Women In Business

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October 7-13, 2015 Vol. 17 Iss. 19

Recycling company coming to Haywood County Page 31 Local acts receive bluegrass awards Page 36

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015 Connecting a community Women of Waynesville make their mark

BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER urning onto North Hill Street in downtown Waynesville, you’re immediately greeted by overhanging maples sporting the latest in fall colors.

Pulling into the Twin Maples Farmhouse, the picturesque property is silent, peaceful, as if pulled from some sort of Norman Rockwell painting.

And just as you take a seat on the tranquil porch an array of vehicles slide into nearby parking spaces.

Numerous people soon appear, many holding plates of food, perhaps a bottle or two of wine. Before you can even get up to welcome these newcomers, they get to you first, offering a hearty handshake with a confidence and style akin to only one organization in Haywood County — the Women of Waynesville.

“This is truly a congregation of women,” said Nikki White, president of WOW. “Once you get to know these women, you’ll discover all these different parallels and depths — everything that makes them who they are.”

Started as a simple idea in 2011 between White and co-founder Michelle Briggs (who also runs Twin Maples), the nonprofit has taken on a life of its own.

With roughly 50 members (30 to 35 who consistently attend their first Thursday of the month meeting), WOW brings together female business owners, entrepreneurs and community activists. It is the crossroads of empowerment and change, where actions speak louder than words, and these women can be heard from mountaintops far and wide.

“The women in this group are feisty and scrappy, they’re go-getters,” said Kristen Delliveniri, a WOW member and co-owner of Phil+Kristen Photography.

“They don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, they make things happen. They believe in value and purpose — it’s hard to be around women like this and not feel empowered to take over the world.”

In a club where the age range is 22 to 74, Delliveniri is one of the youngest. At 32, she joined WOW a year ago as a way to not only network and get her name out there, but to also truly connect with other women in business and around the community on deeper, more meaningful levels.

“I like being able to talk to women I respect within

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A recent meeting of the Women of Waynesville (WOW) at the Twin Maples Farmhouse in Waynesville. The nonprofit organization raises monies for women and children charities around greater Haywood County, with over $30,000 being collected and donated in the last three years.

Garret K. Woodward photo

Want to go?

The Power of Pink fundraiser will be held on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Haywood Regional Medical Center Health & Fitness Center in Clyde.

In an effort to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, the Pink Relay will kickoff at 9 a.m., with the 5K at 10:30 a.m., one-mile honor/memory/survivor walk thereafter. Proceeds go to breast cancer detection and providing mammograms for underserved women in Haywood County. Help WOW and the Haywood Healthcare Foundation eradicate breast cancer by celebrating and remembering those individuals who have battled this disease by supporting and participating in this event held during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since 2007, 742 women in Haywood County have received these life-saving cancer screenings.

To register for the races or to donate to the cause, call 828.452.8343 or click on www.haywoodhealthcarefoundation.org. To learn more about Women of Waynesville, go to www.womenofwaynesville.com.

the community, who have their own busi“A lot of members ness, who are movers and shakers, who are here are either a few steps ahead of new to town or me,” she said. “I can ask them what those moved here from next steps are like, what to expect in somewhere else a those next phases of while ago. WOW life and your career — it inspires me.” brings them into At the WOW our community meeting on Oct. 1, numerous conversaand makes them tions swirl in the air.

To the left, a handful want to work for of members are disthe community.” cussing the upcoming elections and their — Michelle Briggs, thoughts on the Twin Maples Farmhouse issues. To the right, a few are showing pictures of grandchildren, nieces, nephews, sons and daughters. You soon pick up the notion that WOW is more than just an ensemble of women, it’s a social club, support group and all-around positive influence on all who decide to swing by Twin Maples and see what all the fuss is about.

“To me, it’s incredible to see what we’re created, it’s

“For the last few years, we were trying to drive this vehicle that is WOW, but now we were driving it with 66 people onboard,” White said. “And we couldn’t continue to do that, so we decided to get to know each other better, to find out what this army of ours is truly made of before we pushed ahead any further.”

As they call their meeting to order, White takes center stage. Soon, a freeflowing forum emerges, where hands are raised if they have a piece of news to note or perhaps a suggestion for the group to pursue. Some ask for prayers with recent health concerns, others throw an idea out for a future fundraiser. It’s a dialogue that is as open and honest as the voices that offer up whatever it is that’s on their minds.

“We’ve all become friends. We’re not just a group of touch-and-go women,” Briggs said. “A lot of members here are

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

almost like a monster of women who want to do good for Haywood County,” Briggs said. “When you look out there, every single one of those women wants to be part of this because we do immense things for the county.”

And “immense” is the key word. In the last few years, WOW has raised over $30,000 for various charities around greater Haywood County. With a keen focus on women and children oriented charities, they’ve given to the Kids Advocacy Resource Effort (KARE), Resources Education Assistance Counseling Housing (REACH), and Big Brothers, Big Sisters, among others. In their most recent fundraiser, they presented a check for $10,000 to the local chapter of Meals on Wheels. They’ve also been the chair of the Power of Pink for the last three years, a breast cancer awareness event and fundraiser in part-

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Judy Davis is the Owner of WNC Promotional Products.

The Women of Waynesville board of directors are (from left) Laura Wehking, Michelle Briggs, Nikki White, Katie Higgs and Linda Chovan. Garret K. Woodward photo nership with the Haywood Healthcare Foundation, which will once again take place on Oct. 24 at the Haywood Regional Medical Center & Fitness Center in Clyde.

“It’s really important for WOW to not only provide a place for women to come and do something powerful within their community, but also be an impact in helping those in need,” Kristen Delliveniri Delliveniri said.

And yet, within the last year, WOW had to dial it back, but just a tad. With a somewhat rolling membership, the group swelled from 23 members this past winter to over 60. In an effort to keep balance amid ever-expanding numbers and priorities, they began focusing more on developing friendships within the organization and fleshing out key objectives in moving forward.

either new to town or moved here from somewhere else a while ago. WOW brings them into our community and makes them want to work for the community — they get to truly feel part of Haywood County.”

“There’s a platform established here by people that either found this place or were already here and knew how incredibly unique Haywood County is,” White added. “And now we have this physical platform where there isn’t a glass ceiling over women, where we’re in this place where you can come, create, and you’ll be supported by the community.”

When asked if what WOW has become is what White had initially envisioned, she pauses for moment, with a sly grin soon rolling across her face.

“If you plant a seed, and if you’re a believer in manifestation, this kind of thing organically happens,” she said.

“You don’t need to dissect it, you ride the wave — this is exactly why the women that are here have continued to be pillars within the community.”

She has been in business 25 years and gives due credit to her husband “Thanks to my husband, who does all of my administrative work, I have been able to work on sales and service over the years.”

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“I love being in sales, I meet new people everyday and enjoy helping promote their business.”

She encourages women entrepreneurs to take advantage of online opportunities, pointing out “I am able to retain much of my Florida business thanks to modern technology.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

Self-made, self-reliant and self-driven Michele Rogers turns whatever life deals her into a winning hand

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER ichele Rogers had no job, no college degree, no husband and no place of her own when she pulled up stakes in her hometown of Norfolk, Va., and headed for Haywood County in the winter of 1996.

“I rolled into town with a car, a little bit of furniture and two little kids,” Rogers recalled. “I literally had to start from the ground up.”

But Rogers was full of grit and optimism, a winning combination for a self-made businesswoman.

In a 15-year span, Rogers climbed the ladder in the business world from a desk clerk at Maggie Valley Country Club to the owner of a prominent rental home company, Select Homes.

Rogers had an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time — and winning over the right people — in her career journey.

Like most business success stories, Rogers still remembers the turning point that catapulted her from sales foot soldier to small business owner. She was a Realtor at the time and was shooting the breeze in her boss’ office — griping about the souring real estate market as she recalls — when an unexpected call came through.

