June 15, 2024 • 19 mins
How does a seasoned model transition from the runway to the pageant stage? Join us on the Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta as we chat with Ta'Neile Simmons, Miss North Buckhead, who is on her way to competing for the Miss Georgia USA title. Inspired by her friend, Ta'Neile shares her captivating journey into the world of pageantry, aiming to showcase her vibrant personality beyond the glamorous lights of modeling. She takes us behind the scenes to challenge common misconceptions about pageantry, shedding light on the intelligence, strength, and altruistic spirit that define the women in this world. Ta'Neile also addresses recent controversies in Miss USA and stresses the critical importance of mental health within the pageant community.
Beyond the crown, Ta'Neile’s life is a testament to resilience and dedication. With twelve years of modeling experience, she now finds fulfillment in mentoring young girls and women in runway modeling and etiquette. In a heartfelt segment, Ta'Neile opens up about the profound impact of her father's passing during her national student exchange in Los Angeles. This emotional journey underscores her commitment to family and the legacy she strives to build, making this episode both inspiring and deeply moving. Tune in to discover Ta'Neile's multifaceted journey and the powerful lessons she's learned along the way.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta,
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, stacey Risley.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hello friends and neighbors, Welcome to North
Atlanta's Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today I'm here with TenilleSimmons and she is Miss North
Buckhead.
Hi, Tenille, Welcome.
Hi.
I'm so happy to be here.
I am so happy to have you.
We are so excited here becausewe have missed Neal on the cover
of North Buckhead NeighborsMagazine this upcoming month in
(00:33):
our June issue, and she has justbeen an absolute joy.
She has wowed our team fromstart to finish, from the photo
shoot to my first conversationwith you when I was in the car
calling her about being on thecover, and she has just been
absolutely a joy to get to know,so we are so happy to have you
(00:55):
here.
Tenille, thank you so much Happyto be here.
Well, we're going to go aheadand jump right in, and the
purpose of us doing this podcasttoday is to get the word out
that Tenille is Miss NorthBuckhead and she is going to be
competing in an upcoming pageantfor the Miss Georgia title.
So we are very excited aboutthat.
(01:15):
So let's start, if you don'tmind, with telling us about your
journey into pageantry.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Tell us about that.
So I actually got introduced topageantry through a mutual
friend of mine.
She competed in Miss Kentucky,usa, and Miss USA in 2021, elle
Smith and she kind of encouragedme to think about going into it
, because she started out injournalism but her dream was to
(01:43):
go into modeling and so she wenton to do that.
So that was a huge inspirationfor me to see that someone so
close to me accomplished thatgoal and, honestly, getting into
pageantry.
I decided to get into itbecause I have always wanted to
showcase myself and get to knowmyself a little bit more and I'm
(02:06):
a model.
I've been modeling for years,right, and as a model, you're
kind of like a hanger whereyou're wearing clothes and you
don't really get to showcasemuch of yourself.
You kind of mute yourself asmuch as possible and instead you
kind of showcase who you areand you bring yourself out and
really showcase that presence,and that's what drew me into
(02:26):
pageantry.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That makes sense.
You know, as a model.
You said, you're, you're kind ofa hanger and that does make
sense because your, your job asa model is to present the you
know, the clothing line or themakeup or the hair that we, you
know, whatever it is that you'remodeling, and that's your job
is to show off someone else'sproducts, and I love this.
(02:48):
This is a way to showcaseyourself and she is just an
absolute, like I said, a totalpleasure, and I'm so glad that
you have the opportunity toshowcase yourself because you're
pretty wonderful, thank you.
Well, how about?
So?
In this you can address kind ofwhat's going on in the news now
with this question.
But how about any myths ormisconceptions about the
(03:09):
pageantry industry itself orwhat's going on in the news?
Let's go ahead and address that.
Knock it out.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yeah, so one of the biggest misconceptions in
pageantry has to be that it'sjust a beauty parade where women
are just kind of frolickingaround and competing for who
looks the best.
