ALMetro360 April 18

Jennifer Atkins Vice President New Waters Realty By Kristi Gates Photography by DiAnna Paulk Enjoying sunsets over Lake Cameron at The Waters is one of the perks Jennifer Atkins enjoys about her position as vice president and qualifying broker for NewWaters Re- alty. With more than 25 years of experience under her belt, Atkins has become one of the River Region’s notable real estate professionals. After earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree, she joined Jim Wilson & Associates and started out as a recep- tionist. Atkins worked her way up to director of marketing and operations for the company’s portfolio of shopping cen- ters, and counts being on the team that opened the Shoppes at Eastchase as a career highlight. In 2000, Atkins experienced two events that changed the course of her career and her outlook on life. She earned her real estate license and also gave birth to twins, Hunter and Alex. The twins were born prematurely at just six months. Atkins says, “The next fewmonths my husband and I spent basically every day at the hospital. I was lucky my employer did whatever they could to help us get through those chal- lenging times.” She eventually came back to work, but says, “The schedule and travel just didn’t work for my new fam- ily.” Atkins then became the development manager and home- owners association manager for Deer Creek. Four years later, she moved to Aronov Realty Management as vice pres- ident of residential land development and marketing. Her responsibilities grew to include marketing for the com- pany’s resorts, multi-family, commercial, and retail portfo- lio. In 2011, Atkins got an opportunity to get back into resi- dential real estate and moved to New Waters Realty. She earned her broker’s license in 2013 and today wears several hats. She is the qualifying broker and serves on the home- owners association board, the architectural review board, and as development director for The Waters New Home Community. In addition to enjoying the gorgeous views and other amenities of working at The Waters, Atkins says, “I love seeing people in their happiest moment when they have found the house of their dreams. I also work with 14 of the best people. I can’t imagine what I’d do without them be- cause they all work so hard.” Atkins is also thankful to work for a faith-driven company that appreciates their em- ployees. Equally impressive to her work accomplishments is Atkins’s service to the community and her profession. She is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery as well as a mem- ber of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce Chair- man’s Circle and the Women in Business Task Force. She is also a member of the Greater Montgomery Homebuilders Association and the Montgomery Area Association of Re- altors, and has served on several committees for both asso- ciations. Atkins is also an active member of Frazer United Methodist Church and has served as a board member for Camp Smile-A-Mile. Amuch more personal reason explains Atkins prior years of service to the March of Dimes. When her twins were born, they were 1 pound, 11 ounces and 1 pound, 13 ounces. Atkins says, “We were blessed because we had great physicians, and the neonatal nurses at Baptist South are truly angels. We got through it with the help of our church, family and friends. I remember we had a cooler outside our house, and every single night food had been put in the cooler. We never had to cook a meal. It was just amazing the amount of support we got.” These days, Hunter and Alex are active juniors in high school and starting to look at colleges. Atkins enjoys spend- ing time with them and other family and friends, and is about to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. She says, “My children’s health challenges when they were young completely changed me as a person and made me realize that everybody has got something challenging in their life that you may not know about. So it’s really important to have compassion and be kind.” 26 RIVER REGION LIVING www.riverregionliving.com