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Bobby Todd likes to live life on the edge. So much so that he once found himself hanging off the edge of the Stratosphere Hotel in Las Vegas 866 feet in the air while riding X-Scream.

That death defying stunt wasn’t enough for him, though; he’s also parachuted out of airplanes, been scuba diving in eel infested waters, hiked with black bears and raised a teenage boy.

Todd’s life may sound like that of a Hollywood stunt man, but it started and continues here in Yadkin County. Todd was born and raised in the Deep Creek community of the county. He attended Yadkinville Elementary and Forbush High School.

After he graduated high school he went on to Forsyth Technical Community College to obtain a degree in criminal justice. He returned to Yadkinville to pursue a career with the Yadkinville Police Department, where he spent four years.

“Law enforcement was just not as satisfying as I hoped it would be,” Todd said. “It was not very highly compensated at that time. I had a degree and qualified for food stamps so it was time to make a change.”

Todd moved on to sales, taking a job with Elmore’s, an appliance and electronics store in Yadkinville. He would spend 16 years with the company.

“During high school I had worked for Elmore’s off and on during summers and was offered a job back with them, which had more regular hours. I was getting close to getting married, and I decided to go with a more traditional job,” Todd said.

Next, Todd moved on to Amana Refrigeration where he continued to work in sales for a few more years before his next professional calling would present itself. Todd said that he was serving on the town board at the time, which he had been a member of for several years. The director for the Yadkin County Chamber of Commerce announced that he would be stepping down and someone would need to feel his position.

“The predecessor of that board had left, and I was encouraged to apply for the position basically as an interim, and I’ve been here 20 years,” Todd said. “Turns out I liked it.”

Todd said that the variety of his job is what keeps him here. He enjoys that every day offers him new challenges and something new to do.

“There are a lot of problem solving skills involved, and I’ve always enjoyed doing that,” Todd said. “It’s another sales job just like I’ve always had for years and years. I’m just selling an intangible rather than a refrigerator or microwave oven.”

In Todd’s spare time he enjoys seeing the world with his wife of 33 years, Patricia, and his friends. Thanks to his wife’s career with Piedmont and US Air, Todd has been able to travel nearly the entire country.

“We were able to travel a lot and see a lot of things that a lot of folks have not been able to,” Todd said. “We traveled much of the United States. We’ve been able to go to a lot of the national parks.”

When Todd isn’t hiking desert trails he’s diving into the depths. He found a passion for scuba diving nearly 30 years ago while vacationing in the Cayman Islands.

“A group of us went to the Cayman Islands probably 30 years ago. and a bunch of the guys went out riding mopeds. I went out with the girls, and we went out in a submarine,” Todd said. “As we were going down at about 110 feet, two scuba divers went by us. Right then I said ‘I want to do that.’

“Soon thereafter I found a shop in Winston-Salem that a friend of mine was becoming involved with and got certified and got my dive master rating and helped do some instruction,” Todd continued.

Today Todd is a certified scuba diving assistant instructor and has helped train many of his friends in scuba.

Todd said that although he has seen much of the world there’s nowhere that he’s been that has meant more to him than Yadkin County. Todd said he’s had the opportunity to leave to county over the years, but the decision to stay in his hometown always seemed to be better.

“We live in one of the best places in the world. I have been to a lot of places where people are friendly but here people seem to be genuinely concerned about each other. I don’t want to be anywhere else, I really don’t.”

Todd says that his true joy in life comes from spending time with his family and friends, watching his son, Patrick, continue to grow as he enters his freshman year at North Carolina State University. At the end of the day Todd says that he likes to sit on his back porch with a glass of wine and enjoy the silence of the Yadkin County land around him.

Reach Lindsay Craven at 679-2341 or at lcraven@heartlandpublications.com.