Introducing Cathy Jackson

Day-tripping: Let’s Shop Hard Floors: Charlottesville Consignment A Solid Choice Celebrating the Region’s Most Influential Real Estate Professionals Over 22 years assisting buyers and sellers to make their dreams of finding the right home, come true. Cathy Jackson REALTOR®, CSP Treating clients like family

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Rainmakers are selected based on their sales Cathy Jackson accomplishments earning them a spot among the top 20% of Liz Moore & Associates’ top REALTOR®, CSP performers. #1 GOAL In addition to sales volume standards, Rainmakers share client-centric philosophies, My customer satisfaction a dedication to being masters of their craft, and my family. and a commitment to giving back to the communities they serve. BEST FRIEND I am thrilled to have been selected as the My Daughter featured Rainmaker for the month! YEARS IN REAL ESTATE Cathy Jackson 24+ years in real estate, VA & NC and everyday is a new wonderful day! PROUDEST MOMENT The day my daughter was born! FAVORITE CHALLENGE Lately it is the gym HOW I START MY DAY With a cup of coffee checking the new listings on the market for my clients Cathy was outstanding in responsiveness, preparation, knowledge and negotiating skills. She took care of our family and she is a special friend. We love her and all that she did for us. - Riad Suleiman

Rainmaker Spotlight: Cathy Jackson “I wouldn’t have been doing real estate for so long if I didn’t enjoy it,” Cathy Jackson says with a smile. Cathy first started in business on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where she still holds an active broker’s license. Before she went into the real estate field in 1996, Cathy worked for a large construction company that developed two premier resort communities in the picturesque beach town of Duck. This experience meant that she learned houses from the ground up, a definite plus in her present career. When she was growing up, Cathy also learned what it was like to always be the new kid in town. Her dad was a U.S. Army hospital administrator, so the family of six moved around quite a bit until he retired. Their first beachfront home was when Cathy was a fourth grader in Surf City, North Carolina, and she has lived on the water ever since. “Just like Mom, I wound up marrying a military man, a Medevac helicopter pilot,” she says. Although they are still good friends, the marriage came to an end and Cathy deepened her roots in the Outer Banks while he moved on. Their daughter, MaryAnn (MJ) went all the way through middle school there before she and her mom moved to Newport News in 2005. After Cathy relocated to Virginia, she was involved in the development of Stonehouse, in New Kent County. “This was back in the days when they were just starting to sell new homes,” Cathy remembers. “Then I earned my Virginia Broker’s License and worked with several different real estate companies over the years.” She had friends who were associates with Liz Moore’s company and praised the good things she offered. Once Cathy made the switch to Liz Moore & Associates herself, she realized she had found a permanent home. “Liz and Donna Moyer, the Newport News office’s broker in charge, treat us so well,” she says. “It’s a great, innovative company that keeps everything fresh. Liz just redesigned the company logo, website and business cards, for instance. Best of all, it’s truly a family feeling there!” Family is a recurring theme in Cathy Jackson’s conversation. Cathy often speaks proudly of her daughter, MJ, who graduated from Peninsula Catholic and Old Dominion University, got her MBA from Liberty University and currently works as an IT/Communications contractor at NASA Langley. Cathy is also grateful that her daughter has stayed close to home and family. “MJ is my miracle child, and absolutely my best friend along with my mother. I named MJ after my mother, Mary Ann, because she’s always been my inspiration,” she says.

Cathy’s three brothers and she also enjoy close family ties, and they have always been a strong shaper and molder of her desire to serve others. Her oldest brother, John Boyd, is a local gastroenterologist, and he and Cathy both live in waterfront homes in Denbigh; they’re just a quick, 10-minute boat ride away from one another. They feel blessed when they can hang out together on her dock on the Warwick River, put their feet up, and share a glass of wine. Her two younger brothers are what Cathy considers to be the family’s biggest blessings, however. They live with special challenges that, though of different origins, cause their natures to be equally sunny and happy. “They are the kindest, sweetest people I know!” Cathy says with love and pride in her voice. Another of Cathy’s favorite ways to relax after a busy day buying and selling real estate is to work in her yard. “Gardening is a passion with me,” she states. Her grandparents lived in a farming and fishing community in Hyde County, North Carolina, and family still owns the house where Cathy’s mother grew up. Some of Cathy’s earliest and best memories are of when she and her grandmother would work together in her garden, hoeing its rich black dirt. “I’m so excited because my brother just bought me a new Kubota zero-turn mower! He knows me well, doesn’t he?” she says with a laugh. She has two acres to mow and maintain, and she does it all herself. Cathy’s recently added two hundred newly planted dahlias and gladiolas to the other flowers in the cutting garden. “I really like fresh flowers in the house at all times,” she shares. She also grows her own lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, and looks forward to sharing a backyard harvest of delicious fresh produce all summer. “When I work, I work hard,” Cathy says. This applies to her gardening as well as her long career in real estate. Working with military, first-time homebuyers, and those relocating to the Hampton Roads area are definite strengths, but she happily considers herself to be a full-service Realtor. “I’ll do anything for a client, including staging a house, walking the dog, or pulling weeds from a flowerbed. I have to feel good about what I do, and my goal is to see that they’re happy throughout the process.” Evidence that she is successful in this goal is that much of her current business comes from referrals and repeat clients. “I’ll still get referrals from the Outer Banks.” Cathy shares. “I just really care about my clients. I treat them like I would my own family.” That policy may be the deciding factor in Cathy Jackson’s Rainmaker status. “I recently had a call from Texas, a complete stranger out of the blue who wanted me to help her find a house,” Cathy remembers. “Just out of curiosity, I asked her how she chose me. She said she’d looked at all the agent bios on the Liz Moore & Associates’ website. ‘You talked about your family and how important they were to you,’ she replied. ‘That’s when I knew you’re the realtor I want for me.’” Cathy was pleased that her new client intuitively grasped who she was on the most basic level. “I live a simple, happy life. I work, I play, and I like almost everyone I meet,” she says. “It’s not complicated, but it is fulfilling. As it turns out, making sure my family and clients are happy is what makes ME happy!”