But what I learned throughpageantry, throughout this
journey it's been about a yearand six months for me now in
preparation for this pageant andI've learned that it's so much
(03:37):
more than that.
The women that are surroundingme are so strong, they're so
intelligent and they have such abig heart and a passion for
others.
All they want to do is make achange and have a voice for the
people who don't have a voice tospeak for themselves on this
platform, giving an entirely newdemographic of people knowledge
(03:59):
on what they care about.
The beauty portion is just amarketing tactic.
Essentially, it's just peoplelove beautiful things.
On social media, on the news,you see beautiful people all the
time because that's what bringsattention.
But that's not what keepsattention.
It's the character.
It's why we want to listen toyou.
What is it that you're talkingabout?
And so I just feel like that'sone of the biggest
(04:22):
misconceptions when it comes topageantries.
These women work extremely hardand I feel like a lot of women
are discredited for thatwhenever they participate in
pageantry.
But one of the biggestcontroversies that's happening
right now with Miss USA, as youmay have heard, the current
reigning Miss USA for 2023 andMiss Teen USA recently resigned
(04:45):
and that was due to mentalhealth and I think that that is
really important for them toresign.
For that reason, I decided tocontinue to pursue pageantry at
the state level for Miss GeorgiaUSA because Kim Greenwood, the
owner of Miss Georgia USA, andMiss Tennessee and so on she had
(05:08):
our seminar recently and sheput so much importance on our
personal development and so muchimportance on mental health and
how she wants to take care ofus and us to prioritize our
mission first, and because ofthat, I feel really comfortable
continuing to proceed in the inthe USA organization.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, I'm glad that she was able to relieve any
concerns that you had and thatyou're able to continue in this,
in this journey.
So what is your mission?
What are you?
I know that in pageantry, thatyou guys have a, a platform.
Thank you, thank you.
We're searching there.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I needed your help.
So what is your platform?
Let's tell our listeners alittle bit about that.
Yes, so my platform is VeteranDisability Resource Awareness.
The reason for that is becausemy father was a Navy veteran and
he passed away from aservice-related injury.
He didn't receive his fullbenefits until the day that he
actually passed away.
So it's my full missionthroughout this pageant to
(06:15):
spread awareness about theresources and the tools that are
available to veterans withdisabilities so that they don't
have to go through that rigorous, time-consuming process, like
my father did, where they aren'table to provide the resources
that he needed in order to havea sustainable life.
If he did have those resources,my father might be able to see
(06:38):
me walk across that stage nextmonth, but I don't Completely.
It's God's timing, honestly andI feel like God put this in my
path to spread this word aboutveteran disability resources to
other people.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Well, what a great cause that you are platforming.
We're not platforming for it.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Now I'm back to Advocating for it, advocating
for it.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Thank you, my, but we you know you need to have
something that strikes close tohome you know, and that clearly
does with it being your dad.
And and and that's somethingthat can help a lot of people.
So, such a beautiful soulthat's going to be, you know,
working on their behalf, Ireally I appreciate that, and I
know our listeners do as well.
Yeah, so for the veterans, weneed a sign.
(07:28):
Yes, we're here for the vet, sowell.
So let's, let's shift gearsjust a little bit and tell our
listeners what you do for funwhen you're not working on
pageantry.
When you're not, I know thatyou also are a, a, an.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Tell me a data scientist.
Data scientist.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I mean.
So we talk about intelligentwomen and um and there you go.
So she is, when you're not adata scientist and you're not um
working with pageantry.
What are you doing for fun?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Well, outside of what little time I do have, outside
of work and pageantry, I havebeen modeling for about 12 years
.
It's a passion of mine also,kind of a part-time job
essentially, and that I reallytruly enjoy doing.
And I've branched off ofmodeling and I now mentor young
(08:26):
girls and not even young girlsanymore, I've, you know, kind of
expanded to women my age and,above um, even you know, women
with children who come to me andwant to learn more about um
modeling runway.
I teach etiquette and all thosethings and those just bring me
a lot of joy.
