local businessman and REALTOR Max Toles. Max saw promise and convinced Brooke to get into the real estate business. After a brief stint as Toles & Temple, together with Sara Wright, they formed Toles, Temple & Wright, Inc. in 1972.
Brooke’s foresight of the housing needs for his new community led him to develop many of Rome and Floyd County’s subdivisions and neighborhoods: Berry Forest, Brookwood West, Collinwood, Colony Park Condominiums, Cooper Court, The Fairways, Huntcliff, Hunters Glen, Maplewood East, The Oaks at Collinwood, Overhill Estates, River Place, Woodfin Estates and several others. Many industries, businesses and physicians came to the area because of the quality of life they would have in Floyd County, due in part to what these kinds of developments could offer. They were very instrumental in providing essential housing to help the community continue to grow.
Brooke has also been successful in the commercial side of real estate, having redeveloped the former Holiday Inn site on Turner McCall Boulevard into the River Center, now home to Bluefin Grill and Firehouse Subs. Additionally, he and partner Wayne Robinson developed Hamilton Ridge, Rome’s first upscale gated apartment community. Brooke and Wayne were also responsible for bringing Steak ’n Shake to town.
Brooke has left his mark on commercial real estate developments outside of his adopted home state as well. During the early 1980s, he and partners Bill and Billy Atkins were the first to bring fast food to Florida’s Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Shalimar Beach areas, opening and operating five Hardee’s franchises.
Brooke is married to the former Kathleen Tarpley, and the couple lives in East Rome. Nearby they have two sons: Bill, a fellow REALTOR and broker with TTW; and Charles, a local businessman. The Temples also have one daughter-in-law, Cammie; two granddaughters, Gracie and Camille; and one grandson, Brooke Jr.