Happy Women’s History Month
In the words of Beyonce, “Who runs the world? GIRLS!” Here at Puckett’s we know just how true that statement is. Women are the backbone of our organization, and we’re excited to highlight just a handful of these ladies.
Starting off strong with our President - Claire Crowell
Claire is one of the most inspiring women you will ever meet. Not only is she our president, but she is also the eldest daughter of our owners Andy and Jan Marshall. Claire has been with Puckett’s since the very start in Leiper’s Fork. From stocking shelves, to serving, then managing and opening new locations Claire has done it all. In addition to working her way up through the ranks with AMH, Claire also owns her own ice cream shop Hattie Jane’s Creamery, which can be found in Columbia, Murfreesboro, and Nashville.
If all of that wasn’t enough to celebrate, Claire is the mother of 2 amazing daughters who are active in their local 4H program, and their family has a mini homestead farm where they raise cows, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and pigs. She also helps coach her daughter’s soccer team, works out regularly, and has aspirations to write her own book. This woman does it all!
Claire is admired across our company for her approachability, knowledge of the industry, dedication to the Puckett’s standards, and philanthropic efforts. She serves on several boards and is active in community organizations across the middle Tennessee area. Every day she leads our Puckett’s Restaurant, Scout’s Pub, and Deacon’s New South teams with grace and determination.
Thank you for all you do, Madame President!
Next up our Director of Finance - Jessica Wilson
Jessica is a powerhouse and wealth of knowledge when it comes to finances. She knows all of the ins and outs when it comes to budgets, taxes, P&L sheets, daily operations, and more. Her most admirable feature is that Jessica will share everything she knows with anyone interested in learning. She has the patience of a saint and will sit with you and walk through a budget line by line to help sort through problems and answer even the simplest of questions.
Not only does Jessica hold our teams accountable with their finances, she is also the mother to an amazing, hockey-playing son. Jessica will leave work and then spend her evenings at the hockey rink for practices and games. She sometimes will even take her computer and work while her son practices. Her family travels regularly to places like Atlanta and Michigan for hockey tournaments. Jessica’s love and dedication to her family radiates off her anytime you speak with her.
Balancing work and life can be a difficult task, but Jessica has found that sweet spot. She is a shining example of how patience and the willingness to help others is not a weakness but are traits that make you stand out and successful.
Our next strong woman, the newly promoted Director of Operations and People - Jami Blainey
You’re going to notice a trend with many of the women on our teams, they’ve done multiple jobs within our organization and most are also mothers. Jami is no exception to that rule. Newly promoted to Director of Operations and People, Jami has held multiple roles with Puckett’s and A. Marshall Hospitality. From managing at the now closed Americana Taphouse and then Puckett’s Restaurant - Franklin to Director of People for all of our AMH restaurants and now our new Director of Operations and People.
Jami has an amazing little boy who is the light of her world. Like the two ladies mentioned previously, Jami has also found the perfect balance between work and her home life. She even shares some of the sweetest pictures and memories of her son with our teams, which always brings a smile.
The teams admire Jami and trust her to handle all types of situations. Having been a manager previously, Jami has the first hand knowledge of what our Puckett’s managers deal with on a daily basis, and she also understands what the servers work through day in and day out. She understands the type of havoc an unresolved problem in one of the restaurants can cause. Jami has done an impressive job of building trust across all of our locations and helps all of our employees, from servers and hosts all the way to home office employees, Jami is our go-to for training, problem solving, and a listening ear.
Let’s get creative with our Creative Director - Amy Whidby
We’re going to round out our employee highlights with one of our longest tenured employees, our beautifully talented and amazing Creative Director Amy Whidby. Amy has been with our company since the Leiper’s Fork days. She started as a contract employee and helped with menu designs, logos, and even booked our live music acts. Fast forward to present day and while Amy is still designing logos, formatting menus, and handling all of our graphic and creative designs, she’s also overseen and shot multiple stylized shoots, designed new product labels for our upcoming launch in Sam’s Club, and is the protector of the Puckett’s (and AMH) brand.
Amy enjoys her work, but there are three things she loves more: her sweet husband (whose handiwork can also be found in our restaurants), her three adorable golden retrievers, and RVing. Amy is a camping queen! Her and her husband love to take their RV and dogs for adventures all over the state. It’s her quiet reset and a chance to soak up the beauty of this amazing place we call home.
Amy’s passion for her work shows in everything she does. She takes pride in everything she creates; whether it’s an ad for a magazine, branding for a new concert series, or simply ensuring the correct fonts and colors are used, Amy will settle for no less than perfect. The entire Puckett’s team knows to go to Amy when they need anything designed or created. Not only is Amy efficient and wildly talented, but she treats everyone with respect and a beautiful smile on her face.
All the other ladies!
I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention some of the other amazing ladies who work for our wonderful company. Like I mentioned at the start of this piece, this company is run by so many talented and inspiring women. I could honestly write a book about them, there are so many. Here are just a few of the other women and their roles in A Marshall Hospitality, Puckett’s Restaurant, Scout’s Pub, and Deacon’s New South.
Pam Smith - Training & Hospitality Manager
Kerry Cicero - VP of Marketing
Graci Burnett - Marketing Manager
Maddie Painter - Marketing Coordinator
Kylie Oglesby - HR Director
Emily Conner - Executive Assistant to Andy Marshall
Rebecca Messner - Catering & Events Booking Manager
Taryn Jones - Catering & Events Assistant
Heather Cooney - AMH Billing
Lupe Martinez - Senior Kitchen Manager
Meb Tujague - Manager at Scout’s Pub
Chelsea Newsome - General Manager at Puckett’s Franklin
Kellie Gonzales - Manager at Puckett’s Franklin
Delaney Uttermark - Manager at Puckett’s Franklin
Alyssa Snyder - Assistant General Manager at Puckett’s Chattanooga
Codi Nix - Manager at Puckett’s Chattanooga
Yaki Reynoso - Kitchen Manager at Puckett’s Chattanooga
Antonia Castro - Kitchen Manager at Puckett’s Columbia
Lisa Thaxton - Manager at Puckett’s Columbia
Amy Holland - Manager at Puckett’s Murfreesboro
Caitlin Smith - Manager at Puckett’s Murfreesboro
Tara Mills - Manager at Puckett’s Pigeon Forge
Christina Collins - Events & Catering Sales Manager at Puckett’s Pigeon Forge
Courtney Haston - Manager at Puckett’s Hendersonville
Emilee Ingram - Manager at Puckett’s Hendersonville
Alexa Aguilar - Kitchen Manager at Puckett’s Nashville
Michelle Wilks - Assistant General Manager at Puckett’s Cullman
Justina Watson - Assistant Kitchen Manager at Puckett’s Cullman
Plus all of our amazing and hard working hosts, servers, cooks, and dishwashers at each and every one of our restaurant locations! We couldn’t do this without all of these fantastic women.
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Written by: Graci Burnett
Marketing Manager, A. Marshall Hospitality
Graci has been part of the AMH family since 2015, and when she’s not keeping the marketing train chugging along, you might find her out on a hike soaking in mountain views, cheering on the Vols (GBO!), catching a live music festival or spending time with her family.