Jacquelyn Richards is our Operations Coordinator and has been an important member of Team Peachtree since December of 2019. We had a few moments to chat a couple of days ago while I lounged in her VERY pink office sipping on the tea she quickly shoved into my hands while we were settling down. Check out our fun interview below to learn all about Jacquelyn and click below to see her full bio on our meet the team page!
Stacey: Jacquelyn! How do you feel about being our first Employee Spotlight and getting interviewed by yours truly?
Jacquelyn: Well Stacey, I’m incredibly honored to be recognized on our website and being the first? Well, that’s just the bees knees.
Stacey: The Bee's Knee's! Remember on my first day when we shockingly realized we were both obsessed with bees?
Jacquelyn: I do!
Stacey: Alright, ready to jump in?
Jacquelyn: Yes! Let's do it!
Stacey: Tell us a little bit about YOU growing up. What did you like to do? What did you want to be when you grew up? Where did you grow up?
Jacquelyn: I grew up an hour outside of Tucson, Arizona in a neighborhood in the middle of the desert. My brothers were my best friends. We played board games almost every night and in the summer during the day we were outside playing make believe and essentially LARPing before we even knew what that was. I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I dreamed of writing novels, poetry, articles, really anything. While my path took a different direction, those experiences still shape who I am today.
Stacey: Tell us about your family or the people closest to you in your life!
Jacquelyn: My husband, David, and I live in a comfortable apartment with our two cats, Jasper and Lu. Our best friends are two other couples. They come over every weekend and we play our latest session of Dungeons and Dragons or we mix it up and go out for dinner or on some other adventure.
Stacey: I wouldn't even begin to know how to play Dungeons and Dragons so you have me beat there for sure! How do you relax when you are not working?
Jacquelyn: I have a weekly self-care ritual that involves watching a Dungeon and Dragons live play show while I do my nails, apply a face mask, and loaf on the couch.
Stacey: You KNOW how I feel about self care rituals!!! What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
Jacquelyn: After work I set aside time to write out the next plot point and create the map and encounter for the coming weekend's Dungeons and Dragons session. I also enjoy playing video games and reading with a good pot of tea.
Stacey: Ahhh! Our mutual tea love!!! Reminds me of us looking at tea sets all day! What does your perfect weekend look like?
Jacquelyn: My perfect weekend has been every weekend lately. My friends come over and we play Dungeons and Dragons for 6 hours and eat snacks and just have the time of our lives.
Stacey: SIX HOURS?!?! I'm not sure my competitive game playing nature would allow me to play a game for 6 hours without losing it! What's something surprising not many people know about you?
Jacquelyn: I collect mugs. I have over 50 mugs of all different varieties. I'm always looking for another fun mug to add to my collection.
Stacey: I had no idea! That does connect a few dots on why you always have a new mug though! Who or what is your biggest influence in life?
Jacquelyn: I believe that small acts of kindness can make a big difference in the world and I strive to live by this principle every day. The little things add up so I try to make kindness, empathy, and understanding a central part of my life.
Stacey: What are some things you completely "nerd out" over?
Jacquelyn: I am a giant nerd honestly. I can go on long tangents about The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.
Stacey: Okay, let's not do that right now though, this interview would go on forever! Speaking of Lord of the Rings, what's your favorite book?
Jacquelyn: My favorite book series of all time is The Tales of the Frog Princess by E.D. Baker. It is a very sweet YA series that I started reading in the sixth grade when I got the first book from a Scholastic Book Fair and I reread it all the way through at least once a year.
Stacey: What about music? Who is your favorite?
Jacquelyn: My favorite band is A Day to Remember. Their albums Homesick and What Separates Me From You got me through some very rough times growing up and I still revisit them when I need a pick me up.
Stacey: What about movies or TV?
Jacquelyn: My favorite TV show is called Dimension 20 and it's a Dungeons and Dragons live play show. What that means is that each season the cast plays a campaign of Dungeons and Dragons and it's impossible to script since you can't script dice rolls.
Stacey: What makes you unique?
Jacquelyn: I have a quote/reference for every occasion. My husband says they're mostly very obscure references but sometimes that's what works best.