It was Bruce Totty, the owner of Select Homes. She was short-staffed and wanted someone to pinch-hit as a temp worker.

“She said ‘Do you know anyone smarter than the average bear who can come in here and help me for a few weeks?’” Rogers recalled.

Ron Breese, the owner of ReMax Mountain Realty, swiveled to Rogers and asked her if she wanted to pick up some extra work.

Rogers had been a Realtor for less than three years and was knocking it out of the park.

“I did very well. I was a very hard worker for one,” Rogers said. “I have always been an over-achiever.”

But by 2008, the market had slowed dramatically.

“I love to work. I didn’t like sitting in my cubicle. I thought, ‘It will give me something to do instead of sitting here and the phone not ringing for eight hours.’ I thought I was going to do it two or three weeks.”

Rogers would ultimately come to own the business.

“I have truly loved every job I had, and that’s the truth. But I have never loved a job like I love property management,” Rogers said. “I knew after I was here two months this was my niche.”

Still, Rogers was torn over returning to real estate and

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Michele Rogers’ office pays homage to pay homage to her love of old LPs, autographed guitars and concert memorabilia. “It is a great ice breaker when meeting new clients,” she says.

Becky Johnson photo

staying in the rental management business. But Totty kept asking her to stay.

“Bruce and I hit it off,” Rogers said.

Of course, that’s true of just about anyone Rogers ever meets.

Rogers’ outgoing and open personality has been one of her greatest strengths in her business endeavors. She has the rare ability to find a personal connection with everyone she encounters. From the second she meets you, she’s an open book, and that translated to her sales approach.

“Whether it was on the phone or in person, I always tried to find a way to connect with that person,” Rogers said. “I make it more about a conversation.”

That knack for building relationships in a heartbeat made her a perfect fit for the world of property management.

“I love it. I love the interaction with the owners and the tenants, I love finding people somewhere to live,” Rogers said.

Totty began turning more and more of the business operations over to Rogers, until Rogers was essentially running Select Homes.

“I just came out and said ‘Are you interested in selling?’” Rogers said.

Rogers has steadily grown the business since becom-

ing the owner in 2010, more than doubling the number of rental properties that Select Homes manages.

“Two hundred and sixty-five, as of today,” Rogers said.

The growth of Select Homes can’t be chalked up solely to Rogers’ charisma, but is the result of tireless networking in the business and real estate community.

And while her upward career trajectory might look like luck, it was anything but.

Whether it was taking night classes for her real estate license or studying landlord-tenant law when the rest of her family was asleep, Rogers worked tirelessly to position herself in the path of opportunity.

Perhaps most importantly, when doors opened for her, she had to be brave enough to go for it. It’s certainly been a motto in her life, going back to that early decision to strike out on her own as a 25-year-old single mom to start the next chapter of her life following a divorce.

“I can remember making the decision. I remember thinking the big city is not for me. I love the mountains and thought ‘I will give it two years,’” said Rogers.

Rogers inherited her independent streak from her mother, who taught her the virtues of tenacity and selfreliance as a child. Her father was diagnosed with lifealtering cancer when she was a child, and it was up to her mom to make a living to support the family.

“I know this is cliché, but I attribute a lot of my suc-

Carla Youse has been shopping at consignment stores as long as she can remember. Just recently, she became the new owner of Pocketsaver.

Carla offers much of the credit for her strong desire to repurpose and reuse to her Mother. “As a divorced single mom she taught me how to repurpose items someone else no longer wanted. She was very creative and her fashion sense was ahead of it’s time.”

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

handle it,” Rogers said.

She knew she had to temper her own drive, but didn’t quite know how.

Rogers’ salvation came from her husband, who quit his job and came to work with her at Select Homes. She had two employees but needed a managementlevel broker.

“You grow to a certain point and know you need someone else. It was a huge leap of faith because we were giving up his salary,” said Rogers.

They’d been married for nearly 10 years but had known each other much longer. They’d met when Rogers worked at Maggie County Club, where Rick was in accounting.

Rick’s as easygoing as Rogers is outgoing. He’s not only Rogers’ business partner and husband, but her best friend.

Rogers is a die-hard Steelers fan and country music nut, and quickly converted Rick. And Rogers took up deer hunting — they are in a hunting club together — and staying at a camper at the lake on weekends. She even listens to his ‘90s music.

“We go to listing appointments together. We ride to work together every day. We are one of those lucky couples that truly get along that well,” Rogers said.

“Whether it was on the Most of the time, that is.

“We have a joke that I fire phone or in person, I always him occasionally,” Rogers said. tried to find a way to connect Even with Rick on board, it was hard for Rogers to let go of with that person. I make it the wheel.

“I am very type A and felt more about a conversation.” like I had to have my hand in — Michele Rogers, Select Homes everything. It really was an epiphany. I thought, ‘What am I doing? I have the best possible team I Mountain Realty. could have. I have got to let it go,’” Once again, Rogers made the right Rogers said. connections, teaming up as partners The business was growing and needwith another agent, Scotty Schulhofer, ed more space anyway. So Rogers who had vast connections as a local.

The two shared all their listings, mar- expanded the office — located one block off Main in downtown Waynesville — keting costs and commissions — based and set up her own work space in an on a “handshake deal” that gave Rogers adjacent office suite with a shared lobby. forays into the real estate world it would “I can’t hear what is going on over have taken years to build up otherwise.

“Scotty knew everybody and I did the there and I can’t stick my nose in it. I am able to focus on my job,” Rogers said. work. That was our joke,” Rogers said.

It also gave her a chance to redecoRogers’ enthusiasm that got her rate. Rick moved into her old office — where she is today isn’t something you which was decked out in Steelers colors can simply turn off, and that proved one and paraphernalia — giving Rogers a of her biggest challenges as a business new office canvas to work with. owner.

She decided to pay homage to her When Rogers bought Select Homes, love of old LPs, autographed guitars and she was working until midnight, and concert memorabilia, including framing back again by 7 the next morning. Her and displaying dozens of records from sons were grown by then, and her days her collection. as a self-described baseball mom were “It is a great ice breaker when meetover, freeing her up to throw herself ing new clients,” Rogers said. headlong into her work.

Not that Rogers needs any help in “I had zero life. I was so afraid something was going to go wrong. I was a new that department.

“I have never met a stranger,” she business owner and felt like I needed to know everything going on and needed to said. cess to my mother. I grew up in an era when the majority of my friends had a stay-at-home mom,” Rogers said. “It wasn’t that she was a feminist, she was just like you never know what is going to happen in your life.”

Like Rogers, her mother started at the bottom and quickly came up through the ranks.

“My mother was a go-getter. She started as a secretary and kept getting promoted,” Rogers said.

Rogers’ story is similar. After arriving in Haywood County, she landed a job at the front desk at Maggie Valley Country Club but didn’t stay at the post long — only three months — before being promoted to sales and marketing manager.

Her boss hand-picked her as the perfect fit to sell the country club as a resort destination to golf groups, a job that included traveling to golf trade shows all over the country.

“Because I am so outgoing,” Rogers said. “She saw that sales quality in me and she took me under her wing.”

She later migrated to a similar group sales position at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, before making another leap into real estate, landing an agent position with ReMax

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Working with her husband revealed a need and interest in permanent makeup in the area and the change fell directly in line with her cosmetology career. Many of her makeup clients suffer from failing eye site, allergies or alopecia and Cassidy loves the instant change it offers them.

She says her favorite part of the job is “making that difference, giving something to someone that they have never had before, something that makes them feel normal.” Cassidy Morgan Lance is also a hairdresser at Blue Moon Salon.

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

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organ Fisher, Co-owner of Apple Creek Café began work remodeling the café in February and opened the doors at the beginning of April of this year.

Fisher has always been interested in going into business for herself, taking courses in college to head in that direction but after college she says, “I chickened out.”

