A Dream Come True!!!

Oh my word, Wednesday ranks right up there with one of the best days ever for me!    After, of course, my wedding day and the birth of my children.   It was a dream come true really.  Are you ready for this??  I had lunch with Paula Deen!!! I sat beside her ... She ate off my plate ...  It was so much fun.  And let me just say, she was kind, gracious, and funny.  I honestly felt like I had known her all my life.   This is what she said to me when she met me "Crevolyn (pronounced correctly, by the way), it is such a pleasure to you.  I've heard so much about you."  What? Excuse me?  Obviously, our friend Jeff had given her some background but seriously?

Here is how it all happened ... Darrell had a message on his voicemail at work from Jeff  who works for a local poultry producer, Fieldale Farms that there was an opportunity to have a "visit" with Paula on Wednesday mid-day at the Chattahoochee Country Club.  We immediately said - oh yes, we're there!!  We had no idea if there was going to be a ballroom full of people or exactly what.  Turns out, there were 10 of us in the room for lunch: my family; two of our JandJ associates;  Jeff; Paula's food brand manager; Paula and her husband, Michael.  That was it.  They wanted to talk to us about partnering with Fieldale's brand, Springer Mountain Farms' chicken and Paula's brand.  Paula has been the spokesperson for Springer Mountain for about two years.    We already sell this product in our Limestone store but they are expanding the brand to include some of Paula's sauces, rotisserie chickens, rubs, spices and mixes.  All were developed in Paula's kitchen.  These should be in our stores very soon!

Honestly, I'm still pinching myself that this even happened.  It was such a thrill for me!  Here are a few photos to document this wonderful occasion!

Paula and our family.

This is Paula and I solving the world's problems.

Oh, funny story.  As we were talking, she mentioned Stiver's Best corn meal that she loved but couldn't find.    Darrell told her that we had it in our store and she wanted to come by and get some.  We had her a little to-go bag ready full of her favorite!  This was taken in the parking lot at the Limestone store.

And that, friends and family, is how one perfectly ordinary day turned into a HUGE day in the life of this girl!  Love that Paula! 
And many thanks to our friend, Jeff who arranged this meeting!