Meet Leigh Cumiskey! Leigh has been a counselor at East Hall High School for 30 years and 2018 is her last! She was a teacher for special education for five years before becoming a counselor at East Hall and she also works at Mountain Education Center in Oakwood as a counselor.
“I like working with students who do not know how to advocate for themselves, students that have faced many obstacles but want to make something of their life with the guidance necessary,” she said.  
Leigh is a dedicated educator as well as a devoted mother and wife. She is married to John and mother of two. She has lived in Hall County since 1988 and graduated from Georgia Southern University with a Masters in School Counseling.  
Some of her favorite local shops in Gainesville are Little Lady Bug, Iron Rose and Saul’s.
We want to thank Leigh for talking with us about some of the things she loves about Hall County!
Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “I have always enjoyed helping people and I like working for the underdog. Just helping the kids that were less fortunate and they didn’t have parents or the things they needed from their home life.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “Poor Richards, the downstairs. I love how relaxing it is after a hard week.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Hall County?
A: “Senator Butch Miller. He is smart, cares for people and I’ve seen him taking negatives in his life and turning into positives.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “Antarctica. It’s so fascinating on our planet and it’s very adventurous.”
Q: What is your favorite movie OR what is the first movie you remember seeing in theater?
A: “My favorite movie would be ‘Fried Green Tomatoes.’”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Just be kind to one another.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “To travel to every national park.”
Q: What is your favorite music/ three bands you would like to see(dead or alive)?
A: “My favorite music would be alternative and bluegrass. Three bands I would like to see would be Railroad Earth, U2 and Dire Straits.”
Q: What current/former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “Little Ladybug and Saul’s.”
Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative: with whom would you love to have lunch?
A: “My girlfriends. We don’t get to see each other very much and enjoy each others company and we would go to 2 Dog and sit outside.”
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Hall County?
A: “It’s large but still has a community feels. It has many traditions.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “Retired but working part time where I can reinvent myself.”
Q: (Even friends or family) what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I went to three different high schools growing up and I lived in Germany for four years.”
Q: What are three words or phrases that come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: “Love, family, food.”
Interview by Abernathy Cochran Real Estate Group Intern Tricia Cumiskey
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.