- December 4, 2025
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Winter Garden’s Austin Arthur beamed with pride as he shared the military history of his grandfather and great-grandfather in the secret, hidden Churchill room of his office.
He showed the knife his grandfather used while fighting in the Pacific in World War II and a portrait of his great-grandfather, who served as one of the first fighter pilots in world history in World War I.
He continued around the room, showing artifacts including a rotary telephone that plays a message from General George S. Patton when you pick up, a World War II uniform from an unknown soldier and a giant Bible passed down in his family.
Arthur is all about preserving history, and that passion for keeping history alive will continue to thrive as he serves as the new president of West Orange Habitat for Humanity.
Arthur, co-CEO of Stars and Stripes Marketing, always has been a history buff. In his office, he has George Washington’s flag hanging on the wall as well as portraits of other historic men and Civil Rights activists.
“George Washington is probably one of the first figures in history that I really became fascinated with,” he said. “This guy is the greatest guy that ever walked the earth (who) wasn’t a deity. To receive so much power and relinquish it so many times in his career — that’s why we have the America we have today, founded on liberty and independence.”
He admires strong American leaders that have made a mark on history for the good of the people.
“We need to know our history so we can learn from it, and all the amazing things that those who came before us did so that we can replicate them and grow from them, because all history is not bad,” Arthur said. “We live in a life of comparative luxury, the vast majority of people in this country now. That doesn’t mean there’s not people still suffering, hurting and living in horrible conditions. We know that to be true, as well, but this is the greatest it’s ever been in human history, and I think that’s largely thanks to the people that came before us that brought us all this.”
Arthur strives to be a strong leader, like he said his father, David Arthur, was as well as the historical figures he admires.
He wants to preserve history, especially the rich history of Winter Garden, as he takes on the new role as president of West Orange Habitat.
“Everything on this earth is in a state of decay, including our culture, so you can do one of two things: You can sit back and complain about it … or you can become active and be a part of the solution,” he said. “I’ve always had the philosophy that you don’t complain about a problem unless you plan to be part of the solution.”
Although he said he’s a capitalist who loves free market capitalism, he also believes in the preservation of what made the community “so great in the first place.” He said developing and growing communities often end up causing gentrification, pushing out the people who built the community.
“You’re pushing out the historical families as they can no longer afford to live there, so I’m very much against that process of gentrification,” he said. “It’s inherently wrong to do that because we need to honor those who brought us to where we are today. If we love West Orange, let’s honor the families that built West Orange.”
In areas such as the Historic East Winter Garden Neighborhood and Tildenville, Arthur said West Orange Habitat is critical in helping those communities with homeownership. The nonprofit is building new, beautiful homes for families, many of whom will be first-time homeowners, can afford to live in, he said.
Arthur wasn’t always dedicating a plethora of hours per week to nonprofit work.
In his youth, he was in a band, traveling the country playing in various clubs. Although he had a great time, he eventually realized the rock-star life wasn’t a serious path for him.
He told his father he wanted to be an entrepreneur.
“He looked at me and said, ‘Well that’s real nice, son, but that’s not a job, so go ahead and get yourself a real job, and along the way if you find something that people are interested in that you could provide them and you work hard and perhaps have a little luck, then maybe you can do this idea you’re referring to,’” Arthur said.
Arthur took his father’s advice and also decided to follow in his footsteps. He became a firefighter, an EMT and then a paramedic and started his life of public service.
He worked at Winter Park Hospital as a paramedic and served as a volunteer firefighter at Apopka Fire Department.
Arthur recalled a house fire in Apopka that was his first fully-involved fire. As he held the front nozzle of the hose and watched the water douse the burning flames, he realized the shell shock of it all.
“I saw these people that it was their life’s treasured items and possessions that were being burnt to a crisp,” he said. “It really just made me think, and it stuck with me how precious life is and how easily we can lose it in a flash. It made me take more seriously my obligation as a person and my obligation to my family and that I shouldn’t take my life so lightly and freely.”
It only was when Arthur and his brother, Zander Arthur decided to open Stars and Stripes Marketing in 2012 and Gymnastics USA two years later and both businesses started experiencing success that Arthur decided it was time to leave emergency services to focus full-time on the businesses in 2015.
But his heart for service continued to beat.
When Arthur was producing a history podcast about West Orange four years ago, he sat down with Marilyn Hattaway, executive director of West Orange Habitat. Hearing about the nonprofit’s mission and the work the staff and volunteers accomplish inspired Arthur to join the cause.
“When you think of homeownership, it brings dignity to people, to their life, and it brings stability and safety,” he said. “All of these things are components that are a blessing to people.”
Nonprofits such as West Orange Habitat not only are making a difference in a family’s life but also generationally, because statically, people who grow up in a home owned by their parents are more likely to succeed and be homeowners themselves, Arthur said.
After the discussion with Hattaway, Arthur attended a home dedication ceremony and teared up as he saw a single mother who was previously living in a one-room apartment with her children sleeping on the floor being given keys to a new home built for them with them.
“The mother was out there with a hammer working on her home, and then she told a story about how she wrote Bible verses on the wood on the foundation, and it just really moved me in a very emotional way,” he said.
Within a year, Arthur not only began volunteering for West Orange Habitat but also was asked to serve as a member of the nonprofit’s board.
Since then, his dedication to nonprofits has been full throttle. He currently spends at least 40 hours per week serving on 12 community boards and volunteering on top of his full-time job.
He dedicates every Sunday to his family. He wants to serve as a model for his children on how to serve and appreciate others while being thankful for their blessings.
“I know my kids are always watching me, so I don’t sit on the couch and play video games,” he said. “I get up, put my shoes on and go help people in the community, and they know that and they see it, and they do it with me too whenever it’s appropriate.”
Arthur said it’s a tremendous honor to be president of West Orange Habitat.
He already is working on implementing three new initiatives.
West Orange Habitat has signed with Habitat International, a veterans program to help honor veterans and work with them. The nonprofit is looking to do a veteran build day.
Another initiative is a blitz build, where the nonprofit will build a home or possibly a series of homes in seven days.
“You go from grass on the ground to foundation to framework to everything built, handing somebody the keys seven days later,” he said. “It’s just such an exciting thing, and it brings great, positive attention to Habitat and the mission. It gets people to get involved in an aggressive way in a short period of time.”
He also wants to build homes in Tildenville, which Habitat has yet had the opportunity to do so.