When the opportunity to take over at Apple Creek Café came up, Fisher said “I knew it was time to take the chance.

Everything happens for a reason.”

She talks about the restaurant business fondly, “I was a hostess at The Sweet Onion in college and I loved the atmosphere, I think maybe that’s why I started heading in that direction in college.”

We talked about challenges women face in the workplace and Fisher told us “The main challenge I have had is for people to take me seriously. I’m a woman and I’m only 25.

Once people saw that I was making an effort and working hard it changed their minds. I have definitely had to stand up for myself and put my foot down but it’s worth it.”

Fisher feels strongly that women need to support each other “It’s important for women in business to never back down. Don’t let anyone run over you just because they think they are better than you.”

“Unfortunately, I have had a few jobs where the women were worse than the men. I believe as women we should stick together and prove that we are just as knowledgeable and capable as the men we work with.”

Managing Apple Creek Café “has become a breeze since we got all the right people in place.”

“I have a wonderful general manager and front of the house manager that make my job very easy. They consult with me for the final say so with major decisions but have really taken ownership in their jobs and I trust them to do the right thing without me micromanaging. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

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www.AppleCreekCafe.com

Slusser’s spent her career in a maledominated industry

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ost people don’t kick off their retirement by becoming president of a company, but Nicki Slusser is not most people.

In an era when women rarely ventured into engineering fields, Slusser — now at the helm of Jackson Paper Manufacturing as president and chief operating officer — finished a degree in mechanical engineering and, after graduating in 1979, went to work for the male-dominated paper industry. At the time, she was the only woman there who wasn’t in an office job.

For some, walking into a company full of men as the only woman in the room would have been intimidating. But not to Slusser.

“Not really,” said Slusser, shrugging her shoulders when posed the question. “I didn’t have any doubts that I could do it. I had something to prove, I think, when I first started, but that took about a month to prove to everybody.”

It was the guys she worked with who had the questions — “can she do this, can she do that, can she get dirty, can she last all those long hours, all those things that you get tested with,” Slusser recalled — so she just had to show them the answer was “yes.”

“I’m sure there’s all these glass ceilings and that kind of stuff out there, and did I run up hard against any of those? I can’t say that I did,” Slusser said. “I’m sure there was some prejudice out there, but I never felt like it really got in the way of my career.”

In some respects, she said, her gender may have helped. She entered the workforce around the time that industry was recognizing the dearth of women in the workplace. Some companies were actively recruiting women to take on leadership roles. At the very least, being a woman made you a minority, so whatever you did — good or bad — people noticed.

That’s not to say that discourse at the paper mill was always polite or delicate, but that’s the nature of the business.

“Did you have to be kind of thick-skinned, especially working around a lot of men and construction workers? Of course you did,” she said. “You had to dish it out just like you had to take it, but I don’t know that’s all that different than anything else. I feel pretty fortunate in that I was in an industry that was willing to accept women into it and was willing to look for opportunities to give you a chance.”

Slusser quickly moved from engineering to operations, rising through the ranks to work for International Paper, Champion and Mead in a variety of management roles, including managing the International Paper Mill in Cantonment, Florida. She became the first woman to

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serve as president of the Paper Industry Management Association, and she also joined the board of directors for the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

In many ways, her career mirrored that of her father Jim Stewart, who was also in the paper business. Like Slusser, her dad started out as an engineer and moved up in the operations side of things, eventually managing multiple paper mills in the course of his career. Slusser’s childhood was defined by the paper business, with the family moving from paper mill town to paper mill town as she grew up.

“He was a huge mentor for me,” she said of her father.

As a college student, Slusser found herself a shoe-in for co-ops and internships at paper mills. She wasn’t really planning on following in her father’s footsteps to make

Did you have to be kind of thickskinned, especially working around a lot of men and construction workers? Of course you did. You had to dish it out just like you had to take it, but I don’t know that’s all that different than anything else.

— Nicki Slusser, president, Jackson Paper Manufacturing

it a career. It just kind of happened.

“I liked the people, liked what was going on, liked the excitement,” she said. “So when I got out of school I was like, ‘This is a pretty good industry and I actually know something about it.’”

But success didn’t come for free.

“It required a lot of time. A lot of weekends, nights and part of that’s because it’s a 24/7 operation, so when there’s problems going on or issues, you can’t say, ‘Oh, I was planning on playing golf today,’” she said. “You drop what you’re doing and address whatever the issues are.”

Slusser’s career eventually took her to Memphis, where she held high-level positions in the corporate offices of International Paper. She was there for eight years, but as she entered her late 50s, she started to get burned out. The job involved a lot of bureaucracy, a lot of traveling, a lot of stress. Her husband was having health problems, and she wanted to be there for him.

She decided to retire. The Slussers had purchased a house near Lake Logan in Haywood County, intending to spend at least part of the year there during her retirement.

She’d barely announced her decision when the phone rang. It was Tim Campbell, CEO and majority stockholder of Jackson Paper, wanting to know if Slusser might want to hang in the business for a little longer.

Campbell was a longtime family friend and had started the business in 1955 with Jeff Murphy, who became Slusser’s brother-in-law. Around the time Slusser moved to Western North Carolina, Murphy sold his shares and headed for Florida.

“It started out as doing some consulting work,” Slusser said of her talks with Campbell. “I wasn’t going to be working all the time.”

The job soon became more than that, with Slusser taking over operations responsibilities in January 2013. She and Cambell worked it out so she could do the job while still enjoying the vacations she’d planned for her retirement — though, as is necessary with a 24/7 business, she’s always reachable by phone.

Slusser’s grateful for the opportunity. It was high time to step back from the hectic pace of corporate America, but quitting the business cold turkey wasn’t quite what she wanted.

“When this came along, it was just a perfect fit for me wanting to retire but still keep my fingers in the business,” she said.

The comparatively small, family-owned paper company is a more flexible, less bureaucratic place to work. She can bring her dog to work. It’s a good fit.

And it’s still a paper job. Because, for all the challenges and unexpected crises it brings, Slusser loves the paper business — its ever-changing dynamics, the good people it attracts, the security it provides to families and towns — and she wants to be a part of that world for a good while longer.

“I didn’t really necessarily want to retire 100 percent,” she said. “I don’t know what I’d do with my time. I don’t think I could play golf five days a week.”

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

A passion for paper

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Kim’s Pharmacy was established in February 2008 WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

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 squirrel.

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

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Since 1981 Dr. Coy Brown and his staff have been a close-working team of professionals dedicated to providing high quality personalized eye care for the whole family.

We value our patient relationships and strive to improve your quality of life and vision wellness through uncompromised service and state-of-the-art technology.

When you visit our office, our goal is

that you will leave completely satisfied and confident with our doctor, staff and services!

Voted Best Optometrist Haywood County year after year, nothing is more important to us than your vision.

From Hwy. 19/23 take Exit 104 towards Lake Junaluska; continue 1/2 mile to Haywood Medical Park on the left. NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS

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828.456.3211

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MEDITERRANEAN

ITALIAN CUISINE

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

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asquale’s MediterraneanItalian Restaurant has been in business since 2001.

Deb Hermida and her husband Jose have been in the restaurant business for years and it was always a dream of Jose’s to have his own place. While Jose takes the lead in the kitchen cooking up scrumptious meals, Deb takes pleasure in running the dinning room.

Over the years she has enjoyed getting to know her regulars. She speaks of families coming in over the years and watching children grow up with a fondness that shows how much passion she has for her job.

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When asked what advice she would give to women just starting out in business she said, “Make sure you find the balance between personal and professional early on and pay attention. It’s the details that count.”

1863 SOUTH MAIN STREET • WAYNESVILLE, NC 828.454.5002

“Don’t be afraid to take on the risk and challenge of owning your own business.”

Eileen Corbin has been working as a Certified Fitness Trainer for almost 2 years.

