In December of 2009, Haley took a few weeks off to travel to the U.S. to help her family move from their home in Pensacola, Florida to the Birmingham, Alabama area. Her parents, Grant & Luann Hobart were relocating to a small community north of Birmingham called Gardendale. Grant was a State Farm Agent, and because of all the hurricanes, State Farm was downsizing their operations in The Sunshine State. He was given the option to retire early or accept a post in another State. He was not ready to retire, so Grant and Luann made a list with all the qualities of a place they would love to live in and retire at some point. After visiting the Birmingham/Gardendale area, they quickly realized that all their boxes were checked off. Grant was offered an Agency in Gardendale, and the family moved north along with Haley’s Sister Abigail, her Husband Sean (who worked with Grant), and their two children, Mollie and Emerson.

The first Sunday of 2010, Haley’s Sister googled “Churches in Birmingham, Alabama with small groups.” They knew no one in the area, and they needed a Church home to plug in to that was similar to the one they attended in Pensacola. “Church of The Highlands” was the top search result, so they all loaded up and headed to The Grants Mill location. Haley was impressed with Pastor Chris Hodges, but more so by his message titled “Find Your 5.” He challenged her to locate her top 5 values, write them down, and spend some time each day doing even small actions that reflected her top 5 values. Haley took a lot of notes and headed back to Sweden to continue her life and career there.

She had placed “Family” in her top 5, and every day she would look at the notes attached to her refrigerator. Something began to change in her, and she slowly came to the realization that if her family was in her top 5, then what was she doing pursuing a life apart from them on the other side of the planet?

Led by Jesus, Haley resigned her position, sold her condo, finished out the school year, and packed up all her possessions to move to Birmingham, Alabama. Her plane landed on July 3^rd, 2010 (which also happens to be the birthday of James K Jones).

Haley’s Brother Hobie, along with his wife Valerie and their children Kelsey and Luke also moved to Gardendale from South Carolina to work with Grant in his new agency. Haley was overjoyed by the fact that she was living in the same town with her parents and her siblings. It was the first time in her adult life that they were all together. However, the career front was very difficult for Haley. She struggled to find her way as she was passed over for several teaching jobs. She found out that her success in Europe didn’t follow her to the United States.

Soon after arriving in Birmingham, Haley marched into the main offices at Church of The Highlands and asked to see Pastor Chris Hodges. She thought that he would want to hear her story and perhaps he had some advice for her since it was his sermon on “Find your 5” that eventually led her to Birmingham. She was shocked, and even a little frustrated she wasn’t able to meet him. She did join Church of The Highlands and became very involved in small groups.

Eventually the confusion about her career path led her to Grant’s office, where Haley took over as his new Director of Marketing. Haley had no interest in insurance, but she loved her Dad and was excited about working with him. For the next year or so, all of Grant & Luann’s children were working with his agency. Haley took off like a rocket, and eventually realized how much she loved all the ins and outs of Marketing & Networking. This set her path blazing in a whole new direction. She joined the local Chamber of Commerce, created an exciting new avenue called “breakfast-on-the-go”, and joined a Business Networking Group. Her Dad’s previous Marketing Strategy had been to go a mile wide and an inch deep. Haley challenged him to flip his thinking and instead they would go an inch wide and a mile deep in the community where they were planted.

In April of 2012, while serving as an Ambassador for The Gardendale Chamber of Commerce, Haley was tasked with welcoming the newest restaurant, Kairos Kafe, and the owner, James K Jones. After a chance meeting at the front counter, she invited James to use the fax machine in her office (which was less than a mile away). When James arrived Haley was not present, but he spent about 30 minutes in great conversation with Grant Hobart. James had no idea that this man would one day be the Grandfather of his children, or that this would be his only opportunity to talk to the man who fathered his future wife.

In June of 2012 Grant was scheduled to undergo an open-heart procedure that would repair some issues with his heart. The Doctors described it as a routine surgery that had less than a 3% chance of complications. With his family all gathered around him, he was wheeled back into surgery with one last request: a kiss from his wife Luann… “with lots of tongue!”

Unfortunately, there were complications, and Grant would never wake up from the surgery. With his wife and his children surrounding him a few days later Grant went to Heaven. Haley and her family were in shock, and as she left the hospital, she had the thought “My Dad will never walk me down the aisle…” That thought was quickly replaced by a realization (that she believes Jesus spoke to her) that her Daddy had been walking her down the aisle for 33 years.

Shortly after Haley’s dad went to heaven in 2012, she decided to step out on her own adventure, and started HāHo International. She worked with individuals and small businesses, helping them build clientele and organizational structure.

This was also the year Haley and James met and had their first date. A couple months later they were engaged, then married! James texted Haley and told her that he had a PF Changs gift card that was about to expire and wondered if she would like to go with him to use it. In spite of this ‘less than ideal’ way to be asked on a first date, she fell for him. And the rest was history!

After Haley and James married, she came alongside James to help with Kairos. Together they made great strides to get Kairos where they wanted it to be.

In 2014, Lula Mae Jones was born. Soon after, James was offered his position at The Foundry Ministries. This ultimately led them to close down Kairos permanently so that James could put all his attention in his new job. Haley turned her attention to being a mom. 2 ½ years later, Haley gave birth to twin boys. Judah James and Royal Grant. During this time, Haley was given the opportunity to serve at her church as the Women’s Coordinator. During this period, Haley’s Mom Luann was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. She walked that journey alongside her mom and best friend until Jesus called her home in April 2019.

She will tell you that she grew more in this season than ever before. Learning and understanding herself as well as others, and the importance of being aware and mindful of how we are made, how we communicate, and how we can set ourselves up to succeed in any circumstance we may find ourselves. Haley is excited and expectant as she and James launch their company with the ultimate goal to help businesses and organizations get clarity and understanding of the individuals that make up their teams. Haley knows from experience that this understanding stimulates more effective leadership, efficient as well as productive teamwork, and overall growth.

EXPERIENCE

·      Co-Founder of The Team Jones Company 

·      Marketing Director- State Farm Insurance (2011 – 2016)

·      Growth and Development Director- BNI Alabama (2011- 2014)

·      Teacher/ Program Coordinator- International School of the Gothenburg Region (ISGR) (2004 – 2010)

EDUCATION

·      High School – Aletheia Christian Academy 1998

·      Flagler College – Bachelor of Arts Education 2002

·      Gothenburg University- Master’s in Counseling/Psychology 2006

·      Intrinsic Coach – Certification obtained to help people process and discover solutions through an intrinsic approach

OTHER

·      Women’s Hub Leader- Church of the Highlands -Fultondale Campus (2014 – 2018)

·      Church of the Highlands Ministry Team- (2015 – Present)

·      Small Group Leader/Coach- Church of the Highlands (2010 – Present)