Raimone Arain Roberts

Raimone Arian Roberts, affectionately known as Ray, was born on May 22, 1975, in Decatur, Georgia to Charles and Nanette Roberts. He gave his life to Christ at an early age while attending Hillside Church of Christ in Decatur. He passed away on March 26, 2019. Raimone was a man of God. He loved the Lord and his family with all his heart. He was a devoted husband, father, and son. He is survived by his wife Noelle, his son Asher, his father Charles, and his mother, Nannette. Raimone was loved by many uncles, aunts, a host of cousins, and friends.
Growing up in the lineage of American innovators and builders, Raimone Roberts was, at age 11, inspired by his uncle, a Tuskegee Airman, to set his sights on the United States Air Force Academy. It was instilled in him that nothing is impossible, but it takes strategy, hard work and discipline to accomplish great things. Upon graduating from the Air Force Academy, Raimone was consistently identified as a leader among his peers. He went on to lead initiatives for the Defense Department with cross-functional teams of hundreds of people, managing budgets in the hundreds of millions, tasked with developing and implementing a variety of state-of-the-art technologies. A glimpse of his leadership abilities includes developing strategic roadmaps, resource allocation, and technology implementation. These efforts led further to him co-developing strategies for a 10,000+ person organization.

At the peak of his career, in the recession environment of 2008, Major Roberts was hand-picked for a unique assignment at the Pentagon. He turned it down to become a 4th-generation entrepreneur in the footsteps of his family members and their legacy. Raimone has assisted nearly 600 entrepreneurs and businesses in leadership, business development, company growth and in acquiring millions in capital as co-founder of a business incubator and advisor to the Small Business Administration. In these roles, he has radically impacted the business community as well as developed strategic government and community relationships. Raimone also serves as Chief Strategy Officer for his 40-year family firm, Empire Construction. As general contractors, Empire has held major roles in the development of the Denver Bronco Stadium, Houston Astros Stadium, and the Denver International Airport, to name a few projects. Through unique approaches, strategies and questions; Raimone had a transformative impact on the organizations and people in his spheres of influence and leadership.

For fifteen years Raimone has inspired, taught and mentored youth and young adults. His passions extend to experiencing life with his entrepreneurial wife, being an avid reader, coffee aficionado and wanna-be space explorer.