After fracturing both of her wrists Eileen was diagnosed with osteoporosis “That was when I realized how important a consistent body weight exercise program would be to change my physical well being.”

Eileen began working out with a trainer and “After 6 years of working with a personal trainer, my bone density tests improved and I wanted to become involved in helping others.” During that time she discovered the TRX system she trains on now; a suspension system that leverages your own body weight.

“I love helping folks work through their challenges and find a good path towards healthier and more functional lives.” — EILEEN CORBIN Schedule your appointment with Eileen, CFT

828-421-8566 fitnesstrainingblast.com

313-21

THE FITNESS

athy Sheppard, president of Sheppard Insurance has worked in the insurance industry since 1982 after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill. She bought the agency in 1992.

“Every account presents unique challenges. I enjoy the analysis and creativity that goes into putting together the appropriate insurance protection for my clients. I also am blessed to have the most wonderful customers who have been with us a long time,” Sheppard said.

Sara Sheppard Pacifici, vice president of Sheppard Insurance, began working for the agency in 2009. Speaking on what drew her to the business Sara said: “I have always had a passion for helping people and that is just what this business does. We help people make the right decisions for their families or their business, and if something happens, we help them through very difficult times in their lives. It is a very rewarding career.”

Kathy says she is so proud to be part of a business owned and operated by women.

“Don’t even think about your gender in deciding on your career,” she said. “Women can accomplish anything. Also don’t be afraid to take on the risk and challenge of owning your own business.”

CONNECTION

WAYNESVILLE

6792 CAROLINA BLVD., CLYDE • (828) 627-2826 4 WALL ST., DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE • (828) 226-2715

www.sheppardinsurancegroup.com

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

the roost!

The Rooster may crow, but these Chicks rule

APPÉTIT Y’AL N L BO

— Real Local People, Real Local Food — Mary Catherine Earnest, a Haywood County native, has been proudly serving her guests for five years at the Blue Rooster Southern Grill. Mary is a graduate of A-B Tech's culinary program and Montreat College where she earned her bachelor's degree in Business Management. Mary has worked in the food service industry for more than twenty years.

"We want to THANK the many wonderful and talented women who have helped us over the years at the Rooster. These team members are also moms, grandmothers, artists, students, community volunteers, foster parents, church youth leaders, award winning scholars, and competitive athletes. We are truly proud to know and work with each one of the ladies, who each- in their own way make the Blue Rooster so special."

- Mary Earnest and Steve Redmond

207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, North Carolina

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828-456-1997

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blueroostersoutherngrill.com | Monday-Friday Open at 11am

We Carry Antiques, Furniture, Gifts, Jewerly & Lots More

Tammy Fuller Owner for 2 years

T he fun place to shop!

Sassy Frass is over 12,000 sq ft & offers 3 shops in one ...it's truly a unique experience 12

Enjoys finding & decorating unique items.

“What I love most about my job is the people! I love my employees, vendors, consigners, & customers - we are like one big family at Sassy Frass!“

- Tammy Fuller

Sheppard Insurance is a mother-daughter, all-woman affair

BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER hen Kathy Sheppard got her start in the insurance world 30 years ago, she was a pioneer in a male-dominated profession.

Some clients were taken aback — and even made snide remarks — when a woman showed up as their claim adjuster following a lightning strike or tree falling on their house.

But Sheppard was good at it and proved her mettle, enough so to join the elite network of catastrophe claim adjusters for the national insurance firm, Maryland Casualty.

When her daughter was a toddler, she found herself flying around the country to hurricanes, hail storms, crop freezes and even the San Francisco earthquake.

“They had a pool of storm troopers as they called them,” said Sheppard, who was once again in the minority as a woman.

That’s not true anymore, however. Today, Sheppard owns her own insurance firm, Sheppard Insurance of Clyde, and all her employees and agents are women.

“I am surrounded by very smart women, and it doesn’t take long for people to realize we know what we are talking about,” Sheppard said. “Our business comes from good old-fashioned relationship building and referrals. We know our community, we personally know our clients. When someone comes here we don’t know, we get to know them.”

Sheppard’s transition from insurance agent to business owner came early in her career and rather out of the blue. She was approached by Ed Brock, owner of what was then Brock Insurance, with an offer to sell the firm to her.

“It is one of those opportunities that presents itself and you either step out on faith and take a big risk and do it or you don’t,” Sheppard said. “He had seen what I was already accomplishing in the insurance business and it opened a big old door that I took the chance to walk through.”

While Sheppard knew insurance, that was only half the battle when it came to owning her own insurance company.

“You empty the trash cans and make the coffee and decide when it is time to paint the building,” Sheppard

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said. “That’s what it is for any small business owner — you don’t have an IT person so I am the one in the floor hooking up the new computer.”

Sheppard Insurance is a rarity. There aren’t many woman-owned insurance firms, but with Sheppard’s daughter, Sara Sheppard Pacifici, now part of the business, it’s likely to remain that way for another generation.

Sheppard never suspected her only child would join the business one day. Pacifici was working in Raleigh after college in the political arena, but she had slow periods when the legislature was on break.

“I said ‘Why don’t you take a week off and get licensed in insurance just to have something to fall back on?’” Sheppard recalled. “A few years later she said ‘I think I want to come back to the mountains and give insurance a try.’”

“It is one of those opportunities that presents itself and you either step out on faith and take a big risk and do it or you don’t.”

— Kathy Sheppard, Sheppard Insurance

Pacifici, who lives in Asheville, is helping to grow the business in a new direction. They have opened a second office in downtown Asheville, where Pacifici has been particularly successful in writing policies for the burgeoning entrepreneur scene in Asheville.

“It’s not something you can call an 800-number for,” Sheppard said. “We try to be problem solvers for people and customers appreciate our counsel and advice.”

But Pacifici’s first contribution to the company was convincing her mom to change the name of the firm.

Sheppard was still operating as Brock Insurance, even though she’d been the owner for more than two decades.

“Sara joined the business and said, ‘Mom, it’s time,’” Sheppard laughed.

Sheppard is the fourth owner of the business, which dates back to the late 1800s. Each time the insurance firm sold, it was renamed by the new owner, who kept it for several decades before retiring and once more selling it.

The stage is already set to continue the firm's legacy well into the 21st century with Pacifici now leading its expansion in Asheville.

“The most important lesson I learned from my mom is that women can do anything and also have a family.

She ran a very successful business and was also involved in the community, yet she never missed a moment of my childhood,” said Pacifici. “She instilled in me an entrepreneurial spirit that I am so grateful for.”

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER ack in 1990, Hanneke and George Ware’s odds for success were long. A pair of non-locals living in what was then an even more remote corner of the state than it is now, they’d just purchased a 23-acre property between Dillsboro and Whittier with the hope of creating a sought-after bed and breakfast destination.

“It was quite a challenge,” Hanneke said. “That’s the understated word of the year.”

But in the years since its launch, the Chalet Inn has seen success and its reputation has grown, largely through word of mouth. Hanneke is proud of what she and George have built, saying that division of labor has been key to their success.

“We go with our strengths and our weaknesses and our little idiosyncrasies, and you work with that,” she said. “It’s all about teamwork.”

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

Building a legacy

Hanneke Ware: Making a home in the mountains

Hanneke Ward (left) poses in front of the inn with one of her guests. Donated photo Hanneke is originally a city-dweller from the Netherlands; she met Ohio native George Ware in the 1980s during his Army days when he was stationed at NATO headquarters. George had fallen in love with Western North Carolina during an earlier visit, and after he retired the couple moved to the mountains, intending to open an inn.

As both a woman and a foreigner in a community that, especially in the 1990s, was largely populated by male-run businesses and composed of families with strong roots in the area, Hanneke was definitely not a “traditional” businessperson. But she — as well as George — jumped in with both feet. Hanneke served six years on the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in the earlier years of the business, and George has served three terms on the county’s Travel and Tourism Board of Directors.

