Interview by Abernathy Cochran intern and Gainesville High senior Grady Vardeman. 
Meet Eason Spivey! Eason is a program coordinator with Gainesville Parks and Recreation. He is originally from Dublin where he attended West Laurens High School. He received a baseball scholarship to attend North Georgia College where he played baseball for four years as a catcher. In 2014, Eason was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels. He is now married and he an his wife have lived in Gainesville for the last five years.
We want to thank Eason for spending time with us recently to tell us more about his life and love of Hall County.
Question: Where are you originally from?
Answer: “I’m originally from Dublin, Georgia. Gainesville’s head baseball coach Adam Miller and his brother Nate who owns Hobbs are from there, as well.”
Q: Who the best Major League player you remember playing against?
A: “I got to play against Cody Bellinger, which is pretty cool since he just won MVP.”
Q: What inspired you or led you to your current career?
A: “Mainly my Dad, he also is in Recreation, so spending that much time with him as a kid at the ball field all the time. I don’t think I had any other choice rather go into athletics. Also, just playing my whole life and that made it an easy transition coming into youth athletics here.”
Q: How long have you lived or worked in Hall County?
A: “I’ve lived in Hall County for five years, worked for Parks & Rec going on three years.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “I’d have to say, Poor Richards, we love to go downstairs and I always get the Sunset Chicken with the hot bacon salad.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?
A: “I’d have to say Montana or anywhere out West, one bucket list thing for me is I want to elk hunt out West, I’ve always been a big hunter.
Q: Where are some of the places baseball has taken you?
A: “California, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, all the teams I played on were out West.”
Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: “My favorite is probably ‘Smokey and the Bandit.’”
Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?
A: “Always work hard, but never sacrifice your relationships with other people.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “I would really like to go to all the MLB parks in America, funny enough, I haven’t been to that many.”
Q: What current or local business makes you most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “I’d have to say Green’s Grocery, I’m in there all the time and they are always so friendly.”
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Hall County?
A: “It’s a small town, but it still has a lot of people in it, but still keeps that small-town feel. It’s hard to run into Publix and not see one person you know.”
Q: What 3 words or phrases that come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: “Family, comfort, and friends.”
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
A: “Most people don’t know that I played professional baseball, I don’t talk about that often, so it surprises some people.”