Building a legacy

When Ralph Huff first pitched moving to Fayetteville to his wife Linda, Linda had some choice words about the suggestion.

“I am not going to move to that armpit of the world,” she said.

For some context: The pitch came around the time of the Jeffrey MacDonald murders at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), and the city, Linda said, “had a bad name.”

But both Ralph and Linda followed through and have invested time and the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears into Fayetteville and Cumberland County, and have been named as one of the winners of winners of CityView’s 2024 Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by the Public Works Commission. These individuals are honored for their work in helping others and who give selflessly, working behind the scenes to improve the lives of those around them.

The Huffs, high school sweethearts from Hoke County, moved to Fayetteville in 1981 and continued to work in real estate and home development, as he had in Hoke County before. Nine years later, Ralph bought Coldwell Banker United Realty at age 31, closing on the deal hours after burying his father. A music major alumna of Methodist University, Linda taught music in schools, giving piano lessons, and leading church choirs before joining Ralph in the real estate and home construction business. They also started H&H Homes, essentially owning the house construction process from beginning to end: design, sourcing material, construction, and sales.

The business record of the real estate company (renamed Coldwell Banker Advantage) and H&H is, in a word, stellar. When H&H was purchased by Dream Finders Homes in 2020, the Huffs had overseen construction on more than 80 residential developments in North and South Carolina and more than 9,000 homes, most in Cumberland and the surrounding counties, along with several commercial developments and apartment complexes. Additionally, Coldwell Banker Advantage, which the Huffs still run, racked up $6.2 billion in sales in 2023.

Their success has provided them a platform to give back to the community. The list is long but includes raising millions of dollars for their church, First Presbyterian in Fayetteville; $1.5 million to renovate the auditorium at the John M. Reeves Fine Arts Complex at Methodist; and the Ralph and Linda Huff Orangery at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden. They have also served on boards of trustees and directors, including at Methodist and the Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation’s Community Development Foundation (FCEDC).

Jennifer Hammond, the manager of business services at the FCEDC, called the Huffs the “nucleus of many of the community’s major fundraising campaigns over the last 30, or more, years.”

“They are generous and kind, and have a true passion for this community,” Jennifer said. “The Huffs have made an indelible mark on Fayetteville since making it their home. Their contributions to their church, the business community, and the arts community cannot be understated.”

Jeffery Womble, the university ombuds (representative) at Fayetteville State University and one of the judges for this year’s Community Impact Awards, asked, “What do they not do?”

“They are well-known and well-respected in this city and it’s time that they’re recognized for their efforts,” Jeffery said. “They’re just so unassuming in the work that they do. They don’t seek the recognition or want the recognition. They just go about their business doing things for the community.”

The Huffs’ generosity, they say, was inspired by a mentor, a father, and their faith.

Mary Archie McNeill was their music teacher in high school in Hoke County. Linda called Mary “my mentor, my second mother.”

“My mom did a great job raising me, and my dad, but [Mary] truly molded me into the person that I am today,” she said. “Strict, structured, demanded the best in every way. What she taught the both of us, we tried to instill the same thing in those [around us]: always do your best. When you build a house, don’t do it halfway. Do it the very best. For whoever moves in here, it’s going to be the very best quality that they can have.”

Ralph’s father, Denver Ralph Huff Jr., had a rough go of things, Ralph said, missing out on opportunities like service in World War II due to illness and a job post-war due to an influx of folks from other states.

“My dad was a smart man,” Ralph said. “Never really made any money. But every Sunday, he took a $25 check to church. If there’s four Sundays a month, that’s $100 times 12 is $1,200.”

That, he said, amounted to 10% of his father’s income. It’s a traditional Christian idea called “tithing,” meaning that people give 10% of their income as part of staying true to their faith. In various ways, ranging from money to time to effort, the Huffs have tried to give back to their community in that 10% model.

Connected to the 10% model, their faith plays a significant role in their giving.

“I think [God] has His hand in everything,” Linda said. “I give Him all the credit. He has put the people in our life to make us successful. I don’t think you ever get old enough that you don’t grow even stronger in your faith.”

Maybe a few decades ago, Linda was hesitant about coming to Fayetteville. But it’s clear that the Huffs have made the most of it and now keep finding ways to try to make Fayetteville better. Part of it is the people they surround themselves with — Ralph said they live in a “very generous community.” But more than anything, they said, they want to help those who helped them.

“With me, in dealing with the people that made us successful, that’s the people that were the workers in the field,” Linda said. “I know we paid them, but we also gave them more because of what they did for us. Without all the people that have crossed our paths, we would have been nothing if they had not crossed our paths. In talking about giving, we gave to them and we succeeded more. That’s what giving is to me, is to continue to give back so everyone else can flourish.”

And that’s why they join three others — Emily Ruth Perry, Antonio Jones, and Jeremy Fiebig — in being this year’s CityView Power of Giving Community Impact Awards presented by PWC.

Read CityView magazine’s “Giving” November 2024 e-edition here.