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Gary has 22 years of experience in pharmaceutical/biotech sales, marketing, national accounts, and business development with Fortune 500 companies including Genzyme, Amgen, and Astra-Zeneca. He led the launch of Cheeriodicals.com to offer an online solution for personal, unique, and useful gifts for hospital patients in 2011. His online success led to the development of the team building concept as a separate market to allow large organizations to come together to assemble gift boxes for children and deliver to an entire hospital full of children.

Gary earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from East Carolina University. He earned his Masters in Business Administration from Auburn University Montgomery, where he was selected as a “Top 50” graduate at AUM’s 50 year anniversary celebration and AUM Alumni of the Year 2018.  Gary and Mary Martha were Alabama Launchpad entrepreneurship winners in 2014.

Mary Martha has more than 15 years of experience as an attorney across several industries, with more than 10 of those years as corporate counsel for a pharmaceutical company. That experience in compliance in the healthcare market has been a crucial part of her success with Cheeriodicals. She had the original idea to create a cheer-up gift concept that would be perfect for hospital patients, both adult and children, in 2011. She realized that hospital patients were often sent flowers or balloons as gifts, but also sensed these gifts were not ideal for many patients. She turned that singular idea into an online company that provides a one-of-a-kind, upscale options to hospitals patients and consumers in other markets.

Mary Martha earned her BS in Finance and MBA from Auburn University Montgomery, where she was selected as one of the “Top 50” graduates at AUM’s 50 year anniversary celebration and AUM Alumni of the year 2018. Mary Martha earned her Juris Doctorate at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Mary Martha and Gary were Alabama Launchpad entrepreneurship winners in 2014.

Jessica grew up in the Birmingham, AL area and graduated with a degree in Communications with a concentration in Communications Management. She has had five years of experience working events ranging from small local companies to larger corporations in the Birmingham area. Jessica has also worked in Marketing with a focus in social media.

After years in the event industry, Erica Bennett is an inviting combination of client engagement expertise, event management experience, and a lifelong commitment to community impact. At Cheeriodicals, she focuses on strengthening client engagement and storytelling through giveback team builds, content development, and website enhancement initiatives. Erica holds a BA in Religious Studies/Anthropology-Sociology from Millsaps College and an MA in Religious Studies from the University of Alabama. She spent her college years doing community service, fundraising, and event planning for organizations including Prevent Child Abuse America, Girl Scouts of America, Moundville Archaeological Park, and the Natural History Museum of Alabama. Beyond her professional work, Erica serves on the Board of Directors for a semi-professional adult volleyball team in Huntsville, Alabama, where she builds community partnerships as Sponsorship Coordinator and advocates for the growth of volleyball across the state.

Jadyn grew up in a small town south of Birmingham, AL.  She has lived in Alabama her whole life but enjoys traveling to new places. She is currently pursuing a Marketing degree through the University of West Alabama. In her free time Jadyn enjoys going to the lake, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her friends and family!

Richard is experienced in digital marketing and traditional marketing strategies, content creation, advertising, market research, and graphic design. He has a strong focus on strategizing campaigns and brand strengthening. His focus with Cheeriodicals is maintaining client relationships, not only in the digital world but in the corporate atmosphere as well. Alongside client relationships, Richard is determined to keep Cheeriodicals at the forefront of team building efforts and maintaining a strong brand presence within communities and companies.

Richard earned a Bachelor of Marketing Management from the University of Alabama Birmingham.