In high school, Gretchen was a class officer, a National Merit Semi-finalist and a participant in the Miss Freshman Pageant. After her sophomore year of high school, Gretchen received a full-ride Centennial Scholarship to Lee University, the second largest private liberal arts university in Tennessee. After two years of successful college studies, Gretchen returned to her high school where she received credit for her college classes and was awarded her high school diploma.
While in college, Gretchen was on the homecoming court, and was selected as second runner-up and Miss Congeniality in the Parade of Favorites Pageant. Gretchen went on to receive degrees in business administration and computers/information systems, where she was awarded the highest graduation exit score in her business graduating class.
Gretchen spent the next 20 years as part of the information technology sector in industries as diverse as banking and home improvement retailing, in roles as varied as application developer and client relations specialist. In each situation, Gretchen learned quickly and excelled in her work. Prior employers include The Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase, CIGNA Healthsource, and Equifax, Inc.
In recent years she worked with all forms of database management, client data integration and project management, regularly handling upwards of 35 integration projects concurrently. As an integration specialist and technical project lead, her clients included the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Pennsylvania State University, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, CBS Radio, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball Team, Staples, Inc., Fox Film Entertainment, Hard Rock Café International, Inc., Panasonic Corporation of North America, Randstad North America, and The Ohio State University.
Gretchen lives in Canton, GA where she is owned by her niece and nephew, Claire and Ian.