THE FIRST LADY OF REAL ESTATE
STORY BY: JOANNE CUNNINGHAM WALKER
The name Mickey Phillips, is as much a part of Lake Martin as the water itself. So it is entirely appropriate that a building, which will showcase the lake’s history and serve as welcome center, be dedicated to her.
She is synonymous with lake real estate, twice named Realtor of the Year by the Lake Martin Area Association of Realtors. In 1998 she received this singular honor from the Alabama Association of Realtors. So identified with her profession, so successful that you might imagine her grade school teacher in Phenix City, Alabama asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up, Mickey?” And the curly-headed little girl answering, “I want to sell real estate.” But she had miles to go and many homes of her own before she would even entertain the idea.
She was a student at Auburn University when she met football star, Jim ‘Red’ Phillips. “I was a majorette and we often practiced on the same field.”
After they married and after Jim was the number one draft choice of the Los Angeles Rams, they moved to California. “Quite a move for two country people,” Mickey says smiling at the memory. They adjusted with joy. Team families were supportive and they found a variety of friends including celebrity football fans, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. Jim played for the Rams eight years, for the Vikings two, and then coached another ten years. From Los Angeles they moved to Atlanta, then back to California—San Diego, to Florida, to New Orleans, “A lot of moves and I still loved every one. The only time we hated to leave was San Diego—wonderful climate and wonderful neighbors.”
(COMPLETE STORY WITH PHOTOS)
THE CROWNING TOUCH
STORY BY: GWEN BISHOP
There are those who work hard, those that help others, and those who try to live their lives to the highest standards every single day.
Then, there’s Mickey Phillips. Russell Lands publicly dedicated the first building at the Crossroads, located on Highway 63, to Lake Martin’s First Lady of Real Estate, Mickey Phillips, in early March. The building – the Discovery Center – will open Memorial Weekend and will house a real estate office and museum/heritage center.
The decision by Russell Lands to give this honor to one of their own was an easy one. “People are what make this company great,” Tom Lamberth, President and COO of Russell Lands, said. “I’ve been with the company for 26 years – Mickey was already here. I’m honored to participate publicly in thanking her for her many years of service to Russell Lands.”
(COMPLETE STORY HERE)
