STACEY MAXWELL still measures time in before and after. Before August 2019, when her best friend, Gina Putman, died unexpectedly. And after, when grief slowly reshaped itself into purpose.
Stacey and Gina met in sixth grade and grew up together in Wilson County as part of a tight-knit group of four girls. Their friendship followed the familiar arc of shared adolescence — school hallways, inside jokes, long conversations about the future. Even as adulthood scattered paths and responsibilities, Gina and Stacey remained constants in each other’s lives.
Gina’s life looked, from the outside, like success neatly arranged. She worked in the music industry, continuing a family legacy shaped by her grandfather, Curly Putman — a cornerstone of country music whose work helped define the genre. Curly, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993, wrote some of country music’s most enduring songs, including “Green, Green Grass of Home,” “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “My Elusive Dreams,” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” His career was marked by perseverance, creative risk, and a belief in stories told honestly.
That legacy mattered to Gina, but it was not the whole story. Her real dream lived somewhere else — backstage rather than center stage. Hair, makeup, and the quiet transformation that happens before the lights come up were where Gina felt most herself. After years in the music business, she made the difficult decision to leave what she knew and return to school, determined to pursue beauty work professionally.
She approached that pivot the way she approached life: fully committed, without apology, and guided by instinct. The phrase, “Live life to the fullest,” was not a slogan for Gina so much as a practice. She dreamed, she worked, and she followed her heart — even when that meant starting over.
When Gina died, the shock rippled through every corner of her community. At her funeral, amid grief and disbelief, another friend voiced an idea that would change everything: What if Gina’s dream did not end here?
From that moment, the Gina Putman Foundation began to take shape. Stacey, alongside a group of Gina’s friends, helped turn mourning into motion. Two goals anchored the foundation from the start — to keep Gina’s memory alive and to raise money for student scholarships for those pursuing careers in cosmetology, aesthetics, and related beauty fields.
The selection process has developed its own rhythm. Stacey believes Gina still plays a role in it — not through mysticism, but. through alignment. Patterns emerge. Names resurface. Circumstances connect in ways that feel less accidental than they appear. Stacey calls these moments “Gina-ventions” — small, affirming coincidences that feel like guidance rather than chance.
This year’s recipient, Zack, embodied the foundation’s purpose clearly. He answered his calling when he packed up and moved to New York to pursue his dream of working in the beauty industry — a leap that mirrors the one Gina herself once took. The foundation’s support does not guarantee success, but it removes one barrier, one moment of hesitation, one closed door.
That is the heart of the work Stacey now leads.
Running the foundation requires organization, persistence, and emotional steadiness.
Stacey balances logistics with legacy, ensuring that each decision honors Gina without
freezing her in time. The goal is not preservation, but continuation — allowing Gina’s values to move forward through the hands and talents of others.
The connection to Curly Putman’s legacy remains part of the story, but it does not overshadow it. Like her grandfather, Gina understood the power of choosing the long road. Curly worked for years as a shoe salesman before his breakthrough, trusting his craft even when recognition lagged. That same willingness to wait, pivot, and begin again runs through the foundation’s work today.
For Stacey, this is not about grief that fades. It is about grief that transforms. The foundation is an act of friendship extended forward — proof that relationships do not end when lives do.
Each scholarship awarded affirms that Gina’s dream still has reach. Each recipient becomes part of a story that began in a middle school hallway and now stretches far beyond Wilson County. GN
To learn more about the Gina Putnam Foundation and their annual event, FriendsGiving, go to www.ginaputnamfoundation.org.
