Christy McGehee

Christy McGehee doesn’t consider herself a political junkie but she still tries to stay informed.

“I do believe it’s important to have good people in elected positions,” she said Tuesday afternoon, having cast her ballot earlier in the day.  “I’m not generally one to sit and watch political shows, but I do watch the debates during presidential elections.”

Even so, there’s still an aspect of politics she could do without.

“As a whole, I know I would like to hear more of ‘I believe this’ and ‘I will do this’ from candidates rather than ‘What an awful person my opponent is.  Look at what he did.’”  

McGehee, the secretary and bookkeeper for Leeds High School, also explained why spirituality is important to her, identified the most important job in the world, and

recounted some advice that’s served her well.

Her family:  She and her husband Stacy, varsity basketball coach at Jemison High School, have two children, Wes, an eighth grader at Leeds Middle School, and Wendy, a K-4 student at Jefferson Christian Academy.  They are members of Roebuck Parkway Church of Christ, where the McGehees teach children’s Bible school classes.

The best part of being a mom:  “Watching your children grow.  When they make those right choices without your help, you see all your blood, sweat and tears pay off.  It’s an awesome responsibility.  As Christians, we realize that not only their future but their soul is in our hands.  No job in the world is more important than that.”

What she enjoys most about her work:  “Of course I enjoy working with children, but I also enjoy that no two days are ever alike.  You don’t know from hour to hour what’s going to happen next.”

The most challenging aspect of her job:  “Communication, between parents and teachers, students and parents, and teachers and students.  No matter how many avenues of communication you use, trying to make everyone aware of everything that’s going on is a challenge.”

The best advice she ever received:  “My mother always taught me to always tell the truth.  If the truth hurts, a lie will hurt even worse.  I tell that to the kids around here when they say, ‘What am I going to tell Ms. So-and-So?’  ‘The truth.  If you don’t, you’ll be in more trouble than if you’d told the truth in the first place.’”

What she enjoys about living in Leeds:  “The small town.  Life is a little bit slower-paced here.  That took me some getting used to, because we were living in Birmingham before.  Now it’s what I like the best about it.”

Growing up in a small town:  McGehee and her husband are natives of Tarrant.  “It’s different now, but when we grew up, Tarrant was a small, blue-collar town that was a lot like Leeds is today.”

How she describes herself:  “A wife and mother.  I hope other people see me as a good Christian woman trying to help others.”

How important is spirituality?  “Extremely.  I don’t see how people function without the right kind of relationship with God.  You would have to have an emptiness.”

Something an acquaintance might be surprised to learn about her:  “That I’m a very shy person.”

Her biggest pet peeve:  “This is really random, but people who wear flip-flops or sandals and drag their feet.”

If she could change one thing about the world:  “I guess we all want everyone to be tolerant of each other, so maybe that’s it.  More tolerance.”

If she were stranded on a desert island with one meal, one book and one CD:  “The meal would be friend chicken salad, the book would be the Bible, and the CD would be Billy Joel.  That’s telling my age.”