The Love of Here | Life and Work in Northwest Georgia

What happens when you realize time with your kids at home is running short — and how do you chase a career you love without losing yourself in the guilt? Caroline Frost is the Development Director for Junior Achievement of Georgia in Northwest Georgia, a wife, and a mom of three. She sat down with us to share her Dalton story — from growing up here and graduating in a class of 26, to chasing something new in Dodge City, Kansas, to coming home with a fresh appreciation for Southern hospitality and the green hills of Northwest Georgia. Caroline opens up about falling into nonprofit work by accident, the mentor who believed in her before she believed in herself, and what it looks like to balance a career you're passionate about with raising three kids across very different stages of life. We talk about mom guilt, imposter syndrome, social media vs. reality, the power of having just one mom friend, and why the queso at El Maguey is impossible to beat. HIGHLIGHTS Caroline's realization that the high school…

The Love of Here challenges the idea that northwest Georgia has nothing to do by sharing local stories that matter. You don’t need a bigger city—just a better lens.

What happens when a college president decides that higher education shouldn't just be about degrees — it should be about building a community from the ground up? Dr. John Fuchko, president of Dalton State College, sits down with hosts Lauren Sneary and Erika Mosteller to share how he landed in Dalton, why he sees the college as an economic and cultural engine for Northwest Georgia, and what's driving unprecedented growth and collaboration across the region's educational institutions. From record enrollment numbers and nationally ranked student experience to a groundbreaking charter school initiative that blends classical education with Finnish learning models, Dr. Fuchko makes the case that investing in education is really about investing in people — and that the best way to predict a community's future is to look at how it educates its children. Along the way, the conversation covers everything from coffee shops in libraries to the power of a good story, the art of professional etiquette, and why reading…

What happens when a Tennessee girl moves to a small Georgia town and discovers it's the perfect place to become an entrepreneur — twice? That's exactly what happened when Janie Hayes relocated from Murfreesboro to Dalton. What started as a move closer to her husband's family quickly turned into a journey of community engagement, business ownership, and a profound rethinking of what it means to be rich. Janie sat down with us to share how a neighborly text message ("Ready, set, quit our day jobs") launched Nickel & Hops, a mobile beverage trailer serving mocktails, coffee, and dirty sodas — and how that first leap gave her the confidence to open Studio Bend, a Pilates and yoga studio in downtown Dalton. Along the way, she opens up about the losses that reshaped her relationship with time, the beauty of gathering women together, and why Dalton's size, location, and people make it a place she'll never leave. HIGHLIGHTS How a single TikTok of a coffee trailer turned into buying a green beverage trailer within…

What does it take to make a small city a place people choose — not just to work, but to stay, to raise kids, and to build something that lasts? Anna Adamson has been wrestling with that question for years, and the answers are more layered than you might expect. From bringing a Junior Achievement Discovery Center to the smallest community in the country to ever open one, to poring over housing data that explains why Target never came to town, to piloting construction technology that can frame a house in a single day — Anna's work with Believe Greater Dalton and the Florin Capital Development Corporation sits at the intersection of data, relationships, and long-term vision. We trace her unlikely path back to Dalton, unpack the housing challenges facing the region, tour the projects going vertical right now, and explore the Vision Dalton Master Plan that could reshape the urban core. Along the way we talk about the "jewels" that make Dalton extraordinary, why connection is the real theme of this conversation,…

Have you ever met someone who doesn't just love a place, but sees its people, its potential, and its story all at once? That's exactly who we're sitting down with today. Lauren and Erika welcome Allyson Coker — former Executive Director of Believe Greater Dalton and current Executive Director of the Whitfield Health Care Foundation — for a conversation about roots, reinvention, and what it really takes to build a community. Allyson shares her family's deep ties to Dalton (including her dad's tenure as mayor), her winding career path from Washington D.C. politics to Fiji Water's early days, and how she found her way back home to raise her kids. She opens up about being a "professional dot connector" behind projects like Walton Fields housing development, and gets personal about her own breast cancer diagnosis and how it's shaping her current work launching a mobile mammography unit through the Peeples Cancer Institute. It's a warm, honest conversation about faith, family, philanthropy, and why Dalton keeps…

