You’ve seen Mallory Quick’s byline as she covers Panorama High School sports for ThePerryNews.com. Prior to expanding into writing, she submitted action-capturing sports photos to former Sports Editor Jeff Webster.
Family-oriented, small-town girl Quick runs her own business, Quick Photography, taking family, engagement, maternity, sports, newborn, senior pictures and more. She lives on a farm in Panora with husband, Cody, their 5-year-old daughter, Beckett, and golden retriever, Tex, who is trained as a diabetic alert dog. (Tex will alert her in advance of a blood sugar event before it becomes dangerous.)
Laura: What’s your favorite comfort food?
Mallory: Mexican or Italian–Bravo Italian Kitchen in Des Moines.
Laura: What’s the best TV show and best movie of all time?
Mallory: “Yellowstone” for TV and “The Little Mermaid” and Disney movies with my 5-year-old daughter, Beckett. I’m more of an action-packed movie fan.
Laura: What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
Mallory: Just getting the family together. Nine cousins, spouses, kids, parents — 64 on dad’s side. We are a big basketball family. We rent the Vet’s auditorium in Panora and play a game of knockout.
Laura: What’s the most impressive thing you can cook?
Mallory: Apple pies and homemade caramels. My grandma taught me how.
Laura: What’s your favorite thing to do in the Perry-Panora area?
Mallory: We love to camp. We camp a lot in the summer — off the grid or on the grid — with our fifth wheel camper. We enjoy a lot of outdoor sports like kayaking down the river.
Laura: What’s something you appreciate about Perry?
Mallory: I’ve had two kidney transplants. The first one was in 1997 when I was 9 years old. My mom was my donor. It lasted 22 years. My oldest sister was the next match. In March it will be two years since my second transplant. I had dialysis three times a week at the Dallas County Hospital. I’m very grateful they had that. I was born with polycystic kidney disease. I never let that get me down. I always had a smile on my face. Always taken it with an open mind.
Laura: What would you like others to know about Panora?
Mallory: We’re not just the lake. The lake is just in Panora. We’re a small-town community instead of a recreation area. We’re not just a vacation destination.
Laura: Name a song you could listen to on repeat for forever.
Mallory: “Beyond Measure” by Jeremy Camp. It makes you thankful for everything that you have.
Laura: What’s the best trait that you inherited from your parents?
Mallory: Probably my kindheartedness from my mom and stubbornness and determination from my dad. If I don’t like something, I’ll tell you right away, but also ask, “Did I hurt your feelings?”
Laura: If you had to take a tourist to one place in the area, where would you take the person?
Mallory: To a lot of the outside sites — the Historical Village in Panora. People want to see the lake. Uptown Panora with that older town charm and where the old school use to be. In Perry, the historical areas and the bike trail.
Laura: What attracted you to writing for ThePerryNews.com?
Mallory: I’d been submitting photos to Jeff for the last couple of years. Jim asked me to do the articles. I’m doing it out of the kindness of my own heart.
Laura: What one thing would you like to see happen in Perry or Panora that hasn’t happened yet?
Mallory: A Walmart or Target in Perry.
Laura: When people come to Panora for the first time, what do you think surprises them the most?
Mallory: That everybody knows everybody or that I’m related to half of Panora. My parents have lived south of Perry their entire lives.
Laura: What’s the one think that you really wish Perryites understood about you personally?
Mallory: I love taking pictures. I love what I do. I just started Quick Photography last September. I’m not going to overcharge. I want to make my prices good for a smalltown area.
Laura: Name one of your hidden talents or interests that might surprise people.
Mallory: I craft. Woodburning. I make “Welcome” signs. My daughter and I craft. Cricut designs. I love to do that. We drew the “Frozen” characters on it—we’ll be coloring the characters in. I’m very crafty. I also love to read. I try to do a book a month—mystery and romance, teen vampires, werewolves too.
Laura: What was your favorite thing to do on the playground when you were a kid?
Mallory: Monkey bars or shooting basketball. I did four sports—softball, volleyball, basketball and golf.
Laura: What’s the most scenic landscape you’ve ever driven through?
Mallory: The Black Hills of South Dakota. The 75th year of Sturgis we rode our motorcycles through.
Laura: Favorite Iowa day trip?
Mallory: Adventureland.
Laura: The person you’d most like to meet.
Mallory: I’d love to meet MLK or anybody who did something that made a change for the future.
Laura: What are you looking forward to most in 2023?
Mallory: To have a full year of getting my business going. A big family trip that is planned. Being able to have that family time with Beckett.
Laura: Motto/saying/rule to live by.
Mallory: Keep trying and trying and trying. If you don’t make the mistakes, you’re never going to figure it out to get to where you want to go.
Mallory is figuring it out with determination, a smile on her face and kindness in her heart. Keep the sports coverage coming, and enjoy the big outdoors, knockout, your family, fictional vampires and all the different directions your talents and interests take you.
You can find Quick Photography on Facebook or contact Mallory at quickphotography2021@gmail.com.
Laura’s share: Person I’d most like to meet? Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Stephen Colbert. Can’t name just one.
