Women in Business

Jan McElwrath

Deputy City Clerk of Kennett

Jeff Dorris jdorris@dddnews.com

Kennett native Jan McElwrath has worn many hats throughout her career. Banking officer, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Chief Economic Development Officer, Delta Fair Board member, wife, mother, daughter, and now Deputy Clerk for the City of Kennett. McElwrath recently reflected on her varied careers and the importance of a good work ethic.

“I always knew I wanted to work outside the home,” said McElwrath. “If my mother was still alive she would say she was not a domestic.”

McElwrath continued, “I, also, am not oriented that way. Forget the idea of who specifically should cook and clean. Everybody in the home should be able to do it all and share those responsibilities.”

“I am so fortunate,” she added.”I was able to work the jobs I did because I lived next door to my parents, and they were excellent grandparents and great support. My family helped me with my kids.”

McElwrath’s career path started in banking.

“I worked for what, at the time, was Bank of Kennett,” McElwrath said. “I enjoyed banking. I started out in bookkeeping, a teller, loan officer, banking officer and eventually wound up, when I switched to Commerce Bank at the time, as a personal banking officer, commercial Ag loans, and investments.”

Through her involvement with civic groups and banking, McElwrath segued into the position of Chamber of Commerce Executive Director.

“When I was Chamber Director, the Chamber also did the economic development for the City of Kennett,” stated McElwrath. “I served as the Chief Economic Developer for the City of Kennett.”

McElwrath shared, “It was certainly one of the best jobs and one of the biggest headaches, as many things are.”

“I’m proud of my track record with the Chamber,”she added. “I did not do it by myself. I did it with the help of many, many people.”

McElwrath reflected on her time at the Chamber of Commerce.

“When I first started there the focus was to try and get Highway 412 four lane all the way to Kennett,” she informed. “They were going to build a four lane between I-55 and Kennett, but they were going to stop it at Highway NN at Combs Lake.”

“Our focus was to close the gap and to get that four lane all the way to Kennett,”said McElwrath. “Charles Brown

See McELWRATH page 4

“All work is honorable.”

McELWRATH

From Page Three

was the mayor at that time, and Gary Figgins was on the Chamber Board, and they had worked with a marketing group in Jefferson City, and that’s when we did the first Kennett postcards, Fascinating Facts about Kennett,” she added. “We did a lot of good things there, letting the people in Jefferson City know who we were and what we were trying to achieve.”

McElwrath provided, “That gave us tremendous inroads, set the stage, for future projects. They realized we were trying and we wanted jobs here and we wanted people to come here.”

MoDOT finally agreed to close that gap and four lanes now run into Kennett.

“I was told over and over that 80 percent of site searches, if you’re looking for industrial prospects, start with communities with a spec building,” shared McElwrath. “If you don’t have an available building they mark you off the list right away.”

She added, “The reason for that is there might not even be a facility that would suit their needs, but if you have done this, that indicates to them, that you want business in your town, and you’re willing to do this thing to help make that happen.”

McElwrath informed they marketed several tax issues to assist with this.

“We successfully marketed the Capitol Improvements Tax, which was utilized to expand our Industrial Park, at that time,” she said. “That’s when we built that spec building and bought the land and did some development.”

“Then we rolled right into the tourism, the lodging tax, that did some funding for different activities,” stated McElwrath. “ The goal of that is to bring people into Kennett, so they’ll spend the night and spend money in town.”

McElwrath informed, “ We were successful in becoming one of the first ten Dream Communities. Under Governor Blunt, a new program was designed to be a three year program that consists of downtown revitalization and economic assistance for Missouri communities.”

“That was a very competitive process,” she added. “Ninety-nine communities in Missouri applied and we were one of the first ten. That was a great honor.”

“The Sheryl Crow Pool came about through our work and our committee, Kennett Community Development Organization,” said McElwrath. “We raised enough money over the cost of the pool to do the park next to it and all the playground equipment in it.”

McElwrath stated, “People look at our downtown and ask, what happened? They remember the days of people coming from out of town and on Saturday and Kennett was the place to shop.”

