Brett and Janna Tucker understand that as a family grows, life can change. Your priorities shift, and with the right outlook, new opportunities can emerge. That is how this young family of five has made a home, and created a business, in Twin City.
Brett Tucker and Janna Gay met as students at the University of Georgia. Brett is from Ocilla and graduated from Irwin County High School in 2001. Janna grew up in Twin City and graduated from Emanuel County Institute in 2003.
“Our small town backgrounds and family values created an instant connection,” Janna said. “We married on campus at UGA in August of 2007.”
Brett attained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Agriculture Business and Leadership, and Jenna graduated with a degree in Public Relations. They moved to the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek after college, where Brett began working for the Georgia Transmission Corporation as a Land Agent. Jenna was hired by a recruiting firm to help place IT, creative and marketing talent for large corporations, including Google and The Home Depot.
They enjoyed their city life and busy jobs, but as their family began to grow, a return to their small-town roots became appealing. Their first daughter, Audrey Jane, was born in 2014 and they considered a move then.
“We got pregnant with twins in 2016 and after some complications at 20 weeks, I was put on strict bed rest,” Jenna said. “During this time, we slowed down completely and felt like God was pushing us to move back home. We took that step after the twins, Elizabeth and Bo, were born healthy at 35 weeks in January of 2017.”
The Tuckers sold their suburban house and chose to move to Twin City. They decided Jenna would stay home to help raise their three young children and eventually found a perfect home. Locally known as The Reecie Scott Place, the Tuckers began fixing up the home that was built in 1893 and even started a blog to record their renovation progress.
The move also got them closer to another element of their life. In 2011, Brett bought into the pecan farming business with his father, Tony Tucker, which operates on their family land in Ocilla. They have trees spread across some 40 acres of land and grow the Sumner variety of pecans there. Over the years, Jenna found many tasty ways to use some of the pecans from their harvest.
“We would have extra pecans in the freezer from harvest, and I had a recipe for spiced pecans,” Jenna said. “Brett loved them and has always said I should figure out how to sell them. When I quit my job, Brett encouraged me to get serious about figuring out how to package and sell the pecans. I spend many a nap time designing logos, selecting packaging, writing content, creating web pages and tweaking all of the recipes.”
That is how All the Fixin’s was born. The pecans are cleaned, cracked and sorted in their Ocilla facility, then shipped and prepared in Emanuel County. The Tuckers have kitchen and office space in both Swainsboro and Twin City. They feature flavored pecans, pecan candies, gift boxes and more. Their blog now features not just their tales of home renovation, but an online store to purchase their pecans, treats and other “Kitchen Fixin’s” too. You can visit it at allthefixings.net.
Every purchase also creates a wonderful donation within the community. The Tuckers partnered with Weekend Blessings, who sends home backpacks every Friday to more than 250 local children to ensure they have a food source over the weekend.
“We wanted to give back, so for every bag of pecans or candies purchased, we donate a 3-ounce “Hunger Fix” Snack Pack trail mix to Weekend Blessings,” Jenna said. “Thanks to all of our customers and supporters in 2020, we will have made over 5,000 donations to Weekend Blessings!”
So, the Tuckers have quickly created a life, a home and a new business for their family in Twin City. The community has embraced them. During the winter of 2020, they created outdoor shopping events with other local vendors.
“We had a vision to create a fun experience for families in our community during the holidays,” Jenna said. “It’s been a tough year on everyone, so we thought if we could host a safe event outdoors, while supporting local businesses, it could be a win-win for everyone.”
The events were a success, and they plan to continue hosting them throughout 2021. The next event is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6, at the four-way stop in Twin City from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. It’s just another way that the Tuckers are growing and thriving with their family, their business and in the community.
“We feel like our community has a sense of pride to share a little bit of Georgia and Twin City with their family and friends,” Jenna said. “We are thankful to continue our mission of sharing love through Georgia-grown pecans and Georgia products that give back.”
PHOTO CREDIT: JULIE FREEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
