Forty Under 40: Lee Scarlett

A history buff who collects rare, numbered bottles of scotch but never drinks them, Lee Scarlett loves all things Celtic, especially the construction company he started in 1998.

Scarlett grew up in Carson City, Nev., but his family roots in Arkansas go back before statehood. After graduating from the University of Nevada-Reno, Scarlett worked on a masters at Southwest Missouri State before moving to Harrison in 1993 to be a school teacher.

A year later, when he became disillusioned with teaching, Scarlett went into insurance sales. He now books more than $1 million of premiums per year at the agency he co-owns with Mark Seifert.

Scarlett started investing in spec homes in 1995. A hands-on type of person, he quickly learned everything he could about the building business and now completes an average of 12 homes (typically between 3,000 and 8,000 SF) per year. In 2002, he was featured on the cover of Builder/Architect magazine. He also co-owns The Flying Monkey LLC.

A sponsor of area childrens organizations, Scarlett plans to donate all the profits from the sale of one house this year to the Northwest Arkansas Childrens Shelter.