What does it take to build a hometown people can't seem to leave? In this episode, we sit down with David Aft, President of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia, to talk about what he calls the "Dalton differences": short commutes, civic engagement, and a town full of people who showed up planning to stay a few years and never left. From building Burr Park with a single donor's million-dollar check to reviving the historic Dalton Depot, David shares the stories behind Dalton's transformation — plus a few unexpected moments from his travels that prove Dalton's reputation truly does get around. HIGHLIGHTS David shares how he moved to Dalton in 1996 for a job with the United Way and never left The "Dalton differences": short commutes and how that time gave him decades with his family David's philosophy on civic engagement — you don't start at the top, you just start showing up The origin story of the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia and David's nearly 24-year career there How the foundation…

Ever wondered what it takes to put a small county on the map — not to mention get the attention of Hollywood, HGTV, and out-of-state investors in the process? On this episode of the Love of Here podcast, Lauren and Erika sit down with Barry Gentry, president of the Murray County Chamber of Commerce, to talk about how one "wrong turn" led to a mission of building up Murray County from the ground up. Barry shares the real story behind Murray's growth — from landing a Taylor Sheridan film production and HGTV star Chip Wade's tree house Airbnbs, to recruiting national retailers, building a new hospital, and creating a slogan ("Hurry to Murray!") that's stuck ever since. It's a candid, funny, and heartfelt conversation about grassroots economic development, believing in your community before the world does, and building something for the next generation — not just for today. Highlights Barry's journey from a chamber in Iowa to becoming president of the Murray County Chamber of Commerce How Murray County landed a…

What happens when a sport becomes the soul of a city? That's exactly what you'll discover in this conversation with Juan and Todd, co-hosts of Monday Night Futbol — the show that has been hyping local soccer players and chronicling Dalton's rise as Soccer Town, USA for five seasons. From the Mexican League games of the early '80s to FIFA-size fields, Atlanta United scouting visits, and a World Cup viewing party at Burr Park, this episode traces the full arc of how soccer became Dalton's identity — and where it's headed next. Highlights The Mexican League started in Dalton as early as 1982–83, making it one of the earliest organized adult soccer communities in the region Young players — some as young as 15 — played against 30-year-old men in the Mexican League, and that competition is what forged Dalton High's championship pedigree Dalton's first state soccer championship was in 2003, and from 2013 onward they've won nearly every year In 2021, Dalton, Southeast, and Coahulla Creek all won state championships…

What makes the city you hated become the place you call home — and then spend years working to make it that way for everyone else? That's the quiet, powerful question at the heart of this conversation with Marisa Kelley, president of the Dalton-Whitfield NAACP. Marisa arrived in Dalton in 2014, hated it (her words — two thumbs down), and couldn't find her community. Fast forward 12 years, and she's one of the most visible, invested leaders in the city, organizing what may be the largest two-weekend Juneteenth celebration in the country. We talk about what changed, how the NAACP's work is for everyone, and why Juneteenth is one of the most American celebrations there is. Oh, and we also celebrate a little milestone of our own: one year of Hear Local Media. Highlights Marisa arrived in Dalton in 2014 and hated it — no community, no places that felt like hers. Downtown's revitalization was the turning point that made her want to stay. She became NAACP president after a friend told her she was "a little too…

What does it take to go from washing dishes at your mom's café in Dalton, Georgia to landing on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in the country? Chef Josh Taylor knows. Raised in Dalton, Josh discovered his love of food early — scrubbing pots at his mother's Sweet Basil Café and later pulling shifts at West Walnut Café before chasing a music career took him from Athens to Park City, Utah, and eventually to Charleston, South Carolina. It was in Charleston that he opened Lost Isle, a fully outdoor, live-fire restaurant fusing Southern comfort with Southeast Asian flavors — and the culinary world took notice fast. In just over two years, Lost Isle earned a spot on The New York Times 50 Best Restaurants list and was named Southern Living's Restaurant of the Year. Josh sits down with us to talk about his Dalton roots, the road that led him to a career in food, and what it's really like to build a restaurant from the ground up. Highlights Josh's first kitchen job was washing dishes at his mom's…

