Elliot L. Maguire’s  family moved from Indiana to Florida in 1924 to work in the turpentine farming business. He received a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration from the University of Florida in 1943 and served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II. After the war, he returned to Green Cove Springs to raise a family and join the turpentine industry. Maguire is a past president of the Southern Forest Council and the Florida Forestry Association, and is a charter member of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce. He organized and served as president of the St. Johns County Timber Growers Association and was the first in the nation to modify a Franklin skidder with a cabled forklift to carry pallets and a hydraulic claw for loading wood.