Meet Jim Grier, Lula’s new Mayor! Jim and his wife of 11 years, Marilyn want to bring a fresh sense of community in Lula after moving to the area permanently in 2003. Jim grew up in Atlanta on North Druid Hills, but spent his weekends and summers with his grandparents in Lula. He said feels like “he got the best of both worlds” growing up; which is why he decided to run for mayor last year.
“…I realized that our community needed somebody to help solve problems, to help bring people together as a community, and to plan our future, to find out what we want and how to get it,” Grier said.
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jim and ask him some questions about his love for serving others to share with fellow members of our community.
Question: What inspired you or led you to become Lula Mayor?
Answer: “That’s an interesting question. I have been fortunate enough to have three careers in my life. First, I was an engineer because I like to solve problems, the second was a manager and business owner in Real Estate where I was able to solve problems, and most recently I realized that our community needed somebody to help solve problems, to help bring people together as a community, and to plan our future, to find out what we want and how to get it.”
Q: What do you love most about Lula?
A: “The small town feel. The history, the heritage. There are a lot of families with deep family roots like I do, going back three or four generations.”
Q: What is one thing you would like to accomplish as Mayor?
A: “It would be to bring the people of Lula back together as a community again, the same way it was when my grandparents and great grandparents were living there, raising children. People were close, you knew your neighbors and had real connections in the community.”
Q: How long have you lived and worked in Hall County?
A: “Well, I have worked here off and on for decades. I moved into my present home in 2003. The home has been in my family since 1895.”
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: “I love to travel. At the top of my list, I actually got to go to Austria in 2016. Probably the second on the list would be a little town in the southern part of Italy called Foggia. My dad in World War 2 traveled through Northern Africa, into Sicily, Italy, England, and France and into Germany. The only place he ever talked about wanting to go back to was that part of Italy. He never made it back but I would really like to go there to see what he thought was so special about it. He actually met a friend of his from Lula there at the town fountain. Can you imaging seeing someone from home, all the way around the world during that time? He said it gave him hope that he would once again see his family and friends back in Lula.”
Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: “The first movie I remember going to see in the theater was ‘Goldfinger,’ so that began my fascination with all things James Bond. I also love ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou,’ and probably ‘The Shining.”
Q: What is your favorite music/bands?
A: “My taste in music is so eclectic. I love everything from Blue Grass to Gospel to Big Band and swing music. I like Classical. I would enjoy just about anything from Ricky Skaggs to Glen Miller.”
Q: What former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Hall County?
A: “I always loved to go with my dad to the Frierson’s clothing store. Just the smell of that store and the feel of the friendly folks was something that was important to me. But I guess my favorite would be Clyde and Ruby Pirkle’s little store there in Belton, now the north end of Lula. My cousins and I would walk from my grandparents’ house up there and as we were walking we would collect bottles and collect the deposit when we got to the store. On a good day we could buy a comic book and a coke and maybe a candy bar, too.”
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
A: “Travel would be one thing. But really, trying to get all of my children, their spouses, and grandchildren all together at one place before my funeral.”
Q: What is your favorite thing about Hall County?
A: “The variety you find here. You find really interesting people whether its through business or church related or whatever. There are so many recreational opportunities, everything from kayaking to Formula One racing.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?
A: “I just started my first term as mayor and I have been focused on how I am going to make a difference in these next four years. I don’t know that I have really had the time to stop and think about the next five years after that.”
Q: What is something interesting most people don’t know about you?
A: “I was the travel manager for the US Paralympic Soccer Team from 1993 to 2002 and as part of that experience, I actually got to play soccer in the Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, where the World Cup was held in 1950 and 2014.”
Q: What are three words or phrases that come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
A: “Family, Friends, and Fun.”
Interview by Abernathy Cochran Real Estate Group Realtor: Ricky Lewallen
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.