For the Love of Gatlinburg: S1, E5 — A Heart for Hospitality

Jackie Leatherwood, General Manager of Greystone Lodge, has spent 28 years at the hotel — but her roots in Sevier County run generations deeper. Born and raised in Sevierville ("below the tunnel," as locals say), Jackie's family history is woven into the fabric of the area: her grandfather owned Rush Cleaners, once the only dry cleaner in Gatlinburg, and her grandmother worked at Pigeon Forge Pottery for over 40 years — a connection Jackie still honors today by flipping over every piece of pottery she finds, checking for her grandmother's signature.

The conversation traces Jackie's path from childhood visits to downtown Gatlinburg — where she roamed freely while her grandfather ran his dry cleaning route, delivering clothes directly into customers' homes — to her decades of service leading one of Gatlinburg's legacy hotels. She discusses her extensive civic involvement, including years on the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce board, the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, and 18 years on the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association board, where she served as chair.

Jackie shares a moving firsthand account of the 2016 wildfires — evacuating guests, serving as secretary of the Mountain Tough Recovery Team, and the community's outpouring of support, including a guest who drove seven hours from Memphis with supplies and gift cards for her staff. Throughout, Jackie returns again and again to a single theme: that Gatlinburg's true heartbeat isn't its attractions or its scenery, but its people — the housekeepers, front desk clerks, and neighbors who make the town what it is.

• Roots that predate the town's tourism boom. Jackie's grandfather ran Rush Cleaners, once the only dry cleaner in Gatlinburg, delivering clothes directly into customers' homes — and her grandmother worked at Pigeon Forge Pottery for over 40 years, a connection Jackie still honors by checking every piece of pottery she finds for her grandmother's signature.

• "Gatlinburg's biggest asset is its people." Jackie emphasizes that while advertising showcases fall colors and mountain views, it's the personal relationships — guests who know front desk clerks by name — that keep visitors coming back for decades.

• A voice at the state level. Jackie has served on the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce board, the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, and 18 years on the Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association board (including a term as chair) — the organization's advocacy arm on Capitol Hill for the hospitality industry.

• An "abundance mentality" unique to Sevier County. Jackie describes a community where restaurateurs support restaurateurs and hoteliers support hoteliers — a level of mutual support that colleagues from other states have specifically remarked on as unusual.

• Leading through the 2016 wildfires. Jackie was the last person off her hotel property that night, checking all 241 rooms before helping set up triage operations at Rocky Top Sports World, and later served as secretary of the Mountain Tough Recovery Team.

• A guest who drove seven hours to help. In the aftermath of the fires, a longtime customer drove from Memphis with a trailer full of new supplies and over $1,000 in gift cards for Jackie's staff — a moment Jackie says she'll never forget.

• Christmas Eve occupancy tells its own story. In the late 1990s, Greystone Lodge might have had 10 rooms booked on Christmas Eve; today, that number is 80 to 90 — a sign of how many guests now consider Gatlinburg part of their holiday tradition.

• Raising a family in Gatlinburg. Jackie's children attended Pi Beta Phi Elementary and Gatlinburg-Pittman High School, walking to donut shops and watching taffy being made after school — and, like many locals raised there, both eventually chose to return after college.