Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and Gainesville High School senior Caroline Brown
Meet Diana Dokken! Diana works as a receptionist and makes weekly inspirational cards for people around Gainesville. She has two sons and one daughter. Diana also loves photography and water color painting.
We want to thank Diana for spending time with us and telling us about her life and love of Hall County.
Question: Please tell us a little about your background and family.
Answer: “I was born and raised in Scarsdale, New York. I married and had three children. My oldest child lives in Portland, Oregon and he is a creative and technical writer. My daughter lives in Sandy Springs with her two daughters. My youngest son, Paul, lives in Gainesville with his wife Whitney and their son, Sawyer. I started out working for Norton for 21 years. Three years later, I started working for the Whelchel Dunlap Law firm until they closed in the end of September. Currently, I work at a smaller attorney’s office as the full-time receptionist. I also love to watercolor paint and do photography.
“I make weekly greeting cards for about five or six people and every Saturday I put in the mail for them to brighten their day. Some people I just started sending cards to, others I’ve been sending cards to every week for 10 years. I put different quotes in each one and sign my name just so they can receive something nice in the mail. When COVID started, I began sending postcards with some of my watercolors and photographs on them to several different people that I know. I purely enjoy doing it for others.”
Q: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
A: “When I went to work, I wanted a job that wouldn’t stress me out too much because I was a single mother with three children at home. However, I always thought that it would be fun to be a receptionist. I loved my part-time job as a receptionist at Norton so much, I moved onto being a full-time receptionist for Administrative Residential because I made flyers that I could incorporate my creativity with. I am an introverted person, but being a receptionist makes me a more extroverted person.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “I love Inked Pig. They have been in business now for two years. They have the best barbeque pulled pork. Their pulled pork is so flavorful, you don’t even need any sauce!”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “We moved to Gainesville in 1977. I went to work in 1986.”
Q: What is your favorite childhood memory?
A: “When we were living in Scarsdale, my mother would take me to New York City for the Christmas season. She would take me shopping and let me roam around until I decided what I wanted Santa Claus to bring me. Another favorite childhood memory is visiting my father’s family in Wisconsin and my mother’s family in Georgia.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
A: “I would love to go back to Great Britain to visit Scotland. In 2019, I made my third trip to England, but I did a backroads tour. We started out in Scotland, but only stayed for a night and kept traveling to London. So, I would love to go back to Scotland and stay for longer.”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “To be kinder than necessary”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “I would love to write a book where the pragmatist is an acorn, but not an acorn that grows into a big oak. I have a whole different idea and concept of acorns. To me, an acorn is either an act or someone who performs an act of empathy and kindness.”
Q: What is your favorite music/ three bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?
A: “I’ve already seen him, but I just love Mary Martin in Peter Pan. I just love the message that it gives.”
Q: What local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County and why?
A: “There used to be a little book store where the Bradford Pear is now, and I used to always take my daughter there when she was a young girl. I love all of the independently owned shops in Gainesville.”
Q: Choosing anyone (past or present), with whom would you love to have lunch? And where locally would you have this lunch?
A: “I would love to have lunch with my grandmother on my mother’s side, my mother and my father. There are so many questions that I wished I had asked them that I didn’t get a chance to. I wouldn’t take them to a restaurant in Gainesville, I would have them right here in my home because a lot of the things in my home are passed down from them.”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “I think the location is the best. I love being close to Atlanta, while still having mountains near by and being able to drive over the bridges of Lake Lanier. It is a very sophisticated small town.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “I would still like to be working in five years, continuing my weekly cards, and traveling when I can.”
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “Most people know that I do give out cards. One thing that not many people at all know about me is that I want to write the book about the acorn.”
Q: What three words mean “Home” to you?
A: “Family, Traditions, and Things. I say ‘things’ because I have so many things in my home that hold the memory of so many people.”
Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose?
A: “I would like to have somebody that could drive a car for me when I go on day trips with my camera. I would like to be able to stop quickly if I see a perfect picture opportunity.”
