Meet the Satterfields

Like many people who grew up in McKenzie, young Courtney Satterfield experienced the magic of Christmas between the displays of the McKenzie City Florist. She and her little brother spent much of their childhood at the florist while their grandmother helped the florist’s founder Violet Patterson, who Satterfield considers an aunt-like figure, during busy seasons.

When Patterson decided to put the store on the market in 2018, Satterfield was devastated. Until that moment, she had never even considered what would happen if Patterson sold her store. In a moment, owning the florist became her dream.

But Satterfield was 24, just getting started in her career, and she knew she wasn’t ready to own the legacy business. She deferred the idea, not knowing if another opportunity would arise.

Instead, Satterfield studied nursing at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Paris and took on an eight-and-a-half-year career in healthcare. She married Austin Satterfield and had two children, Kylie and Copelan. She helped her husband open Satterfield Auto in 2020 and learned the behind-the-scenes work of owning a business.

And finally, in July 2025, Patterson told her the McKenzie City Florist was up for sale. Satterfield’s dream of running the business rushed back into her and her husband’s minds. This time, with more life knowledge under her belt, it was kismet.

“When I found out it was for sale,” Satterfield said, “that was an opportunity that literally fell into my lap.”

Satterfield was at her neighborhood’s July 4 party when she heard the news. Luckily enough, she was neighbors with the previous owner, Michele Jarrett Love.

“We were, like, right there by Michele’s house watching fireworks,” said Satterfield. “I mentioned [buying the business] to her that night. Then a few days later, we sat down and talked through some things and took a little tour of the building. Then we came back with my Aunt Violet [Patterson] to get her input as well.”

The entire process took a little more than a month before Satterfield quit her nursing job at Kentucky Lake Urology and became the McKenzie City Florist’s third owner.

Satterfield has had many people ask why she made the change, why she decided to buy the florist without any prior experience, and she still doesn’t know how to answer.

“I’ve had several nursing jobs,” Satterfield said, “but no matter where you are, you’re still a nurse. The floral industry is definitely not nursing…but there is a lot of good that comes out of the floral industry. I get to see people coming together and buying beautiful gifts and beautiful flower arrangements for the families [who are celebrating a new arrival or grieving a loss]. I didn’t get to see all of that as a nurse.”

Satterfield took over the florist just in time for the City of McKenzie’s annual Sweet Tea Festival and mere weeks before McKenzie High School’s homecoming celebration.

Luckily, she has a staff of experienced floral designers who had her back during those first few events. Lisa Langford was an employee under Jarrett Love and remains at the florist as the store manager. Satterfield also hired Ashlee Hampton Simer as the new floral designer. Simer has six years of experience as a floral designer and has worked at different florists in Milan.

Satterfield is excited to bring Simer’s modern floral designs to the McKenzie City Florist and offer a wider selection of florals, including more exotic flowers.

Satterfield’s main goal is to enhance McKenzie City Florist’s legacy as both a gift shop and a florist — and make it a place her children will enjoy as much as she enjoyed Patterson’s store.

“We plan to have a lot more gifts than what has been here recently,” said Satterfield. “I have a lot of vivid memories of being at McKenzie City Florist when I was a kid, and it was just full of stuff. So hopefully we can get back to some of that.”

Since August, Satterfield has already dedicated a section of the store to baby gifts — items fitting for baby showers or young birthdays. She also wants to implement in-store gift-wrapping at some point.

Though she has many plans for growth, Satterfield does not plan to change much about the McKenzie City Florist that we know today.

“The store will be growing, but the name hasn’t changed, the phone number hasn’t changed. Nothing’s changed. I wanted this transition to be the most seamless it could be for the community,” Satterfield said.

The only major change she has made so far is removing the florist’s coffee bar.

McKenzie City Florist will remain a UPS shipping and drop-off location.

McKenzie City Florist, located at 17 Broadway Street, has been a McKenzie landmark for nearly 42 years. It has transitioned through three owners and four locations, but each owner’s mission has remained the same: to serve the McKenzie community.

“I just want to give back to the community in the best way that I can,” said Satterfield. “I think that just comes natural to me, being a nurse, wanting to give back.”