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24 | MACON MAGAZINE APRIL/MAY 2015 ADVERTISING | Women IN BUSINESS How did your career path lead you to your current profession? I began working as a legal secretary with an excellent group of trial attorneys who focused on personal injury. I did this while attending college at night. is eventually led to me working as a law clerk when I began law school and, thankfully, they hired me after I graduated. I later realized I wanted to expand my practice areas, and an opportunity opened up with Sell & Melton, LLP. Tell us about your areas of expertise. My true passion and area of most experience is personal injury, but I also handle some probate issues, collection cases and real estate matters. Tell us about your community involvement. I am the Professionals Chair for the local United Way campaign. I also serve as the chair for the Attorneys Division. I am on the board for Big Brother Big Sister of the Heart of Georgia. I am on the Macon Roots board and the Star Choices Community Advisory Board. I believe strongly that we improve our community by taking ownership of our community. We are the ones who can improve our community, you and me. What do you find most satisfying about your profession? e most satisfying part of my profession is when we can help a client who was seriously injured as a result of someone else's negligence. What experience has made you who you are? is is a tough question. ere are so many experiences that led me here and the most powerful was becoming a parent. Being a mother has changed how I view just about every situation I encounter on a daily basis, and I hope that it has helped me become more patient and understanding. DALLAS ROPER SELL & MELTON, LLP 577 Mulberr y St. 14th Flr. | Macon, GA 31201 sell-melton.com | 478.207.6407 What career path brought you here? I have been working on and in houses since the summer before 9th grade when I needed to raise $285 to go to cheerleading camp. at summer, I started reading library books about landscaping and gardening when I found a summer job with a gardener and house painter. e following year my dad bought an old 8-bedroom house that had a previous life as a boarding home. We completely remodeled it, including dismantling a fireplace brick- by-brick from the chimney to the basement. It took us 3 years, because neither one of us had any idea what we were doing and DIY Network hadn't been invented yet. e projects lit a fire inside me that I continue to throw logs into everyday. Remodeling our personal homes gave my husband and me the confidence to start our own real estate investment company, now in its sixth year. What is your greatest professional accomplishment? I would have to say that my relationship with my business partner and husband, Jim, would be number one on my list. Learning to juggle our 4 children, who's going to make dinner and strategic planning meetings in our home office is a recipe we have mastered. He is, bar none, the most brilliant person I have ever worked with, and a pretty great dad, too. What are you most passionate about professionally? Recently I watched as a young woman signed a contract for her first investment property. I jumped and clapped for her as she pulled the pen away from the paper. I remembered standing in her shoes, and I was overcome with excitement. Helping people live their dreams of buying their first home or selling their current home to realize the next adventure in their lives is why I do what I do. JENNIFER BURGESS RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE STRATEGIST, REALTOR GEORGIA PROPERTY SHOP, INC. AND REAL ESTATE INVESTOR MANAGING PROPERTY OWNER, BURGESS & BURGESS HOLDINGS LLC 5962 Zebulon Rd. #365 | Macon, Ga. 31210 478. 254.1004