Dana Chapman was taught from a young age that ‘service was above self,’ and continues to live by that mantra. “I remember delivering baskets of groceries and flowers to people in need in my neighborhood when I was young. Helping others has always been very important to me,” says Dana. She has aided people in all sorts of circumstances working as a social worker, at a rape crisis center, and currently as the Executive Director of The Guest House. “The Guest House is a place for frail seniors to go every day that is affordable, safe, and loving. We offer the nursing care that the senior center can’t,” she says.
Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
Answer: “My mother and father. My father was a life time Rotarian and my mother was a teacher and school board member and they believed in giving back to your community. It was a given in our family that ‘service was above self.’ I remember delivering baskets of groceries to people in need in my neighborhood when I was young. Service has always been a part of me.”
Q:What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “Atlanta Seafood Market and I order the shrimp po’boy.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “Since 1981, 35 years.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met in Hall County?
A: “There are 2: Darla Eden, I met her in an investments club and she taught me how to be financially powerful on my own, she’s driven to stick to her job and she’s a good steward of money on behalf of the county. And, Donald McDuffie, he’s an ordained minister, he’s the lieutenant commander for the Hall County sheriff’s office, and he’s one of the most experienced criminal investigators in the county.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “Australia, because I understand it’s quite diverse and open and I think the people and the places would be intriguing.”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Be kind.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “To go to the Keys”
Q: What is your favorite music/ 3 bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “Chicago, Bad Company, and the Beatles”
Q: What former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “Castleberry’s Hardware Store, because my daddy owned a hardware store and it was very similar to Castleberry’s. I love the smell of a hardware store, it’s very particular.”
Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative: with whom would you love to have lunch?
A: “Michelle Obama. I want to know what it’s been like to raise 2 girls in the environment that they’ve been in in this day in age, and under the pressure of being the first Black first lady. I’d like to know her coping mechanisms and how she keeps her bearings intellectually and emotionally. I would love to take her to Avocados.”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “The fact that this is a very well served community. There are a lot of people in Gainesville who literally change the course of things and make a difference.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?
A: “I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000 and I’ve been very fortunate to be up and moving the whole time since being diagnosed. There is no better place to function with this disability than here at the Guest House. I hope I’m still here in 5 or 10 years and retire here.”
Q: (Even for friends or family), What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “I sing and majored in theatre in college.”
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.
PROJECT PATRONS:
