Meet Wanda Cannon, a longtime Gainesville resident and the Education and Volunteer Coordinator at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Gainesville.
“This is truly a dream job! I work with a wonderful staff and it has been a great experience to watch a new botanical garden grow and come to light,” Wanda said. “There are not many places where you can work and just walk outside into a beautiful garden oasis! The garden will continue to grow and will truly become a destination garden to visit now and in the future.
“We have over 100 wonderful volunteers here at the garden in Gainesville. Also, my job involves creating and putting together interesting educational programs, which I love doing for families and youth to learn about the garden! We have curriculum based back pack programs for youth field trips that are full of fun scavenger hunts and other learning tools designed to get youth excited about the natural world around them.”
Wanda, grew up in the Cobb County area and has lived in Gainesville for almost 20 years. She is married to Todd and the mother of three, two daughters, Taylor and Sarah and one son, Daniel. Wanda graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Journalism and Public Relations.
“Those were back in the days of REM and Herschel Walker! Fun times!,” she said. “My work background includes marketing and sales, but after staying at home for 14 years raising my children, I got involved with the Hall County Master Gardener classes because I love to design plants in yards, pots and flower arrangements. After taking this class and becoming a Certified Master Gardener, I accepted a job with the Hall County Extension office where I coordinated master gardening classes and also became the horticulture assistant to the local county agent.
“This job really opened me up to the people and community of Gainesville and I have met many wonderful people from that job…I also was a garden columnist for the Gainesville Times for about seven years. I will be an empty-nester soon with mixed emotions! I am very proud of my family!”
We recently caught up with Wanda to find out more about her love of the Hall County area and her interests.
Question: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met while living in Hall County?
Answer: “I would have to say without a shadow of a doubt Hall County Master Gardeners. The master gardeners are a diverse, interesting, and selfless group of people that are bonded by their love of nature and gardening. But their individual talents and backgrounds make them such an asset to this community at large. They are so willing to step up and get involved in helping spread garden knowledge to the general public through volunteerism.”
Q: If you could give a piece of advice to a crowd of people what would you say?
A: “Always remember there is someone up above and make time for what you love and enjoy doing. If you do this, opportunities will open up that take in places you could never imagine. New friendships and relationships are born when you are happy doing what you love and new opportunities arise for personal growth as well. Always find time to laugh! So therapeutic!”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “The location. You can get to the big city or go to the mountains or beach destinations easily. Also, Gainesville is the most community and service oriented city I have ever lived in. It is a great place to raise your family or retire.”
Q: What is your favorite social or outdoor outing in Hall County and why?
A: “I LOVE good music and the outdoors! Local outdoor concerts are great! I love to hike and kayak too!”
Q: Are there some events coming up the Atlanta Botanical Gardens-Gainesville that you would like to share with the community?
A: “Yes, we have three major summer concerts this year. The Four Tops in June, Indigo Girls in July and Loretta Lynn in August! Educational programs on the weekends for families and also children’s performances the last Saturday of the month through September. An Arts and Craft market is also scheduled for October 1 st , 2016.”
The Faces of Hall County is a project to showcase the amazing people that live in our community. If you would like to nominate an interesting person to be featured please email babernathy@gonorton.com.
PROJECT PATRONS:
