Women in Business 2018

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Western North Carolina’s Source for Weekly News, Entertainment, Arts, and Outdoor Information

October 24-30, 2018 Vol. 20 Iss. 22

Macon County to unveil Women’s History Trail Page 12 TWSA considers policy to help displaced businesses Page 18

CONTENTS On the Cover: Women owning their own businesses is nothing new, and in fact North Carolina is among the nation’s leaders in this area. Still, those we interviewed for our annual series on Women in Business illustrate their inspiring stories and unique challenges. (Page 4) Celeste Ybanez, daughter of Clark and Jenny Williams, has taken over management at her family’s business Frog Level Brewing Company in Waynesville. Photo by Jessi Stone Law practice a team effort for majority-female firm ..................................................3 Daughter takes reins at Frog Level Brewing................................................................4 German-Cherokee couple sells authentic craftsmanship ......................................6 Classy Flea focuses on customer service ..................................................................7 City Lights owner finds way in restaurant biz ............................................................9 On the right track: Alma Russ ......................................................................................11

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News Macon County to unveil Women’s History Trail ......................................................12 Two run for Haywood County School Board ..........................................................14 Rep. Corbin seeks second House term ....................................................................16 TWSA considers policies to help displaced businesses ....................................18 Haywood election board member resigns ................................................................20

Opinion Finding inspiration in banned books ..........................................................................23

A&E Vermont singer-songwriter returns to Waynesville ................................................28

Outdoors

Smoky Mountain News

October 24-30, 2018

Grant aims to grow outdoor gear industry in WNC ..............................................42

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Scott McLeod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . info@smokymountainnews.com Greg Boothroyd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . greg@smokymountainnews.com Micah McClure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . micah@smokymountainnews.com Travis Bumgardner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . travis@smokymountainnews.com Jessica Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessica.m@smokymountainnews.com Susanna Barbee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Bradley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jc-ads@smokymountainnews.com Hylah Birenbaum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hylah@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jessi Stone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jessi@smokymountainnews.com Holly Kays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . holly@smokymountainnews.com Cory Vaillancourt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cory@smokymountainnews.com Garret K. Woodward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . garret@smokymountainnews.com Amanda Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smnbooks@smokymountainnews.com Scott Collier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . classads@smokymountainnews.com Jeff Minick (writing), Chris Cox (writing), George Ellison (writing), Gary Carden (writing), Don Hendershot (writing), Susanna Barbee (writing).

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female lawyers are fundamentally any different in the way that they practice. But individual differences in personality and worldview between different attorneys do have an impact, she said. People tend to She is an elected member of the Swain her law degree from the Florida Coastal choose attorneys whose beliefs and values County Board of Education and serves in School of Law. Guy took the job and ran a number of other service-oriented boards are similar to theirs. with it, earning a master’s of law in taxa“There are some people who want a and volunteer capacities as well. tion from the University of Alabama and lawyer to bang their fist on the table and It’s a funny thing, said Carpenter, adding tax and estate administration to be the TV lawyer they see, and that’s not because some people expect lawyers to the practice.

“I have an affinity for older folks,” Guy always be the abrasive, fist-banging, court- me,” said Carpenter. “I always tell people if that’s the kind of lawyer you want, room-shouting-match-having types explained. “When I was in high school I that’s not me. I’ll be firm and professional they’ve seen on TV — and some women used to volunteer with Alzheimer’s and in your case and represent you, but that’s trying to succeed in male-dominated dementia patients, and I kind of kept that not me.” fields carry a perception that they’ve got involvement throughout college in differThere are many ways that the reality to be all that and more to be taken serient outlets. So when I started practicing of legal practice at Carpenter, Guy & ously. It’s taken her a while to find her law I was immediately drawn to the elderown path, but she’s settled on a strategy of Arnold is different from what some peoly and how I could help them.” ple envision through televisionCarpenter, 48, and Guy, 37, influenced stereotypes. It’s a still work together, but not at less cutthroat and more balthe firm where they met. Now anced existence than what they’re partners at Sylva-based many might expect, Carpenter Carpenter, Guy & Arnold. With and Guy both said. two-thirds female ownership, it’s “It’s time management and one of the few law firms in the it’s prioritizing,” said Carpenter. area that’s mostly owned by “Aggie (Guy) and I, both our famwomen. ilies and our children come first, “I really like to think people, and I think once you know that’s especially women being a minorthe case you put everything else ity in that field, would build in line where it has to be to make each other up,” said Guy. “I sure you’re accomplishing that.” think there’s more now than They work hard, but they’re there was. We have more female attorneys now than we probably Sylva attorneys Aggie Guy (left) and Kim Carpenter have been also sure to take time for family and community involvement — every have.” working together since 2007. Holly Kays photo and to be willing to help when Sometimes, said Guy, the it’s a coworker’s turn to get away. fact that relatively few women Guy can stand in at court for Carpenter being “firm but professional” that has practice law can create “an innate sense of when she’s gone, and Carpenter can hanserved her well in her 22 years of law, and competition” between those who do. She dle real estate cases for Guy. When the credits the fact that Carpenter never treat- helped her gain the respect of her peers. receptionist needs to go care for a sick “Starting out I really felt like I had to ed her that way with much of her success child, they’ll all pitch in to answer the in the field, and her own desire to pay that prove myself more,” she admitted. “For phone. In the mountains, said Guy, “you the older lawyers that were typically leg up forward to other young attorneys. males, they always had an — I don’t know can’t pigeonhole yourself, or you’ll starve.”

“She was always willing to help me “It’s just what you’ve got to get done,” how to word this — they felt like they had anytime I had a question. Stupid, stupid she said. “I have left, gone and fed my to tell you how to do it.” questions sometimes, but she took the kids, given them a bath, put them to bed Not her partners, she said, but other time to really help me build a foundaand then come back. There have been lawyers she encountered in the course of tion, and I do hope that I have done the weeks, months when I’ve had a lot of stuff her job. same for people as they’ve come along, “There were obstacles in proving your- that had to be turned in, and you just do it because that was the example she set for because it’s due.” self as being a worthy opponent in some me,” Guy said.

“It’s a good position to be able to come instances,” she said. “But my experience “I believe in helping others along the home to a place you grew up and care was once I was able to establish myself way, and I hope that I’ve done that with about,” she added. her and some other lawyers, just like I was and my confidence grew, I was able to “And the people you care about,” present myself and my client in a fashion helped along the way when I was young,” Carpenter agreed. that was worthy of their respect.” said Carpenter, whose community per“It’s a good life,” said Guy. Carpenter doesn’t see that male and spective extends beyond the law office.

Practicing toward perfection Law practice a team effort for majority-female firm

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ylva attorney Kim Carpenter’s legal career started after law school, but the year she spent beforehand working with the Swain County Department of Social Services planted the seeds.

“I always had an interest in the law, but my main interest had been just to help people,” she said. “My mother had been a social worker, so I worked for a year out of college before law school for DSS in Swain and thought that I could serve people in a different way than that. That was my initial objective in going into law.”

Go into law she did, in 1996 graduating from the N.C. Central School of Law in Durham, joining the N.C. Bar and going to work for Sylva-based Melrose, Seago & Lay. “You go to law school and you come out to practice law, and that’s truly what you do,” she said. “You learn many things as you go.”

Luckily for Carpenter, who had interned with Mark Melrose before graduating from law school, she had bosses who were willing to help her to develop as a young lawyer. Within two years of joining the practice, Carpenter had become a partner — the “Lay” in Melrose, Seago & Lay. “Mark and Randy (Seago) were very giving people and they were very good to me, but I worked hard as well,” she said.

“While they were litigators, I felt my best course there would be to develop new areas of practice such as real estate. I established a real estate practice within a litigation firm that grew successfully.”

So much so that when Carpenter saw her own interest in litigation develop — “I fell in love with the workers compensation part of law … I felt like I was truly helping people,” she said — she had to hire someone to take over the real estate side of things.

That someone was Aggie Guy, a Haywood County native who had earned

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

All in the family Daughter takes reins at Frog Level Brewing

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR eleste Ybanez was a junior in high school when her parents Clark and Jenny Williams started brewing up the idea that would become Frog Level Brewing Company.

“Throughout my senior year we did free tastings at The Gateway Club before we finally opened the brewery in December 2011,” she recalls. “Most kids had chores like vacuuming, cleaning their room or doing dishes — my job was scrubbing labels off beer bottles so my dad could use them to put his home brew in.”

At the time, craft beer was still a new concept in Haywood County. Frog Level was the first craft brewery to open up shop in Waynesville, closely followed by BearWaters Brewing.

“I had never actually had a beer before obviously — my parents are excellent role models and I went to private christian school. It was a little ironic because Kevin Sandefur, who opened BearWaters, his son also went to Haywood Christian Academy and our parents were both opening breweries at the same time,” she joked. “But honestly I thought it was really cool. I’d never been to a craft brewery and it really set me apart, being a part of something new — not only for myself but for Haywood County in general.”

That early training would come in handy when she turned 18 and could pour the brew herself behind the Frog Level bar — even though she wasn’t yet old enough to sample the product.

Now Frog Level is about to celebrate its seventh anniversary, and not only is Ybanez still behind the bar serving up the beer with a smile, she’s also taken over much of the daily operations of the business.

It’s not something she had planned to do anytime soon — especially not at the age of 25 — but she took on the role at the beginning of 2018 with authority, enthusiasm and family pride. Though she might not have realized her path was leading her back to the brewery, everything she’s experienced along the way has prepared her to take over the family business.

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GAINING EXPERIENCE 4

After graduating from Haywood Christian Academy, Ybanez attended Western Carolina University with plans to become a teacher.

“I wanted to be an elementary school teacher, but during my internship I was

placed in a kindergarten class. I had this idea in my mind that I’d get to pick an older class but that’s not how it works,” she said. “More than anything I changed my mind because of the politics of the school system — the focus was not on the children anymore and that was disappointing to me.”

She ended up changing her major and graduating in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, but this time her long-term goal was to open her own salon. With a flair for fashion and a natural talent for hair and makeup, she then enrolled in Southwestern Community College’s cosmetology program in 2015.

“My plan was to open a salon. I really wanted to understand the business concepts behind it but also I’d have a back-up plan. I wanted to be educated and creative,” Ybanez said.

But before she could graduate from SCC, she and her husband Kerry Ybanez decided they wanted a change of scenery.

They traded in the mountains they grew up in for new jobs and coastal life in Savannah.

She put her business degree to use and entered the manager-in-training program with Enterprise Holdings to get hands-on experience with running a business.

“Enterprise is a fantastic company — it’s family owned and that does flow down through the chains. They taught me an exponential amount about customer service — reading people and communicating and being compassionate with people,” she said. “I learned everything on the back end, looking at the accounting numbers and performance and analysing what to do to make things better. I also learned what it’s like to be a good leader and how to motivate the staff.”

Ybanez excelled in the fast-paced business environment and was quickly promoted to assistant branch manager. Yet, she and Kerry we’re missing their friends and family back home. Kerry’s children were missing their siblings and grandparents back in the mountains.

“There were a lot of pros about coming back but the cons were that we had great jobs in Savannah. But then my mom was diagnosed with cancer in the spring 2017 and had surgery in the summer. Once she told me she had cancer that tipped the scales,” she said. “My dad is a disabled veteran and it was getting harder for him to do daily functions at the brewery and I’m hours away and there’s nothing I can do to help.”

She came back to Waynesville for her mom’s surgery. Thankfully, she is now in full remission. But when Celeste and Kerry returned to Savannah, the nagging feeling

Celeste Ybanez and her father Clark Williams, owners of Frog Level Brewing Company, show off the new door to their new kitchen — The Canteen. Jessi Stone photo of homesickness would not go away.

“We went back to Savannah and my dad called and asked me if I would consider moving back and helping with the brewery and eventually taking over. I started packing my house the next day,” she said.

Clark said bringing Celeste back to manage the bar wasn’t a hard decision.

“With her entrepreneur and hospitality degree, her extroverted larger-than-life personality — as well as being one of our kids — getting her back here was the easy choice,” he said. “I knew Celeste would infuse her fresh ideas, energy and enthusiasm into the ‘old soul’ of our thriving business.”

COMING HOME Ybanez was so eager to get back home she didn’t stop to wonder what running a brewery would actually involve. She had

been gone for more than a year and she was coming back to a new brewer and new staff, among other challenges.

“At first it was very difficult because not only was I new to the staff and we had had poor management before I came back, but I’m also a female in a male dominated world,” she said. “I hate to throw the woman card back into this but the brewing industry by and large is male dominated, so when they see a female figure involved in ownership and management, it’s not the norm. People can be standoff-ish about it, so creating awareness that my gender doesn’t reflect my capacity to lead is the hardest part.”

But being raised by two military parents, Ybanez is not afraid of hard work and challenges.

She’s put herself out there and made herself known among the craft beer leaders in the region by

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MAKING STRIDES Much has been accomplished in the last year at Frog Level. The biggest triumph has been something the Williams have always wanted to do but never thought they’d have the space — serving food. The long and narrow brewery space was maxed out with seating, brewhouse equipment, cooler and the bar area. Where could they put a kitchen?

The answer finally came when the retail space between Frog Level and Panacea Coffee became available for lease — one wall was knocked down, another was built and the two businesses split the space in half. Frog Level now had space for a kitchen and Panacea had a new seating area. Kerry had the kitchen up and running by this summer and was serving delicious pub food to accompany the signature brews.

“Our biggest success is just listening to our customer base. People wanted wings so we got boneless wings. People wanted a new sandwich so we added a Philly

cheesesteak. We’re keeping an open mind to what we can offer,” she said.

Secondly, and mostly importantly, she and head brewer Matt Norman have worked to improve the product and the production schedule. Now running on a seven-barrel brewhouse instead of a three-barrel system, Frog Level has increased production. And with eight fermenters, the brewery has increased its variety of beers.

“Our brewer Matt is phenomenal at keeping up with the latest trends. For a long time IPAs were the thing, but now consumers are gravitating toward sour ales so he’s done a lot with those,” Ybanez said.

Another challenge has been figuring out how much of the brew to give to the distributors to sell across the state versus how much to keep on hand in the taproom to meet the local demand.

“There’s no set formula for that — it’s all trial and error — but I think Matt has done a great job keeping me in the loop on how much we have and what we need,” she said. “Even with being out of two favorites right now, we have 15 beers on tap.”

Clark and Jenny Williams always wanted Frog Level Brewing to be a laid back place where everyone feels welcome, and Ybanez has worked hard to carry that torch by being open to community events and supporting local musicians.

“We try to be a venue where people can come have a good time whether it’s a Paint Nite with Robin every other Thursday or the drum circle on Tuesday nights. We support local causes and love hosting charity events and we always have live music Fridays and Saturdays with no cover charge,” she said. “It’s all about community and family, and we do have the best venue in all of Haywood County with the deck overlooking Richland Creek. We want it to feel like you’re hanging out in your backyard.”

For the next year, her goal is to increase distribution into other states and increase brand awareness for the veteran-owned family business. The job isn’t easy and the days are long, but Ybanez feels like she’s exactly where she needs to be with the unexpected realization that her father’s dream has perhaps become her own.

“I’ve found I’m most motivated by overcoming obstacles — triumph is a wonderful feeling — and I’m certainly challenged here every single day,” she said. “We honestly try to make everyone that walks through the door feel like family — it’s something Clark and Jenny have both been catalysts in. I would like everyone to know that sometimes businesses falter from their path, but I’m here to make sure we do not waiver again and that we have quality service and beers at all times.”

Did you know... that you have a DIETITIAN on call?

Leah McGrath, RDN, LDN is the Corporate Dietitian for Ingles Markets. She can answer your questions about food from the farm to the plate, whether you want to know about nutrition, ingredients, preparation or agriculture.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

attending beer festivals and conferences and going on runs with her distributors to meet the clients. She was recently awarded a scholarship for Women in Brewing through the North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild to attend an educational conference next month where brewers from all over the Southeast will gather.

Ybanez also had to get caught up on the current business situation — finances, distribution, state alcohol regulations and brewing schedules.

“I came in blind, but the benefit is that with my degree I learned there is entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship — entrepreneurs see a problem and offer a solution. Intrapreneurs come into an existing business and examine operations and change them so the business can thrive and flourish,” she said.

“Throughout my education I gravitated toward intrapreneurship. So yeah, I had no idea what I was getting myself into but because of my creativeness and work ethic I’ve been able to sort of change some things. I believe I’ve offered new life and light and growth to this business.”

Despite the challenges, Ybanez now has a good team on board at the brewery working alongside her to improve the business. When asked how she manages to have a great personal and working relationship with her staff at such a young age, she said it comes down to a balance of love and respect.

“It’s about setting boundaries — sometimes it’s about having fun with the staff so they know I’m a good person and sometimes it’s about discipline and holding them accountable,” she said.

“One thing I pride myself on is leadership by example. I don’t ask my staff to do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Leah is a registered dietitian nutritionist, licensed in the state of North Carolina. She has a B.S. in Human Nutrition from the University of Maryland, completed her dietetic internship with the U.S. Army, served as an officer and dietitian in the U.S. Army and worked in Public Health as a WIC and Nutrition Director in South Carolina.

For the past 18 years Leah has been the Corporate Dietitian for Ingles Markets. Her passion to learn more about the food system has led her to visit over 60 farms( of all sizes) and food entrepreneurs in the past 6 years. She is also actively involved with farmers and food businesses in Western NC and works regularly with ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture to plan events featuring local farmers and food makers.

Stay connected with Leah!

• Listen to her podcast interviews at www.inglesinfoaisle.com • Listen to her every Saturday morning on WWNC 570am on iheartradio • Read her columns in the Smoky Mountain News and in Smoky Mountain Living If you have questions write to her at: lmcgrath@ingles-markets.com or call: 800-334-4936

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

Standard of quality German-Cherokee couple sells authentic craftsmanship

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER rowing up in Germany as the daughter of a repair shop owner, Ute Grant knew three things about how her life should go: she never wanted to go to America, she never wanted to get married and she never wanted to be selfemployed. But life has a way of showing up the firmest of convictions.

“I had to learn that I had to do all of that to be happy,” said Ute. Now 51, Ute lives in Cherokee with her husband General B. Grant, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and she owns Traditional Hands, a retail store selling traditionally crafted jewelry, artwork, knives, arrows and more — much of it created by General.

“Germans are famous for their level of quality in what they are doing, so luckily my husband has that too in his artwork,” Ute said. “In his artwork he likes quality.

He works with heavy silver and just execution on a high-quality level. So in that

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department we are a good team, and here in Cherokee I think we set a new standard.”

It’s a team that Ute would have never envisioned forming — until it did.

Ute and General met at a 2004 Sundance ceremony in South Dakota. Ute became interested in Native spirituality after going through some hard times at home, joining the Sundance after several years of studying the philosophy. General, meanwhile, arrived after having just lost his wife of 35 years. The two just talked at that first meeting, with Ute returning in 2005 to spend a full year in America, learning about Native spirituality on the land where it formed and going on the road with General as he sold his pieces.

By 2006, they were married. Ute made a permanent move to America.

“Coming here I was so in love that there was no question,” she said. “If he would have lived in Timbuktu I would have followed him there. I didn’t feel brave. It was just the right thing to do.”

Ute and General hit the road together, selling his creations at various art and craft shows. In 2013, they opened the store, which Ute owns and operates. It was General’s way of making sure she’d have some property of her own, since as a non-Cherokee she couldn’t inherit land on

Ute Grant, originally from Germany, runs a store in downtown Cherokee that sells Native American craftsmanship made by her husband General Grant. Holly Kays photo the Qualla Boundary.

“I love this job because I really make people happy,” she said. “It’s so deeply connected to the culture, and that’s what people are really hungry for and looking for.”

From watching Ute do her job, it’s apparent that she likes it, and that she’s good at it.

A couple wandering in around lunchtime on a Thursday provides a solid example. The two slowly walk around the glass cases of turquoise and wampum-

based jewelry, the wife making quiet sounds of appreciation and remarking on the beauty of a particular pair of swirling purple-and-white wampum earrings.

“They are really pretty,” her husband agrees. “I wish I had the money to get them for you.”

He turns to Ute. “You say you have a layaway plan?” he asks.

Ute launches in a recap of the layaway plan, highlighting all of its more flexible features and offering the man a discount to boot. They could walk out of the store just putting down $40, she says. By the end of the conversation, the man has decided to buy one piece of jewelry outright and put a second on layaway.

“I think he likes you!” Ute says.

“I do love her. She’s my sweetheart,” he replies, calling his wife his “walking miracle” for twice beating cancer and giving him two sons.

It’s a moment of connection, of something deeper than a man buying a vacation souvenir for his wife. The couple leaves, happy with their memories of Cherokee, while Ute stays, happy with the sale she’s made to support herself and General.

“This store is way more than just a business,” she said. “It means so much to a lot of people because we give them a part of the original Cherokee culture, what the people are actually really looking for.”

Kim’s Pharmacy was established in February 2008

by Kim Ferguson, a graduate of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy.

After completing her degree in 1990, Kim returned to her hometown to serve her community as a pharmacist. She is a lifelong resident of Waynesville and has deep roots in the community. Kim is also actively involved with Altrusa of Waynesville, DSS Christmas and Foster Child Program, and Relay for life.

Kim’s Pharmacy is proud to have been selected favorite pharmacy by the readers of The Mountaineer 6 years running and is grateful to the residents of Haywood County for patronizing an independent pharmacy in this age of big box chain stores. Kim’s Pharmacy is honored to have been selected 2013 Business of the Year by the Haywood Chamber of Commerce.

As the only compounding pharmacy west of Asheville, the pharmacy’s patients range from newborns to geriatrics and everything in between. It does a lot of compounding for vets in the area, and the animal patients range from cats, to dogs, to horses and squirrels.

“We take care of the whole family,” said Kim. 366 RUSS AVE. (BiLo Shopping Center) | WAYNESVILLE

828.452.2313 6

Find us on facebook: www.facebook.com/kimspharmacy www.kimswellnessinfo.org

Keeping it classy

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ynn Nicholson has always been a good saleswoman — not because she’s pushy and overbearing but because she’s personable and treats everyone like family.

“I’ve always been told I could sell ice to an Eskimo,” she joked. “But really I’ve always been a people person and I’ve met some of the nicest people here through the years.”

Nicholson is referring to the business she runs in Franklin alongside her husband Tommy Nicholson — The Classy Flea. The store is not your typical flea market with dirty and dusty junk selling for a quarter. It’s clean and organized with vendors offering everything from homemade crafts and furniture to vintage items you won’t find anywhere else.

“We try to keep it clean and reasonably priced,” Lynn said.

“It’s probably the best-kept secret place in Franklin,” Tommy added.

The Classy Flea is somewhat of a hidden treasure in town, but it’s not too hard to find. Located on a small dirt road just off Georgia Road, the store prides itself on offering antiques, good stuff and cool junk. You know what they say, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure — and there’s definitely something for everyone at The Classy Flea.

There are now 40 vendors filling the booths at Classy Flea, plus whatever Lynn and Tommy bring in from their treasure hunts. They love to travel around searching for unique pieces to offer their clientele. With so many estate sales and families downsizing these days, they never know what they may discover along the way.

“It’s all about the find. I love to prowl in people’s basements,” Lynn laughed.

“We might go somewhere and find nothing or we may buy everything from an estate sale if the price is right.”

Lynn worked for the Macon County Health Department for many years until she got sick in 2004 and decided it was time to retire. While she worked at the health department, she also did a lot of direct sales work for Home Party Plan, Tupperware, Avon and others. She wasn’t looking for another job, but The Classy Flea came to her by way of the original owner Brenda Angel. As a cancer survivor, Angel’s health just wouldn’t allow her to continue the business, but she didn’t want to see it go by the wayside.

“I had a booth in the Classy Flea …

Brenda came to me one day and said, ‘God told me you needed this business,’”

Lynn recalled. “I told her no because I was too busy but she asked me again in December — I told her I’d run it for her through the winter and we’d re-evaluate come March.”

During the winter months, Lynn said she prayed hard about whether she and Tommy should buy the business. She asked God for a sign and sure enough, she said, he delivered.

“Winter is usually such a slow time but we blew it out of the water with sales in January,” Lynn said. “I had prayed about it and he had definitely shown me.”

Now Accepting New Patients Tommy and Lynn Nicholson pride themselves on customer service at The Classy Flea in Franklin. Jessi Stone photo They bought the business in 2014 and continue to find new items to sell and new ways to market their business to the public. Lynn said they also try to take care of their vendors by offering low rent and only asking a small percentage of their sales. She currently has a waiting list for vendors wanting booth space.

Not everything is second-hand. The Classy Flea sells a line of homemade solid wood furniture, offers a line of homemade jams, jellies, honey and ciders, Blacklock meats from Clayton, Georgia, and other handmade local crafts and decor.

For Lynn, it’s all about the people and providing outstanding customer service.

When you walk into Classy Flea, she’s there to help you find what you’re looking for. That personal service isn’t something you can always find at the big box stores.

“I try to treat everyone the same way I’d want to be treated,” she said.

“Customer service is a big thing for us — we’re a small enough business that we have time to give you that eye contact and attention.”

The Classy Flea is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and is located at 51 Union Otto Day Care Rd., Franklin. Inventory changes weekly. Call 828.421.7782 for more information or follow Lynn Nicholson on Facebook.

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Women in Business: still newsworthy?

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

BY SCOTT MCLEOD, PUBLISHER As we started working on this year’s Women in Business stories, a fundamental question kept coming up: do we still need to highlight women-owned and women-operated businesses in this day and age, or has it become so commonplace it’s the norm? Are we perpetuating a storyline about overcoming obstacles that’s no longer relevant?

So I sought advice from two people who work all day every day with small businesses in this region — Julie Spiro is executive director of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, and CeCe Hipps is the president of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce.

I know both very well, and both have a sincere passion for helping entrepreneurs of all types. So I knew I could get a boots-onthe-ground opinion from two people who deal daily with these questions.

“I understand what you are saying about if it’s still necessary to highlight women in business, because it truly is the norm now and not really the exception,” Spiro told me. “Having said that, you can always highlight anyone (male or female) in business that has overcome obstacles and has succeeded in spite of it (or because of it). So I would say don’t let gender get in the way of a good story.”

In Jackson County, 49.3 percent of chamber businesses are owned or managed by

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women. That’s much higher than the national average of 39 percent.

Hipps can recall when being a woman on a chamber board or a woman in some other kind of professional setting came with its own set of challenges.

“I remember times when I would have an idea or make comments and some of my male board members would chuckle or joke about it or have sidebar conversations while I was talking. It takes courage and experience to address these situations,” Hipps said. “I feel women have to work much harder to be taken seriously, to have a voice and overcome social expectations.”

Both Spiro and Hipps pointed out the different mindset women bring to the workplace.

“Women face many challenges in the workplace while trying to balance a career, family and home with limited hours per week. I do not know of many women in business who work from 8 to 5,” Hipps said.

“Women have to work twice as hard to be respected and accepted. They also tend to take on more responsibilities and still do not receive the same pay and benefits.”

Spiro agreed.

“I also think women have learned that we can do anything, but not everything. Over the years, we’ve become better at balancing our professional careers by working smarter and

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Finally, Spiro believes women bring a nurturing attitude to the workplace that can lead to success for their businesses and satisfaction for their employees.

“I feel that many women have a managerial style of being both caregivers and leaders, and that combination is often what fuels their success in business,” Spiro said. “We tend to nurture our business. After all, doesn’t everyone just want to be treated with kindness?”

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fter a head-on collision and partially going through the windshield of her car, Keitha Oldham was told she may never run again. A year and a half ago she met with Tim Plowman, personal trainer at the Waynesville Recreation Center, about exercising and dieting. After their meeting, she then met with Recreation Assistant Melba Smart and learned how to use the weight machines. Today, Oldham has dropped from a size 24 to a size 10.

She also used to weigh 215 pounds but now she weighs 150 and is thankful to be alive, to have lost 65 pounds and to be enjoying life.

"I thank God first and I am grateful for the assistance I have received at the Waynesville Recreation Center," Oldham said. "This is the best place in Haywood County. Where else can you go and have individualized training for free?”

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Business built in community various producers around the region, whereas now distributors carry many of those ingredients to her door. She was doing a lot of hands-on serving, managing and trial-and-error efforts to gauge what customers wanted and how best to get it to them.

But over the years, Peters has become a leader in the downtown community, staying active with the Main Street Sylva Association — including a term as president — speaking up at public hearings on issues affecting the business community and organizing downtown events

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ity Lights Café is a fixture in Sylva, a frequent stopping place for downtown workers in search of a cup of coffee, students looking for a place to snack and study or tourists needing a quick and healthy bite before continuing their exploration of Jackson County.

Bernadette Peters pours a But when Bernadette Peters coffee at City Lights Café. opened the business in 2011, she Holly Kays photo had just barely any experience in restaurant operations. Peters’ background was in marketing, the world of restaurants a new interest she’d picked up since she and her wife moved to the area from the Atlanta area to help one of her marketing clients with a restaurant in Bryson City. That’s when she decided to start one of her own. such as the Sylva Brew Hop, which she “From having a marketing backhelped start. ground, I knew I could get customers in “If you’re not involved in your comthe door. But how was I going to feed munity, you don’t have a say in how it’s them? How was I going to manage the going to affect your business,” she staff?” said Peters. “That kind of thing explained. was a challenge.”

While Peters has worked to give back It was a learning curve, and she to her community, it’s also given back to didn’t really realize how big a curve it her. There have been countless times would be until she was into it. After look- when she’s had a super-specific, restauing at places in various Western North rant-biz question and has been able to Carolina towns, Peters settled on Sylva, count on help and advice from some of and she hasn’t looked back. the other prominent female business “I love the fact that there’s a local owners in downtown Sylva — which, community here, not just the tourist with a female mayor, police chief, city community, and with the university it manager and chamber of commerce brings a level of progressiveness and director is itself a town with a rather artisticness,” said Peters. female-heavy leadership.

The space where City Lights Café has It’s a different dynamic than the one operated for the past seven years shares a she’s seen in other places. While in building with the bookstore of the same Birmingham, Alabama, for example, “it name, and that’s by design. Originally, became really apparent to me that the restaurant in that space was called women could not excel professionally City Lights Café, but the name changed like men could. It was a wide chasm,” to Spring Street Café when it reopened Peters said. The city had a large number under different ownership. When Spring of female business owners, though — Street closed down, Peters moved into Peters’ conclusion was that in that town, the space and presented City Lights women who wanted to be the boss had Bookstore owner Chris Wilcox with the to start something from scratch. idea of resurrecting the initial name.

In Sylva, she never had that feeling of “We decided we would in essence working against the grain to compete in share the name and leverage it in crossa man’s world. And on the flip side, marketing the customers we had in the Peters and City Lights have both blossame building,” she said. “They’re very somed amid the strong support network community-focused too.” of other female business owners in town.

In the beginning, restaurant owner“We help each other out and support ship was hard. The locally sourced ingre- each other,” she said. “That’s something dients Peters wanted to use in her menu very special that women business owners didn’t come easily — she had to make have, that we can work together in that the rounds herself to pick them up from way and not be all competitive about it.”

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Patricia Miller has owned and operated Affairs of the Heart on Main Street in downtown Waynesville since March of 1996.

Her motivation to open the retail store was simple: she wanted a local place to sell the crafts she and her mom made together. When she made the decision to open her own store, her mom was at her side to offer moral support.

Today Patricia and her sister Roseann work side by side in the store. They pride themselves on having good products at good prices. They love meeting the customers and providing great service.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

Journey to the top of Soaring Mountain

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BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER itting at a low desk in a cozy nook of her mountaintop studio and gallery, Margaret Pennington Roberts, brush in hand, contemplates a canvas perched precariously on an easel.

“I remember when I was 5 years old, we took a family vacation through here, and I remember thinking, ‘I would love to live in these mountains,’” she said.

The mountains of Haywood County are a long way from Roberts’ birthplace of Chase City, Virginia, where almost 23 percent of the population lives in poverty.

“It’s a very poor area. It used to be a tobacco town. Of course, there’s no tobacco anymore,” she said. “My brother, who was trapped in the family business, said, ‘I’m so glad you got out.’”

Roberts went on to study art education at Radford University, which was founded in 1910 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women but by 1924 was renamed the State Teachers College. She then returned home to teach for a year, spent a year teaching in Raleigh and then in Greensboro, and then got married.

“It’s unusual, but I married a guy from my hometown. To be honest, we were probably the only two people of datable age in the whole county,” she laughed. “So it was by default I think.”

That marriage led to a move to St. Louis, because her husband Hughes worked for IBM — which she noted stood for “I’ve Been Moved” — but it also led to a hiatus for her educational and artistic pursuits.

“I have a child who’s deaf, so that kind of ended any teaching career, and I didn’t get back into painting for 20 years,” said Roberts, who herself has been partially hearing impaired since birth. “I always was pretty crafty when I couldn’t paint, and I really didn’t have much of an art education, at college.

When I ended up in St. Louis, I was able to take some classes.”

She also began giving lectures at Barnes & Noble, and began teaching people how to paint from books.

Roberts said she considers that the beginning of her career in art, but despite the challenges she’d already overcome — a rural upbringing, family hearing impairments and a husband with a demanding job — it was actually a series of failures that got her where she is today.

“I do two kinds of artwork. I do something I developed myself, because I was wanting to do watercolor and it’s very difficult and I had tons of bad watercolors,” she said. “And it’s expensive. So I

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made a New Year’s resolution that I was going to work on these watercolors with acrylic, oil or anything, until I finally made something happen.”

What finally did happen was the synthesis of a unique style born from adversity and immediately identifiable as her work.

“I developed this by taking old watercolors and tearing them up and gluing them on top of another one in a collage, and then I started to refine them, like leaving white edges on it, which makes it pop, or giving it depth by adding foamcore to the back to actually give it a 3-D effect,” she said.

Even the multidimensional aspects of Roberts’ work come from what she says are shortcomings in her own skills.

“Because I’m a very poor matte cutter, and measuring and math is not my deal, I started having part of the collage come over the top of matte, and that’s something that customers seem to like,” she said. “So if I have a vase of flowers I’ll have some of them going over the matte.”

Roberts’ business model is as unconventional as her art; she remains remarkably detached from the financial side of things, freeing her up to do what she does best — make art. In Haywood County, she deals exclusively with Main Street Waynesville gallery Twigs and Leaves.

“As far as having my own website, I don’t bother with it. I pay no attention to any of that,” she said.

Roberts does pay attention to the needs of others in the community and uses art as a way to raise money for local charities. She’s hosted a number of art classes and visiting artist workshops in her home studio and gives the class fees to a nonprofit cause, whether it’s Mountain Projects, Sarge’s Animal Rescue or REACH of Haywood County.

Still seated in that cozy little nook in Soaring Mountain studio, it’s clear that Margaret Pennington Roberts wasn’t contemplating that precariously perched canvas at all — she’s been contemplating her journey between the there and the here, between the then and the now, between adversity and perseverance.

Being a woman in business, she said, has never been one of those challenges.

“No, not really. I have really never seen that. Rarely do you sell a piece of artwork because you are a man or a woman. You sell it because it’s there and somebody comes in and it appeals to them, and then they have to look closely to see, and a lot of times, it’s just a last name. I can see it in other things,” she said. “But as far as being an artist, I don’t.”

Margaret Pennington Roberts at home beneath one of her massive paintings, and in her brightly-lit studio (below).

Cory Vaillancourt photos

On the right track: Alma Russ

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2018

something Russ had to learn for herself.

“I had to get better at business. I’ve had to learn to be more assertive and direct with people, especially when I’m booking gigs,” she said. “I find that I’m usually the only girl in shows I play. I don’t know why.

I know there are a lot of women in music — I admire a lot of women in music today.

It just seems like there’s not as many. You have to not be afraid to ask. I feel like sometimes in this world, we want things, but so often we’re afraid to ask.”

Even at such a young age, she’s played with Colby Deitz Band, Dogwood Winter, Through the Hills and often sits in with other bands when called upon. Russ also auditioned for American Idol last year when the show came through Savannah and even got her golden ticket to Hollywood before being sent home.

Russ has only just started her journey into the business of music, but when asked where she sees herself in 10 years, it’s apparent she’s already on the right track.

“I at least want to be making most of my living by gigging. I’d like to balance that with teaching or doing something in the outdoors,” she said, “but I’m just going to pursue music as much as I can.”

Alma Russ appeared as a contestant on American Idol earlier this year. Donated photo

BY CORY VAILLANCOURT STAFF WRITER usiness owners aren’t just retail or hospitality-based bricks and mortar shopkeeps; often overlooked are the sole proprietors selling a service or skill that comes from within, and many of those are members of the socalled “creative class” — artists, writers, performers and the like.

Musician Alma Russ is one of them.

Originally from Florida, Russ has lived in Jackson County for five or six years now.

“I started out with fiddle. Banjo and guitar came later. Before I played instruments, I got really into singing these old ballads where like, people die and stuff,” the 19-year-old said. “I was 8 years old, singing these ballads about people getting their heads chopped off. It was a good time.”

Russ began performing at 4-H talent shows around age 14, and played her first bar at 15. She’s now a graduate of Jackson County Early College and studies outdoor leadership and wilderness therapy at Southwestern Community College, but is clear about her priorities.

“Music is definitely what’s happening for me now,” she said. “I’m just going to continue to pursue it. I want to do a lot of things with my life, but music is definitely something I always want to be in my life for sure.”

Since last year, Russ has been working on the railroad — the Great Smoky

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Learn more

S H O RT O N T I M E ? W E ’ V E G OT YO U COV E R E D

Learn more about Alma at www.almarussmusic.com or see her perform — in character, as Dolly Parton — at the Haywood County Arts Council’s “Sunday at the Opry” fundraiser at Canton’s Colonial Theater at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 11. Tickets $20 at the door, Haywood County veterans free. For more information, visit haywoodarts.org/ event/sunday-at-the-opry.

Mountains Railroad, based in Bryson City — all the live-long day, because you can’t have a steam locomotive rolling down the tracks without a fiddler.

“It’s really fun, I’m grateful. It’s very rewarding,” she said. “I get to have fun and make people happy.”

She counts among her musical influences everyone from Bill Monroe to Led Zeppelin, and is especially a fan of “country gold” artists like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, but as she’s been out doing more of her own songs lately, she’s had to focus as much on being a businesswoman as being a banjo player.

“It’s nice to make a little extra, especially since I am saving for college,” she said.

The challenges, though, for women — especially young women — in the music industry are well-known, but

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