Biographical information
I was raised in South Carolina, Delaware, Washington state, and Alabama.
I graduated from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, before it became a school of Vanderbilt.
My degree was in mathematics with a minor in Spanish and I taught for two years in New Orleans.
From 1971 to 1984 I had an accounting career with a prestigious corporation in San Francisco. During that time I also completed a course in professional locksmithing which I practised for some years. I co-owned and managed apartment buildings and a neighborhood bar.
In 1984 I returned to east Tennessee after falling in love with a small hollow up near Rogersville. For four years there I wrote, waited tables, managed a movie theater, built a turnkey business for a local investor, did some locksmithing, and raised a fine garden - among other things.
In mid-1988 I moved to Oak Ridge to be nearer my parents who had retired here rather than be transferred again. For the next 14 months I worked as an independent handyman, principally for real estate agents, until I could find a job I could afford to take. During that time I volunteered for an EQAB committee and began meeting the people of Oak Ridge. It didn't take long to discover that I had found a genuine Home Town kind of place to put down roots.
In late 1989 I went to work for Bechtel National and began to learn what the missions of the continuing federal endeavors were here. I moved from the accounting group to the FUSRAP project as training manager. During that service, I learned a great deal about Deming's principles of management and got certifications to conduct leadership training and employee development courses.
When the FUSRAP project ended, I found myself once again self-employed, this time as a workforce development trainer and consultant. For the past 7 years I have primarily been occupied by being a wife, business partner, and caregiver.
I am a member of United Church Chapel on the Hill, the AAUW, and newly the League of Women Voters. For 10 years I served on the Oak Ridge Beer Permit Board, for part of that time as chairman. I have been a member of the Chamber of Commerce as an individual professional and as a corporate member. My husband TJ Garland and I established the metal recycling company Noble Metals, Inc. which is located in the industrial area of Brisbane Road next to the animal shelter.
People have asked why I decided to run for city council. First, it is because I can. I have the time, experience, and enthusiasm for the work. I have friends and acquaintances who are generous in their contributions of knowledge and advice who have been here longer or have been more involved with city workings. I am interested in finding a path toward the future for this city which combines the strengths of the past, present, and future.