Matt and Macy Collins are the parents of 3 daughters: Hattie Jo, Lainey Mae, and Davie Magnolia.

On March 3, 2020, an EF4 tornado struck the west side of Cookeville, TN, and tore through the street where the Collins family lived. The tornado claimed the lives of 19 people, including Hattie Jo Collins at 4.5 years old. On March 8, 2020, Matt wrote some reflections and details of that event which can be read in the “Our Story” section of this site.

To honor their daughter, in June of 2020, the Collins family started the “Hattie Jo Collins Memorial Scholarship,” an endowed scholarship at Tennessee Tech University that benefits students in the nursing program. In 2023, they founded The Magnolia Foundation which seeks to serve families who have also experienced the pain of child loss.