EXPLORE THE The days are getting shorter and the weather crisper. If you’re looking for a fun BIRTHPLACE OF way to appreciate the beauty of this season but don't want to travel very far, AMERICAN WINE then look no further than Charlottesville, Virginia. AND DELIGHTFUL LOCALLY CRAFTED Charlottesville is a short drive from Richmond, only about an hour from anywhere in the capital city in fact, but feels like another world with wide BEVERAGES expanses of farm land, rolling foothills and towering Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. This rural setting is the perfect place to appreciate nature’s beauty and observe the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows of the changing autumn leaves. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, the typical fall foliage peak color period for this region is October 25th through November 10th. And what better way to enjoy gorgeous views than with a relaxing beverage in your hand! Charlottesville is home to many wineries, breweries, cideries, and distilleries. Wineries Charlottesville has a long history of grape growing and wine production dating back to Thomas Jefferson and earlier, often called the “birthplace of American wine.” The gentle rolling hills with fertile granite-based clay soil and mild temperatures combine to yield grapes with a rich and multilayered old world flavor. Today wines from this region are considered among the best produced anywhere in the Eastern United States. DACYHTARRILPOPTINTGESTVOILLE 5

The best place to start planning your trip is Want to Find Out More? monticellowinetrail.com. Here you can find printable maps, links to every winery, a calendar of visitcharlottesville.org events, and a handy interactive map to plan your trip monticellowinetrail.com and get directions from winery to winery. brewridgetrail.com It’s helpful to chart out your course in advance as cell, winespectator.com internet, and GPS service can be spotty in the valley virginiawine.org and the mountainside. nelson151.com Usually a few wineries are grouped together making it easy to travel between a few in one day. Most varieties of apple cider and hard apple cider, the most wineries have tasting rooms and staff to guide you famous being Bold Rock Hard Cider. Bold Rock’s through structured tastings so you may learn about Nellysford Cider Barn, located just south of the city is a and sample their wines. large, beautifully rustic timber framed barn overlooking the Rockfish River. The facility boasts an expansive Tasting fees typically range from five to ten dollars. taproom and restaurant and plenty of outdoor seating. Group tastings should be scheduled in advance for larger parties. Many offer guided tours of their Distilleries production facilities, cellars, and barrel rooms as well for an additional fee. Recently the craft distillery movement has taken off around the country with small batch distilleries popping While some wineries have light fare like cheese and up everywhere, and Charlottesville is no exception. You crackers for sale, if you plan to tour during meal time, can find tasting rooms offering whisky, vodka, rum, gin picnics are encouraged and welcome at all of the and a variety of cordials in the Charlottesville area. wineries. A few offer a lunch menu like Pippin Hill To plan your tasting visit Virginia.org and search for Farm & Vineyards and Trump Winery, and some distilleries. A few possible destinations include Ragged host food trucks on the weekends. Branch, Silverback, Vitae, Virginia Distillery Company, and Woodsmill Distilleries. Breweries For such a short drive away, there are so many adventures to be had! In addition to sampling wine, beer, and Grapes aren't the only vines flourishing in this spirits, there’s hiking, camping, exploring The region. Hop vines thrive here as well, in fact Virginia University of Virginia’s campus, apple picking, catching was once known as the hop capital of the world! a show at John Paul Jones arena, watching a sporting This area is home to five small-batch breweries event at The University, exploring the booming foodie making handcrafted ales and lagers. scene, visiting the Downtown Mall, and so much more. There are so many things to do, you could take a day trip These award-winning brew houses welcome visitors every weekend and experience something new! for tours and tastings. Some of the breweries offer food menus and festive outdoor spaces for the family 6 to enjoy. To plan your brewery tour, visit brewridgetrail.com, named in homage to the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains. Here you’ll find a trail map and suggested itinerary, calendar of events, and links to all of the breweries. Cideries It’s no secret Virginia is known for its apples and Charlottesville has a few cideries serving up several









Congratulations, Cathy!