Because I don't know about you,but I personally just like to
help other people out If I know,if I have the tools, and then
(08:55):
outside of that, I'm a shopper.
Okay, I have a problem.
I have a real problem.
I absolutely love going toPhipps Plaza and just walking
around and just seeing what theyhave that's new.
I also love shopping around.
What's the area in Alpharetta?
Avalon, avalon.
I love going around in AvalonPlaza.
Their Lululemon always hassomething really good in there
and yeah, and I'm a foodie aswell.
So, yeah, there's so many goodplaces that I like to go to.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
We'd be here all day if I started listing all of
those You'll have to check outHigh Street here in Dunwoody.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
It's going to be they're describing it.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
It's about it's it's going to be.
They're describing it.
It's been in the works foryears and years and they're
describing it as an Avalon type.
It'll be, but better, betterthey're claiming.
They're claiming we'll see.
But a lot of, a lot of hypeabout that and and I know that
the it's a it's a mixed use,like space.
(09:45):
It has some, some retail.
It's going to have retail.
It's going to have, dining it'sgoing to have.
They are already renting out.
You know some of the apartmentsthat are there in high end,
high scale apartments you don'thave to pull my arm.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I'll definitely be there.
You like, avalon, that's whatmade me think of that so.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I think they're.
It's supposed to open this yearat some point.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Yeah so not too many more months left in the year,
and I'm just hanging out withfriends and family, so I can
bring my friends and family tothat for sure, especially the
openings.
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Somewhere else you should check out is the Assembly
Atlanta Studios.
It's open to the public andpeople don't realize that, but
it's in Doraville.
I know I haven't exploredDoraville yet.
It is a huge, it's a studio,it's a movie studios and they've
got like it's huge.
(10:38):
Anyway, check it out, will doFun, fun, no idea.
Okay, you need to get in therefor some of your work too.
Well, so we're going to shiftgears again into something a
little more serious, and Ialways ask all of my guests if
there is a hardship or challengethat they have faced in life
that they can now say, forhaving been through that
(10:58):
experience and come out on theother side of that, that they
are stronger or better for thattoday.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
So I would have to say the experience of the
passing of my father was areally monumentous experience
for me mainly because of the waythat he passed as well and the
timing was all discombobulated.
It was all horrible.
My father passed away.
He went missing first, and soit was like a huge search party
(11:27):
for him and so we didn't know ifhe was where he was for a
couple of days.
My dad's a hunter and a fisher.
I know I am very glam all thetime, but I'm also a country
girl.
I'm from Kentucky originally,so my dad used to get lost in
the woods all the time.
So like whenever they were like, oh, we can't find Neil, I was
like, oh, we'll find him, he'llcome up somewhere, like he'll be
(11:51):
lost in a tree or something.
But lo and behold, that was notthe case.
So when I got the news, I wasactually on a national student
exchange in Los Angeles.
I went to the University ofKentucky and what a national
student exchange is?
It's when you switch placeswith another student at another
school.
So I switched places with astudent at CSUN and I went to
(12:12):
excuse me.
They went to University ofKentucky and I went to CSUN.
So I was out in Los Angeles,kind of all by myself, no family
, no friends.
Obviously I had friends at thattime because I'd been at school
, but it was pretty much allalone time because I had been at
school but it was pretty muchall alone.
(12:33):
And so, and it was also duringfinals week Finals week Okay,
yeah, that's a tough week and itwas like the week of you know,
biology, mathematics, stats, allof the big stuff, and there was
like not a time where I waslooking at my notebook and there
wasn't like wet spots on itbecause there was like crying
looking at my textbooks.
(12:53):
But you know, even though thathappened during that time, I
ended up passing that year witha 4.0, which is crazy to me, and
what I learned from thatexperience is that you never
know what life is going to throwat you.
(13:13):
There's always going to be acurve ball.
