About Us
With rich expertise and experience in the design and construction of environmentally friendly “Green” buildings for use as office, restaurant and retail space, Environments Unlimited (EU) provides clients across the Carolinas with customized commercial buildings of the highest quality and most innovative design features.
Our team of construction professionals has over half a century of collective experience in the industry. EU’s value proposition is simply: our sincere commitment to clients, vendors, employees and the communities we serve enables us to deliver a superior product in which everyone involved can take great pride.
Environments Unlimited is the product of John Cockrum and Roger McSwain, two longtime construction industry professionals who agreed that a collaborative, client-centered approach for creating environmentally friendly commercial spaces was needed in the Carolinas. The two are ably assisted by a five-person staff of financial, project management and administrative professionals who share their unique vision for addressing commercial construction needs in the 21st Century.
John Cockrum
Founder/President
John Cockrum, a native of Burgaw, N.C., first began considering a career in construction while working part-time carpentry jobs during high school. He is a graduate of the B.S. program in Construction Management at East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville. Upon completing his degree in 1996, John returned to Greater Wilmington to begin work as a general contractor. Today, as President of Environments Unlimited, his duties include marketing, business development, community relations and strategic planning.
In addition to his support for the alumni organization at ECU, John has supported The Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization founded in 1987 to build housing for low-income residents of Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties. He has been on the organization’s Board of Directors, serving as its President in 2007. John is also a founding Board Member for Honor Flight of Southeastern NC, a non-profit organization whose mission is to fly WWII veterans to Washington DC to tour the WWII Memorial at no cost to the veteran. John currently serves on the Wilmington Family YMCA Board of Directors and is chair of the NIR Branch Advisory Board. John also served on the Board of Directors for the Hanover Seaside Club. John and his wife, Virginia Cockrum, are members of Hampstead United Methodist Church in Wilmington. The couple has three sons: Porter, Jack, and Fletcher. In addition to family activities, hunting and mountain bike riding, John is a marathon runner and regularly trains for triathlons. He also enjoys cooking in the kitchen with his family.
Jeremy Phillips
Broker in Charge of Environments Unlimited Commercial Real Estate
As the head of Environments Unlimited’s Commercial Real Estate division, Jeremy puts his 20+ years’ experience to work. During a previous tenure as the director of Business Development for a regional economic development agency, Jeremy was able to play an instrumental part in helping several Fortune 50 companies either relocate or expand into southeastern NC. This experience along with strong local ties to the business community helped launch a successful real estate career. Jeremy’s primary experience has been in the industrial, land and investment properties divisions but his specialty is to provide strong advisory services to his key clients and their real estate portfolios.
Jeremy is a native of Wilmington and a graduate of UNCW. He has served on a multitude of local and regional boards over his career, none of which was more rewarding than being a founder of Honor Flight of Southeastern NC which flew over 700 local WWII Veterans to see their memorial in Washington DC. Jeremy currently serves on several non-profit boards to include VOYAGE which works to connect youth from the northside of Wilmington with pathways to success. Jeremy and his wife Michelle have two sons, Owen and Cooper who share their Dad’s obsession for classic cars and family time.
Damien Cook
A native of Wilmington North Carolina, Damien Cook graduated from Laney HS in 1999. Damien and his wife Darlene enjoy raising two young children and stay very busy with coaching soccer and trips to Disney. Environments Unlimited and Damien have had a relationship since 2001 when he performed work on a new restaurant under construction. Damien successfully ran his own business for 10 years and managed equipment services for NHCO school kitchens and multiple franchise restaurants in SE North Carolina. Since coming on board with EUI, Damien has developed into a strong leader in the field and enjoys seeing projects through from start to completion. He is an asset to the team at Environments Unlimited.