About Laura
Hi! I'm Laura Burgess. I was born Laura Kay Ledbetter on August 9, 1968. My parents are Doris and the late Lloyd Ledbetter of Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is where I live now (as well as for the first 31 years of my life). My sister Marcia lives in Roswell, Georgia; she and her ex-husband Hal have 5 grown children. My brother Phil and his wife Arlene live in nearby Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; they have 3 grown children and 3 "children-in-law." I graduated from Brainerd High School in 1986 and from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1990 (go Mocs!) My degree is in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Since then, I've worked in several different elementary and/or preschool settings, including child care centers, Head Start, Montessori preschool, and traditional kindergarten. I'm currently teaching preschool for KinderCare Learning Centers. I love children, and look forward to hopefully being at stay-at-home Mom once we start our own family.
Some of my favorite things in life include: rubber stamping and scrapbooking (for which I have my own web page), music, movies, reading, being outdoors, Italian food, the ocean, things with stars, and space in general [one of the big thrills in my life was attending Space Camp for Teachers in 1994]. I've also been interested in the Titanic [the ship] and Beauty and the Beast [the fairy tale] since long before either of the movies was made. I love animals, especially our friendly, adorable dog Cody and our teeny dwarf hamster, and am a proud supporter of Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Rescue Site.
I grew up in Girl Scouting and have lots of wonderful memories, especially from Camp Adahi resident camp on beautiful Lookout Mountain (near Chattanooga); I spent eight summers as a camper and two summers as a counselor there. One of my greatest experiences in Scouting was my Wider Opportunity in San Bernardino, California in 1983. I was also chosen as a girl delegate to the National Girl Scout Convention in Detroit, Michigan in 1984. I had the enjoyment of being a Senior Aide my last year as a girl member of scouting, and as an adult member have enjoyed being both an assistant leader and a council trainer.
Church has been an important part of my life since my youth group days at Central Baptist Church, Woodmore from 1980 to 1990. I was a member of First-Centenary United Methodist Church in downtown Chattanooga from 1990 to 2000. I enjoyed singing in the choir, playing handbells, volunteering in children's ministries, and being a member and officer of the Singles One group for three years. It was in that group that I met my wonderful husband Tony; and ten months later, we were married in the nave at First-Centenary. The choir sang, the handbells played, and many of our friends from various ministries of the church were there to share the greatest day of our lives (thus far). From 2000 to 2004 we were members of Trinity UMC in Murfreesboro, a place where we grew in Christ. Because of Trinity, in 2003 we were able to attend the Walk to Emmaus in Nashville, the birthplace of the Emmaus movement. We are now members of White Oak United Methodist Church here in the Chattanooga, where I sing in the choir, volunteer with children's ministry and teach the occasional crafting class. We are also members of the Looney Sunday School class (named for retired Bishop Richard Looney, former pastor of White Oak).
Being married is sometimes still a new experience for this former "confirmed bachelorette" even well past our 10th anniversary; but it's a great experience nonetheless. If it weren’t for Tony, I don't know what I would have done during the critical times in my life the past decade, my mother's two surgeries for breast cancer, the fire that destroyed the apartment I had lived in for five years, and my father's death in 2006. God definitely brought us together at the appropriate time; our first year, our time in Murfreesboro and our return to Chattanooga in 2004 have led us to the place where God wants us. As a well-known Christian artist sings, "this is the great adventure!"