There's always going to besomething traumatic that happens
, because if you've never beenthrough anything, then you're
not living and you just keep onliving and something is soon to
kind of throw, and so that wasprobably one of the biggest ones
(13:34):
for me, and what I took fromthat, what I really learned from
that, was that you have to putso much value on or, excuse me,
my why is my family, why I doanything that I do, is because I
want to make my family proudand I want to just be able to
create a legacy for them, and alot of my family members look up
(13:56):
to me because I've done thingsthat many didn't think was
possible, and so from thatexperience, I just constantly
stayed in contact with family,with friends even though it may
have been virtual, with myfriends that were local there,
and I realized there was nothingmore important than family, and
truly nothing more importantthan that, and to see how my
(14:20):
strength and my resilienceduring that time transitioned to
my brother and my eldestbrother and I was, because they
were just devastated by the newsand I had to be the strong one,
even though I was far away,because they actually saw my
dad's body.
So it was a very difficult time.
(14:46):
I learned so much from it howto be more supportive, how to be
a better listener, how to beempathetic to larger crowds,
because it was a search party,so it was many people that I
also had to empathize with whowanted to give out condolences.
So, yeah, I learned the valueof family at that time and how
(15:10):
important family was, and tonever take your parents for
granted.
Never take your family forgranted, no matter what the
circumstances.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Well, thank you so much for your willingness to be
vulnerable and sharing thatexperience with us.
That was very touching, forsure.
Well, so let's circle backagain, and now let's talk about
the upcoming pageant.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Yes, so it's in, it's doomed right it's.
It's coming up, yeah, it'sright around, it's in three
weeks actually.
Yeah, oh, wow that's reallysoon.
It is in three weeks, that isvery game time.
It's game time and where is itgoing to be held.
So it's going to be held inmcdonough, georgia.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
I taught school in McDonough, georgia, for 10 years
.
I did which one.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
So is it at the Performing Arts Center?
It's going to be at the gosh.
I should know the name of thehotel, but we just expanded
because there were morecontestants that competed, so
we'll.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
That's okay, we'll come back to that.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
But it's going to be in McDonough, georgia in I don't
remember the name of theauditorium right now, but um you
can stream it, I'm sure we canfigure it out.
I'm sure people can look thatup.
I'll be able to share it withyou, and it's three weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh, are the nerves sitting in?
Are you feeling?
How do you feel?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
No, I feel pretty good yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yeah Well, that doesn't surprise me actually.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I have a really amazing team.
I've been preparing for a longtime, so now it's just up to me
to make sure that I perform.
Yeah Well go out there and doall that you've trained.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Absolutely Well, you have a fan here, Two fans here.
Kiana's here with us, of course.
She always is recording.
So I mean, like I said, she'son the cover of North Buckhead
Neighbors in this upcoming issueand has just wowed our entire
team and so we are in yourcorner.
I am very proud that you'rerepresenting the residents of
(17:10):
North Buckhead.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I know that they are too, and I'm so excited for you.
Thank you, it's been just sucha joy meeting you.
So if our listeners want tolearn more, they want to, and I
know that.
I believe you have a GoFundMepage that's helping to raise
funds for all of the I meanpageantry is expensive people.
Yes, it is.
It is expensive, very expensivesport you would like.
(17:35):
It is a very expensive sport.
I love that.
If you would like to helpsupport Tenille, I strongly
recommend that you reach out.
And what is the best way forthem to do that?
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Yes, so you can find me on social media.
On Instagram at Tenille Fayit's spelled
T-A-N-E-I-L-E-F-A-Y-E.
It's spelledT-A-N-E-I-L-E-F-A-Y-E, and on
Facebook at Tenille Simmons,which is just my first and last
name.
Wonderful and there you canfind my GoFundMes.
They're linked in my bios.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Thank you so much again for being here.
It has been an absolutepleasure.
We wish you so much luck andsuccess in the future.
With this, I just know I'mgoing to be cheering you on in
the next competition.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I appreciate it.
I just ask for prayers, prayers, please.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Well, we will be praying and ask all of you
listeners, you guys, to say aprayer for Ms Tennille as well.
She is absolutely.
