“The love in our family flows strong and deep, leaving us memories to treasure and keep,” (Anonymous).
Tiffany Kidd has always loved her family and made great memories with them. Growing up, she was highly athletic and enjoyed doing whatever she could outside.
“Growing up, I was an outdoor kid: sports, climbing trees, and things like that. We just did everything outside,” Tiffany reminisced. “I played softball and basketball at Enterprise throughout school. I started playing softball when I was four or five years old and then went through high school.”
She still has an unparalleled love for her family and enjoys spending as much time with them as she possibly can. Her love of sports and just being outside is shared by everyone in her family, so they have done a lot of travelling and playing over the years.
“I have a big family, and we’re very family oriented,” declared Tiffany. “I have three kids, and all three are or were athletes, so my husband and I were at whatever sport they were playing. My kids keep me going. We travelled all over the place for them playing travel baseball. My daughter was seven days old when she went to her very first baseball tournament. That’s still a running joke with my family: that I gave birth at the ball field because we didn’t miss a game. I just have a pride about my family. They’re everything to me.”
Along with going to different sporting events, Tiffany likes to take vacations with her family. They are outgoing and love to do anything adventurous.
“We try to travel, usually to the beach or mountains,” stated Tiffany. “We love to travel. My kids and husband love to snow ski, so we usually try to take a few trips to Gatlinburg. We love to camp. We love boating. We love water sports. We love anything adventurous. When we go on vacation, we usually hit all of the zipline courses or mountain coaster things. My whole family, including siblings and parents, are just real adventure seekers. We do literally anything outdoors, but we really love watersports during the summer and stay on the river a lot.”
She has faced challenges over the years, and despite how difficult the situation was for her, she has always maintained her optimistic attitude.
“I had osteosarcoma, which is bone cancer. I was 21 when they found it. Osteo is a childhood cancer, but it just hit me later in life. River was two, and Ridge was 11 months old when they found out what it was. I actually had it while I was pregnant with Ridge, but we didn’t know what it was because we thought it was just weight gain from being pregnant,” remembered Tiffany. “I’m a St. Jude patient because of that. St. Jude only accepts 18 years and younger, and I was 21 when they found mine. At the time, they were doing a protocol on osteosarcoma only that would accept ages 25 and under, so I was accepted at St. Jude’s and am still a St. Jude baby. That was in ’04, and we battled a long time to keep my leg. I went through a ton of chemo that was absolutely terrible. I lost my leg in 2015. I kept getting staph in it because it was my body’s way of rejecting a titanium rod and plastic hinge for a knee.”
She didn’t leave her family behind when she went to St. Jude. Instead, she made sure they were by her side. While there, she developed a sense of appreciation for Clarke County.
“My two boys went with me,” recalled Tiffany. “We lived in the St. Jude housing. I think we take for granted living in Clarke County and the safety we have here. Having to live in Memphis, TN, for an extended period of time, it was dangerous around every corner. People should keep their families close and don’t take for granted the safety that Clarke County provides us.”
After her experience, she doesn’t take her life for granted.
“I give God all the glory for me making it to the age of 40 when I was told I would never see the age of 25,” proclaimed Tiffany.
She has always been a hard worker despite her medical problems, and she has worked closely with her family over the years.
“My mother-in-law and I have always been in some type of business together,” declared Tiffany. “We owned Graphics Unlimited prior to Crossroads Realty. We started in Stonewall with embroidery, screen printing, and ball uniforms. We grew and moved to a building in Enterprise. My mother-in-law got out of it, and my health had gotten bad again, so I sold out. My husband and I owned Kid’s Corner for several years in Enterprise. It was just a convenient store, but I couldn’t do it and Crossroads Realty, so I had to give one up.”
It was actually thanks to her father-in-law that she started out with Crossroads Realty, and she loves her job.
“My father-in-law was first getting into realty, and then my mother-in-law started getting into it,” discussed Tiffany. “It was a family thing. I was always getting sick and having issues with my leg because before I lost it, it was locked straight completely. I couldn’t really go and sit in an office or do anything physical for 40 plus hours a week. Real estate was a way that I could work and still be there for anything my kids needed. I did the classes online and got my license in 2012. I didn’t have to miss anything, and it became a passion where I love what I do.”
Each day that passes, Tiffany works hard and loves her family. She offers encouragement to everyone she meets and is an inspiration to others with her positive outlook.
If you would like to nominate someone for Person of the Week, contact Brittney Mangum at 601-776-3726.