“That’s no longer the case and that has not been the case for many years,” she added. “I personally was criticized for focusing on downtown, but I saw that as an opportunity.”

“We accomplished a lot of things in ten years,”McElwrath said. “I’m proud of that.”

McElwrath is also a member of the Delta Fair Board.

“I have been on the Fair Board for about thirty years,” she shared. “I do have a passion for the Delta Fair.”

McElwrath informed, “The Delta Fair is the largest venue in the region. It provides the stage for 20 to 30 non-profits and schools and churches to pass some of their largest fundraisers for the year.”

“We’re all proud of that,” she said.

McElwrath adheres to a strong work ethic and came out of retirement to perform the duties of Deputy Clerk at City Hall.

“I enjoy it,” she said of her current position. “It’s never boring.”

McElwrath shared her thoughts on the workforce and being a woman in business.

“I believe a person should get a job because of their qualifications to do that job,” she stated. “It should not be based on gender, race, or age, or whatever.”

“All work is honorable,” said McElwrath. “No one should ever feel inferior.”

McElwrath said she would encourage women to go into business.

“Have confidence in yourself, but know yourself, too,” she provided. “Stay true to yourself, despite the environment you’re in.”

“Be flexible and be willing to learn,” she concluded. “Be an employee that you would like to supervise. Be aware that there will be challenges and be willing to do the work.”

Steve Hankins

DDD Staff Writer

Southeast Missouri revels in its outdoor sporting adventures like fishing, hunting and hiking.

But it’s sometimes an unforgiving, depressed economy. Malden’s Lari Bryant is available to fulfill hunting hardware dreams or to provide loans to make ends meet for her customers at Bootheel Gun-N-Pawn.

The 49-year-old shop owner, a lifelong area resident, said she and her father, Larry Beckham, “both love messing with guns and talking” to people.

“You put two and two together and it don’t take long to understand why I’m in this business,” Bryant said. “I was running a similar business at Poplar Bluff for some years and decided I wanted to do it for myself.

“Me and my dad had the discussion and decided we wanted to do one here at Malden,” she added. “I started officially in 2015 with about 20 guns my dad and I had bought here and there. Now I have about 300 here for sale.”

Bryant followed in her parents’ footsteps and attended Campbell schools, where she graduated high school. She

Lari Bryant

Owner/Operator Bootheel Gun & Pawn

worked during her high school days at whatever jobs she could muster and realized quickly that career options in the area were limited.

“I worked right next door to here at what used to be Cut Mart,” she said. “Worked at all the grocery stores like every other kid.

“Picked peaches,” she continued. “Chopped cotton, whatever. Drove tractors, laid irrigation pipe. There just aren’t a whole lot of opportunities around here.” Bryant’s daughter Leslie came along early in Bryant’s life and the young mother continued working and attending college.

“You can come out of college with all kinds of degrees and in this area, ain’t a whole lot you can do with them,” she noted. “I have an Associates in accounting and office administration, you know, business degrees.

“Got offered entry-level jobs bookkeeping at car lots making minimum wage, things like that,” Bryant continued. “Ended up at Federal Mogul, made probably $6 more an hour. Didn’t have to have a college degree. Had insurance and benefits straight out of the gate. So, I ended up working at a factory for about 12 or 13 years until it shut down. In this area there’s just not a lot of options or opportunities.”

Which facilitated a career decision to open the pawn

“I started with about 20 guns...”

and gun shop, where her networking abilities offered her an edge.

“In the pawn business you have to look at everything in a commerce way,” Bryant said. “If something comes in my door I have to look at it and think ‘Can I eat it?’

“If I can’t eat it I don’t need it,” she added. “Can I flip it? Do I have somebody in mind that I can pick the phone up, call and say ‘Hey! Do you need this?’ Ive took everything from a spool of barbed wire to a fifth-wheel hitch. If I know the right person that I can call, that’s great. I took in a Billy Cook western saddle. I can pick the phone up and find somebody who needs that Billy Cook western saddle.”

But if Bryant can’t eat it, as she said, she doesn’t need it. And she doesn’t suffer fools with her money.

