Mandy Reams

My name is Mandy Reams, I am currently a Senior at the University of Alabama and will graduate December 2016 with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Depth Study in Leadership. I live in Sylacauga, Alabama and have been married to Chad Reams for fourteen years. We have three children: JC, 13, Liv, 11, and Eva, 8. We attend St. Jude Catholic Church and I am the Religious Education Instructor there.

I was born in Montgomery, Alabama and came home to Sylacauga a few short days later and I have never left. I love that I live in a small town because the feeling of community that it provides. We are a short drive away from 'big city living' with a much smaller property tax. Two of my three sisters still call Sylacauga home as do my parents and my husband's parents.

I started teaching fitness classes after I took a hiatus from teaching dance classes after the births of my children. It became a passion for me and I am now certified as a Group Exercise Instructor by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and as a Youth Exercise Specialist by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. I also hold certifications in Jazz, Tap, and Acrobatics by the Southern Association of Dance Masters.

After owning my own studio for five years, but feeling like I should give back to my community and what gave me such a fulfilling life, I gifted my business to the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement. I joined forces with my friend Heather Adair and we came together to make dance and fitness available to every child in Sylacauga and across Talladega County. One year into the program, it growing leaps and bounds and I cannot be more proud of our decision to give back to our community. I am now the Fitness and Wellness Coordinator and Dance Instructor for the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement. I get to do what I love every single day of my life and that is the greatest blessing. Daily I get to teach dance, baton, and acrobatics, teach KidFIT in our after school programs, and teach fitness classes to our adult participants.

I live my life by the following verse because so much of my life I spent trying to control and fix things that were beyond me, until the day I just gave it to God, and my life forever changed: Proverbs 3: 5-6, " Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."