Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1184230
9 8 M A C O N M A G A Z I N E . C O M A P R I L / M AY 2 0 1 9 W H AT ' S I N S I D E ? Ethiel Garlington Executive Director of Historic Macon Foundation W e love getting to know Maconites a little better by peeking in on their lives. We combed the desk of Ethiel Garlington, Historic Macon's executive director, to get to know him better and learn what gets him out of bed. DESCRIBE ONE OF YOUR T YPICAL DAYS. We have a 1-month-old, so lately my typical day starts with taking my 3-and-a-half-year-old to school, trading cars with my wife and trying to ride my bike to work. I'm usually at a job site at least once a day... that's one of the things I love about the job – no day is typical. WHAT IS YOUR MOST REACHED FOR ITEM? e phone! I always have a pen, and probably use my pen as much as my phone because I have to write things down. ... I try to write everything down in this composition book that's hidden in this cover so it looks a little more professional. en, I keep all of these sort of as journals; I've got them back through 2008. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR SOMEONE WHO'S TRYING TO GET INTO PRESERVATION? Preservation is a fascinating field. I think a lot of people go to grad school and don't really understand what job they will have afterward, or how that will translate to a profession. And that's the way I was. Spend time with perseveration professionals. ere are so many different opportunities, and it's important for a person to get a perspective on which one of those they want to pursue. It's not necessarily who you know, but what you've seen. Spend as much time as you can in the field. DO YOU HAVE ANY EXCITING PROJECTS COMING UP? May is National Preservation Month, and this year we're doing a lot of events around it – everything from Sydney's Salon to a tour of the industrial area. We try to showcase everything preservation has to offer in that month. e annual awards and annual meeting is always a lot of fun for me because I put together a long "state of the organization" presentation. Showcasing the award winners is fun because people have invested time, money and so much sweat into these buildings. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT LIVING IN MACON? e quality of life. I live in town and have an incredible historic house. I can walk or bike to work. I can walk or bike to Mercer Village, Tattnall Square Park – it's all in a really well confined area and it's always getting better. e thing I love about living in Macon is that, it's pretty spectacular the way it is now, but it's also always improving. A lot of the time I'm kind of running in all directions, so early on we joked and called it "on the run" or OTR. The staff gave me that hat.