There have been difficulties — misunderstandings, setbacks and lots of hard work — but overall Hanneke has nothing but good things to say about the place she’s chosen to call home and the people she shares it with.

“It’s all an amazing difference, how you do business, how you conduct yourself, how you talk to people,” she said, comparing WNC to Europe. “I found this area to be really low-key, really friendly. Of course you have your aberrations all over the world, but I felt reasonably accepted. Good experiences.”

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

Women weave talents into successful yarn store

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR hree women in Franklin have been able to weave their multiple talents together to run a successful downtown business.

As a longtime weaver, co-owner Virginia Murphy brings her creative talent as well as her sales abilities to her shop Silver Threads and Golden Needles.

Her daughter and co-owner Kristin McDougall is a graphic designer who is responsible for maintaining the website, social media and other technical support needs.

Amy Murphy — no relation — who joined the business in 2011, retired from the banking industry and uses her financial expertise to guide the small business.

“We each have a different skillset we bring to the business,” Amy Murphy said. “I bring the financial skills, Virginia and I are both good at customer service but Virginia is the best at sales, and Kristin is great at graphic design and other computer skills.”

Virginia moved to Franklin from Alabama to retire, but it wasn’t long before she needed something to keep her busy. She purchased the store on Main Street in 2008.

As a close-knit family, McDougall decided to follow her mother to Franklin and join the business.

“The first thing I did was design our new logo … and the second thing I did was learn to knit,” McDougall said.

It may have been a small fiber store under the previous owner, but Virginia, Amy and McDougall have turned into so much more. The store now has more retail space and offers a number of classes for members of the community, including knitting, weaving and crocheting.

Customers are greeted with a rainbow of colors stacked from the floor to the ceiling as they walk into the fiber store. The fibers come from as close as Skyview Ranch alpaca farm in Franklin and as far away as China.

In addition to supplies, the shop also carries woven, knitted and crocheted gifts — hats, scarves, baskets, jewelry, handbags and sweaters.

“Virginia bought the store for a number of reasons — I think mostly she wanted to breathe a little life back into

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Lisa Potts: Every day is Christmas

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER or Lisa Potts, Christmas isn’t just a holiday — it’s a way of life. Potts owns Nancy Tut’s Christmas Shop in Dillsboro, an occupation that means she spends every day surrounded by Christmas paraphernalia of all sorts.

“For 20 years,” she said, “I’ve been in Christmas world.”

Potts didn’t set out to own a Christmas shop. It just kind of happened. While in college, her sister Amanda was working at the shop — a 114-year-old home full of Christmasy items — part-time under its previous owner, Betty Hamilton. When Amanda heard that Hamilton was thinking about selling, she started to bend her sister’s ear.

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Business partners and friends Amy Murphy (left) and Kristin McDougall own Silver Threads and Golden Needles fiber store in downtown Franklin along with McDougall’s mother Virginia Murphy. Jessi Stone photo downtown and she and Kristin wanted to do something together,” Amy said.

McDougall said working alongside her mother has been a great experience that has also given her the freedom to work from home while raising two children of her own.

“I thank God we’re the best of friends and get along so well,” McDougall said. “And it was a blessing for Amy to come along — she’s become immediate family as well.”

Silver Threads and Golden Needles became Amy’s goto place for knitting supplies after she moved to Franklin in 2002 and then became a partner in the business after Virginia and Kristin bought the business.

All three of the women truly enjoy being a part of the downtown Franklin business community. Amy said it’s no longer a rarity to find women-owned businesses in Franklin. She can look outside the shop and point to many other female-owned businesses doing well for themselves.

Amy admits being a woman in some industries may still be a difficulty, but she feels fortunate to be in a creative and artistic industry where women are the rule and not the exception. That wasn’t always the case in the banking and financial industry that Amy worked in or the manufacturing industry Virginia retired from.

“Retail is a much kinder experience, and Franklin has

a wonderful textile community — we have great quilters, potters and other artistic mediums,” Amy said. “People travel here for those reasons, and I think we benefit from that.”

The challenges they face aren’t necessarily because they are women — it’s just the typical challenges that come with being a small business owner. Many downtown business owners somehow manage their businesses on their own, but Silver Threads is fortunate enough to have three owners to help carry the load.

“Owning your own business is fun but really challenging because it takes a lot of time,” Amy said. “But it’s much better if you have a good partnership — it becomes more fun and less difficult.”

Even with the challenges, McDougall said the small fiber shop has been thriving.

“Every year gets better and better,” she said.

There are a few men who visit the store, take part in the classes offered and even a few who teach the classes, but the store is typically full of women. With a flurry of conversation and laughter and a lot of creative projects being made, the atmosphere at Silver Threads is fun and laid back.

“The yarn shop is a happy place,” Amy said. “Lives are stressful enough — we do this because it’s a peaceful fun experience.”

“She mentioned to Betty that I was interested, and Betty’s a very good salesperson,” Potts said.

So, Potts entered the Christmas business, with her husband Mike, a Realtor, in support as her “silent partner.” She’s enjoyed each of the 20 years that have passed since, building relationships with customers and seeing their children turn into adults, and those adults turn into parents who come back with their own children.

As a female business owner, she’s in good company in Dillsboro, with plenty of other successful businesswomen lining the streets of the small town. She said she’s never felt

any sense of exclusion or hardship resulting from her gender.

“I didn’t feel unique or anything being a woman in Dillsboro, because there were already women here,” she said.

Instead, she’s been able to focus on what she enjoys about her job — which is to say, almost everything.

“I enjoy making my own decisions and doing all aspects of the business,” she said. “I do the bookwork, I do the buying, I do all that stuff. On the flip side, that’s almost the most challenging part too. When you own a business and you run it by yourself, you’re committed to being there all the time.”

But Potts wasn’t naïve as to the commitment that business ownership entails. Growing up, her father Kelly Bradley owned Harold’s Supermarket in Sylva, and she witnessed firsthand the dedication that went into his care for the store.

“I always grew up thinking, ‘I would like to do that myself,’” Potts said. “My dad was definitely a business inspiration for me.”

Affairs of the Heart

————————————————————————————— 120 N. Main St. • Waynesville, NC • 828.452.0526

Champion Credit Union

Empowering Women for Business Success for Over 83 Years

Champion Credit Union was founded in Haywood County in 1932, with its first employee, Mary Alice Roberts, being a woman.

Over 83 years later, women continue to play an important role.

ChampionCU.com Find us on Facebook. Federally Insured by NCUA

Women make up 88% of the workforce at Champion Credit Union, with 67% of the management team being women. They balance their jobs with [OLPY SP]LZ" ZVTL ÄUPZOPUN JVSSLNL THU` YHPZPUN MHTPSPLZ HUK V[OLYZ LUQV`PUN their grandchildren. We are blessed at Champion Credit Union to have a KLKPJH[LK Z[HɈ ^OV ^VYRZ OHYK MVY V\Y members and the community.

Miss Judy on Target, 1938

When women take over the reins: Three generations of the Alexander family at Cataloochee Ranch.

“Women run this place,” says Mary Coker, the current manager of Maggie Valley’s venerable Cataloochee Ranch.

And she should know. When Mary’s grandparents, Tom and Judy Alexander, opened the first Cataloochee Ranch in 1933, it was her grandmother, affectionately known to both family and guests as “Miss Judy,” who took on the responsibility of creating the Ranch’s now-legendary tradition of hospitality.

By the time of Tom Alexander’s death in 1972, the second generation of Alexander women and their husbands had assumed the day-to-day management of the Ranch. Today, under Mary’s third-generation management, her mother Judy “Juju” Coker still greets guests every day at breakfast, her aunt Alice Aumen is there to greet them at dinnertime, and both help out with

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

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.

other duties on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Mary’s sister Judy B. Sutton manages the barn and pitches in wherever else she’s needed.

