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The Exceptional 7 -Young Professionals to Watch
The Rome-Floyd Chamber and Advertising Dynamics, Inc., are honored to recognize the second annual winners of the Exceptional 7 awards. The awards are targeted to honor young professionals who excel in their fields and contribute to the community through volunteerism and advocacy. Representing a diverse range of professions, these individuals are the future leaders of our community. We look forward to their successes and the impact they have both professionally and personally.
Exceptional Young Professional of the year
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Amanda farrell
Farrell’s Frame and Design
Core values drive business and shape decisions. One of Amanda’s chief core values is being invested and involved in Rome and Floyd County. When she founded Farrell’s Frame and Design, she immediately joined the Chamber and began cultivating relationships throughout the community. She is a perennial supporter of community organizations. She adds, “While I cannot be a million places at once, our name can be. It is of the utmost importance to me that our community knows—without a doubt—that Farrell’s Amanda, “The Frame Lady,” is invested, she cares, and 100% supports what the community cares about.”
Amanda brought her more than 15 years’ experience as a custom framer to Broad Street in 2015 with the vision of providing topquality preservation and conservation framing paired with artisticdriven design. The company has earned first and second place awards in Global Framing Competition, was hailed by the Chamber as an Emerging Business in 2020, and was named a Super Star of Service by the City of Rome in 2018. Farrell’s has topped their category in the Rome News-Tribune’s Best of Rome Awards for three years (2017, 2018, 2020) and finished as runner-up in 2019.
Amanda overcame the challenges of relocating to a new space and reestablishing the business in 2019, only to be greeted by the global pandemic. She and husband, Chris, soon faced a high-risk pregnancy with their first child. Now, with their beautiful daughter, Finlee, Amanda is committed to building a balanced life that includes strengthening her business and expanding her involvement locally.
Her goals for the next ten years include becoming a leader in the framing industry as she uses her talents to help others and contributing to the decision-making process that affects small businesses. Her core value of community involvement shows in her goal of winning the Chamber’s Small Business of the Year Award.
XAIVIER RINGER
Rome Mural CoLab
Impactful leaders look at their communities and picture what could be. Then they get to work making that vision reality. That is the spirit that drives Xaivier in her work as an entrepreneur, artist, and community development facilitator. She believes in the power of art to create an opportunity for diverse voices to collaborate and speak. Xaivier is widely recognized for her ability to harness the vision of local communities to enhance public spaces and to encourage a global mindset in young leaders. She studied in Santo Domingo in 2016 as a junior at Georgetown University, where she received a Bachelor’s in Government. In 2015, she founded Black Girl Free, an illustration movement to uplift women of color, humanize their experience, and encourage them to lead unapologetically free lives.
She is the CEO of “The International Muralist,” a company that primarily uses mural art as a tool to empower communities and beautify their spaces. She has painted over 54 murals in 14 cities and three countries with the goal of beautifying dwelling spaces and creating lasting visual reminders of the power of women and youth. In the summer of 2020, Xaivier co-founded Rome Mural CoLab and completed a 50’x18’ mural that beautifies the Martha Berry Highway corridor. Since March 2018, she has painted three strategic murals at South Broad and Cherokee Streets, at Maple and 19th Streets, and at Dr. Sylvia Washington’s office to enhance her hometown and honor its population.
Xaivier has claimed Rome as her home since 1994 and continues to invest her talents locally to improve the livelihood of the area’s citizens, especially young women and men of color. Professionally, she is developing an online shop and platform to offer art classes virtually. She continues to pursue international endeavors in order to learn from global communities while traveling with her son and using that knowledge to pursue domestic goals.
STROM MULL
Darlington School
Strom loves talking about her hometown—our very own Rome, Georgia. She says she is fortunate she now gets to talk about it for a living as she recruits students to attend Darlington School.
In her three years as Darlington’s Assistant Director of Boarding Admission, she has traveled overseas and throughout the Southeast to recruit students, always being an Ambassador for Darlington, Rome, and Floyd County. After she graduated from Darlington, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences from the University of Mississippi. She began her professional career as Marketing Director for Panera Bread in the Atlanta area. She then moved to serve as Marketing and Development Manager for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
In 2016, she became Manager for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year Campaign. During her two years there, she helped raise over $2.76 Million to help find a cure for blood cancer. She received the Team Member Award for having the most team members registered and fundraising for LLS. They saw a 20% growth in the Atlanta Chapter, and the Atlanta Woman of the Year winner went on to be the National Woman of the Year.
