If you’ve been to any number of events in Mississippi, you’ve likely seen the incredible work of Green Oak featured. From the Sanderson Farms Championship to weddings to displays in Cultivation Food Hall, they do it all. What you may not know about Green Oak is that it is a family owned and run business.
    Billy and Rita Martinson opened Green Oak Nursery in Jackson in 1962 after Billy graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in horticulture. As the business continued to grow it expanded into a greenhouse and landscaping and floral shop. Their children, Ginny, Karen, Chip, and Allen were always involved in the business. In 1998, Karen and her husband, Maur, purchased Green Oak. In 2005, Allen and his wife, Mimi, purchased Billy’s other garden center, GardenWorks. Karen and Maur expanded the business to include a wide range of horticulture services, including landscaping, general maintenance, Christmascaping, interiorscaping, colorscaping, plant rentals, and events. In 2012, Greek Oak opened its second location in Ridgeland.
    Other families are also involved in operating the business. The McKie siblings, Eric, Carly, and Nic have all been involved over the years. Eric and his wife Carly James manage the Jackson location while daughter Carly manages the Ridgeland location. Karen’s sister, Ginny, is the service administrator. It is clear that at Green Oak, all the employees are treated like family. For example, Eddie T. James has been a part of the Green Oak family since the business opened in 1962 and continues to touch the lives of Green Oak customers through his vast knowledge and infectious, charming personality.
     Make sure to reach out to Green Oak for any landscaping, Christmas design, wedding and funeral florals,
event design, interior plant design, general maintenance, and colorscaping needs you may have. You can reach
Green Oak at 601.956.5017 – or visit their website at greenoakms.com
*** CURBSIDE PICK UP AND LOCAL DELIVERY AVAILABLE.
*** USE CODE GREENOAK30 FOR 30% OFF ALL MERCHANDISE (EXCLUDING CHEMICALS & FERTILIZER).

     Niki and Jeff O'Quinn have four children- three boys and one girl. Their oldest son, Hudson, was diagnosed with Autism when he was three. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with Autism. Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed than girls. The O'Quinns had to learn more about autism after he was diagnosed, but Niki says that those times strengthened their faith as a family. On April 11, 2014, Niki shared the following Facebook message about Hudson for his twelfth birthday.

   Niki wants her message to be clear- having a child with autism is a gift from God. "Some of my darkest times were during this new diagnosis and all that it meant, but it was during those times I very clearly heard the Lord speak to me: trust Me, it's not for you to understand. And the rest is such a beautiful story," smiles Niki.

   To find out more about autism, visit autismspeaks.org. Under the Help & Information tab, there is a Resource Guide that can be filtered by state, life stage and level of support.

In Jackson, MS, local Christina Spann has gone viral with a video of her singing to neighbors from the sunroof of her car while her boyfriend drove her throughout the neighborhood. It's extraordinary and Christina is such an uplifting light that the world needs more of right now. Coronavirus can't lock down this voice! To see the video for yourself, check out Good News Movement's Instagram feature here! We had the chance to catch up with Christina recently and wanted to share more of her story with you...

Tell us a little more about you. A: My name is Christina Spann and I am originally from Jackson, MS. I have lived in the Jackson Metro area for the majority of my life. I graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in 2009. I received a degree in Social Work from Mississippi College in 2013 and a Masters in Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University in 2015. I will begin working on my Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling in the summer at Mississippi College.

What inspired you to start this mobile concert series? A: Growing up I have always loved to sing. Music was therapy for me after my father passed away at a young age. I started singing in the church choir and the Mississippi Girl Choir! I always have had a passion for making people happy and smile or laugh. My favorite thing to see is someone laughing or smiling from something I did. Two weeks ago, I was walking with my boyfriend Duncan Dent in the Belhaven Neighborhood and I just started singing “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston and I heard dogs barking so I immediately posted on Nextdoor an apology for disturbing anyone. Soon after, responses came on Nextdoor for me to KEEP SINGING. So, the next day I decided to get in my car and have my boyfriend drive as I sang on top of my sunroof! 

With so much uncertainty surrounding the world right now, what keeps you grounded and joyful? A: Everyone is cooped up right now and there is so much uncertainty about what our world will look like in the coming months. One thing is for certain is that music is a great equalizer and it brings people together. What keeps me grounded is my faith. Everyday we are faced with new numbers of illness and its scary, but I know that God has a plan for this and when we lean closer to God he shows up. 

How can we follow along and stay in touch with you? A: You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at LadyTeena, also on NextDoor! 

Christina, you inspire us! Thank you so much for taking the time to peek into your world and for spreading joy! We look forward to hearing that voice again soon!

 The Front Steps Project 2020... Our precious and talented friend, Allison Muirhead, has used her talents as a photographer to bless families, document this time in history and give back to the businesses in need right now.  Allison posted a message on Facebook Sunday, March 22nd, saying that she would be offering to take quick "front step portraits" of families around our community. These front step portraits would be taken by filling out a form and scheduling a time window of when she'd be in that neighborhood. There was no physical interaction and all pictures were taken with a zoom lense from a safe 10 feet away. Allison only requested a couple of things in exchange... for families to make a positive sign/poster for the photo to be posted on social media, to purchase a gift card to your favorite small business or restaurant in the area or to make a donation to a local charity. She had such an incredible response to her post that she filled all of her slots within a little over 24 hours. Thank you so much Allison for being the light and spreading the love! Take a look at some of these incredible photos from the project. There's a whole album that can be found here!

Happy Tuesday and Happy Great American Takeout day! This is a nation wide day picked for all of us to support our local restaurants during this incredibly uncertain and stressful crisis that they face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As you know, most restaurants have shut down their actual restaurant BUT are still up and running to provide families with takeout options. Restaurants are asking us to support them specifically by joining in on "The Great American Takeout". Today, March 24th, join us by eating a pick-up or delivery meal from a local restaurant! Visit this post here for some deals that are currently happening. Let's lean in and lift up our restaurants, y'all!