Comedy is the best when someone holds up a mirror to what we would normally ignore and highlight the absurdity of it. That's exactly what our guest, the enigmatic creator behind the Instagram account @carpetcapitalmemes, has been doing for years. With 11,000+ followers and memes that make locals laugh, argue, and feel seen, "Johnny Carpet" has built something genuinely special for Northwest Georgia. We sat down to find out who's behind the account, why they came back to Dalton after leaving, and what they really think about Murray County. HIGHLIGHTS • Johnny Carpet is a Dalton native — born at Hamilton Medical Center, went to school here, left, and eventually came back with fresh eyes and a new appreciation for the region. • The account started as jokes in a guys' group chat that quickly got out of hand (in the best way). • The comedy rule guiding it all: punch up, never punch down. Positivity attracts more in the long run. • The most viral post? A meme about everyone in Northwest Georgia claiming to be…

What if the thing that changed your life started with a stranger posting their run on Instagram? That's exactly how Soal Running Club came to be — and now it's changing the culture of wellness in Dalton, one Saturday morning at a time. We sat down with founders Geovanni (Geo) Villa and Jorge (Jorgey) Hurtado to talk about how two childhood soccer rivals reconnected through running, why they opened the club to everyone regardless of pace, and what makes Dalton feel like home even after you leave. HIGHLIGHTS Geo and Jorgey met as kids playing for the East Ridge Express, a travel soccer team out of Chattanooga, and later became rivals at Northwest and Southeast high schools. A college ankle injury ended Geo's soccer career but ultimately pushed him toward running — and eventually, reconnecting with Jorgey. The Bill Gregory race was Jorgey's first eye-opener to competitive running — he thought his soccer fitness would carry him and learned quickly that running is its own beast. Soal started in 2023 with just a…

What does it actually look like to travel the world for work — and still choose northwest Georgia as home? Ashlea Snell of Snell Photography has photographed weddings and commercial shoots across Europe, the Caribbean, Africa, and beyond — with her work featured in People, Gardening Gun, and the New York Times. But when it came time to plant roots, she and her husband Tyler chose Dalton, Georgia. In this conversation, Ashlea opens up about building a business from a tax refund and a borrowed camera, the moment Tyler almost lost a $5,000 drone over the ocean in Maui, and why she believes the community you're looking for might just be waiting for you to reach out first. She also shares her heart for kids in foster care and how anyone — not just foster parents — can make a difference in Whitfield County. Highlights Ashlea was one of the earliest supporters of the Dalton magazine, and her photography has been central to its vision from the start She and Tyler built their photography business from a single tax…

What does it look like when you hike 2,000 miles, fall in love, move across the country, and somehow end up exactly where you were meant to be? Amanda Michaels-Brown and Chris Brown didn't plan to plant roots in Dalton, Georgia — but Dalton had other plans. From a chance college connection to a tragedy that revealed the power of community, their story is a reminder that the place you come home to shapes you in ways you never expect. Amanda leads the Creative Arts Guild, one of Georgia's oldest multidisciplinary arts nonprofits, and Chris founded Dalton Brewing Company with friends while working as a lawyer at Geiger Legal. Together, they've become two of the most invested voices in Dalton's revitalization. Highlights Amanda and Chris were born in the same hospital in Syracuse, New York — but didn't meet until their first semester at the University of the South (Sewanee), connected through a mutual friend from Dalton The two hiked the entire Appalachian Trail together after college before deciding to build a…

What does it take to fall in love with the place you live? And then actually stay? In our first episode of the Love of Here podcast, hosts Lauren Sneary and Erika Mosteller sit down together to share their own Dalton stories. One grew up here and swore she'd leave. The other moved here reluctantly and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Together, they explore why Northwest Georgia deserves a better story — and why they're committed to telling it. Highlights Lauren and Erika introduce themselves and share why they launched a podcast to tell the untold good-news stories of Dalton and Northwest Georgia Erika reflects on how she adopted the "nothing to do here" narrative when she moved to Dalton — and how that story simply isn't true Lauren admits she was fully committed to leaving Dalton after college and recounts the summers bartending at the Dalton Depot that kept pulling her back Both hosts get real about Dalton's imperfections — from economic disparity to cultural divides — while making the case that the…