A South Georgia girl and a South Florida boy…how did this happen?

Mack spent his early childhood in Hobe Sound, Florida as the youngest child of Jim and Belinda. They, along with his older sister and brother, Jessie and Walker, spent alot of time traveling to a hunting camp in middle Georgia. The drive would take them through Valdosta, where they decided to move when Mack was seven years old.

Palmer spent her childhood in Thomas County, Georgia. She, along with her parents, Payton and Betty Ann and her older brother, Matthew, attended church in Valdosta, just a short drive east of her hometown.

Mack and Palmer, both members of the Kingdom Kids Ministry at Azalea City Church of God became friends while still in elementary school. As middle and high school brought new people into both of their lives, the friendship they started remained strong.

Eventually college took Mack to Statesboro and Palmer to Milledgeville. Still, they remained friends. So much so that Mack escorted Palmer to a sorority event and his family lake house was used for her graduation party. Mack coming from Statesboro to attend.

After graduating college, Palmer moved to Valdosta in pursuit of her Masters Degree. A few months later Mack, graduating from GSU, moved to Vero Beach Florida for his career as a civil engineer.

The friendship remained.

Early 2021, a little interest in more than friendship began to brew and in April of that same year the two went on a first date, “to see how things went”. This kicked off a few months of talking and texting as they began to get to know each other a little better.

Palmer moved to St. Mary’s in May 2021, while Mack still lived in south Florida. The phone calls and texts continued and by that Fall Mack was ready for a new step. Returning to St Mary’s after a Georgia Bulldog football victory (37-0) weekend, he asked her to “go steady”.

For the next several months Mack and Palmer traveled alot of miles to visit one another, exploring each others towns, watching movies, checking out the different beaches (remember both lived in coastal communities). Meeting half way, they spent a day in St Augustine as well as Flagler Beach, where they spent the day with Mack’s sister and her husband, Matt.

Only a few short months after making their relationship official both knew it was special. So it was no surprise that New Year’s Eve 2021 found them in Nashville, TN ringing in the New Year together with friends and family. For the next six months they remained long distance daters, taking every advantage of time together. Even walking on a beach talking until they both had blisters on their bare feet.

Summer of 2022 came with alot of changes. Palmer accepted a job in Lowndes County that moved her back to Valdosta in June. July took them to Atlanta with friends for a concert weekend that will go down in their memory banks as one of the best times of their lives. August brought the most pivotal change of their relationship as Mack accepted a position in Valdosta bringing them both back to where it all began 17 years earlier.

Seeing each other everyday brought such joy! Mack introduced Palmer to duck and deer hunting. Palmer introduced Mack to Gilmore Girls and Suits. Together, they have taken fishing trips, vacationed with family, attended weddings, celebrated birthdays as well as other events with friends. They have learned to study the bible together, pray together and seek God’s purpose together.

In June 2023 they decided to renovate, or basically rebuild a 1971 Airstream. Through this process they will be building something from the ground up. Just like the friendship that began so many years ago, time will be invested, work will be done, problems will arise, solutions will be found, prayers will be prayed and something beautiful will emerge.

On July 23rd, filled with excitement and joy, Mack and Palmer announced their engagement after a surprise proposal and family celebration. They will start their lives together as Davis, Family of Two on March 30, 2024.