Although her duties had been taken over by her daughters (and ultimately by her granddaughters), Miss Judy continued

Ranch general manager Mary Coker with sister, Judy B. Sutton, manager of the Ranch barn.

to be a gracious hostess at the Ranch until her death in 1997.

And, for the women of her family, she left some enduring footsteps to follow.

Cataloochee Ranch 119 Ranch Drive, Maggie Valley, NC (828)926-1401 www.CataloocheeRanch.com

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

Family pride and persistence Macon Furniture Mart marches on

BY J ESSI STONE N EWS E DITOR ike many women, Karen Buchanan Bacon loves to shop. She loves skimming through Pottery Barn and Southern Living magazines looking for home décor pieces that mesh together to create the perfect room.

“When I was a little girl, I wanted to be an interior designer,” Bacon said.

Growing up in her father’s business allowed her to realize that dream — in a roundabout way. Macon Furniture Mart has been serving Western North Carolina since 1954, and Bacon has spent the last 27 years learning the ends and outs of the business.

She took over ownership of the company in 2007 when her father Branch Buchanan retired. While some kids are reluctantly groomed to take over the family business, Bacon happily stepped into the role because she loves every aspect of it.

“I love to go to the market and I love to buy all the different things for the store — setting up displays and helping people create a room,” she said. “From a blue print to a finished product, I just love seeing it come together and the idea of creating something.”

Bacon enjoys what she does, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy career. She lives, breathes and dies to keep the furniture store going — perhaps at the expense of a personal life — but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love it, but I work hard. I’m here six days a week,” he said. “It’s a lifestyle, not a job.”

The industry has changed over the years and the economic downturn in 2008 forced Bacon to make some tough decisions just as she was taking over the business.

Macon Furniture Mart once had three locations in the area but is now consolidated into one building on Depot Street in Franklin. A franchise that once employed more than 50 people is now down to about seven employees.

Letting employees go that have been like family for many years was one of the most difficult things she’s ever had to do.

“Talk about laying awake at night and crying,” Bacon said. “But I see it rebounding now — we’re having a good year so I think it’s starting to turn around.”

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WHAT WOMEN WANT

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The economy isn’t the only challenge Bacon has overcome during her tenure at the furniture store. She’s spent years trying to earn the respect of many customers who expect the store to have a man at the helm.

“When I first started, people would come in and ask, ‘Where is the man in charge?’” Bacon said. “It’s gotten better as time has gone by. I feel more respected than I did years ago and also I think the clientele has changed.”

At one time, men made more of the large purchasing decisions in the household, and a majority of furniture store sales employees were male. These days she’s found that women are now the primary shoppers in the family, especially for home furnishings.

The sales team at Macon Furniture Mart reflects that changing trend — two of Bacon’s best sales people are female.

“I think women in business are more respected now than they used to be,” she said. “Even our sales reps coming in are women now — the La-Z-Boy sales rep is a 26year-old woman and that has always been a male-dominated business.”

The image of a stereotypical, aggressive male salesman hounding customers as they walk in the store is something Bacon has tried to overcome. She doesn’t want her customers to feel pressured when browsing the wide selection at the store. In her experience, Bacon said her female clients feel more comfortable with a female salesperson.

“Women enjoy colors and making a house a home while men are more functional — they want to sell you something by how well it will hold up — and there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “But women sales people want to know if you have kids and how good something will look. They are just more artistic and nurturing.”

KEEPING CUSTOMERS IN MIND Bacon always keeps her customers’ needs in mind when purchasing items for her store and even with how items are displayed in the showroom. She does a lot of research before making purchases and tries to offer a variety of price points to make her furniture obtainable for anybody’s budget. During the economic recession, she purchased mostly inexpensive furniture because she knew her customers weren’t able to invest in expensive pieces.

Bacon sets up her 22,000-square-foot showroom much differently than her father did during his tenure with Macon Furniture Mart to accommodate the new age of home décor shoppers. The store is setup to show customers the design possibilities using the furniture as well as distinctive touches using decorative pillows, lamps and other home décor.

“I make it more of a lifestyle store with different rooms styles displayed instead of trying to see how many brown chairs I can cram into the store,” she said. “We also try to keep everything modern. We just installed more energy efficient lighting in the showroom.”

Every little detail is important to keep up with her

competition. It’s become increasingly difficult to keep up with the big chain stores even though Macon Furniture Mart carries many of the top brands — Ashley Furniture, La-Z-Boy, Simmons Beauty Rest and solid wood Amish furniture.

To keep a competitive edge, Bacon said she offers custom design furniture, upholstery services, financing options and even delivers furniture for free within a 50mile radius — something a majority of her competitors no longer do.

Bacon said her sales staff does not work for commis-

Karen Buchanan Bacon, owner of Macon Furniture Mart, shows off one of her favorite bedroom suite designs, displayed in the Franklin showroom. Jessi Stone photo

sion, which she believes makes all the difference in the customer service experience and employee morale.

“To me, you get better service because people are not looking after themselves,” she said. “They’re getting the customers what they want and it also helps employees get along better too. It’s not dog-eat-dog like at other places.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY Bacon’s leadership skills have been learned during her on-the-job training at the furniture store. She said there is a reason many of her employees have been with the company for more than 15 years. Having a level playing field is what makes Macon Furniture Mart’s employees feel more like a family.

“My employees feel like I’m a friend, but they also respect me,” Bacon said. “They’re good employees and they work hard.”

One of her employees is her son and store manager Andrew Alligood. When she retires someday, she is happy to know the business will stay in the family for another generation.

“My son is third generation and he loves it as much as I do thank goodness. I brought him to work with me as a baby so he grew up here too,” she said. “He has a 5month-old son, but I guess it’s too soon to know if he’ll take over one day.”

Bridges balances career and motherhood as casino executive

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER If you’d asked Leeann Bridges 20 years ago what her ideal career would look like, she probably wouldn’t have told you she hoped to become a marketing executive at a casino.

But here she is, 14 years into employment at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort and 10 years into the marketing department, and Bridges, the casino’s vice president of marketing, couldn’t have more good things to say about her job.

“I like that it’s very dynamic,” she said. “It’s not boring. There are new challenges every single day.”

In her tenure at Harrah’s she’s been part of a master planning process. She’s been part of a casino expansion.

She’s helped launch the Valley River Casino and Hotel in Murphy, which opened Sept. 28. And at 45, she’s likely to conquer many more mountains in the course of her career.

“Did I ever think I would end up in marketing?” she said. “Absolutely not. But I had a mentor who saw something in me that I certainly didn’t see.”

She took the plunge, and that landed her here, head of a division of 130 people.

Rewind to the era of Y2K, and Bridges, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, was pretty sure she’d left the Qualla Boundary for good. After earning her bachelor’s in anthropology from Western Carolina University, she moved to Raleigh to pursue a master’s of business administration from Meredith College, at the time believing that’s where she wanted to be.

But then homesickness struck. She missed her family, and she missed the mountains. She finished the degree, but afterward she drove back west to take part in a job development program the EBCI had instituted for tribal members. That’s how she came to work at Harrah’s Cherokee, then just two years into its existence.

She hasn’t regretted the move. From speaking with Bridges, it’s clear she believes in the mission of the casino — to provide jobs for people, especially Cherokee people — and is excited about the sheer breadth of marketing efforts she’s involved with, ranging from event promotions to mailers to media relations.

It’s also clear that she appreciates business’ professional atmosphere.

“We’re all on one hallway, so there’s a lot of yelling back and forth to each other about different ideas we may have, an upcoming event, an upcoming concert,” Bridges said.

It’s congenial and collaborative. And according to Bridges, it’s also pretty equal-opportunity. When she first came to Harrah’s in 2001, most upper-level positions

were held by men, but now it’s about a 50-50 split. She says she’s never felt demeaned or ostracized from leadership based on her gender.

