If all had gone as she had dreamed, Kathy Betty today would be retired from work and inseparable from her husband/soul mate/best friend. These would be the payoff years, full of travel, sports and volunteering.
A rare form of cancer deleted everything. Garry Betty, the self-made CEO of EarthLink, died in 2007, six weeks after his diagnosis.
Kathy Betty today has traveled, slower than desired or expected, the path of a grieving spouse, wealthy widow and shrewd entrepreneur to arrive where she never imagined: owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.
“This really epitomizes Kathy’s new life,” said David Geller, a longtime friend and financial advisor. “She wouldn’t own the Dream if Garry had been here. That wasn’t part of their post-EarthLink plan. It wasn’t part of their dream, no pun intended.”
Out of the ashes of her old life, Betty reinvented herself by seeking out her new self. Her friends say the Dream fits Betty, 54, like a perfect gift that she didn’t know she wanted or needed. This next great thing in her life marked a milestone in a hellish recovery.
“The lowest time for me was when Garry was diagnosed,” she said. “That’s when my life changed.”
The go-go 1980s software boom brought them together, first as rivals. Betty arrived in Atlanta, a born risk-taker with degrees in finance and computer science from the University of Alabama -- and a competitive streak instilled by a father who had no son. “It’s not what happens to you,” her parents taught her. “It’s how you handle it.”
Landing in finance at Hayes Microsystems, ground zero for computer modems, she found a sparring partner. “Garry and I immediately started to compete,” she said. “He would give me a sales number. I said, ‘OK, You’ll have to meet that, plus or minus 5 percent.’… I have a strong personality and he had an even stronger one.”
After seven years of dating, they married in 1993. She was among the first female partners at Ernst & Young. He took EarthLink public in 1997. She started an incubator. He ran a marathon.
They opted not to have children, but family always came first. When his parents needed full-time, end-of-life care in 2000, Kathy Betty quit work to help them.
The Bettys relaxed by competing: at golf, cards, even guessing the winner of “American Idol” or villain of “CSI.”
The weird symptoms began in 2006. His face swelled. He was weakening. Doctors told him he was fine. He paid for an MRI. On Nov. 17, 2006, the results showed adrenal cancer, which affects only 300 people a year.
“By the time you find it,” Kathy Betty said, "it's too late.”
He died Jan. 2, 2007. She numbly stayed healthy by walking two hours every weekday with friend Kim Kitchens.
“It was not just about surviving; she was going to thrive,” Kitchens said. “Not at any time in the process did she hide away or become a victim. I think she was always looking for that door that was going to open. She always lives by timing, that the right thing will happen at the right time.”
Her grieving took time: 2007 was all about keeping up the Garry Betty Foundation and nurturing gratitude for her life; 2008 was a struggle “because I expected my heart and head to be in sync by then.”
Starting to cry, Kathy Betty said, “Even with a great support system, you’re watching a game by yourself. You look around [and] nobody’s there.”
Widows often are very emotional and fearful after their loss, Geller said. “The risks are enormous," he said. "All widows are nervous they will run out of money. It was way less for Kathy, but ... she was very vulnerable.”
She considered venture capital investments and other projects, but nothing really clicked.
Making more than $100,000 per year does not increase happiness, Geller advised her. Consider any deal’s intangibles, such as personal growth and fun. Betty realized what was missing in her business prospects: she needed to make a difference.
In 2009, she downsized to a town home, and as she decorated, moved on. “I realized my life was Kathy, and not Kathy and Garry,” she said. “That’s when the heart and head came together.”
The Dream unfolded through several friends in business and at Tech, where she remains an active athletic board member. Like her, the Dream was finding its way as a startup. In 2009, the team made the playoffs after a 2008 debut season with only four wins.
The idea seemed ridiculous at first, Geller said, but the more Betty examined the team’s assets, she realized the Dream represented “everything I am about – the business side and the sports fanatic, the competition, the mentoring, the amazing young women who are role models for young girls.”
The purchase, for an undisclosed price, went through in October.
“I am a rookie, too,” she said, smiling and hugging Bridgitte Ardossi, the team’s recent draft pick from Georgia Tech, when the team opened training camp at Tech in late April.
Betty has been busy mining her network for sponsorships with Coca-Cola and Aaron’s, securing practice space on The Flats and hiring team president Toby Wyman away from the Gwinnett Braves. She’s promoting the team's "Dream Dads” initiative for men to bring their daughters to games.
“I feel like I’m alive again,” she said. “This is my Garry. I told so many people the Dream fill so many voids and I am truly happy.”
If you have an idea for this series on reinvented lives, please e-mail michelle.hiskey@gmail.com.
Home Opener
Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana Fever. 7 p.m., Sunday, May 16. Tickets start at $8. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Drive, Atlanta. http://www.wnba.com/dream/.
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