REGINA COCHRAN

This is a short Q and A with Regina Cochran, Principal Partner Abernathy Cochran Group at The Norton Agency.

Please tell us a little bit about your family.

I am the wife of Broughton Cochran.  The mother of two daughters Christina White and Julie Bingham and grandmother to Palmer and Parker. We are a family that loves to travel, make homemade ice cream and chocolate chunk cookies.

Please tell us about your current career.  Thing you love most about what you do.

I love being with people and learning from them.  My career in real estate sales brings me in contact with people from all walks of life. I consider my career a new adventure every day.

Question: What inspired you or led you to your current career?

Answer: My career began before I even knew it had!  I started working at a real estate office in Cumming, Georgia, while I was a teenager.  This was the time of carbon paper, typewriters, and xerox machines. The keys to listings were kept in the real estate office, and the agent had to pick up the key and return them after the showing.

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in Hall County?

A: I can never get enough of the food at 2Dog Cafe. The food is always so fresh, and it makes me feel that I am treating my body to healthy eating. But no one can think of 2Dog without smiling because of Tim, Tina and Dean, and all of the quality, friendly servers.

Brunch is a favorite meal for my family and me on Saturday or Sunday, and Avocados Restaurant is where I take them.  Eggs Benedict and avocado salad is always a treat and maybe a mimosa because it is a classic brunch cocktail.

Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?

A: My husband and our two daughters moved from Savannah to Gainesville in 1979.  We have lived and worked here since then.  Gainesville is where we call home.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?

A:  The late Tom Jarrard was an attorney in Gainesville. He was a true southern gentleman who sometimes wore boots and loved music.  He and his wife Nancy raised a beautiful family, and Tom was my husband’s dear friend.   I have always admired Tom and Nancy and their children.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?

A:  I have taken the opportunity to travel as an adult.   For some reason, Africa has always called my name. Maybe it was from watching Tarzan growing up.  My sister Lisa and I made the trip to Tanzania in 2014. We saw the great migration of the wildebeest; it was the most fantastic adventure I have ever experienced.  I want to make that trip again with as many family members as possible.   I want to have the opportunity to see people I love experiencing the vastness of the Serengeti and the animals in the wild.

Q: What is one of your favorite movies?  TV shows?

A:  My favorite movie is Thorn Birds, based in the Australian Outback starring Richard Chamberlain and Barbara Stanwyck.

I love the TV show Survivor!  I enjoy watching the people on this show season after season is a lot of fun.  We, humans, are very interesting to watch.

Q: What advice would you give to people?

A: Always find joy in everyday.

Q: What is something on your bucket list?

A: I want to see Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids in Egypt, and I want to go back to Jerusalem.

Q: What is your go to band when you can’t decide what to listen to?

A: No favorite band. I enjoy old gospel hymns most of all because I know the words to so many.     I was introduced to Lauren Daigle by my niece Breanna, and I can not stop listening to “I Will Rescue You.”

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?

A: Woolworth’s lunch counter. It makes me smile just to think about it.

Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch?  Why?  And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?

A: I would like to have lunch with Laura Bush.  I want to have this lunch at a friend’s home so that I could share the experience.  I think Laura Bush would embrace a quiet lunch, and she could share a lot of wisdom.

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?

A: Our community is filled with people with the spirit of giving and always willing to help.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?

A: Having good health and the ability to travel the world!

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

A: My daughter Julie and I were in Ireland in a village near the Blarney Castle around 1990.  We heard a lot of singing and young children leading what looked like a small parade. Julie and I were curious and they came right passed us, and in the car, about 2 feet in front of us was Mother Teresa.  She had just dedicated an orphanage in the village. The right place at the right time!

Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

A: Comfort, Joy and Love

Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?

A: The Catherine Palace in Saint Parkersburg, Russia.

Q: If you were cast in a movie and could choose your costar, who would it be?

A: Richard Gere.

Q: Favorite month?  holiday?  and best single day on the calendar?

A: April because I love the beginning of new life, Spring.  Easter.

Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?

A: If I had a small beach house of my own where friends could often visit, this little shack by the sea would be a place you would never want to leave because we would be sharing our love for life and family—just pure joy.

Q: Who inspires you to be better?

A: My husband and children inspire me because I have never wanted to disappoint them.

Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?

A: Jasmine and mint.

Q: If a movie was made of your life, who would you want to play you?

A: Diane Keaton.

Q: What is the best thing about being a part of our real estate group?

A: The strength that each of us brings and our knowledge together gives outstanding service to our clients.