“One thing that I experienced was just a willingness to help by everyone, across the board,” she said. “For me it never felt like a very exclusive boys’ club at all.”

The influence of Cherokee culture might have something to do with that. Increasingly, enrolled members are taking on the casino’s highest-level positions, and because Cherokee is traditionally a matrilineal society, there’s a degree of inherent respect for female leaders.

“We all have big personalities,” Bridges said of the Cherokee women on the casino’s management team. “We all speak what’s on our minds.

Perhaps those are traits that got us where we’re at, but being raised in an environment where girls are encouraged to speak up and you don’t have to stay in the background — it’s being raised by strong women. We have a lot of that in this community.”

For Bridges, the main challenge of being a woman in professional leadership comes from the conflict between performance in the workplace and being a good mother to her 9-year-old son, a responsibility she takes seriously.

“If I let it, it can get really out of balance, and I don’t want that to happen, but at the same time I want to give

“I like projecting that strength and that determination for my son, and hopefully he’ll emulate that.”

— Leeann Bridges

my child everything that I didn’t have,” she said. “For me that’s the what I struggle with the most because I don’t want to miss anything with my son, but sometimes I need to be here and I need to be focused on what is going on here at the casino.”

Though divorced, Bridges says she has the most ideal situation possible under those circumstances, as her son’s dad lives in town and is very involved in the parenting.

Still, it’s hard, and she’s grateful to have a boss who’s supportive.

“He was sick last week. I took a day off,” she said —

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

Taking on the challenge

“last week” entailing some of the final days before Harrah’s opened its new casino in Murphy, a jam-packed week in Bridges’ world. “Probably not the best day to take a day off, but that’s life.”

Bridges constantly amazes herself at what she’s able to juggle when it comes to career and motherhood, making it work in ways she would have thought impossible before becoming a parent. When you have to make it work, she said, you make it work.

“You get it done,” she said. “And sometimes it’s really tough. But it’s very rewarding.”

Rewarding, she hopes, for her son as well as for herself.

“I like projecting that strength and that determination for my son, and hopefully he’ll emulate that,” she said. “I want him to know you don’t get anything for free. You have to work hard for everything that you do. You have to take care of yourself.”

Taking care of others is also a mark of success. Over the years, Bridges has seen her management team shift and change, the people under her move up or move along toward goals of their own. When that happens, she counts it as an accomplishment — because, a decade ago, she was one of those workers in need of a mentor to show her the path to the top.

“For me, that means I’ve done my job pretty well if I see people advance or go into new roles, whether it’s in my own area or somewhere else,” she said.

“It’s great helping people get to where they want to be.”

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

Serving up Southern cuisine and camaraderie

BY B ECKY JOHNSON When Earnest was 20, she enrolled in the elite and STAFF WRITER reputable culinary school at Asheville-Buncombe Tech. here was little fanfare in 2010 when Mary Earnest “It was very tough,” said Earnest. “If you wore the opened the Blue Rooster, a Southern diner in a strip wrong color neckerchief, you were excused for the day. It mall past its prime. was survival of the fittest.”

“The day we opened, we pulled the paper off the windows and unlocked the door and waited Owner of The Blue Rooster to see what was going to happen,” said Earnest, in Clyde, Mary Earnest. a native of Haywood County. “We wanted folks Becky Johnson photo to find us gradually.”

Its following was anything but gradual, however. The Blue Rooster in Clyde found an instant fan base, one that continues to build five years later judging by the lines out the door. It’s hard to say what draws people more — Earnest or the menu.

“I tell folks we are just like church. It has nothing to do with the building but the people inside the building that make it special,” Earnest said.

Since she was a teenager, Earnest dreamed of owning her own restaurant.

“I love to cook. And I thought I was pretty good at it,” Earnest said.

In hindsight, it’s not surprising that the culinary arts captured her imagination. Earnest’s mother was an amazing cook, defying the canned-soup crock-pot rage that had paralyzed the dinner tables of housewives in the ‘70s.

It all started with a copy of Julia Childs’ first cookbook, a strategic present from her father to her mother.

“If my mom had a book on how to build a rocket, she could fly to the moon,” Earnest said.

“So she started reading.”

And soon, she was cooking like Julia Childs.

It was also a male-dominated world, one that Earnest “I am a little girl and she is boning a duck. We ate learned to navigate well, thanks in part to her arresting crazy food for Waynesville in those times,” Earnest said. personality. She had a knack for disarming the competi-

T

Diane Cutler Co-owner Bryson City Bicycles Board Member – Nantahala Area SORBA (SORBA: Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association) www.brysoncitybicycles.com Smoky Mountain News: What do you think about being part of the female business sector?

Diane Cutler: You know, I never really think of it as anything special. Whether it’s female-run or male-run, it’s still hard work, something I’m going to do, and do it to the best of my ability.

Like for most people coming up to our area these days, it’s about starting a business and creating your own life here.

18

SMN: What do you think when you look at the landscape of mountain biking these days?

DC: There’s a big push to get more female riders. The bike industry, off-road and on, is mostly men. They’re male-dominated sports. When we attended a mountain bike industry confer-

tive nature of her male peers.

“I was like, ‘Your knife can be bigger than mine, I am perfectly good with that,’” Earnest said. “I don’t know what they thought of me. I think that was questionable.”

The boot-camp culture of culinary school took no

prisoners, however. Instructors were mean by design — one even spit her food out during her final exam, simply for effect.

F

ence recently in Las Vegas, women probably made up one in 10 in the crowd. In terms of the business side of things, I’d say about 10 to 20 percent of our customers are female.

But, it’s also a great time to be a female rider, because we’re really seeing the scales tip in female involvement.

DC: Recently, we did a casual survey and found that most women didn’t ride either because they were busy raising their children or they felt intimidated riding with men. But, with these female rides, we’re changing that. I had a woman come through our doors not just because we’re a bike shop, but because there was a woman working behind the counter, and that gave her the confidence to realize biking is something she can do. To me, that makes it all worthwhile, that just my physical presence gets women out riding.

SMN: Being part of the local SORBA chapter, you’re also doing a lot of work to attract female riders.

Diane Cutler.

DC: We have a weekly Garret K. Woodward photo women’s ride on Wednesdays, where we switch between the trails at the Tsali Recreation Area and the trails behind Western Carolina University. The rides are growing, where we now have up to 12 riders or more each week.

SMN: And what does that say to you, that increasing interest?

SMN: Any advice about starting your own business?

DC: I think when it comes to business in general, some might say, “Oh, you don’t want to run a business,” as if only a special type of person could run a business. As they say, there’s no secret to success. It’s a result of planning, hard work and learning from your failures. If you can do that, anybody can do it.

It’s hard work, period.

Editor’s Note: Bryson City Bicycles recently won “Best Mountain Bike Shop” at the 2015 Interbike Award Show in Las Vegas.

— By Garret K. Woodward

Monica Brown

B

do anything.

— By Garret K. Woodward

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

the door on weekends — her partner Steve Redmond is a competitive bass fisherman so it was Innkeeper – Fryemont Inn, Bryson City often the case, but mostly, she thought it was a cute sign. One Monday morning, an angry customer Chairperson – Smoky Mountain Host who’d tried to come eat over the weekend was waitBoard Member – Swain County Tourist Development ing for her when she opened up.

Authority “He said I must not be a serious business person if I would just go off and close for a day to go fishwww.fryemontinn.com ing,” Earnest said. “I told him we were serious about our business but we were also serious about At a glance: In her 25th year working at the storied 92-year-old our families.”

Fryemont Inn, Monica Brown aims to continue the proud family busiShe decided to retire the “Gone Fishin’” sign, ness, which was first purchased by her in-laws, George and Sue however.

