Meet Ivy
A Georgia Original
Ivy Adams Oxendine has the kind of homegrown talent that can only come from someone having strong roots in Georgia.Ivy is the daughter of the late attorney Louis Adams and Jeanette Adams Daniel - both native Georgians. She was born in Albany's Phoebe Putney Hospital, and her family lived in her childhood home on Ardmore Lane for 18 years. Ivy's family provided her with a rich heritage and instilled in her the value of hard work. Her parents grew up on family farms in South Georgia. Her father served as a paratrooper in the army. To ensure Ivy received an education allowing her to fully explore her talents, the Adamses sent their daughter to Albany's Deerfield-Windsor School, a renowned college preparatory institution. Deerfield-Windsor was Ivy's educational home from kindergarten through the 12th grade. She graduated with honors in 1990 and was the first recipient of Deerfield's Ronald H. Griffith Performing Arts Award. Ivy continued her education at Mercer University in Macon, where her father and her future husband were educated. She entered the school as the winner of a Trustee Scholarship, and she majored in English with a minor in Secondary Education. InvolvedIvy's leadership skills prompted her sorority - Chi Omega - to entrust her with its recruiting duties. She served as Rush Chair as well as sorority Vice President. She continued to advise Chi Omega on rush activities for five years as an alumni advisor. During her college years, Ivy discovered a unique way to employ her aptitude for the performing arts, and in 1993, she was crowned "Miss Macon.” In the same year that she received her pageant crown, Ivy volunteered with Macon Outreach's homeless ministry. She was not looking for accolades for her volunteerism; nevertheless, she received the Macon Sertoma Service to Mankind Award in 1993. |
Upon completing her education at Mercer, Ivy started her corporate career as a sales representative with a Fortune 500 company. Her work received the attention of top company executives, and she received numerous performance awards. InspiredIvy later met and married John Oxendine, who is now in his third term as Georgia's Commissioner of Insurance. The Oxendines have four children - J.W., Philip, Caroline, and Baby Jake. Ivy continues to volunteer with a variety of local service organizations focused on the needs of children and women, including the Junior League of Gwinnett and North Fulton. She is also active in the Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church. Ivy Oxendine also serves on the regional board for Operation Hope. There, she focuses on financial literacy for children as well the organization’s “5 Million Kids” initiative. As First Lady, Ivy would focus on two major social concerns: 1) the needs of foster children; and, 2) the treatment of our mentally ill and those with special needs. She believes that Georgia’s move away from “group homes” has been a mistake. She favors both traditional foster care as well as the good work provided by programs like Murphy-Harpst Children Center http://www.murphyharpst.org/ and the Truett Cathy’s WinShape Foster Home Program http://www.winshape.org/homes/ Ivy’s special interest is the care of the mentally ill and those with special needs. She believes that Georgia’s budget cuts in this area have been shortsighted. “Georgia should be leading our nation in the care of our most vulnerable citizens,” she says. “Too often these people end up on the street because they either can’t find treatment or refuse to seek it.” As a mother of four children, she believes that the way we treat the least in our society is an indicator of who we are as a people. |
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