“Bring in a five-gallon bucket full of old Stanley rusted sockets, well, I don’t need that,” she said. “You can buy those for $5 a bucket at any farm sale on any given weekend.

“You gotta keep in mind, this is MY money,” Bryant added. “Nobody’s given me this money to lend to people or to use to buy. This is MY money and I gotta think, ‘Can I get it back? Can I recoup a little bit? Is it worth my investment? Or is the money better off just sittin here waiting?”

The shop owner emphasized common sense is a premium in her business and a positive mindset carries substantial weight among her customers.

“Personality is a plus,” Bryant said. “If you don’t like dealing with people you don’t need to do this.

“If you don’t have a personality, if you can’t tolerate people, if you don’t have patience, if you don’t wanna work hard, you don’t need this,” she continued. “If you aren’t gonna work hard, you don’t need a business period.”

Bryant’s days begin long before sunrise and end far after sunset.

“I get up every day, 4-4:30 a.m.,” she said. “Every day.

“Even on weekends when I should be sleeping in, I have a built-in alarm clock,” Bryant added. “There’s things I take home with me and work on. Things don’t get done by themselves.”

And her hard work pays off for both herself and her customers.

“People feel like I help them in tough times,” she said. “I have regular customers.

“Some people’s checks just don’t make it to the end of

the month,” Bryant continued. “They’re usually older customers. They’ll bring in just a little token of something and they need that extra $100 to get to the first of the month. Then they’ll come pick up whatever they brought me. Hopefully they’ll make it next month. But if they can’t, they know I’m here.”

Bryant added there exists “no other business, no other place they can bring an old broken wedding ring to, let me weigh it and lend them money” on the value of the gold.

“There’s no other business that would allow them to borrow $140 on an old beat-to-death .22, and let them come back and pick it up,” Bryant said. “I’m a small-loan, personal loan agent.

“I take small items in for collateral,” she explained. “I decide whether or not it’s worth the investment of letting them borrow the money. I have to charge an interest rate that basically is what a credit card would be.”

Many of her customers are credit poor, Bryant noted.

“A lot of my customers don’t have credit cards,” she said. “A lot probably couldn’t get a credit card, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

“Some people get in that situation,” Bryant said. “If you can’t get a credit card that’s fine, but I do charge a small interest fee and they can come back and pick up what-

See BRYANT page 8

Photo by Steve Hankins

Lari Bryant of Bootheel Gun-N-Pawn shares a laugh and a peek at rare firearms with Bob Burks.

Bryant

From Page Seven

ever they used for collateral. And they have three whole months to redeem it. I don’t want people’s things. I want my money back with a little bit of interest.” That business model seems to work for both Bryant and her client base. Her store is cluttered, but not with dusty items. It fills with talkative sportsmen searching for the correct piece, and with community members

who sometimes rely on Bryant to provide small loans for their convenience.

“I’m not getting rich,” she laughs. “Many people come to that conclusion wrongfully.

“I live frugally,” she added. “I’m just proud to be here.” Bootheel Pawn-N-Gun has an online presence at https://www.pawnshops.net/store/Bootheel_Pawn_N_ Gun/17202

And: https://www.facebook.com/p/Bootheel-Pawn-NGun-100057410232837/

Pamela Jackson

Owner/Operator

Christopher Hyde Special to the DDD

For many of us, there is nothing scarier than starting something new. Whether that is starting a new job, moving to a new area or finally starting that project you have always dreamed of doing, but never had the time. For Pamela Jackson, the owner of the Polka Dot Rooster Boutique, she started a business. Now, as most would guess, starting a new business can be a terrifying venture, even for the most experienced. Why then, you might ask, would anyone undergo the difficult task of starting and maintaining a successful business? When presented with this question, Ms. Jackson replied, “When I retired from the bank several years ago, I had a few years where I wasn’t working full time. To occupy my time I started doing flea market booths selling various products and after doing that for a while I decided to just go ahead and branch out and take chance and start my own business. And, it has really been doing well.”

