Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheryl Kennedy.
Hi Cheryl, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It all started with a tape recorder I received as a Christmas present when I was young. Once I started playing around with it, I was hooked! I found myself recording family conversations, music, and silly skits with friends. As I teenager, I basically highjacked our family’s Super 8 film camera (way before phones and digital!!) and began recording my youth group trips, family gatherings, and more goofy moments with my friends.
I never really wanted to go to college, instead dreamed of getting married and having a large family. That wasn’t in the cards, so off to college I went, not sure where that would lead me. It wasn’t until I attended a Mass Communications class that I realized I could take my love for capturing memories and telling stories and turn it into a career! I graduated with a Radio-TV-Film degree from the University of Georgia and have been blessed to work in my field ever since.
My career path took me to many interesting places. I worked at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where they had a short-lived “Video Edition” experiment. I produced and hosted programming with selected staff editorialists. From there, I spent a little time at CNN, where I quickly learned I had no desire for the news business. I learned a lot though. It was in the small town of Cartersville, Georgia where the magic happened. In the late 80’s – 90’s I produced, directed, hosted various shows for a very popular Cable TV station (still before streaming and cell phones!). I later worked as an audio-visual manager at a Smithsonian affiliate museum (Booth Western Art Museum), setting up and recording lectures and interviews with visiting artists . Both jobs offered me the opportunity to develop my skills, grow, and realize the power of stories – whether it be breaking news or interviews with celebrities or locals! It was an amazing time in my career!
A job change for my husband first took us to South Georgia, where I was Communications Director for a senior living organization. I enjoyed using my skills to once again share stories the residents and staff had about their life there. That move was followed shortly after by our move to Florida in 2018. At that point I was ready to fulfill a goal to be able to work from home. I was already familiar with Home Video Studio and the timing made sense to look in to it. The rest is history. I opened late 2019. We all know what happened in 2020, so my start was slow. After things opened back up and I was able to get out, network and share about my business, the projects coming in increased. It’s been steady growth since then.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m fortunate because there were not a lot of struggles. I had so much fun in all of my work. It was tough when the AJC Video Edition experiment failed after two years. I really loved that job and was always challenged to grow and learn more to keep pace with my responsibilities.
The other major challenge in my field was keeping up with the technology. Since my career spans a timeframe from 1980’s through today, the changes in technology were sometimes overwhelming. It was always important to attend classes or seek the assistance from experts to make sure I was appropriately up to speed. (This is still true today!)
The move I made when leaving the Booth Museum was challenging. I thought I would retire with the company. I loved my work, the people I worked with, and the Cartersville, GA community. Ultimately, getting out of that comfort zone pushed me to another level.
And finally, as I mentioned previously, Covid was a challenge because I had just opened my studio, was still new to the area, and had to find a way to get people to know and trust me in order to hand over their precious memories to get digitized.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in transferring people’s memories stored on old media – film, slides, and videotapes – to a digital format which can be viewed on today’s technology. I also do video production and editing, as well as photo restoration.
One of the things that sets me a part from others is I work from home and handle each project myself. It is not mailed off anywhere. I have the luxury of taking my time to get to know my customers. This allows them to feel comfortable giving me the media which holds their precious memories, like a wedding, a child’s birth, family reunions, and so much more.
I am an award winning video editor and photo restoration specialist. If people have discolored, torn, or faded photographs, I have the ability to bring those photos back to life. A lot can be done with AI these days, but it’s important for me to use my personal touch in order to avoid the cartoonish look that can occur if you’re not careful.
There are other Home Video Studio owners across the country and we get together every year for intensive training in our craft. This matters because my customers can be assured I am up to speed on the latest trends and it allows me to deepen my skills. We also have a Hanley awards night, our version of the Oscars, named after our founder Robert Hanley. These are awards of video excellence among the other owners. I’ve been blessed to receive 20 awards in my seven years in business. I’m especially proud of a Hanley award I received last year for a documentary video produced in partnership with the City of Green Cove Springs celebrating their 150th Anniversary.
Locally, I’ve received Best of Clay in Photo and Video Restoration for the past three years, as well as Clay Chamber of Commerce Community Service Member of the Year for volunteer work.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
To embrace change! For two reasons:
1. Because of my line of work, I have to keep up with any new technology. I consider myself more of a creative, but I have to be able to do the actual hands-on work. Therefore, I have to be equipped and prepared when something new is on the horizon. When I started editing, it was with film, by hand. Think how far the technology has come from those days to now. I may have grumbled a bit on the way, but by embracing the change, I have a better product.
2. I never thought I would leave a job I really loved. But the necessary move forced me out of my comfort zone which eventually led me to become a Home Video Studio owner. I’m so grateful I embraced that change! It led me exactly where I was meant to be…reuniting people with their precious memories!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://homevideostudiogcs.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HVSGreenCove