Outside of work, Strom is dedicated to the Rome-Floyd community. She is involved with the Junior League of Rome and the Chamber’s Young Professionals, is a member of the TRED (Trails and Recreation for Economic Development) Board, and volunteers for DeSoto Theatre’s Evening on the Runway fundraiser. She is a member of First Presbyterian Church and the founder and president of a book club that has 30 members.
Of her future goals, Strom says she is looking forward to using her position at Darlington to attract new families to the Rome area. She describes Downtown as “a gem,” and there is little doubt she will keep sharing what a special place Rome is.
LEAH MAYO
Floyd County District Attorney’s Office
Leah is an attorney with a focus in criminal law. She is an Assistant District Attorney with the Floyd County District Attorney’s Office. She is admitted to practice in all Superior Courts in the State of Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Georgia. In her current role, she handles cases in all stages of criminal proceedings. She has been hailed as having exceptional courtroom demeanor and showing skill well beyond her years of experience.
She won an individual award for Best Summation at a mock trial competition; was recognized for her excellence in litigation skills, ethics, and professionalism with the Walker P. Johnson, Jr. Award; and was selected as the Most Outstanding Senior of her law school class.
She graduated from Presbyterian College with two Bachelor of Arts degrees in 2015 and from Mercer University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 2018. She was the founder and organizer of the firstever annual Women’s Leadership Conference at Presbyterian College. She is a 2011 graduate of Darlington School.
In addition to her love of the courtroom, she enjoys social event planning, serving as the social chair for both her sorority and for her entire law school for two years. Among her favorite events were a “Thrift Shop” party where all decorations and attire supported a local nonprofit and a catered black-tie event featuring a five-piece band in a historic building where The Allman Brothers Band performed their first gig.
Locally, Leah serves on the board of the Rome Area Council for the Arts, helping with fundraising, social media, and event planning, including helping design raffle prizes for FireFly Fling that highlighted local artists, businesses, restaurants, farms, and attractions. She serves as a college mentor and mock trial coach at Pepperell High School. She has been selected to participate in the Leadership Darlington class for 2021.
KRISTA LOVERING
Ford, Gittings & Kane
Identifying a goal and developing a plan to meet it are crucial steps to success. That was certainly the case for Krista. When a sudden career change brought her to Ford, Gittings & Kane Jewelers, she quickly set a goal of becoming a Registered Jeweler. She started taking Gemology classes through the American Gem Society and the Gemological Institute of America. She became a Certified Sales Associate in record time and received scholarships for further study. Many hours of classes, study, and tests later, she was awarded the title of Registered Jeweler, member of the American Gem Society, in July 2020.
Krista is passionate about what she does at Ford, Gittings & Kane and her community involvement. She has a huge heart for helping others. She is married to Brandon Lovering, and they have four children: AuBree, Ava, Brexton, and Brayden. Both AuBree and Ava are special needs children, which the Loverings describe as having “DIFFERENT abilities” rather than disabilities.
Born and raised in Rome, Krista’s love and passion for her hometown continues to grow and has driven her to volunteer with organizations and events including the Mission Is Possible Foundation, Hot Shots Shining Stars Cheer Team, Birthday Club, Heart of the Community, An Evening on the Runway, Kickback to the Community, and Relay for Life “Paint the Town Purple.” She has served on the DDA Outreach Committee and attends Downtown Coffee Break meetings. Krista also presents the Rome Braves Player of the Month at State Mutual Stadium. She enjoys spending quality time making memories with her family and pursuing her love of cooking.
Krista plans to continue her education in Gemology. She is committed to serving her clients and community with the utmost knowledge and professionalism. She says everything in her life comes back to relationship-building: from family and community involvement to her work family and amazing clients who become friends.
FORD KNIGHT
Knight’s Car Store and Knight’s Garage
Born in Atlanta on July 4, 1987, Ford moved to Rome when he was six months old. He attended Darlington School from Pre-K through 12th grade, graduating in 2005. He double-majored in Finance and Real Estate at the University of Georgia, where he graduated cum laude from the Terry College of Business in 2009. The new graduate moved back to Rome for three months to help open Knight’s Garage (The Garage). He returned to Atlanta in 2010 to work in commercial real estate with CBRE. For eight years, he managed real estate transactions for corporate accounts, including General Electric, NCR, ASC Security, and Regions Bank. In 2018, he returned to Rome to begin managing Knight’s Car Store.
The team he leads at Knight’s serves customers nationwide, providing excellent quality pre-owned vehicles and unmatched customer service. Knight’s has been voted Rome’s Best Used Car Dealership for four years in a row in the Rome News-Tribune’s Best of Rome Awards. He plans to continue the company’s legacy of excellence while working to expand the car business and exploring the opportunity to open another location. He is also very interested in helping provide affordable housing solutions in Rome.