I just wish all of you couldsee her and meet her like we
have, because she is a verytouching person, she touches the
soul.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Thank you, and you are too, with your great energy,
honestly, well thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I think good energy reciprocates.
It does, it definitely does.
Well, that's all for today'sepisode.
Thank you so much, atlanta.
I'm Stacey Risley with the GoodNeighbor podcast.
Thanks for listening andsupporting the local businesses
and nonprofits of our greatcommunity.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast
North Atlanta.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses, visit
GNPNorthAtlantacom.
That's GNPNorthAtlantacom.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast North Atlanta,
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, stacey Risley.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hello friends and neighbors, Welcome to North
Atlanta's Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today I'm here with TenilleSimmons and she is Miss North
Buckhead.
Hi, Tenille, Welcome.
Hi.
I'm so happy to be here.
I am so happy to have you.
We are so excited here becausewe have missed Neal on the cover
of North Buckhead NeighborsMagazine this upcoming month in
(00:33):
our June issue, and she has justbeen an absolute joy.
She has wowed our team fromstart to finish, from the photo
shoot to my first conversationwith you when I was in the car
calling her about being on thecover, and she has just been
absolutely a joy to get to know,so we are so happy to have you
(00:55):
here.
Tenille, thank you so much Happyto be here.
Well, we're going to go aheadand jump right in, and the
purpose of us doing this podcasttoday is to get the word out
that Tenille is Miss NorthBuckhead and she is going to be
competing in an upcoming pageantfor the Miss Georgia title.
So we are very excited aboutthat.
(01:15):
So let's start, if you don'tmind, with telling us about your
journey into pageantry.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Tell us about that.
So I actually got introduced topageantry through a mutual
friend of mine.
She competed in Miss Kentucky,usa, and Miss USA in 2021, elle
Smith and she kind of encouragedme to think about going into it
, because she started out injournalism but her dream was to
(01:43):
go into modeling and so she wenton to do that.
So that was a huge inspirationfor me to see that someone so
close to me accomplished thatgoal and, honestly, getting into
pageantry.
I decided to get into itbecause I have always wanted to
showcase myself and get to knowmyself a little bit more and I'm
(02:06):
a model.
I've been modeling for years,right, and as a model, you're
kind of like a hanger whereyou're wearing clothes and you
don't really get to showcasemuch of yourself.
You kind of mute yourself asmuch as possible and instead you
kind of showcase who you areand you bring yourself out and
really showcase that presence,and that's what drew me into
(02:26):
pageantry.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
That makes sense.
You know, as a model.
You said, you're, you're kind ofa hanger and that does make
sense because your, your job asa model is to present the you
know, the clothing line or themakeup or the hair that we, you
know, whatever it is that you'remodeling, and that's your job
is to show off someone else'sproducts, and I love this.
(02:48):
This is a way to showcaseyourself and she is just an
absolute, like I said, a totalpleasure, and I'm so glad that
you have the opportunity toshowcase yourself because you're
pretty wonderful, thank you.
Well, how about?
So?
In this you can address kind ofwhat's going on in the news now
with this question.
But how about any myths ormisconceptions about the
(03:09):
pageantry industry itself orwhat's going on in the news?
Let's go ahead and address that.
Knock it out.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Yeah, so one of the biggest misconceptions in
pageantry has to be that it'sjust a beauty parade where women
are just kind of frolickingaround and competing for who
looks the best.
But what I learned throughpageantry, throughout this
journey it's been about a yearand six months for me now in
preparation for this pageant andI've learned that it's so much
(03:37):
more than that.
The women that are surroundingme are so strong, they're so
intelligent and they have such abig heart and a passion for
others.
All they want to do is make achange and have a voice for the
people who don't have a voice tospeak for themselves on this
platform, giving an entirely newdemographic of people knowledge
(03:59):
on what they care about.
The beauty portion is just amarketing tactic.
Essentially, it's just peoplelove beautiful things.
On social media, on the news,you see beautiful people all the
time because that's what bringsattention.
But that's not what keepsattention.
It's the character.
