Moving & Finding Meaning: Meet the Monroe Family
Written by Seth Stutman
Photos by Hillary Lynn Photography
Sponsored by East Village Place
Published in Longmeadow Neighbors (July 2024)
“I’ve lived all over the US mostly in big cities or places where you live in a subdivision,” said Longmeadow Neighbors feature resident Amy Monroe. “I love that in Longmeadow you have more of a sense of community. I love that kids bike to school and we have sidewalks everywhere. It’s a great place to raise a child.”
The Monroe household has quieted down a bit in recent years, but there’s always something going on. Amy’s 16 year-old daughter, Maggie, attends Deerfield Academy. She’s involved in a lot of activities at school including soccer, hockey, rowing, Model UN, and a few other clubs. There’s also Mookie, a seven-year-old cat and Elliot, a Beagle/Jack Russell mix nearing his ninth birthday. The family loves to ski, travel and spend time together.
Amy met her significant other more than five years ago - and they met through Longmeadow friends. Barrett, who lives in Florence, MA also enjoys visiting Longmeadow, especially to spend time with Amy.
“We love to travel together and try new restaurants. A favorite memory would be a bike tour we did in Spain a few years ago."
Monroe and her family live across the street from the Circle Park neighborhood, and fondly remember neighborhood events from when their family was younger.
“Over the years, the neighbors have activities for the kids including an ice cream truck at the beginning of the year, Easter egg hunts, trick or treating, etc. It was great when Maggie was little and we were newer in town.”
Amy Monroe was born in South Florida and traveled north(ish) for college at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN where she majored in Psychology. From there, it was the Naval ROTC program where Monroe also served four years after college in the Navy. She was stationed in Pearl Harbor and San Diego and served on amphibious ships. After her military service, she attended the University of Michigan where she earned an MBA.
After business school, Amy spent nearly 20 years in corporate America in brand management with stops at Kraft Foods and Yankee Candle (which was the impetus for her move to the Pioneer Valley). However, post-pandemic, Monroe decided that she had had enough of the corporate world.
“The idea of taking another corporate job wasn’t appealing to me. I’ve always been interested in owning my own small business and decided the time was right for me to take this leap. I decided to look into buying a franchise since it takes some of the risk of owning a small business away. I looked at several different opportunities but was introduced to College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving through a franchise coach. I immediately fell in love with the brand and what it stands for.”
Monroe is excited about her ability to help move people while moving her employees to be the best versions of themselves.
“Our mission is to “Move the World” and this is both with our customers and the HUNKs we hire. We are trying to build leaders out of young adults and give them an opportunity to grow with our locations. Starting a new business is not for the faint of heart but I’m slowly building a team that I’m proud of who wants to give stress-free service to each of our customers.”
When she isn’t helping hunks, Monroe takes time to travel, give back, and immerse herself in Longmeadow. She has spent time on the Newcomers Club, served on the board for the Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF). With College Hunks, she knows that she can spread her philanthropy even further. One of the reasons she began her business was to be able to give back to the region who helped her when she needed it.
“As a single mom, I’ve often needed help with carpooling, etc and there have always been friends and neighbors there to help me. I like that wherever you go, you usually see someone you know. Living in Longmeadow during Covid was a blessing. Maggie was in middle school at the time and the fact that she could run around town on her bike to still have some fun was so great.”
While work brought her to the Pioneer Valley, the Monroe family chose Longmeadow … and they don’t regret it!
“I looked at some other areas in Western Mass but didn’t like how there wasn’t a town center, sidewalks, etc. - I chose Longmeadow because of the schools and that town feeling.”