Ford is a regular community volunteer. He is an active member of the Chamber’s Young Professionals program. He volunteers his time at Public Animal Welfare Services (P.A.W.S.) and the RomeFloyd Community Kitchen and is an active member of St. Peters Episcopal Church, where he serves on the breakfast committee. Both he and Knight’s Car Store are generous supporters of local nonprofit organizations.
Ford is part of the Leadership Darlington Class of 2018 and Eagle Scout Troop 113. He has been hailed by fellow Romans for his enthusiasm for his work, his willingness to participate in all facets of economic and social life in the community, and his generosity with both time and resources.
EMILIA JACKSON
Floyd County Schools – Pepperell High School
Agriculture is a growing industry locally and throughout the nation, and Emilia works hard to make sure her students are prepared to succeed in this exciting field. The sixth-year agriculture educator at Pepperell High School seeks to build relationships with students as she helps them connect the dots from the farm to the grocery store. Those are lessons Emilia is well-prepared to teach, having earned a Bachelor’s in Agricultural Education and a Master’s in Agricultural Leadership from the University of Georgia. She and her husband, Cleve, co-own and operate Jackson Farms in Cave Spring.
Emilia is an advisor for Pepperell High School’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter and serves as Floyd County Young Farmer Advisor, working with adult community members with an interest in promoting agriculture in Floyd County. In 2019, she was voted Pepperell High’s Teacher of the Year by her colleagues and chosen as Floyd County High Schools Teacher of the Year for 2018-2019. She has led Pepperell’s FFA chapter to earn the organization’s top national recognition for 2019 and 2020.
She serves as Education Committee Chair for Floyd County Farm Bureau, on the Media and Communications Committee for the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association, and as a member of the Floyd County Cattlemen’s Association; she and Cleve are active in Cave Spring First Baptist’s Youth Ministry.
Emilia is committed to education beyond the classroom. Through the annual Pepperell Primary School Agriculture Awareness Day, she helps educate more than 140 first-grade students and teachers about agriculture topics through hands-on activities. She also led the Floyd County Legislative Farm Tour to introduce local and state officials to the county’s production agriculture and its economic impact. She hopes to combat the issue of fresh-food availability in the Lindale community by leading her students to create a community garden system.
Exceptional Young Professional of the year 2020
Rome Floyd Chamber of Commerce
Exceptional Young Professional of the year 2020
Rome Floyd Chamber of Commerce
HARDY REALTY & DEVELOPMENT CO. A Tradition of Trust for 96 Years
Founded over 95 years ago, Hardy Realty and Development Company is the largest and oldest locally owned real estate firm in Northwest Georgia.
The company was founded in 1925 by Wilson Moore Hardy, who was born in Rome in 1881. Hardy attended Rome public schools before attending the University of Georgia, where he was a member of the storied UGA football team. Later he returned to Rome to manage the Herald Tribune, an early version of the Rome News Tribune. Then, after serving as President of Citizens Bank, he founded the Hardy Trust Company.
For the past 28 years, Jimmy Byars has been Hardy’s chief executive officer and broker. Byars says the fundamentals of the business have primarily remained the same through the years because the company continues to recognize the importance of putting their clients first. “Members of the Hardy team share the understanding that influence is determined by putting the interest of clients and customers first,” says Byars. “That’s a fundamental part of our mission statement.”
For many years Hardy Realty was located downtown on Second Ave, and they primarily focused on Commercial and Property Management. But in the last 30-40 years, they have expanded to include a robust residential and commercial sales organization that is now one of the largest in Northwest Georgia. Hardy’s Property Management team currently manages over 1400 properties in the region. They also have over 50 residential and commercial agents in Rome and Cedartown who have helped the company become the sales volume leader in Floyd County over the past few years.
No other brokerage in the area offers greater local, national and international exposure of listings than Hardy. Through their affiliations, which include membership in Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, their properties are given extensive exposure to potential buyers on hundreds of real estate websites.
While the company’s wide reach on the internet is global, the employees and staff are committed to giving back locally. “Since Hardy has always been a locally owned and operated business, the company has long recognized the importance of being involved in the community,” says Byars. “In addition to multiple relationships with other local businesses, we enjoy supporting many of the non-profit and charitable organizations in the region. We support the arts, education, and cultural activities because we know they all enhance our community and our lifestyle, presenting a more enticing place for all of us to live and work.”
In the early days of the company, you could contact Hardy by simply dialing four numbers: 4321. They can now be reached at 706-291-4321 and always have someone on call to answer any questions about residential and commercial sales or property management. Hardy’s home office is on Martha Berry Boulevard, with satellite offices on Broad Street in Rome and another on Main Street in downtown Cedartown.
Photo by Kelly Moore