It's why we want to listen toyou.
What is it that you're talkingabout?
And so I just feel like that'sone of the biggest
(04:22):
misconceptions when it comes topageantries.
These women work extremely hardand I feel like a lot of women
are discredited for thatwhenever they participate in
pageantry.
But one of the biggestcontroversies that's happening
right now with Miss USA, as youmay have heard, the current
reigning Miss USA for 2023 andMiss Teen USA recently resigned
(04:45):
and that was due to mentalhealth and I think that that is
really important for them toresign.
For that reason, I decided tocontinue to pursue pageantry at
the state level for Miss GeorgiaUSA because Kim Greenwood, the
owner of Miss Georgia USA, andMiss Tennessee and so on she had
(05:08):
our seminar recently and sheput so much importance on our
personal development and so muchimportance on mental health and
how she wants to take care ofus and us to prioritize our
mission first, and because ofthat, I feel really comfortable
continuing to proceed in the inthe USA organization.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, I'm glad that she was able to relieve any
concerns that you had and thatyou're able to continue in this,
in this journey.
So what is your mission?
What are you?
I know that in pageantry, thatyou guys have a, a platform.
Thank you, thank you.
We're searching there.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
I needed your help.
So what is your platform?
Let's tell our listeners alittle bit about that.
Yes, so my platform is VeteranDisability Resource Awareness.
The reason for that is becausemy father was a Navy veteran and
he passed away from aservice-related injury.
He didn't receive his fullbenefits until the day that he
actually passed away.
So it's my full missionthroughout this pageant to
(06:15):
spread awareness about theresources and the tools that are
available to veterans withdisabilities so that they don't
have to go through that rigorous, time-consuming process, like
my father did, where they aren'table to provide the resources
that he needed in order to havea sustainable life.
If he did have those resources,my father might be able to see
(06:38):
me walk across that stage nextmonth, but I don't Completely.
It's God's timing, honestly andI feel like God put this in my
path to spread this word aboutveteran disability resources to
other people.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Well, what a great cause that you are platforming.
We're not platforming for it.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Now I'm back to Advocating for it, advocating
for it.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Thank you, my, but we you know you need to have
something that strikes close tohome you know, and that clearly
does with it being your dad.
And and and that's somethingthat can help a lot of people.
So, such a beautiful soulthat's going to be, you know,
working on their behalf, Ireally I appreciate that, and I
know our listeners do as well.
Yeah, so for the veterans, weneed a sign.
(07:28):
Yes, we're here for the vet, sowell.
So let's, let's shift gearsjust a little bit and tell our
listeners what you do for funwhen you're not working on
pageantry.
When you're not, I know thatyou also are a, a, an.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Tell me a data scientist.
Data scientist.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I mean.
So we talk about intelligentwomen and um and there you go.
So she is, when you're not adata scientist and you're not um
working with pageantry.
What are you doing for fun?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Well, outside of what little time I do have, outside
of work and pageantry, I havebeen modeling for about 12 years
.
It's a passion of mine also,kind of a part-time job
essentially, and that I reallytruly enjoy doing.
And I've branched off ofmodeling and I now mentor young
(08:26):
girls and not even young girlsanymore, I've, you know, kind of
expanded to women my age and,above um, even you know, women
with children who come to me andwant to learn more about um
modeling runway.
I teach etiquette and all thosethings and those just bring me
a lot of joy.
Because I don't know about you,but I personally just like to
help other people out If I know,if I have the tools, and then
(08:55):
outside of that, I'm a shopper.
Okay, I have a problem.
I have a real problem.
I absolutely love going toPhipps Plaza and just walking
around and just seeing what theyhave that's new.
I also love shopping around.
What's the area in Alpharetta?
Avalon, avalon.
I love going around in AvalonPlaza.
Their Lululemon always hassomething really good in there
and yeah, and I'm a foodie aswell.
So, yeah, there's so many goodplaces that I like to go to.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
We'd be here all day if I started listing all of
those You'll have to check outHigh Street here in Dunwoody.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
It's going to be they're describing it.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
It's about it's it's going to be.
