The Boynton Family A Cornerstone Of Life In Wellington For Decades
By Mike May
If you are looking for a family with a powerful and sincere passion for life in Wellington and throughout the western communities, it’s the Boynton family — and it has been that way for decades.
Right now, the most visible members of the family actively involved in the daily lives of Wellington are Ben and Joanna Boynton. They are the principal owners of the Boynton Financial Group, located on South Shore Blvd., and also involved in a host of local causes.
The Boynton Financial Group, which is affiliated with Raymond James, has been in existence since 1997. The firm specializes in wealth management and financial planning. Right now, Ben and Joanna oversee a talented staff of 10 people who share their same passion for enhancing the lives of those who live, work and play in the Wellington area.
Ben’s ties to Florida, and specifically to Palm Beach County, are strong and deep.
“I’m a sixth generation Floridian and fourth-generation Palm Beach County,” he said. “I grew up out in the Glades, and my family moved to Wellington in 1976.”
With the exception of attending college in Gainesville at the University of Florida and a brief professional opportunity after graduation, Ben has been living in the Wellington area ever since.
The University of Florida played a big matchmaking role in his family’s growth.
“My parents met at the University of Florida, and that’s where I met my wife Joanna,” Ben said. “Joanna and I met in a finance class at UF.”
Both Ben and Joanna graduated from UF in the early 1990s with degrees in finance, and they were married in 1993. They have two grown children — 24-year-old William and 22-year-old Catherine. William is a student at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he is pursuing a doctorate in aerospace engineering. Catherine is a recent graduate of New York University and currently works as an actress and in musical theater in New York City.
If you examine Ben’s family tree, the ties to Palm Beach County began roughly 100 years ago when members of the Boynton family moved to Palm Beach County from Polk County following the massive hurricane in 1928. Meanwhile, he has a great-grandfather — a Wedgworth — who moved to the greater Belle Glade area in the early 1930s because of an opportunity in the fertilizer and agricultural business. That business — Wedgworth’s Inc. — remains alive and well today. And it’s a business that Ben remains involved with to this day.
“Wedgworth’s is one of the largest blenders and distributors of fertilizer products in Florida and across the southeastern U.S.,” Ben explained. “My great-grandfather knew how to blend nutrients in order to give the already rich soil in the Glades a better chance of successfully growing crops, such as sugar cane, corn and rice. In the fertilizer business, we are blenders. We are no different than a baker in that we know what nutrients need to be combined together to generate good crops.”
Ben is proud of the fact that Wedgworth’s has played a role in successfully growing the grass on farmlands, on polo fields and on football fields around the country.
“You’ve probably seen football games on television where Wedgworth’s played a role in getting the grass to grow on those fields,” Ben said.
Ben and Joanna, who live on an estate in Fox Trail, are also involved in the cattle business.
“We have a few purebred Hereford beef cattle on our property in Fox Trail and a bigger herd up near Yeehaw Junction,” Ben said.
Ben’s parents — 80-year-old father Wayne and 79-year-old mother Jayne — remain alive and well. While they are divorced, both spend a lot of their time in the western communities.
These days, Wayne remains an active part of the running community. For years, he made a living as a farmer. His mother was a schoolteacher.
“Dad still runs 5K races and half marathons,” Ben said.
In the early years of Wellington, Wayne was an active member of the fledgling business community. He was close friends with the late Chuck Schaefer, the founder of Schaefer Drugs, which is widely regarded as the oldest continually operating business in Wellington.
“Dad and Chuck were fraternity brothers at the University of Florida,” Ben recalled. “Then, later, they reunited as members of the business community in Wellington.”
When Ben is not working in the investment business, herding cattle or helping provide guidance to the business at Wedgworth’s, he enjoys hunting, going water skiing and cheering for University of Florida athletic teams. He and Joanna enjoy traveling and watching the many equestrian sports which dominate the calendar every winter in Wellington.
“We just love the diversity of people who live and work in Wellington,” they said.
Meanwhile, they are committed to helping others prosper and enjoy the benefits of life in Wellington.
Joanna, who sits on the board of the Wellington Community Foundation, does have some free financial advice.
“Invest for the long-term and don’t let emotions affect your decision-making,” she said. “When a stock goes down, it may be an opportunity to invest more.”
Clearly, the Boynton family has been invested in the daily lives of Wellington residents for decades, and their commitment to life throughout the western communities remains as strong as ever.
The Boynton Financial Group is located at 12400 South Shore Blvd. To learn more, call (561) 795-9156 or visit www.boyntonfinancialgroup.com.
