After a storied career, Laura Kelley is officially retired. Looking back, she said that life is all about chapters. Some short, some long, but there’s usually a common theme, which in her case, is her unique ability to write, and her steadfast dedication to her family. Her biggest advice for others: If you’re bored, learn something new. Life can change fast too– in just a few years, she went from working at a ski resort in Colorado to becoming the director of communications for a hospital system. 

Chapter 1: Humble beginnings 

Laura had no idea what to do after graduating from Emory with a history degree. But she knew she could read and write, which led her to cold-call the Auburn-Opelika newspaper and ask for a job– Not any job in particular, just a job. They hired her on the spot as a proofreader. A few weeks in, Laura realized she could write as well as, if not better than, the staff reporters, so she decided to teach herself how to write for the paper by reading and analyzing articles. 

Eventually the newspaper needed a reporter and Laura was in the right place at the right time. She was charged with covering a federal court case against the Lee County Board of Education, wherein the school board had allegedly engaged in a wide range of activities “designed to maintain segregated public education throughout the State.” This article earned Laura a full time promotion to reporter and a regular beat following the Opelika police department. Her biggest story was following a natural gas explosion at the Kopper Kettle restaurant, which decimated downtown Auburn. Thankfully Laura got to report that no one died. 

In an age where everyone read the newspaper, the community collectively recognized Laura’s writing skills, which helped her land a job as a feature writer for Auburn’s public relations department. Her articles now had an even wider reach, and were picked up by several newspapers around the state and at least one was included in the Auburn football program.  Laura said this was her favorite job ever because she had the freedom to write about anything she wanted. But eventually, that freedom was no longer enough and she looked West for her next adventure. 

Chapter 2: Laura Kelley, master of her own destiny 

With a sense of adventure and without a plan, Laura moved to Breckenridge, Colorado, to work in the ski ticket office; partly because it would afford her the ability to go skiing every day.   Outside of the ski season, Laura worked a series of odd jobs. One year, her roommate got her a job with the city’s water department, where Laura led special projects like painting fire hydrants and color-coding various pipes. Another winter, it didn’t snow until January, and Laura had to take a job at Pizza Hut while she desperately waited for snow so the ski resort could reopen. 

She never gave up on her writing though, and took a freelance job working at the local paper. Her most memorable piece was writing about the resurrection of the Tabor Opera House, a small theater that had hosted famous acts like Buffalo Bill and Harry Houdini during Leadville’s mining boom in the late 1800’s. While not directly a result of Laura’s article, the theater’s ongoing resurrection has been well covered by the national media, including a segment on 60 Minutes. 

While visiting her parents back home in Auburn, her neighbor told her that getting an MBA was “the key to doing whatever you want, ” which sounded pretty enticing. So after exhausting her dream of skiing every day, she mailed off applications to the University of Colorado, William and Mary, and Wake Forest. 

Chapter 3:  Going Corporate 

After being accepted at all three MBA programs she applied to, Laura enrolled at Wake Forest and moved to Winston-Salem. Business school wasn’t what she expected though– Laura was a gifted writer and the school’s “case study” method didn’t jive with her. The program didn’t have lectures or textbooks (her preferred learning method); instead the professors would go around the room with pop-quiz style questions, and then base your grade on your answers. By the one-year mark, several students had flunked out, and Laura was considering quitting too. She called her dad but before she could get a word in, she clearly remembers him telling her “I’ll be proud of you no matter what.” This gave her the courage to push forward and rise to the top of the class. 

Shortly after graduating, Laura accepted her first corporate job as an assistant product manager for Wachovia. It was an important position but stymied by layers and layers of management. One of her big projects was redesigning the customer monthly statement but none of the other departments would agree on which font to use, leaving Laura stuck in the middle. Later on, the arguments centered around whether Y2K was really going to be the end of the world, and if so, how Laura should communicate that to clients. It wasn’t the sort of creative writing she was looking for though, so she looked for a window out as the company was going through a tough merger.  

This led to her next  job as the marketing and public relations director for a small psychiatric hospital system. She got the professional writing experience she had been looking for, however this company ended up having their own corporate problems too. Over a period of just six years, the hospital changed names three times, and Laura had to restart the whole name change PR campaign again. On top of that, the system had just gone through a leveraged buyout, which led to new stresses and pressures that were impeding on her precious family time. 

Chapter 4: Family First

Just after I was born, my mom decided to wholeheartedly focus on her highest calling, being a mother. She (temporarily) left behind her successful career to take Erin and me to Sciworks, Discovery Zone, Shaffner Park, and, if we were good, McDonalds. She never stopped writing, though this time she wrote newsletters and marketing materials for my dad’s construction company, Reliable Builders. 

After I started Kindergarten, Laura had more free time and yearned to rejoin the workforce, but this time something more altruistic than her previous corporate jobs. She was delighted to start working part-time at Senior Services, a non-profit that focused on meeting the needs of lower income senior citizens in the community. Laura was responsible for marketing and building connections  with corporate partners to help pay for other programs like Meals on Wheels. It was the kind of job that left a warm feeling in your heart, and made even better by a great boss.

Family came calling again in 2005, although this time it was my dad. By now, he was running a successful construction business but kept running into the same problem– realtors were eating up a large part of the profit to sell the houses he built. My mom, with her many talents, figured she could sell my dad’s houses just as easily as the next person and got her realtors license. The plan worked perfectly until 2008 when the housing market crashed. Between the cost of the house and all the fees to list and sell the house, my family had too much money tied up in real estate, so my mom went searching for a more steady paycheck. 

Working in the support services department at a law firm wasn’t her dream job, but she figured she could stick with it for a year or so and then move on. Things ended up being better than she thought though. She made a great group of friends and at 5pm she could “punch-out” and still have time for her book club, knitting club, and writing just for fun. 

Chapter 5: Into the Unknown

Laura officially retired on December 22nd but her book isn’t over– In fact, it may just be getting to the good part. With her new free time, she plans to volunteer as a docent at the Reynolda House, help kids with reading at a local school, and even… build out her own blog!! So far, she’s shared recipes, books, and skincare recommendations from her side hustle as an independent consultant for Rodan and Fields. But most of all, she’s looking forward to sleeping in (until 6:30) and spending time with our growing family. 

Retirement feels a little bit like restarting at chapter one, but with Laura writing her own next chapter, I’m sure it’ll be her best yet. 

Want to see more? Check out these pictures from my Mother’s Day post.