She bounces with excitement when talking about her passions, coffee — and shoes. But don’t let this South Alabama native fool you: her number one passion is Fondren. Leslee Foukal is a Belhaven grad with a biblical studies degree. Wanting to go “a different route” than her ‘business people’ parents, she thought she’d end up on the mission field in Africa. Instead the self described ‘overachiever’ graduated college a year early and bought a house in a more local mission field, West Fondren. Foukal says the area is ‘not coming around the way people might think.’ The 24 year lives near the new Fondren Park, locating there before it was anything more than a green space. And she says, much like her plans, other young people are buying property, not to turn a quick buck, but to plant themselves.

Foukal says she enjoys people. “I get taken for an extrovert,” she tells us, “but I’m actually kind of shy.” That is until she is surrounded by the things she loves. “It brings out the passionate part of me.” Foukal says now that her neighborhood is growing, especially with the new park, she looks forward to cookouts, hanging out there, and just connecting. That, she says, is where her skills come in handy. “I learned in school how to relate, and in real life, it’s what I do.” As manager of Sneaky Beans and her own social media consulting, Foukal says her ‘mission field’ is her customers. I was a completely different person with other jobs I have had. Now, I love everything about what I’m doing.