PHB: Tell us about how you came to work at Pratt Home Builders.

Judy Carpenter: Well, I started to work for Mr. Pratt in our little home town in, Inverness, Mississippi in 1984 in the propane & oil business as a bookkeeper.  In 1995, he sold those businesses and asked me to come with him to Chattanooga on his next venture. He had already bought Bradley Propane in Cleveland. He had moved his family to Chattanooga five years prior so he was ready to be here full time with them.  Our girls were out on their own, so we jumped at the chance to live somewhere different in that season of our lives.

PHB: What were your favorite things about Chattanooga when you arrived in the city?

JC: The mountains for sure!  I had been raised in flat land all my life and we had vacationed the year before to the Ozarks. I came back telling Mr. Pratt that when I retired I would move to the mountains…guess he remembered that when he ask me to come with him to Chattanooga…lol.

PHB: What are a few words you’d use to describe the atmosphere?

JC: If you mean the city, I would say it’s big enough to have all you need for living a full life no matter what age you are, including the medical side, since my husband has had health issues most of the time we’ve lived here so that was important to us.  But it also has that small town feel in a lot of ways.  We came from a town of 1,200 so it seems big to us.  The beauty is unsurpassed by anywhere you can travel I think.  Having our daughters, granddaughters and great grandson here to enjoy all this is so special to us.

PHB: What’s been the most special part of working at Pratt over the years?

JC: Watching it grow and having all the great relationships I’ve made over the years even with employee’s no longer here that I still keep in touch with.  Jennifer Dorsey, Bill Thompson and myself are the only ones still here from the beginning.  It wasn’t always easy work but rewarding for sure.

PHB: Tell us about your role at the company.

JC: I’ve always worked alongside Mr. Pratt with the financial aspect of the company.  I love bookkeeping and have learned so much from Mr. Pratt over the years so guess you could say I was self-taught with his guidance.   I did take some business courses in college so guess that has help along the way.

PHB: You built in a Pratt community recently. Tell us about your favorite parts of that process.

JC: Going almost every day seeing the progress of our home coming together.  It was a good/bad process in that we were so anxious to finish and get moved in.  We love living in Amberbrook Gardens and the neighborhood is a perfect place for all type of families to come together.  We have neighbors on one side of us our age and the other side young couple with kids, who are both very good friends now.  The ability to walk our neighborhood & ride our golf cart while feeling safe is a huge blessing also.  Our great grandson, Zeke loves riding the golf cart with us.

PHB: What home plan did you choose and what’s your favorite thing about it?

JC: We choose the “Savannah”.  The open living area that extends out onto our screened porch is my favorite.  Actually we choose it because it was the smallest square footage and we were downsizing in yard & home to take care of.

PHB: What’s your favorite thing about living in a Pratt community?

JC: It’s a perfect place for all sizes and ages of families to come together. We have neighbors on one side our age & the other side a young couple with kids. We are good friends with both of them now.  The ability to walk our neighborhood and ride our golf cart while feeling safe is a huge blessing also.  Our great grandson, Zeke loves riding the golf cart with us.

PHB: What do you like to do in your spare time?

JC: When weather allows I love being outside planting and taking care of my yard.  I enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes.  I’m now working on a recipe book I can hand down to my granddaughters.  Just shortly being semi-retired and having a little more time on my hands I’m still trying to figure out what to do with that extra time.

PHB: What are your top 3 favorite places for dinner or entertainment?

JC: Going to the movies use to be and hoping that will return.  Riding up the mountains to see the view which never gets old.  We like walking downtown and going to the Choo Choo and eating at Stir.  We like to eat at locally owned restaurants when we can.  For fast food, Chick-Fil-A is our favorite.

PHB: What is your favorite memory working at Pratt Home Builders?

JC: This may sound silly but moving into the building we are in now! When we moved to Chattanooga, we were in a very small office off Signal Mtn Rd.  Then we moved to Manufacturers Road to two different locations then made the move where we are now.