The DS Murphy Newsletter

By Kate Merrihew – Director of Education and Marketing

Is it narcissism? Maybe. Is it self-awareness? Maybe. Is it a lack of someone else on the Team who wants to answer questions on the phone for 30 minutes in August? Very likely, but I turned 40 on August 3^rd so I thought now was as good a time as any to be the monthly spotlight.

I was born in Washington D.C. and raised on farmland in Virginia by my first-grade teacher Mother and veterinarian Father.  I have 1 brother who is 17 months older than me and besides our warped sense of humor, completely different.  My father had polio when he was a child and he could not play many team/traditional sports, so he got into outdoor activities (hiking, caving, skiing, rock-climbing…yes).  He spent our childhood trying to infuse that love into my brother and I.  Spoiler alert: it worked. My mother is perhaps the nicest human to walk the earth and she spent our childhood making mundane things fun, encouraging the pursuit of any and everything and trying to keep my dad from expecting 6 year old Kate hike to 7 miles or be able to replace a fan belt.  The major consistent element of my young life was the inability to pick just 1 thing to do or be.  I played soccer (and a variety of other sports) and did regional theatre in the evenings because my school was too small to have a drama department.

I attended the University of Virginia where I studied everything.  Seriously, if one person can study everything, I did it.  I ended up “focusing” on Architecture, Art and Drama.  I met most of my favorite people at UVA who are still my best friends today.  Charlottesville was perfect because it was creative while grounded in academics and the mountains were so close to escape to.  After college, most of my friends took immediate employment and I was still undecided. I decided to move to the Virgin Islands and be a bartender.  I lived in St. John and helped with scuba tours, bartended and hitch-hiked before deciding I should probably go to grad school.  Part of me thought that going to grad school would help me make up my mind on direction.  Spoiler alert: it did not. 

I went to Marymount and earned a master’s in interior architecture.  I spent a few years working for a firm that did adaptive re-use and remodeling in Alexandria, VA when I met my husband, Tom.  Tom is an entrepreneur at heart, and I knew we would be tied to whatever big project was next.  That big project was a start-up that brought us to Atlanta.  2 guys he knew from UNC were already in the Atlanta area and wanted Tom to help them start a restaurant software company.  He moved to midtown in May and I followed him in August of 2012.  We settled on Decatur because I knew a pastry chef (originally from Duluth) who said “Kate, if I know you, you belong in Decatur.”  He was right and we have lived in Decatur since shortly after my arrival.  We were not sure how long we were going to be in Georgia and Tom was working 100+ hour weeks so I took quite a few different jobs.  I worked for the High Museum in the Marketing Dept, as an art-curator and house manager for a Buckhead family and as a bartender.  I did architectural drawings and regional theatre as a side hustle.

When we were purchasing our first condo, I was at the home to meet the appraiser (you can do that you know…) and he was not at all what I pictured.  He was chatty, fun and willing to walk me through the entire process.  I was immediately excited about the profession because of the flexibility and how I could envision using my Architecture background to talk about ROI.  That appraiser was Jacob Dore, an appraiser with D.S. Murphy and Associates.  He took me on as his first trainee about 6 months later. 

If you think that this is where my disjointed and chaotic life story takes a monotonous turn, you would be wrong.  Jacob took a job with Truist shortly after we started together.  I trained with Scott Murphy for about 2 months and then trained with Mark Durden but because it took me (ahem) 5 years to get certified, I also worked with Sharon Washney.  Did I mention that I was also pregnant, twice?  I had my sons Jack and Dean (2016 and 2018) while working as a licensed appraiser with D.S. Murphy.  I felt completely supported, cared for and respected by Scott, Mark, Sharon and the team so when I was ready to take on more responsibility/hours, I wanted it to be with D.S.M.  I had a long phone call with Steve King in 2020 where I detailed all of the ideas that I had for the company and the success that I believed we could have.  The most important thing to me though, was the people.  The people who had supported me through part-time, freelance style and full-time working and 2 kids and a husband with a crazy start-up schedule.  The people who were so loving, thoughtful and unique that I couldn’t see myself leaving.  The people of D.S. Murphy are special. 

I have been the Director of Education and Marketing for more than 2 years now and I am excited about where we are headed.  I want the best for this company and for these people.  I don’t have a complete idea of what that looks like yet but you can probably tell from this bio that I will try every possible way to figure out how to get there. 

I asked myself the following questions…

Q: What made you want to work in this industry?

A: Tom and I wanted to start our family and he was still working insane hours.  The flexibility sounded like the right fit and I could use my degrees without needing to do the same line of work as I had been doing in Virginia.

Q: What would you like to do when you are no longer working at DSMurphy?

A: Probably start my own small company or start one with my husband – likely nothing to do with appraisals.  We have also always wanted to travel with the boys and to get them to see the world but also travel just the 2 of us.

Q: What the weirdest thing you have come across on an appraisal inspection?

A:  Jacob and I appraised the home of a famous musician in my first months as a trainee.  The poor design, disarray, and strange elements of the home are something I will never forget.  There was a fish stream running through the home with a frosted glass floor so that you could see the fish swimming (but there was no water, no fish and the glass was cracked in places).  There was technically only 1 bedroom in the enormous main house and 5 bathrooms.  The indoor pool was full of trash (also no water) and there were quite a few leaks.  We also found a bunch of their friends or family asleep in different rooms.  It was an eye-opening experience.  You never know what you need to be prepared for.

Q: Something no one knows about you?

A:  When I was a little I decided to memorize “Yako’s Countries of the World” and I can still sing all the countries (though a few have combined or changed names but seriously, who would know?).  I have a ridiculously good memory for songs, lines and random facts but cannot remember historical dates to save my life (or my 7^th grade test scores).

Q: What words of wisdom can you share with the team?

A:  Everything in moderation, including moderation. 

If you’re a yes person, learn to say no more often and vice versa.  You never know what a few boundaries or the lack thereof can do for your life.  But definitely jump off of that (already tested and approved) cliff.