They're describing it.
It's been in the works foryears and years and they're
describing it as an Avalon type.
It'll be, but better, betterthey're claiming.
They're claiming we'll see.
But a lot of, a lot of hypeabout that and and I know that
the it's a it's a mixed use,like space.
(09:45):
It has some, some retail.
It's going to have retail.
It's going to have, dining it'sgoing to have.
They are already renting out.
You know some of the apartmentsthat are there in high end,
high scale apartments you don'thave to pull my arm.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I'll definitely be there.
You like, avalon, that's whatmade me think of that so.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
I think they're.
It's supposed to open this yearat some point.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Yeah so not too many more months left in the year,
and I'm just hanging out withfriends and family, so I can
bring my friends and family tothat for sure, especially the
openings.
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Somewhere else you should check out is the Assembly
Atlanta Studios.
It's open to the public andpeople don't realize that, but
it's in Doraville.
I know I haven't exploredDoraville yet.
It is a huge, it's a studio,it's a movie studios and they've
got like it's huge.
(10:38):
Anyway, check it out, will doFun, fun, no idea.
Okay, you need to get in therefor some of your work too.
Well, so we're going to shiftgears again into something a
little more serious, and Ialways ask all of my guests if
there is a hardship or challengethat they have faced in life
that they can now say, forhaving been through that
(10:58):
experience and come out on theother side of that, that they
are stronger or better for thattoday.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
So I would have to say the experience of the
passing of my father was areally monumentous experience
for me mainly because of the waythat he passed as well and the
timing was all discombobulated.
It was all horrible.
My father passed away.
He went missing first, and soit was like a huge search party
(11:27):
for him and so we didn't know ifhe was where he was for a
couple of days.
My dad's a hunter and a fisher.
I know I am very glam all thetime, but I'm also a country
girl.
I'm from Kentucky originally,so my dad used to get lost in
the woods all the time.
So like whenever they were like, oh, we can't find Neil, I was
like, oh, we'll find him, he'llcome up somewhere, like he'll be
(11:51):
lost in a tree or something.
But lo and behold, that was notthe case.
So when I got the news, I wasactually on a national student
exchange in Los Angeles.
I went to the University ofKentucky and what a national
student exchange is?
It's when you switch placeswith another student at another
school.
So I switched places with astudent at CSUN and I went to
(12:12):
excuse me.
They went to University ofKentucky and I went to CSUN.
So I was out in Los Angeles,kind of all by myself, no family
, no friends.
Obviously I had friends at thattime because I'd been at school
, but it was pretty much allalone time because I had been at
school but it was pretty muchall alone.
(12:33):
And so, and it was also duringfinals week Finals week Okay,
yeah, that's a tough week and itwas like the week of you know,
biology, mathematics, stats, allof the big stuff, and there was
like not a time where I waslooking at my notebook and there
wasn't like wet spots on itbecause there was like crying
looking at my textbooks.
(12:53):
But you know, even though thathappened during that time, I
ended up passing that year witha 4.0, which is crazy to me, and
what I learned from thatexperience is that you never
know what life is going to throwat you.
(13:13):
There's always going to be acurve ball.
There's always going to besomething traumatic that happens
, because if you've never beenthrough anything, then you're
not living and you just keep onliving and something is soon to
kind of throw, and so that wasprobably one of the biggest ones
(13:34):
for me, and what I took fromthat, what I really learned from
that, was that you have to putso much value on or, excuse me,
my why is my family, why I doanything that I do, is because I
want to make my family proudand I want to just be able to
create a legacy for them, and alot of my family members look up
(13:56):
to me because I've done thingsthat many didn't think was
possible, and so from thatexperience, I just constantly
stayed in contact with family,with friends even though it may
have been virtual, with myfriends that were local there,
and I realized there was nothingmore important than family, and
truly nothing more importantthan that, and to see how my
(14:20):
strength and my resilienceduring that time transitioned to
my brother and my eldestbrother and I was, because they
were just devastated by the newsand I had to be the strong one,
even though I was far away,because they actually saw my
dad's body.
