Lori McClure
Director of Operations, Zell Miller Foundation
North Georgia College and State University (University of North Georgia), B.B.A ‘98
Hayesville, NC
Lori McClure grew up in Young Harris, Georgia. A small mountain community of Towns County located in northeast Georgia. “My parents were the typical middle-class family. My mom was a teacher in the local school system and my dad a carpenter.”
“Growing up with a parent as an educator, I knew after high school that I would continue my education in some way. My mom would always tell me that it didn’t matter if it was a technical college or university, but I would get a degree somewhere.” Upon graduating from Towns County Comprehensive School in 1994 with only 45 people in the class, she decided to start with a college that was small. “Since several of my close friends were going Truett-McConnell College, I decided to apply as well. Truett-McConnell is a private college, and I knew it was a long shot that we could afford for me to attend. Much to my surprise, I received several scholarships, one of those being HOPE.
After graduating from Truett-McConnell College, Lori transferred to North Georgia College and State University (University of North Georgia) where she was accepted into the business program.
“I always knew I wanted to come back to my community. With a business degree, I thought that would give me the flexibility to go into just about any industry.”
“Several months before I graduated, the president of the local bank saw my mom and asked her about me. Upon her learning I was about to graduate with a marketing degree, she told my mom that she wanted to talk to me as they were needing someone in their marketing department. Within a couple of weeks of that conversation, they offered me my first ‘grown up’ job as Marketing Coordinator. I was fortunate to have a job and start working before I even graduated.”
Lori graduated from North Georgia College and State University in 1998 with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing. “I was one of the few in my class to graduate with no debt. I was truly blessed to have scholarships and the support of my family to achieve this.”
Most of Lori’s career has been spent in the financial industry. “My time with Bank of Hiawassee laid the groundwork for my career path. I spent time learning the functions of each department and how each of them relates to each other. I had wonderful supervisors who were great mentors. It was an invaluable experience. We were and still are a close group, even with the financial crisis of 2008, when many of us took different career paths.”
Lori is currently the Director of Operations for the Zell Miller Foundation. As with many things in her life, being in a small community allows people to have a wonderful networking group. “A mutual friend of Bryan Miller (Executive Director of the Zell Miller Foundation) and myself, knew that Bryan was looking for someone in the area to help grow the foundation. I got the call from my friend describing the job, and she said this would be perfect for you!” When I spoke with Bryan about the opportunity, I knew this was where God was leading me.”
Being in the nonprofit field is definitely different than the corporate world, but with the financial background, it’s been a perfect fit. “Through the Zell Miller Foundation, I have been able to meet so many people across Georgia and the nation who want to make the state and their local communities a better place for everyone. I never would have imagined my career would’ve taken this path, but I’m so glad it did.”
After she married, Lori moved to Hayesville, North Carolina, where she and her husband, Mike, live on their family farm. She may have changed states, but only lives 2 miles from the Georgia state line. They have two children, Jacob, age 15 and Addison, age 11. They are active in their local school, community and church.