Stacey: You know, I can fully see that! If you could pick a super power what would it be and why?
Jacquelyn: Prestidigitation is one of my favorite spells from Dungeons and Dragons. It's a small minor illusion spell with so many different applications that can do a variety of things, from creating smells and sounds to lighting candles and casting images.
Stacey: I just made a mental note to google that one later! What's a funny or silly story you are willing to share with the class?
Jacquelyn: About 7 years ago, when David and I had first moved to Atlanta, we lived in a two story townhouse. I had never lived somewhere with stairs before so I was still getting used to them. The cats had also never lived somewhere with stairs before so they didn't understand that leaving their toys on the stairs was not a safe idea. One evening, I was getting ready to walk down the stairs when I slipped on a cat toy and went full starfish rolling down the stairs. My then fiance now husband had just finished installing our ring cameras earlier that day and caught the event fully on camera. It is very funny watching me roll down the stairs in slow motion with arms and legs fully extended like a starfish. He continues to show the video to our friends on a regular basis.
Stacey: I need to see that video!! What was your most favorite adventure?
Jacquelyn: For our 5 year wedding anniversary, David and I went to a Westin Resort in Hilton Head Island. We spent an entire week there with our cats. We took them to the beach, took them exploring the island with us, had the most amazing food, and played so much mini golf. It was truly one of the best experiences of my life and I am so grateful we got to enjoy that time.
Stacey: Should we talk about work some?
Jacquelyn: Sure, why not!
Stacey: What do you most enjoy about working for Peachtree Restorations?
Jacquelyn: I really love the work that I do and what our company stands for. I'm always so impressed and proud of the work ethic of this company across the board. We always aim to do right by the customer no matter what and it's truly inspirational.
Stacey: What do you think is your most important skill you bring to the Peachtree Team?
Jacquelyn: I've been here for almost 5 years and in my time here I've helped to shape a lot of our process and procedures as well as bringing a different perspective to situations. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees and I try my best to shine light on things that could otherwise be overshadowed or forgotten about.
Stacey: Walk us through a day in your life at work!
Jacquelyn: I start my day by organizing my calendar. I have regular daily tasks that need to get done and sometimes I have projects or meetings that I need to work around so I create a priority list and organize my day based on Urgent Important, Urgent Not Important, Important Not Urgent and Not Important Not Urgent. From there I go through my email and categorize that by what needs to get done and what can wait, etc. From there it's on to my tasks. I update several data sheets and reports, I clean up sections of our CRM, I double check stagnant files, etc. On Fridays I register and email the warranty paperwork to customers whose files were fully paid the week prior. In between tasks I participate in meetings, answer phone calls, answer emails, work on projects, etc.
Stacey: I am going to add your job to the list of things I don't want to do! What about outside of work? Walk us through a day there?
Jacquelyn: My husband is very picky so dinner is not decided until about 4pm every day. If he wants me to cook, I put in a grocery pickup order for the ingredients and grab them from Kroger/Publix on my way home. If he wants to go out I make sure to make the reservations. I have been spending some time after dinner reading my Dungeon Master Manual and preparing lore notes/encounter design/maps for the upcoming weekend's D&D session. We've also been playing a lot of Fortnite with our group lately. Later on in the evening we go to the gym. I like going later because it means that the equipment I like to use is available. On Saturdays I clean our apartment and get the snacks ready in preparation of our friends coming over on Sunday for D&D. Sometimes we have different plans but this has been our life over the last several weeks and it has been an absolute joy.
Stacey: I will patiently await my leftovers from the next dinner!
Jacquelyn: You know I will bring food if you tempt me!
Stacey: Alright, alright, I'll try not to!! This last question is my favorite! What is your most favorite thing about you?
Jacquelyn: I appreciate my passion for things. I think life would be boring if I didn't love and care so deeply about the things that I do. My passions are what keep me going and working and striving. I enjoy having things to look forward to and I enjoy being excited about things, even if they are very nerdy.
Stacey: Jacquelyn! Thank you so much for interviewing with me today! I still want to see that starfish fall video!
Jacquelyn: I need to get it from David. its somewhere in the depths of his phone. This was fun! Thank you!