When asked if there was any additional inspiration behind her shift in careers paths she said,

“Well. I have had friends start their own businesses and I helped work in small businesses for a time. I found that I really enjoyed it and decided this would be something I could see myself doing. A definitely positive aspect of owning your own small business is the freedom you have to be able to plan around life events and whatever life throws at you without potentially losing your job or source of income. Everyone, customer wise, have been real good about understanding when I need to take off and if I need to do something I just put a sign on the door and close up for the day. So, having that freedom has really impacted my life in a positive way.”

Now, most of you may be wondering how Ms. Jackson’s family have responded to her business venture. When asked she replied,

“Very well. I have had great support from family and friends from around the area like Kennett and Senath. I

See JACKSON page 10

“I appreciate all the support.”

Polka Dot Rooster Boutique

Jackson

From Page Nine

have a tremendous support system here. Because a local business can be hard sometimes, especially in a small town.”

Now, even though there many positives to share about Ms. Jackson’s experience, it was not without its challenges. In fact, when asked about the biggest challenge in owning her own busi-

Polka Dot Rooster Boutique

ness, she replied, “Well, if you want to know the truth, I was really kind of scared. Because I am investing my time, energy and finances into this business and I don’t know if it will succeed or not. So, the fear of the unknown was probably the biggest challenge of starting this business.

Other than that, it has been great.”

Facing down her fears, Ms. Jackson has enjoyed the fruits of her successful business for the last thirteen years, with plans for expanding business to provide Kennett with a proper jewelry store as well as a possible larger building to accommodate her new inventory. Perhaps

Ms. Jackson’s inspirational story can help other find the courage they need to face the unknown and thrive.

Patsy Davis

Retired Nurse, Hometown Proud

Jeff Dorris jdorris@dddnews.com

Patsy Davis has at least one thing she’s passionate about.

Her hometown of Senath, Missouri. Davis recently reflected on her love for the town and her career in nursing.

“I graduated high school and left for Memphis,” said Davis. “I attended the Baptist School of Nursing.” Davis continued, “I stayed in Memphis until 1996 then moved back to Senath. I wasn’t working at the time so I went to the Dunklin County Health Center and volunteered.”

“Anything I could do to keep busy I did,”she added. “They eventually hired me for the WIC Department. I stayed there for twenty years.”

Davis shared she retired and then COVID hit.

“I called Kim Hughes at the Health Center and said if you need me for anything, I’ll be glad to help,” said Davis. “They hired me to work with COVID services and I stayed there for another three years.”

“I’m officially retired now,” she added. Davis stated she loved her time with WIC.

“I see people out now at Walmart all the time who recognize me from WIC,” she said. “It was wonderful. People needed help and I was glad to do it.”

During her time in Memphis, Davis was the manager in Labor and Delivery at Baptist Hospital.

“I was there for many years,” she provided. “The first baby I ever saw born, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” Davis has not sit still since retiring. She is a member of the Senath Women’s Club and very active in the First Baptist Church in Senath. Davis also currently serves on the Senath City Council.

“I enjoy being on the Council,” she said. “There are a lot of things you want to improve, but a small town has challenges.”

Davis continued, “Luckily, we have a leader who is very active in trying to get grants and different things for this town.”

“If you’re not a farmer, a teacher, or if you’re not out in the medical field, there’s not a lot of opportunities for people here,” she added. “Our mayor, Joe Lane, is constantly seeking out grants and other things that help to improve us.”

“I admire that very much,” said Davis.

Davis shared on her feelings for her hometown of Senath.

“My husband passed away in 2008,” Davis informed. “I

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“There is pride in Senath.”

From Page Eleven

had a lot of people ask me if I was going to go back to Memphis. I said, no, this is my home and I stayed.”

“We have people who come back every now and then and say, oh, Senath has just gone down so much, but all small towns are like this,” she added. Davis stated, “There’s a pride about our town, though. People who live here want to do things for our commu-

nity. That’s what I admire about the people of Senath.” Davis has a strong work ethic.

“My daddy taught me to work when I was growing up,” she said.

She shared she would definitely encourage women to go into business or the workforce.

