10s of Oxford Bring Joy to Oxford and University of Mississippi

In our weekly recognition of upstanding people we choose those who have contributed to the Oxford and university community in admirable service, however that service may be. This week those who have brought joy to people’s lives are recognized.

Amanda Tarkington

Tarkington has been the Vogue stylist for 24 years who has brought pep and laughter to Vogue’s clients alongside fellow hairstylists like Cathy Rosamond. Tarkington said to Brittany Bugg, “We get called the Steel Magnolias of Oxford from some customers. We even get Christmas cards that say, ‘to the girls of Vogue’s Steel Magnolias’.”

Tarkington comes from a family of hair dressers. Her Uncle Sam was a barber in Oxford for nearly a lifetime, to name a relative. She brings a joyous personality to her job which makes the salon feels like a merry family reunion.

To learn more about her, read this feature on Vogue Hair Fashions.

Molly Fergusson

Molly Fergusson (left) and Melanie Addington (right)

Oxford Film Festival has brought so many from around the nation, people and films alike. The festival would have not been possible without its executive director, Molly Fergusson.

Fergusson has been in love with movies since she was stranded as a study-abroad student at University of Edinburgh in Scotland during the holidays. When she moved to Oxford in 1998 where a few independent films showed in Memphis. She yearned for more and jumped at the chance offered by Yoknapatawpha Arts Council to host Oxford’s first annual film festival.

Fergusson said she has made many friends and had a lot of fun since the festival’s opening in 2003, but she owes most of her gratitude to the people of Oxford. “If we didn’t have the educated and cultured audience that we have, we couldn’t pull it off,” Fergusson said. “Yes, we put in a lot of work, but we’re very lucky to be where we are.”

Read more about her in this profile.

Molly Mogridge

Molly Mogridge, courtesy

This realtor is an University of Mississippi graduate with a passion for pairing people with their homes in and near Oxford. She considers this passion as a gift from God, and intends to honor it.

Mogridge has remarked that the Oxford real estate market is booming so she is ready to meet the demand.

She collaborates with her husband, Jimmy Mogridge, sometimes on developing homes for listing. She has an eye for quality homes as she listed in the monthly Real Estate Opportunities.

Callie Daniels is a staff writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com.