Photo courtesy of Rosemary Ginn
Hoover Assistant City Engineer Rosemary Ginn
Rosemary Ginn joined the city of Hoover as assistant city engineer in February 2025.
Q: Where are you from originally?
A: I was born in Birmingham. I went to Vestavia Hills High School.
Q: Tell me about your employment history.
A: I finished at Auburn in 1993, and the job market was not great, so I started working in Mobile at Volkert & Associates, and I was in consulting, doing drainage and transportation projects for 12 years and then went to work at the city of Mobile. I just worked my way up from professional engineer to engineer three. I was assistant city engineer for about 12 years. I was made city engineer in 2024, and I needed to come back home. My family is here. My mom is 85, and I was just looking for a job in this area. I was really thankful I got the job with the city of Hoover, so I left Mobile after more than 30 years, and here I am in Hoover.
Q: Was it your family that brought you back to the Birmingham area?
A: Yes, I really did enjoy Mobile, but I’m really thankful to be here. I have no family outside of the Birmingham area, and my daughter finished Auburn, and my son was in college, so I was by myself with a dog in Mobile. I’m divorced. It was just me.
Q: So after 31 years out of the Birmingham area, what was most striking to you upon moving back?
A: Just the phenomenal growth in Hoover. I would come back home to see family, but just so many things, so much growth, which is fantastic. But with growth comes traffic, and unfortunately that’s just part of it. We work to make it as good as we can. We approve our signal timing and things. There’s just a lot more growth, which is fantastic, but it comes with problems. The Birmingham metro area is just bigger than Mobile also.
Q: How do you like to spend your free time?
A: I love to spend my time with my family. I love Auburn football. I’m obviously a diehard fan. I do love SEC football primarily but anything Auburn as well.
Q: What do you think about the new coach?
A: The verdict’s still out. I hope it’s a good hire. My son, who is 19 — he likes him. Let me give you an answer maybe in December. I hope it’s a thumbs up.
Q: If you could go anywhere in the world, with money and time being no concern, where would you go, and why?
A: I really would like to go to the Holy Land — to go for a trip to explore the places that Jesus did. … I’d love to do an extensive tour, provided that the political scene kind of cooled off.
Q: Have you ever been there before?
A: I have not. I’ve been to Brazil on a mission trip. I’ve been to Canada. I’ve not traveled a whole lot outside the United States.
Q: Do you prefer the beach or mountains?
A: My gut answer is the beach, but when I lived down there, I knew the ins and outs and could beat the traffic. I guess to go visit though, now that I’ve lived here, I would say mountains, and I would go north.
Q: Where would you go? What’s your favorite spot for the mountains?
A: I love the Biltmore, the North Carolina mountains. Even my kids have been recently to the Blue Ridge in Georgia. I’m not picky. If I got a vacation to go to the mountains, I would go.
Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures like a favorite snack or a favorite TV show you like to binge watch?
A: I’m embarrassed to say — when I do watch TV, I do watch the Hallmark Channel. My children, especially my 26-year-old daughter, tell me I’m basic. And I love sweets. Probably a Chick-fil-A cookies and cream milkshake. I’ve got a bad sweet tooth.
Q: What is your favorite movie, and why?
A: One sports movie I really like is “Moneyball.” I found that really interesting — the story of the guy who is the Oakland A’s manager. I like that a lot. I’ve also watched all the Marvel movies with my son — the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy movies — I’ve watched all of those as well.
Q: What was the best one of the Marvel movies?
A: The last Guardians of the Galaxy one.
Q: What is the best concert you ever attended?
A: I went to the Rolling Stones in I think it was 2019 in Chicago. Their opening weekend was in Chicago at Soldier Field, and Charlie Watts was still alive. He was the drummer, and it was great. I cannot keep up with Mick Jagger. At his age, even seven years ago, I’ve never moved like that man moves as a senior citizen.
Q: Who is your favorite singer or band?
A: I love contemporary Christian music. I love Mercy Me and Lauren Daigle. Lauren Daigle puts a mean show on, too.
Q: What’s your favorite book?
A: “Pride and Prejudice”
Q: What’s the last book you read?
A: I binge read these stupid contemporary Christian romance and historic books on the Kindle. I read religiously every night. I like to read things [where] I really don’t have to think. It’s like an escape.
Q: Do you remember the title of the last one?
A: No, it’s Liz Isaacson’s latest book.
Q: What’s your best memory from childhood?
A: My dad had a drugstore in North Birmingham. On Saturdays, I would clean up my room so that I could go to the drugstore with Daddy and work. I got to run the cash register. He had an old-timey historic cash register. I got to count money, do the ledger. … I loved going to the drugstore.
Q: What was the name of the drugstore?
A: Ginn Drug Co. The retail drug industry changed a lot in the late ’80s, and so Dad closed it. He worked at the Hoover Bruno’s until he went on chemo. He worked at Bruno’s for a long time.
Q: If you could learn a new hobby, what would you want to learn?
A: I actually enjoy watching golf. I’m horrible at it. … My answer No. 2 — if there was someplace I would go — I would love to go to the Masters.
Q: So learning to play golf better would be your hobby?
A: Yes. I don’t anymore. I like my friends, and I don’t feel like I should make them suffer through me playing golf. … The last time I played was probably the Robert Trent Jones course at Magnolia Grove in Mobile. The city of Mobile leases the property to RSA [Retirement Systems of Alabama].
Q: How long ago was it that you played?
A: It’s been a good probably 15 years.
