Meet Leslie Frierson! Leslie is the principle at Centennial Arts Academy and longtime Gainesville resident.
“I moved to Gainesville in 1992 when I was a student at the University of Georgia. My father was a Methodist minister and he was appointed to Gainesville United Methodist Church, so when I was in college my family moved here and after I graduated…this was my home base,” she said.
Leslie and her husband, Chip, just celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary.
We want to thank Leslie for spending some time with us recently to share more about her life and love of Hall County.
Question: What inspired you to become a teacher and then a principal?
Answer: “I think that growing with a father who was a minister and a mother was a paraprofessional, I think I’ve always been surrounded by people that were in service professions. It was just in my blood and I think I always wanted to be a teacher…I kept being drawn back to education through college and clubs in college, I was always drawn toward working with elementary aged children. I think I have a niche at working with them, having fun and engaging with them in learning opportunities.”
Q: What is your favorite restaurant in Hall County, and what do you love there?
A: “We eat out every single meal, so there is not one restaurant in Hall County I do not like.”
Q: Who is the most interesting person you have met in Hall County?
A: “The most interesting person I have met in Hall County would have to be my father-in-law Charlie, he was a true people person. Charlie and my mother-in-law, Joanne made me fall in love with Gainesville even more.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And Why?
A: “Right now I am really wanting to go to Greece.”
Q: What is your favorite movie or what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
A: “The first movie I really remember going to see was either ‘Grease’ or ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and I would have been in maybe second grade.”
Q: “Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? Where in Hall County would you have lunch?
A: “My favorite musical artist are the Indigo Girls, so I would probably want to go have lunch with Amy and Emily and just go to the Flying Biscuit.”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “I just love that it is just a beautiful place, you’ve got the lake and mountains, it’s close to Atlanta and not too far from the beach. I just love how Hall County has the perfect location.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “I have six more years before I am able to retire, in five years I hope I am still in education and thinking about what is coming next in my life.”
Q: What three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the words HOME?
A: “Family, laughter, and a comfortable place.”
The Faces of Hall County is a project to showcase the amazing people that live or work in our community. If you would like to nominate an interesting person to be featured please email babernathy@gonorton.com.