Georgia Magazine - May 2021 - 20

Georgia first lady

Marty Kemp
Homegrown with a heart to serve
By Jackie Kennedy

ike one of the initiatives she promotes, first lady Marty
Kemp is Georgia-grown.
" I grew up loving the Bulldogs, " says Kemp, an Athens
native and wife of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. " My dad taught me
that my blood is red and black, and I was fortunate enough to
go to the University of Georgia in my hometown. I'm homegrown-Georgia-grown. "
In her role as first lady, Kemp focuses on three major
initiatives: Georgia Grown, the state Department of Agriculture's program promoting food and fiber produced here; pet
adoption, a natural choice considering her love for animals;
and human-trafficking awareness, which she hopes will help
put an end to modern-day slavery in the state.
While she is grateful for the opportunity as first lady to
speak out on important issues, Kemp says politics wasn't part
of the plan when the couple married in 1994. They worked
together at Athens-based Kemp
Development and Construction
'We had three Pet
Co. at the time.
" A recession hit, so we were
Adoption Days in
living on love, " she recalls. " The
2019, with more than Governor's Mansion was not in
100 dogs adopted,
the wedding vows. "
Brian Kemp was elected
plus one cat and one
governor in November 2018.
hamster.'
Since moving to the mansion, his
-Marty Kemp,
wife and their three daughters-
first lady of Georgia
Jarrett, Lucy and Amy Porter-
split time between Atlanta and
Athens, where the girls attend school.
" Last year during the pandemic they were here a lot, but
this is not home, " Marty Kemp says. " This is the people's house,
not our house. "
She acts on that philosophy by welcoming visitors to the
mansion in new ways, such as inviting humane societies to set
up shop on the grounds.
" We had three Pet Adoption Days in 2019, with more than
100 dogs adopted, plus one cat and one hamster, " she says,
noting that a military veteran with post-traumatic stress
disorder drove up from Savannah and went home with a pup.

Georgia Magazine

May 2021

OFFICE OF GOV. BRIAN P. KEMP

As Georgia's ﬁrst lady, Marty Kemp promotes pet adoption
throughout the state. She also supports the Georgia Grown program
and combats human traﬃcking.

" He said it was hard for him to go into an animal shelter. "
Pet Adoption Days were canceled last year because of the
pandemic. When they resume, the first lady hopes that new
varieties of pets will be onsite. " I challenged FFA and 4-H
to design a coop so visitors can see chickens, " she says.
In an effort to have an impact as a Georgia Grown supporter, Kemp makes sure the Governor's Mansion is well-stocked
with food items produced in the state.
" We've got to support our farmers and all those in the
farming industry, " she says.
Finally, the first lady serves as co-chair of the Georgians
for Refuge, Action, Compassion and Education (GRACE)
Commission, which fights human trafficking. One of the world's
largest criminal enterprises, human trafficking is everywhere-
including urban, suburban and rural communities throughout
Georgia.
Kemp narrates a trafficking-awareness training video that
details the problem and offers ways to help. For more on the
GRACE Commission and to see the training video, visit
bit.ly/htavid.
" There are 3,600 kids taken into human trafficking each
year in this state, " she says. " It's a hard issue to talk about, but
once you learn about it, you have to do something. "
Jackie Kennedy is a freelance writer from LaGrange.

http://www.bit.ly/htavid

Georgia Magazine - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - May 2021