Brown, in 1982. The business is now entering its third generation Cultivating a loyal work force stems in part from with Monica’s children, Kathryn and Tyler, also working alongside Earnest’s own loyalty to her employees. their parents and grandparents. At age 16, Kathryn, an accom“You can’t drag people in off the street and do plished student at Swain County High School, looks forward to one what we do,” Earnest said. “We are professionals. It day taking over the inn, with her work ethic and business sense takes a lot of skill.” coming from those strong women before her.

Earnest pays her employees higher than the service industry average, but routinely tells them Monica: A strong component to innkeeping is knowing everywhen she hands out paychecks “it’s not what you’re thing, from the top to the bottom. You’re got to know everything from worth.” plumbing to payroll. Our kids have seen us have a hands on experi“I wish I could pay them more, because you ence with every aspect of it, and they’re grown up around it, spendcan’t pay someone enough to make them care, but ing most of their lives on this property. that’s the most important thing, is that someone cares. That is something that has to come from inside,” Earnest said.

Earnest hasn’t pulled off the Blue Rooster alone. It has been a team effort every step of the way with her partner, Steve Redmond.

Redmond knows his way around a kitchen as well, but he lets Earnest lead. He agreed to the role of supporting actor when they opened.

“He said you just have to show “I tell folks we are just like church. It has nothing me once how to to do with the building but the people inside the make it and what is it supposed to building that make it special.” look like and how to do it,” Earnest — Mary Earnest recalled.

Monica and Kathryn Brown.

But Redmond Garret K. Woodward photo has some of his own recipes on the menu, and kitchens in the Waynesville area. had long shared the dream of running a restauWhile Sysco is the largest restaurant food disrant. tributor in the country, the Waynesville territory Kathryn: My mother and grandmother are both huge influences Earnest said her biggest learning curve with the had just three accounts when Earnest came on on me. If it hadn’t been for seeing them constantly working and board in 2003. Seven years later, Earnest was gross- Blue Rooster was the ins-and-outs of administradoing what they can to improve the business, I never would have tion. ing $4 million in sales. But building a client base had that confidence and drive to participate in student government “The business aspect — from payroll to taxes to from the ground up was work — especially with a and other organizations. I’ve seen my mother do so many great ‘what the heck is QuickBooks?’ — it was like how young child and no husband. things on the boards she’s currently on, and my grandmother do so do you do this?” Earnest said.

“I was a single mom. I put my daughter to bed many extraordinary things, that it makes me want to pursue and do Now, with a robust following, Earnest faces the at night and I worked. Because that’s what we do,” more within my own community, and within our business. tough decision of whether and how to grow.

Earnest said, citing the sacrifices of working moms She’s been burned once, in a failed attempt to who live with a foot in two worlds.

Monica: Kathryn has such an outgoing personality and the add breakfast to the lunch and dinner lineup. The guests love to see her, love to see the continuation of our family’s Blue Rooster gave it a noble try for over a year. story with running this business. Our guests share their families UILT ON LOYALTY “It was an attempt to grow and it never clicked. with our family, where it’s all about that communication that means Blue Rooster’s 32 employees are incredibly loyal It was a big loss,” Earnest said. “The money we the most to us. were making on lunch and dinner we were using to for the typically fickle food service industry. fund breakfast, until we realized we couldn’t do “We have folks who were with us the day we Kathryn: I love seeing the joy that the Fryemont brings to others, this any more.” opened. We are so proud of that,” Earnest said. because it’s such a huge part of my life. I love this town, it’s so Earnest is now at a crossroads once more, facing Earnest can’t point to a single factor that keeps inviting, family-based and beautiful here. And being a woman in a monumental decision of whether to take a leap of her employees around. But she wagers a big part is business, it’s not just about playing the host, it’s about getting your faith and expand the restaurant. that they aren’t open on weekends. hands dirty. You’re dealing with all sides of the business, not just One thing is certain, however, that the Blue “We only work five days a week here and that the relations part. It’s about being passionate in what you’re doing.

Rooster will continue to remain a signature in the has been part of our culture,” Earnest said. “That Haywood County restaurant economy for years to has been our decision thus far, to sacrifice that revMonica: And when I think about my mother-in-law, I think of come. enue in favor of family time and a quality work someone who can and does everything, from stitching the curtains “My mom always told me I could do anything I environment.” to tile work, painting to cooking breakfast for our guests. She’s a wanted to do,” Earnest said.

Earnest used to hang a “Gone Fishin’” sign on great role model for us, and for women, in that she shows us we can “I would cry,” Earnest said, recalling how tough it was. “But I am not a quitter. I just kept coming and kept coming. It was a life-changing experience.”

Ultimately, she was one of only a handful who graduated from her initial class of 114.

It’s not surprising that Earnest would dig in and persevere. She comes from a long line of strong women. Her mom went to prestigious Emory University in Atlanta on a National Merit Scholarship, not a common path for a Haywood County girl in the late 1950s. After graduating, she got a job with the Peat Marwick accounting firm in Atlanta — not as a secretary, but as an accountant.

“Her daddy was a business person and her granddaddy was a business person and she wanted to be a business person,” Earnest said.

Her mother ultimately returned to Haywood County and helped her father start Haywood Pediatrics, the first group pediatric practice in the county. Her mom ran the business side of the practice for years.

Her mother hasn’t changed, announcing recently that she planned to go to Mount Everest next year.

“She said ‘I’m not saying I am going to the top, but I’m going to base camp,’” Earnest said.

After graduating from culinary school, it would be nearly two decades before Earnest would open the doors of the Blue Rooster, however.

Earnest took a detour, spending eight years as a commercial food distributor for Sysco, a job that took her behind the scenes of dozens of restaurant

It’s Your Life ... Live it in Health!

WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2015

Dr. Tara Hogan DC has been in practice as a chiropractor since May 2011 Using digital X-ray, palpation examination and neurological tests, she evaluates the spine for misalignments causing nervous system stress which can cause numerous symptoms. After an exam she delivers patient specific, safe, gentle, and effective adjustments to the spine. This adjusting will, over time, realign the spine for more optimal biomechanical and nerve function. This relieves the nerves of stress and irritation so the brain can better tell the body what to do and the body can tell the brain what it is doing.

“I graduated with an English degree and I had no idea what to do next. Numerous signs pointed me towards chiropractic care and I dropped everything to go back to school and complete my science prerequisites. Once I entered Chiropractic school I was pain free and feeling great. I knew I was headed in the right direction with my career.

Association which I have already completed all classes for. I would like to be more involved with all the exciting research going on in our field. I also have my eyes on writing a natural parenting book and want to be doing some more speaking engagements, but I will always be in the office seeing patients because that is the really fun part.

I love what I do so much because I never know who is going to show up in my office. Will it be a pregnant woman with a breech baby? An infant with colic? Or an old lady who has had vertigo for 20 years? I have seen miraculous results with each of these types of cases and it totally fires me up. I just love being able to help people in our community enjoy a better quality of life. Most days I feel like I have the best career in the world.

I think a huge challenge most women face in the workplace is balancing home life with work.

It can be overwhelming with all that there is to do. Women have to be able to switch gears quickly and stay really focused on being in the moment. I am always having to work at this.

Keeping myself in shape and eating right really help keep me on track.

Looking to the future of Blue Mountain Chiropractic Tara says: "I will be attaining my pediatric diplomate from the International Chiropractic Pediatric

My advice to women just starting out in business is to stick with what you are truly inspired by and passionate about. Don't settle. You must know what you want and make it work. Believe in yourself. We all can accomplish so much more than we sometimes think is possible, especially when we prepare. The more we prepare, the luckier we get!

In health & happiness, — Dr. Tara

Now accepting most major insurance including Medicare

TARA HOGAN, DC • MICHAEL HOGAN, DC Chiropractors

Thank you for voting us Best Chiropractor in Haywood County!

313-93

828.246.9555 • 270 N. HAYWOOD ST. • WAYNESVILLE 20

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