Alyssa Ridenour
reporter@greenepublishing.com
Jay Hicks is the son of Letha and the late Manning Hicks. Hicks' family is originally from Madison. However, they spent a lot of time moving around the southeast since his father was a preacher, and Hicks was born in Dothan, Ala. They later moved up to Atlanta, where he spent most of his childhood and early adulthood. Hicks has two siblings: Lynne Sapp and Rose Oberlin.
While in Atlanta, Hicks began a career in IT as a computer programmer. In 2000, his parents and sister moved back to Madison and Hicks followed shortly after. His family members were always active within the musical community, leading Hicks to later pursue a career in music.
Hicks earned his bachelor’s in music theory from Charter Oak State College and his bachelor of business administration in computer information systems from Georgia State University. Hicks later attended the University of Florida (UF), where he earned a master’s degree in music education. “Go Gators!” Hicks eagerly commented after talking about UF.
Hicks began teaching music classes at Madison Academy in 2012 before it became Madison Creative Arts Academy five years ago. After almost 10 years of teaching music in a school setting, Hicks will be retiring. However, he will continue to be involved within the community.
Hicks has been involved at North Florida College as a volunteer, and this fall, they will be launching two new online music courses, one of which will be guitar lessons taught by Hicks. Additionally, he will be continuing with his involvement in the business he opened with friends in Tallahassee 10 years ago, called Method Teacher, LLC. The business designs and develops music courses for virtual schools all around the world. Lastly, Hicks will continue to hold private guitar and ukulele lessons at his home studio. To schedule a lesson, call (229) 834-4360.
In his free time, Hicks enjoys playing tennis, playing guitar at local restaurants in Madison and Valdosta, gardening and watching the Andy Griffith Show.
Congratulations on your retirement, Jay Hicks!