“I admire people who are able to stay home with their children, because that’s work, too,” said Davis. “But, I admire those people who are able to do that and work outside the home as well.”

Davis said, “In most instances, most households now, have to have two incomes. You have to pay the bills.” Davis encouraged, if you find a job that you love, stick with it.

She concluded about Senath, “It’s a small community. It has its ups and downs, but there’s pride and I think that’s so important.”

Julie Hanner

Chief Clinical Officer FCCBH

Jeff Dorris jdorris@dddnews.com

Poplar Bluff native Julie Hanner lives a faithfilled life.

That life has led her through a journey centered around helping others.

She recently reflected on her career at FCC Behavioral Health and her role as Chief Clinical Officer.

“I oversee the programs for the CPRC, which stands for the Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center for the adult and youth programs,” informed Hanner. “I also oversee some of the substance use disorder program.” Hanner’s career path began with a psychology class in high school.

“From there, I always knew I wanted to do something in this field,” she said. “It got me interested in behavior.” Hanner attended Three Rivers College and then on to Missouri State where she acquired her bachelors degree. She received her Masters from SEMO.

“When I got my bachelor’s degree I went to work for Poplar Bluff Regional Center as a Care Coordinator,” Hanner stated. “I worked in their Comprehensive Substance Treatment Rehabilitation program.”

Hanner continued, “I provided direct care in outpatient. I enjoyed it. At the time I thought it was temporary.”

“I wanted to do something more in the lines of mental health instead of substance abuse,” she added. That’s why I switched to FCCBH.”

“I did enjoy helping people make a difference in their lives,” said Hanner.

Hanner started her career at FCC Behavioral Health in 2000 as a Care Coordinator Supervisor.

“I oversaw the care coordinators and all of the intakes and assessments at that point for the Community Psychiatric Rehabilitation program,” provided Hanner. Over the years Hanner has been promoted from clinical manager, to clinical officer, to her current position as chief clinical officer.

“I love my position,” stated Hanner. “I’ve always enjoyed working with clients directly. I loved seeing the changes in their lives, but now, I’m in a role where I don’t do direct care.”

Hanner added, “I really enjoy, basically doing the same things, but with staff. I’m interacting with staff. I love to build relationships with people.”

“I like being a positive influence on someone and seeing

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“I like being a positive influence.”

Hanner

From Page Thirteen

them grow as leaders and people in general, making improvements in their life,” she said.

Hanner stated, “I believe I’m still making a difference in this role, because it takes growing our staff and they’re impacting our clients.”

When asked what she does for stress relief, Hanner quickly responds it’s her faith.

“My family and I are members of the Palace of Praise Church,” said Hanner. “We’re very involved in the church.” Hanner continued, “For me, my faith in God is how I destress. I love to listen to worship music. My faith is the most important thing I have.”

“God is doing a work through me,” she shared. “I absolutely believe he has a purpose for me here at FCC, and I’m fulfilling that purpose.”

“I want people to see the light of Jesus in me,” said Hanner. “All of my interactions, I try to make as positive as possible.”

“I want to make an impact spiritually,” she said. Hanner stated she enjoys working for FCCBH.

“I’ve worked here for so long because it’s a really wonderful place to work,” informed Hanner. “They afford flexibility for family here. Even as we continue to grow, it still feels like a family to me.”

“That’s what I love most about it,” she added. Hanner also had high praise for her team.

“They’re unbelievable,” she stated. “They continue to grow and provide good leadership, as well, to our staff. I’m proud of them and the work they do.”

Hanner concluded with thoughts concerning mental illness and the stigma it carries, stating, “We all know someone that suffers from mental illness. We should all just be kind and show grace, as much as possible, and help those around us in need.”

Hanner is married to her husband Roger, and together their family consists of, Madison, 26, Dawson, 21, Savannah, 17, and Shelby Joiner, married to Caleb, with two children Drake, 8, and Paisley, 5.

Natasha Brown

Bed & Breakfast

Innkeeper, Paralegal

Steve Hankins DDD Staff Writer

A roomy house listed for sale online resulted in a family relocating here and converting the home into a bed and breakfast business.

