Interview by Abernathy Cochran Group Realtor Ricky Lewallen
Meet Angie Kennedy! Angie is a lifelong Gainesville resident, is married to Joe and is the Marketing Director at Carroll Daniel Construction. Angie attended the University of Georgia and loves eating out at local restaurants including The Collegiate and Antebellum.
We want to thank Angie for spending time with us recently to tell us more about her life and love of Hall County.
Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “I have always known I wanted a career in public relations and marketing. It’s an evolving trade, one that changes daily, and in the digital world, it’s a field that provides new opportunities by the minute. It certainly keeps my job interesting – I learn new things every day.
“As for what inspires me in my current role as Marketing Director for Carroll Daniel Construction, it is 100 percent the team members I work alongside. They are all masters in their crafts and some of the most effective problem solvers and engineers you’ll ever meet. They aren’t afraid to go the extra mile and get their boots dirty to find a solution to a challenge. That’s inspiring to me. It’s easy to market a company that is made up of good, talented people who embrace and encourage a company culture like the one we have.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “Antebellum – everything on the menu is my favorite.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “I have lived here the majority of my life, except while I was in school at the University of Georgia and while I studied and lived abroad in Italy and Germany.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “I would go back to Hawaii or Italy – two very beautiful, culturally diverse places, but both are incredible to experience.”
Q: What is your favorite movie OR what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theatre?
A: “I have a fascination with movies that have a setting or plot that revolves around significant historical events or wartime periods. ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is one of my favorites.”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “’Delete the adjectives and you’ll have the facts.’” That is a line that Atticus Finch tells Scout in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird.’ It has always stuck with me and helped me stay on track.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “My bucket list revolves around travel – Alaskan cruise, hiking through Banff National Park, or going on a safari in Africa… bring it on!”
Q: What is your favorite music/ three bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “Jazz; the trumpet, sax, all of it.”
Q: What current/ former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “Collegiate Grill is a community staple here. My father works in Hunt Tower for Stewart, Melvin and Frost, and often times when we would stop by his office as children, he would take us to lunch there. We still meet for a burger and shake from time to time. The food tastes exactly the same way it did twenty years ago.”
Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative: with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? Where in Hall County would you have lunch?
A: “I would invite Sara Blakely, the entrepreneur and inventor of Spanx. She has built a business off of more than just undergarments – she’s built an incredible corporate culture that thrives off of taking risks and using humor to help steer her team through failures and mistakes. We’d go to Collegiate.”
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Hall County?
A: “I’m proud of the way the community is adapting to changes that will better prepare us for a vibrant future. Leaders and civilians have done a good job maintaining the integrity and foundation of Gainesville and its history, while preparing for growth. That’s pretty neat if you ask me.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “Enjoying Gainesville with my family and dog, Bubs.”
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “Most people don’t know I played the harp growing up.”
Q: What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: “Family, Trust, Church.”
Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?
A: “Julia Roberts. Who doesn’t love Julia Roberts?”
The Faces of Hall County is a project to showcase the amazing people that live or work in our community. If you would like to nominate an interesting person to be featured please email babernathy@gonorton.com.