Our Team

Cheri Harden Leavy

Editorial/Advertising Director

Cheri Harden Leavy loves to travel hither and yon but her roots are in the south as she has lived three places in her life: Brunswick and the Golden Isles, Athens and Oxford, Mississippi. Her journey is this: born in Brunswick, a pre-schooler in Athens, fourth generation to graduate from high school at Glynn Academy, Ole Miss as a Chi-Omega for two years, graduated from UGA with a B.A. in Secondary English Education and back to St. Simons Island as an adult. Cheri taught English for two years at Brunswick High School and received the Sallie Mae First Year Teacher Award for Glynn County in 1999 before joining The Brunswick News to open an island office of the newspaper. She served as editor of Coastal Illustrated for five years and started a Newspaper in Education program that received the Southern Newspaper Association’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2001.

Now she splits her time with her husband Vance between St. Simons and Athens producing the ‘Bulldawg Illustrated’ and ‘guide2athens.’ She admits that while attending Rebel football games between UGA and Ole Miss, she always cheered for the Dawgs so her loyalty never waivered.

Cheri serves on the board of the Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation and is a trustee on the College of Coastal Georgia Foundation. She serves on the board of the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association and is the immediate past president. She served as the co-chair of the Brunswick Rockin’ Stewbilee Pooch Parade benefiting the Coastal Georgia Humane Society and Glynn County Animal Services 2005-2008. Cheri served for five years on the Brunswick YWCA board of directors and received the YWCA Volunteer of the Year Award in 2006. She served as co-chair of the YWCA Tribute to Women Leaders luncheon for 2006 and 2007 and was a Tribute honoree in 2005. Cheri and Vance participated in Leadership Georgia in 2007. She was spotlighted by The Athens Banner Herald in 2009 as “40 under 40” business leaders in Athens.

Cheri has an avid interest in the arts and loves photography, painting and gardening. She annually donates her work to the auctions of the local American Cancer Society’s Gala and the GIAHA art fundraiser. Cheri and her mother-in-law Sudy participated in the UGA Cortona Art Program in the fall of 2005 in Italy. Cheri is an associate for Portraits South representing over 100 distinguished portrait artists through Left Bank Art Gallery on St. Simons Island. She is a member of Cassina Garden Club on St. Simons Island.

Cheri and Vance have two Golden Retrievers, Nola and “Musa” Magill. Nola is a tribute to the Crescent City and all her charm, New Orleans, L.A., where many great bulldog moments have been made. Musa Magill is named Musa because Vance yearned for another 1,300 yard rusher like Musa Smith and Magill because Cheri absolutely loves Dan Magill, the most noted historian of Georgia athletics. Also a footnote, Musa survived after being taken under by a Gator in McIntosh County’s Sapelo River. A fighter like all bulldawgs!