Isaac and Natasha Brown bought the expansive home sight-unseen and took the plunge into inn-keeping.

Natasha, 34, a citizen of both the U.S. and Canada, said the pictures looked pretty cool and ‘we thought, it couldn’t be that bad.’

Looks can sometimes be a bit deceiving.

“So far, it is definitely in worse condition than I thought,” Natasha said. “But overall, the house is pretty great.

“It has plenty of charm, and that was important to us,” Natasha continued. “It has a lot of potential, so we’re excited. We have a lot of projects scheduled for this summer. The place will look very different by the end of the summer. Trust me. I’m pretty excited.”

A paralegal who specializes in family law, Natasha purchased her first home, a seven bedroom house, before her 21st birthday.

“I was only living in three of the bedrooms and I rented out the other four,” she said. “With the money I made renting those rooms I paid off the mortgage. That way the house wasn’t actually costing me anything,” she

continued. “Starting like that I thought it would be really fun to do a bed and breakfast.”

Natasha treated her tenants well and sometimes threw them parties or dinners, she said.

“I discovered I really liked hosting,” she explained. “I tried to buy several inns in Texas. But the deals for whatever reasons kept falling through. I was trying really, really hard. So this place has been a long time coming.”

Natasha found wading into the business waters challenging and perilous, but also educational and rewarding.

“If you want to be self-employed, you need to be good at budgeting,” Natasha said. “You need to understand that there’s going to be highs and lows.

“You need to expect the lows are going to be more often than the highs,” she explained. “You need to be very, very cautious financially. Don’t take big risks with money. Don’t expect the business to make any money for the first five years. That’s been said for a very long time and it’s very true. In this economy, I’d stretch that to

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“I discovered I really like hosting.”

Brown

From Page Fifteen

seven years.”

And although the business climate has become more inclusive for women, “girls are not extremely welcome,” she noted.

“You’d think that today, the culture has changed,” she said. “But really, it hasn’t.

“And older women often are greater enemies to younger females than males,” she emphasized. “That’s because they’ve done their time, so to speak. And they have seen how things have evolved and changed. Things have gotten way better for women in business. But since they’ve been there since things were really tough, they almost persecute younger females because they see it as ‘You’re reaping the benefits I fought for.’ And they kind of push it off. So in the legal industry, older women are really, really rough. They’re very difficult and often they try to sabotage younger women’s careers.”

Her personal business philosophy?

“Mind your own business,” she said. “Getting too personal with co-workers or people in business never serves a purpose.

“Always stick to business,” she added. “Business is business.”

That’s not always easy for anyone, she said. But especially not for women.

“You can’t have feelings,” she said. “Sometimes women have too many feelings.

“They feel sorry for people or they want to do this or that,” Natasha attested. “No, no, no no. When it comes to business, you’ve got to run a business like any man would. Business is business. You stick to it.”

And try as women might, there are times when folks attempt to take advantage of “the softer sex” rather than understand they are genuine decision-makers.

“Business is definitely a man’s world,” Natasha said. “So you have to come in with both the feminine and masculine qualities.

“You can’t be stupid,” she added. “So women’s qualities are definitely being kind, empathetic and being soft. If you use your emotions in a good way, and don’t let them hold you back, women can actually be more successful than men.”

That’s not without a few caveats, Natasha said.

“You have to be careful with that because as women, you aren’t going to actually see yourself that way,” she noted. “I have to take steps back often and look at myself and ask, ‘Compared to men, how am I doing?’

“Because it’s just different for women.”

The Brown Manor Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/p/Brown-Manor-100084451875008/ The Brown Manor website is: https://www.booking.com/ hotel/us/the-brown-manor.html

Pam Sherrod, Amy Bullock, Kim Shor t

(Not pictured: Teresa Akers)

Steve Hankins DDD Staff Writer

When folks consider women in business here they look no further than Clarkton Housing Authority Director Tina Roberts.

Roberts, 60, is a hometown girl. Born and raised at Clarkton, she’s been a mover and shaker in the Bootheel for more than 40 years.

