Meet JAMIE CROW CONGER & KATIE McNEIL
Jamie Crow Conger and Katie McNeil were born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, and growing up they spent summers on Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. They both attended St. Ignatius Catholic School, McGill Toolen Catholic High School, and then went off to The University of Alabama, where Jamie majored in graphic design and advertising and Katie pursued a degree in public relations.
After college, Jamie married a Texas native, moved to San Antonio, and started working under interior decorator, storeowner, and TSG member Bonnie Chumbley at Svelte Veldt Home. While working there, she met Francie Mannix, Editor of The Scout Guide San Antonio. While she loved Svelte Veldt and the decorating world, she couldn’t help thinking what a dream it would be to bring The Scout Guide to the Mobile Bay area.
Following graduation from college, Katie spent four and a half years in Mobile’s “wilder sister city to the west,” New Orleans. While living in the Big Easy, she worked in the marketing department at Tulane University and came across The Scout Guide New Orleans. Watching the positive changes happening in Mobile from afar was exciting, but she wanted to play a part in building the momentum to create a better Mobile, and thought TSG might be the perfect way to join the movement.
When they both arrived back in their hometown around the same time, Jamie and Katie discovered their mutual admiration for The Scout Guide. Katie told Jamie she had already contacted TSG Headquarters in Charlottesville about starting a guide, and the two teamed up to create The Scout Guide Mobile Bay. Jamie’s favorite aspects of the job are meeting so many wonderful people within her community, finding entrepreneurs who are doing what they love, and helping them thrive; Katie’s favorite parts of her job include building relationships with clients who quickly become close friends, promoting local businesses, and championing the professional dreams of the people in the city she loves.
Jamie and her husband, Jack Conger, a commercial real estate agent in Mobile, reside in Midtown with their two daughters, Sarah Harris and Katherine. They enjoy all types of live music, boat rides with their girls, and cooking at home. Katie recently purchased a home in Midtown Mobile and loves spending time “over the bay” in Fairhope, either walking the streets of downtown, boat riding, or watching a famous Mobile Bay sunset.
Jamie & Katie’s Favorite Reasons to Visit
The Water. Whether you’re gathering loved ones on the wharf or enjoying sunset rides with boat drinks, Mobile Bay is a place to slow down, surround yourself with family and friends, and enjoy the view,” Jamie says. Katie adds, “There are a plethora of beaches and waterways at your fingertips in Mobile. Orange Beach, Mobile Bay, Dog River, Dauphin Island, the Mobile-Tensaw Delta— each is just a short drive away.
Food and Wine. Fresh seafood at every turn and old family recipes shared amongst the community are what make Mobile Bay’s food scene so unique,” says Jamie. “An all-time favorite born right here in Mobile is West Indies Salad: jumbo lump crab meat caught right off the wharf, picked at the dinner table over old newspapers. Mix it up with apple cider vinegar, vegetable oil, raw chopped onions, and black pepper. All you need are Saltines for dipping.” According to Katie, “The food scene around Mobile Bay is on the rise, with new restaurants, bars, and venues popping up on both sides of the Bay. I love the energy and variety brought forth from the newcomers, but the tried and true, like a red upside down hotdog at the Dew Drop Inn in midtown or a ‘Chrissy’ after-dinner cocktail at Felix’s Fish Camp on the Causeway, will always have my heart.
The History. With the USS Alabama parked in Mobile Bay, this city is steeped in history,” says Katie. “And as most Mobilians are quick to remind you, the original Mardi Gras celebration was founded right here in Mobile over 300 years ago.