Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and Gainesville High School senior Ben Jessup

Meet Jamie Reynolds! Jamie is the executive director at Sisu in Gainesville. She is a mother and married to Stephen. She said she loves the Hall County community because it is a giving community.
“I am truly blown away by the kindness, intelligence and support that is here. Again when you have an organization like Sisu/formerly known as Challenged Child and Friends and an Eagle Ranch, it’s a very philanthropic and very giving community,” she said.
We want to thank Jamie for spending time with us recently and telling us more about her life and love of Hall County.

Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “I am a mother of five boys, not everyone might know that. My third son died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is a strange syndrome, because you aren’t sure why your child has died, but usually, it happens more to boys and happens more in the winter months, so it has strange trends that they have identified through the years. My fourth and fifth sons had to be on cardiac monitors. When we lived in Philadelphia, there was no place to take my children for childcare because they were on cardiac monitors, so I had to stay at home and have help come to me. When we moved to Gainesville I was in awe of Challenged Child and Friend. I could not believe that someone had thought of such a special place and was able to create such a haven of hope.   My children would have definitely attended the school if it existed in any of the other  cities we lived in-when we moved to Gainesville, I found this school to be one of the most progressive places I had seen in all my travels.
“When William died, I created a baby blanket, and the baby blanket was created to help people understand that it is important to have their infant sleep on their back. I wanted to be a part of that messaging; that it’s safer to keep your baby on its back so I created a product.
“My career and where I am today has a lot to do with my son William and his life. It is a tribute to him and I feel as if Sisu is such a special place and I want other parents, grandparents and caregivers to know that there is a loving, caring preschool that can help!”

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “Can I only pick one? I love so many! I am going to name a few. I love the Inked Pig, Atlanta Highway Seafood, Mellow Mushroom. Those are the ones that come to mind.”

Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “We have lived here for 20 years. My husband and I moved here 20 years ago, and he used to work for Ganett, Ganett used to own the newspaper here in Gainesville. We moved here from Ohio to Gainesville and we have never left.  I grew up in Connecticut, and my husband is from Illinois and we met in Washington, D.C. Once we got married we moved to Chicago, from Chicago we moved to Wisconsin, from Wisconsin we moved to Philadelphia, and from Philadelphia we moved to Ohio, and from Ohio we moved to Gainesville. We were kind of all over the place for a little bit!”

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met in Hall County and why?
A: “There are quite few. Living in a town with a college makes you feel that learning is a continuous process. I would say the most interesting person I’ve met in Hall County is Butch Miller. He truly is an interesting person and truly has a servant’s heart. It is such an uncertain time in our country and it’s nice to know that we have a representative from our part of the state who cares about people, and Sisu’s mission, not just a political image.”

Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?
A: “I lived near the beach, so anything that had to do with the beach I loved.”

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
A: “Anywhere where my family can gather as an entire family. For me, it’s not really the destination, it’s just having everyone under one roof. That to me is the most important thing. That could be a cabin, that could be the beach, but for me it’s just being able to have everyone together, which is not easy these days of COVID-19.”

Q: What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “I think it was a James Bond movie, and I think it was my first date.”

Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Show up and do your best. It’s never going to be perfect, work hard, value others who work hard–look for the hard worker. I think that has been the most important thing that I have seen through my career, it’s not often the person with the loudest voice or the person with the most intellect, but the person with the strong work ethic that stands out.”

Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “I want to cultivate a great little cutting garden so I can have fresh flowers in my house 12 months of the year.”

Q: What is your favorite music/ three bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “I love Bruce Springsteen, love the Police, 80s music is really awesome. Whenever we are cleaning our house, we have Spotify on, and it’s usually 80s music. Anything from the 80’s makes me sing and that’s probably really embarrassing to my grown children.”

Q: What local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County and why?
A: “Whenever I travel and come back, I always have to get Green’s Grocery’s chicken salad. Gainesville feels like home, I like the pace, I like living near the golf course. When my children come home (they live in San Francisco, Los Angeles , New York and Atlanta) they can walk to a golf course and that makes them very nostalgic to their time here Gainesville. They like to throw their golf bag on their back and walk to the golf course.”

Q: Choosing anyone (past or present and a non-relative), with whom would you love to have lunch?  And where locally would you have this lunch?
A: “I would like to have lunch with Mother Teresa. I think she is the most selfless human, and I would love to be in her presence. I would take her to a really pretty setting, probably somewhere overlooking the North Georgia Mountains, or to the Smithgall Woods north of here.”

Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “The kindness, intelligence and support that is here. Again, when you have an organization like Sisu/Challenged Child and Friends and an Eagle Ranch, it’s a very philanthropic and very giving community. I’ve never seen that anywhere else I have lived. People want your organization to succeed because it serves others, and that is really a special notion that I have not witnessed in many other places. So, I would say the people and their kindness is something that really stands out in Gainesville and Hall County.”

Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “I hope to see myself in a house with my family growing. Whether it’s through daughter-in-laws, grandchildren, and probably no more dogs. Hopefully, here in Gainesville, building a garden, and hopefully still at Sisu, there’s still a lot of work to be done, and I feel I can still contribute lots to the cause.”

Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I played Division-1 Tennis at Georgetown University.”

Q: What three words mean “Home” to you?
A: “Boys, Meatloaf, Laughter.”

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: “I would choose the lead gentleman in Bridgerton (Regé-Jean Page). I thought he was exceptional.  He would be my leading man. If it was a woman, it would probably be someone like a Reese Witherspoon or Nicole Kidman.”

Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose?
A: “Oh! Don’t even ask me that. Unfortunately for my husband, he has become my chef. He has done a really nice job, so I don’t want to replace him. He’s gotten pretty good at cooking with Hello Fresh, so he’s my chef. I would probably have somebody to help me clean.”