Roberts spent 33 years at First National Bank of Malden, where she worked her way up the business ladder from drive-thru teller to her retirement as senior vice president.

But retirement is a meaningless word to Roberts, who departed the world of banking and finance to fulfill her life’s ambition.

If she’s asked, Roberts says she’s in the “people business.”

“I feel like this is my true calling,” Roberts said of her eight-year stint at the helm of the housing organization.

“My goal in life is helping people.”

Roberts chases those ends daily as she fulfills her responsibilities quietly, lending a hand to those who ask, or offering help to those who don’t.

Tina Roberts

Director

Clarkton Housing Authority

Roberts is or was a member of a number of governing boards, including two decades as a director of the Clarkton Housing Board; Bootheel Education Center Advisory Board; 20 years’ service as director on the Clarkton School Board; past president, vice president and treasurer of the Malden Lions Club; Delta Children’s Home Board of Directors; The Missouri Housing Authority Property and Casualty Board; and Southeast Missouri State University Scholarship Committee to name just a few.

How does she do it?

“I treat everyone with respect,” Roberts confessed. “No matter their stations in life.

“Because those change,” she emphasized. She should know. Like many in the Bootheel, Roberts’ immediate family struggled financially as she matured at Clarkton.

“I come from a very poor background,” Roberts explained. “I was raised with three siblings by a single mom, Jane Harrison.

“She had no car,” she said. “She walked to work, from one end of town to the other. She worked at the school as a janitor. We were a poor family financially. But otherwise very much enriched by the things in life that matter.”

Her friend and colleague Diane Bridges, Holcomb Hous-

“My goal in life is helping people”

ing Authority director, said those intangible, spiritual gifts that were planted and that root in Roberts’ youth blossomed and fruited beautifully since.

“I knew she was a good person,” Bridges attests. “I just had no idea HOW good.

“We call her work space ‘The Help Desk’,” she added. “Many times we have to tell her ‘the Help Desk is closed for the day,’ or she’d never close the office. She’d never go home.”

Bridges noted Roberts marches stoically the extra mile to be of service to her community.

“She fields phone calls constantly,” Bridges said. “People call here and sometimes they’re in dire straits. “They ask for prayers,” she continued. “Tina will stop whatever she’s doing immediately. We stand in a circle holding hands and pray right there in the office. She’s the most selfless individual I’ve ever met. She’d give you the shirt off her back. I had knee issues and Tina called and asked me if I needed her crutches. She drove 40 miles to my home at Senath and 40 miles back just to bring me crutches so I could get around. I love my job, and it’s because Tina treats everyone like family. We aren’t co-workers. We’re sisters.”

Chris White, an 18-year veteran Housing Authority maintenance specialist, said prior to Roberts’ arrival, he’d heard about her.

“It was intimidating at first,” White said. “I knew of her, but I didn’t know her.

“I mean, the seriousness of her being a bank vice-president is just totally different,” he continued. “But she came and told us ‘Everybody has a job. If you don’t know how to do it, we’ll teach you.’ There were no threats about doing good work or else. She was willing to teach us if we needed that, rather than hire others and let us go. Never no gray areas and I liked that. Tina never

micromanaged us. I feel valued and I enjoy coming to work every day. Everything I’ve ever needed here, Tina made it happen. From tools to raises, she’s always come through. We were always kind of a family here. But since Tina came, that intensified. She wants to know about our families and she asks about our babies. We do feel pretty spoiled because she’s such a great boss to work for.”

So when she’s not leading her colleagues at the office or tackling responsibilities on any number of boards, Roberts is busy maintaining 12 rental properties of her own. And aside from serving others, her second love is travel. “I’d be traveling right now if I could,” she said. “I just returned from visiting friends in Tyler, Texas.”

But for now, and for maybe only two more years, Roberts cares for the folks who live at the 75-unit complex. She can be found delivering food boxes, 60 a day, or working the free lunch program for 70 students.

Her learned words for those who might be tempted to walk her path are simple.

“Stay humble,” Roberts advised. “The people you might be frustrated with today might be the people you need in your corner tomorrow.”

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