our company profile


Kathy Gardener
Publisher
Advertising Sales
Photography

Kathy Gardener has worked in the advertising business since 1979.  She and her husband moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 1990, and founded Gardener Publications.  They discovered a need for local relocation information during their own move, and began publishing the Guide to Greater Columbia in 1990.  Kathy is responsible for advertising sales as well as publishing the guides and websites.  Kathy is dedicated to the success of her customers, and she loves figuring out new and effective ways to help them market their companies. 

"The most rewarding part of my work is helping other businesses grow.  I get such a kick out of stories from advertisers telling me about new customers they've gotten from our leads list, or someone they sold a house to who called them from their hotel room needing help, or how they've seen an uptick in visitor business in their restaurant since advertising with us.  How exciting!"

"I have built a small staff of caring individuals.  We are poised at the threshold of great things.  We just moved into our new office in West Columbia, and now have over twice the office space we have had for the past 16 years.  We now have room for more enthusiastic, dedicated people.  My goal is to continue to develop high-quality media platforms, both in print and online, that inform and/or entertain, and to use these platforms to showcase our advertisers and help propel them to greatness."

Carmen Rhone was graduated from Columbia College in 2001 and began her graphic design career at Gardener Publications in August of that year.  Carmen works in design for the company's websites and printed pieces. 

"During the past 8 years that I have worked for Gardener Publications, I have developed great working relationships with our advertisers. It gives them peace of mind to know that they are in good hands with our company, because they know that we provide good ad design - design that will get attention and will help them attract new customers.   I go the extra mile for our customers!"

"I talk to our clients about their specific needs, what message or image they wish to convey, and get on the same page with them.  This helps me to not only create beautiful and unique ads, but to design ads that accomplish their goals."

Carmen, her husband, Rodney and son, Emmanuel live in Northwest Columbia.
Carmen Rhone
Print Design
Web Design


Tina Jeffcoat
Office Manager
Distribution

Tina Jeffcoat joined Gardener Publications in 2005.  She was hired as Distribution Assistant and she was promoted to Office Manager in 2007.  Tina is responsible for distribution and accounting, and assists Kathy in her sales work. 

"I really believe our guides help people out. It is very rewarding to know that because of what we do, we help make our advertisers' businesses grow and that we also help people feel at home when they are in unfamiliar territories."

"I think that it is very important that our guides are delivered to people who are either moving to the area or are staying in hotels. If you are moving to the area and have never been here before, it would be beneficial to receive our relocation guide.   It will help you to pick out a house , different schools, doctors, etc.  When I lived in North Carolina there wasn’t a guide to help me get to know the area.  I felt completely lost for the first couple of months - I had to find  an apartment and also find a different doctor. If I would have had someone that could send me something to help me find a place to live or help me find  a doctor it would have been a blessing -  instead I had to figure it all out for myself, and boy, was it a headache!" 

"I believe my job in distributing the guides is very important.  If I send the guide to people who don't use it or give it out, then there is no one seeing the useful tools to help them find places to live, doctors, restaurants, schools, shopping and etc.  If the guide is properly distributed then it is beneficial to the people receiving the guide and to the advertisers - both will be happy. The people receiving the guide will be happy because it helps them find homes, schools, doctors, maps of the area , restaurants, shops and the advertisers will be happy because they will get more business.  I love my job!"

Tina and her husband, Jimmy, and her daughters Lindsay and Brianna live in Gaston.

Audra Hensley was graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2007.  She joined Gardener Publications in January of 2008 as Publisher's Assistant.  Audra works in many areas within the company, with emphasis on the company websites, doing both updating and design. 

"I love the internet!  Whether I’m searching for specific things, exploring other websites, or simply surfing to see what’s out there, it captivates me.  The two things that are so bothersome to me are non-updated content and a website that is just not user friendly. These are the things that I keep in mind constantly.  I do my utmost to keep our websites the best around and create a need for people to come back for more! I want people to say ‘Hey, go to gardenerguides.com…they have everything!’.  I accomplish this by keeping the information new and continuously adding more information."

"Whether I am updating listings for realtors, adding as many events as possible to our calendar or searching for the very best events for This Week’s Top 10 Things to Do, I strive to keep our websites at the top and UPDATED!  I understand the need to update content in order to stay at the top of search engine results.  I know that providing the most recent information is the way to draw people to our websites and in turn, our advertisers’ websites.  I realize that updating is imperative to the success of our business and our advertisers’ businesses. My commitment is to make sure that our advertisers’ information is the most up-to-date and as recent as possible."
Audra Hensley
Publisher's Assistant
Web Content


kathy@gardenerguides.com | 1-800-506-2890 or 803-798-6960