So it was a very difficult time.
(14:46):
I learned so much from it howto be more supportive, how to be
a better listener, how to beempathetic to larger crowds,
because it was a search party,so it was many people that I
also had to empathize with whowanted to give out condolences.
So, yeah, I learned the valueof family at that time and how
(15:10):
important family was, and tonever take your parents for
granted.
Never take your family forgranted, no matter what the
circumstances.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Well, thank you so much for your willingness to be
vulnerable and sharing thatexperience with us.
That was very touching, forsure.
Well, so let's circle backagain, and now let's talk about
the upcoming pageant.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Yes, so it's in, it's doomed right it's.
It's coming up, yeah, it'sright around, it's in three
weeks actually.
Yeah, oh, wow that's reallysoon.
It is in three weeks, that isvery game time.
It's game time and where is itgoing to be held.
So it's going to be held inmcdonough, georgia.
Okay.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
I taught school in McDonough, georgia, for 10 years
.
I did which one.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
So is it at the Performing Arts Center?
It's going to be at the gosh.
I should know the name of thehotel, but we just expanded
because there were morecontestants that competed, so
we'll.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
That's okay, we'll come back to that.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
But it's going to be in McDonough, georgia in I don't
remember the name of theauditorium right now, but um you
can stream it, I'm sure we canfigure it out.
I'm sure people can look thatup.
I'll be able to share it withyou, and it's three weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Oh, are the nerves sitting in?
Are you feeling?
How do you feel?
Speaker 3 (16:30):
No, I feel pretty good yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Yeah Well, that doesn't surprise me actually.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I have a really amazing team.
I've been preparing for a longtime, so now it's just up to me
to make sure that I perform.
Yeah Well go out there and doall that you've trained.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Absolutely Well, you have a fan here, Two fans here.
Kiana's here with us, of course.
She always is recording.
So I mean, like I said, she'son the cover of North Buckhead
Neighbors in this upcoming issueand has just wowed our entire
team and so we are in yourcorner.
I am very proud that you'rerepresenting the residents of
(17:10):
North Buckhead.
Speaker 3 (17:11):
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
I know that they are too, and I'm so excited for you.
Thank you, it's been just sucha joy meeting you.
So if our listeners want tolearn more, they want to, and I
know that.
I believe you have a GoFundMepage that's helping to raise
funds for all of the I meanpageantry is expensive people.
Yes, it is.
It is expensive, very expensivesport you would like.
(17:35):
It is a very expensive sport.
I love that.
If you would like to helpsupport Tenille, I strongly
recommend that you reach out.
And what is the best way forthem to do that?
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Yes, so you can find me on social media.
On Instagram at Tenille Fayit's spelled
T-A-N-E-I-L-E-F-A-Y-E.
It's spelledT-A-N-E-I-L-E-F-A-Y-E, and on
Facebook at Tenille Simmons,which is just my first and last
name.
Wonderful and there you canfind my GoFundMes.
They're linked in my bios.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Thank you so much again for being here.
It has been an absolutepleasure.
We wish you so much luck andsuccess in the future.
With this, I just know I'mgoing to be cheering you on in
the next competition.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I appreciate it.
I just ask for prayers, prayers, please.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Well, we will be praying and ask all of you
listeners, you guys, to say aprayer for Ms Tennille as well.
She is absolutely.
I just wish all of you couldsee her and meet her like we
have, because she is a verytouching person, she touches the
soul.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Thank you, and you are too, with your great energy,
honestly, well thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
I think good energy reciprocates.
It does, it definitely does.
Well, that's all for today'sepisode.
Thank you so much, atlanta.
I'm Stacey Risley with the GoodNeighbor podcast.
Thanks for listening andsupporting the local businesses
and nonprofits of our greatcommunity.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
Thanks for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast
North Atlanta.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses, visit
GNPNorthAtlantacom.
That's GNPNorthAtlantacom.
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