The Wimberly Family
Origins

The Matriarch

Fannie Pollard Wimberly, or "Ma Fannie," was a Black sharecropper born on Christmas Day in 1889 in Lee County, Alabama. She moved to Newnan, Georgia, with her husband and became an independent businesswoman known for her fish dinners, pig ear sandwiches, and homemade whiskey. Although Sheriff Lamar Potts would occasionally arrest her for making illegal whiskey, nothing ever came of it. Ma Fannie taught others to brew whiskey and would have been a master distiller of premium spirits if she were alive today. John Emerald Distilling Company produces Ma Fannie Vodka in honor of her legacy.

The Patriarch

Joe Wimberly, a Black sharecropper from Lee County, Alabama, was born July  20, 1879, on a slave plantation. Joe was known for having a gentle spirit. Married to  Fannie Pollard, also from Lee County, Alabama, he and his bride moved to Panther Creek, Georgia, once known as Hurricane, but is now Newnan, Georgia.  

PaPa Joe was known for being well-dressed and having the best mule and wagon.  Though a man of distinction on his own, he was also famous as Ma Fannie's husband, known throughout the town as a bootlegger. Like PaPa Joe, his whiskey is smooth, subtle, and sophisticated.

Cal, an Atlanta native, is well known for his extensive career as an Atlanta area radio personality. He has previously worked for The Coca-Cola Company and has spent many years in real estate. The Wimberly Collection will apply some of the same principles that have made Coca-Cola the number one branded company in the world.

Clarice is a public health physician trained in preventive Medicine and a medical consultant specializing in drug safety. She is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN.

Sydney was born in Atlanta. GA and works full-time in corporate Learning and Development. She is also highly skilled in marketing and branding and is the future of The Wimberly Collection. Sydney is a Dean's List graduate of the University of Alabama, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Journalism & Creative Media with a focus in Communications and Media Studies and minored in Consumer Science.

Cal, an Atlanta native, is well known for his extensive career as an Atlanta area radio personality. He has previously worked for The Coca-Cola Company and has spent many years in real estate. The Wimberly Collection will apply some of the same principles that have made Coca-Cola the number one branded company in the world.

Clarice is a public health physician trained in Preventive Medicine and a medical consultant specializing in drug safety. She is a proud graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN.

Although raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Clarice has been a resident of Georgia since 1994, and considers herself a Georgia peach. She enjoys applying her analytic skills to the research, development, and expansion of The Wimberly Collection.

Sydney was born in Atlanta. GA and works full-time in corporate Learning and Development. She is also highly skilled in marketing and branding and is the future of The Wimberly Collection. Sydney is a Dean's List graduate of the University of Alabama, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Journalism & Creative Media with a focus in Communications and Media Studies and minored in Consumer Science.

Father John and son Jimmy Sharp are from the Ozark Mountains of Crocker, Missouri. John is a former military pilot who flew Blackhawk missions in Vietnam. Jimmy, a Marine veteran, used to travel internationally for Louis Vuitton but decided to come off the road when his wife Becky became pregnant. Trained as distillers in Scotland, they became Alabama's first legal distiller of whiskey since before prohibition.