Staff Focus: Taylor Langford

Taylor Langford just can’t seem to stay away from Common House. She was here from the beginning, serving as front-of-house manager when we opened the Chattanooga House. She took some time away from that role, yet still stayed on as a member. Now, she’s back on board as the Membership Manager. And, this fall she’ll tie the knot at Common House. We caught up with Taylor to hear how she’s settling into her new role and planning for the big day.

Taylor, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Well, this is actually my second time working at Common House. I was the opening manager for front-of-house. And now I’m back as the Membership Manager. But I grew up in South Carolina and went to Coastal Carolina University. I have a biology degree, which is not necessarily relevant to my job at all. I moved to Chattanooga three years ago from New York City, so right in the middle of the pandemic. I love it here. I pretty quickly bought a house with my fiance and got a giant golden retriever and a little insta-family. Now I do a lot of really basic Chattanooga things. I'm outside all the time, I really like to garden, and I go on a lot of hikes. 

Important question – what’s your golden retriever’s name?

Waylon (yes like Waylon Jennings). He’s wonderful, big, and dopey. 

Oh wow, congrats! How’s wedding planning going?

It’s going great! It’s been really easy thanks to Rebecca, who everyone knows as the Private Events Director, but she’s also my wedding planner and just an incredible friend. I know how all the events work at Common House, I've worked a ton of them. So it was a very easy decision to say that's where we (Graham and I) wanted to get married.

Common House has clearly had a strong presence in your personal and professional life. 

Leaving was really difficult for me. I didn't want to leave the job, but it just didn't make sense at the time. But I stayed really close with all the staff and continued as a member after leaving, so I was still there all the time. I had other jobs in between leaving Common House and coming back that really set me up to come into this role and be able to do it really well. Especially already having that huge understanding of Common House. And I mean, I love it. I love it so much. And I believe in it. And I wanted to come back immediately after I left.

So, in between working with Common House you were a member. What did you like about the membership experience?

It's a great place to hang out and bring friends or family who are visiting. The pool in the summertime on the weekends is the best, and I love all of the outdoor spaces. I would use it as a coworking space pretty frequently when I was a member and it was just great being able to sit outside and work and not be confined to one space.

What do you enjoy most about your new role as Membership Manager?

I'm a super friendly person. All of my jobs have been involved in hospitality and you know, just being outgoing. And I've never had a bad experience in Common House and I just love being in the space and watching other people interact. I've gotten to work really closely with Abby, the Programming Manager, which has been really fun. For me, I love giving tours of this space because it’s so incredible. And it's just been really cool to meet members that I hadn't met before and coming back and working with people that I had already created relationships with.