As I’ve been mentioning, SouthernDrive will be introducing readers to great people around the South. HEELS & WHEELS is a fun way to connect Southern ladies, cars, and you. There is no way to begin this without our first pair of HEELS, Cheri Leavy.
Cheri and her husband, Vance, publish BullDawg Illistrated and guide2athens. Also, Cheri and another friend have started a new media venture called The Southern Coterie. Husband Vance is part of the Leavy family which has owned and operated The Brunswick News for over 110 year. (That’s not a typo - although I’ll make plenty later). Taking on the challenge of publishing about a publisher is the best way to dive in.
I’ve really gotten to know Cheri through the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation. I take FULL credit for suggesting to the President of the ACHF that the board grab her fast, as she and Vance were wanting to spend more time in Athens. (They live in Athens and St. Simons, but are making Athens their new mainstay). The board reeled her in without breaking the line, and I then insisted that she be the vice-chair on my committee that organizes and oversees the WInter Gala and other events fun events. I’ve done at least four things right in my life, and in chronalogical order they are: Pledge SAE; Marry Eleanor Black; Convince Eleanor to have my children; Get Cheri involved in preservation. WIth Cheri, I just lit the fuse and stood out of the way. These old houses are-a-rock’n now that she is involved. When I say Cheri is a blast, I mean she is an explosion.
Cheri can be seen in Athens driving her black Jeep SUV with her golden retrievers Nola and Musa. Hair flying everywhere and all three faces baring muppet-sized grins. I call her SUV the “Kennel on Wheels”. She drives the Jeep, (normally Vance’s), in Athens because her black BMW is a stick-shift and she does not like shifting gears in the hills of Athens.
Cheri’s teenage car was a sleek little Mazda MX6, but since then she has mostly driven hand-me-down BMW’s from her family. No better used car than a family hand-me-down. Give her a good stereo and a place for her sunglasses and she is pretty happy in a car - and of coarse make room for Nola and Musa. (BTW, Musa had once been grabbed and taken under by a gator. Nola and Vance distracted the gator and Musa slipped out. Dawgs 1 - Gators 0). Remarkable teamwork.
Cheri’s dream car would be some sort of BMW convertible, but as she told me, “your car usually fits the phase of life you are in at the time”. I know her life will fit that convertible one day. I want her to have one so more people can see her big smile as she drives by and waves. She will probably even have that old classic Grand Wagoneer that she describes as the epitome of a southern family car.
This girl has that SouthernDrive with the optional turbo. You will know when Cheri is in the room and you will always be glad she’s there. First you hear the laugh, then you see the smile.
For more on this Southern girl, check out Cheri’s links to everything…
www.bulldawgillustrated.com, www.guide2s.com, thesouthernc.tumblr.com/, www.thebrunswicknews.com/
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