Meet Scotty Ball! Scotty has been a real estate lawyer in Gainesville for the past 24 years. He is married to Angie and the couple has four children.
Scotty says the best part of living in Hall County is “the friendliness of its people and its fabulous location. We are the home to Lake Lanier, only an hour away from the big city offerings of Atlanta, and an hour away from the wonderful mountains of north Georgia. What more could one want?”
We want to thank Scotty for recently telling us more about his life and love of Hall County.
Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “I got really lucky when I took the LSAT and got a scholarship to UGA Law School. Although, I really didn’t like law school I persevered and got my law degree and then came back to Gainesville (my hometown) to go to work. After trying several different areas of the law I finally discovered real estate law, which is very much like the business courses I took at North Georgia College,  and have practiced real estate law for over 24 years now.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “I have many favorite restaurants in Gainesville. For casual BBQ I love Johnny’s BBQ, for simple burgers it’s hard to beat Collegiate Grill, for fine dining I love both Luna’s and Poor Richard’s, and for pizza I love Little Italy. They are all excellent local eateries.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “Except for my time in Athens at law school I’ve lived and worked in Gainesville all of my 49 years.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met in Hall County?
A: “The most interesting person I’ve met in Gainesville was the girl I somehow convinced to marry me many years ago, my wife Angie Ball.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “If I could travel anywhere, I’d love to either go back to Yosemite National Park in California or Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado as I love the majestic mountains of the West. There’s nothing that compares to backpacking the high mountain trails out West.”
Q: What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “The first movie I can remember was ‘Viva Kneival’ which was at the Royal Theater right off the downtown square in the early 1970s”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “The advice I’d give to a crowd of people is to make sure you are living the life YOU want to live and not to be worried or concerned about what other people think of what you do or what you enjoy. You only get one life on this earth so you better do all you can to make it the best one you can. Constantly comparing oneself to others only leads to unhappiness, so don’t do it!”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “My bucket list includes learning to fly an ultralight aircraft. I’d love to buy one and fly it around the north Georgia mountains.”
Q: What is your favorite music/ three bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “I love all kinds of music. I’m a big fan of outlaw country with Waylon Jennings, pop songs from Pink and Katy Perry, and musical film scores from Hans Zimmer.”
Q: What local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A:Â “Local businesses that make me nostalgic about Hall County include The Norton Agency, Lawrence Pharmacy, the Collegiate Grill, and J. Geyer Advertising, all with deep roots in Gainesville.”
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: “If I could have lunch with anyone past or present, it would be with Jesus Christ eating an Inn Between sandwich at Longwood Park. What better lunch companion could one have than the God of our universe?”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A:Â “My favorite things about Hall County are the friendliness of its people and its fabulous location. We are the home to Lake Lanier, only an hour away from the big city offerings of Atlanta, and an hour away from the wonderful mountains of north Georgia. What more could one want?”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “In another five or 10 years I can still see myself working and living and loving here in Gainesville, Hall County. Perhaps I’ll be blessed with grandchildren down the road, but I’ve already been blessed with the best wife and four kids a man can have.”
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A:Â “Some people may not realize that I am a huge fan of motorcycles and go riding frequently in the north Georgia mountains with my son and groups of other riders.”
Q: What are three words that mean “Home” to you?
A: “‘Gainesville, Hall County’…no place I’d rather be.”
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.
