Kirstie Campbell Newman can’t imagine living anywhere other than Brookhaven.

Although she was born in Nashville, Newman has lived here since she was just a few days old. Her family is from Brookhaven, and her grandfather was Dr. George H. Edmonson, a local dentist.

A 2009 graduate of Brookhaven High School, Newman attended the University of Mississippi in Oxford for three years before transferring to the UM Medical Center in Jackson, where she graduated with a degree in dental hygiene.

“I am a dental hygienist at Dr. Clay H. Johnston’s dental office,” said Newman. “I absolutely love my job and my work family. My patients are all so special to me and they bless me daily. I couldn’t ask for a better office to work in.”

With a dentist for a grandfather, Newman said she pretty much grew up in his office. “So becoming a dental hygienist was second nature to me,” she said.

Family is the most important thing for Newman, however.

“I love spending time with my family first and foremost,” Newman said. “Without my family I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today.”

Newman says she’s not too interested in reading or watching TV because she stays busy chasing her favorite little boy.

“We have the sweetest, busiest, most beautiful baby boy, Campbell — who will be a year old Aug. 6,” she said. “But my second passion is animals. Anyone who knows me knows how much my pets — and other animals — mean to me. I also try to rescue anything that needs rescuing, when I can.”

Her favorite food is any kind of pasta and her favorite restaurant to get it is Amerigo’s.

“I have always loved bread, potatoes and pasta of any kind,” she said.

She and her husband, Farm Bureau Insurance agent Taylor Newman, are members of First Baptist Church, where they have attended their entire lives. 

“I love Brookhaven and couldn’t imagine living or growing up anywhere else,” Newman said. “The small town atmosphere is something special and there is no other place that makes you feel like home than Brookhaven, Mississippi. I don’t know anywhere else that comes together to support others than here.”