By Lisa YatesEditor
When entrepreneur Sarah Ehlers’ mother died, she left her job as ad director for The Times.
“I took some time off to grieve her passing and think about what I wanted to do,” she said.
During that time, Ehlers recalled her mother’s fondness for entertaining and setting an elegant table.
“My mother was a gourmet – she loved to cook and make ordinary food look pretty on the table,” she said.
Her mother's style included collecting beautiful serving pieces and decorative glass.
“The joy my mother experienced in planning, preparing and setting a beautiful table made a deep impression on me that I didn't fully realize until after her death,” Ehlers said.
In memory of her mother, she founded Jon Margeaux – an international wholesale supplier of pewter tableware and hand-finished decorative glass items.
The collections are featured online at www.jonmargeaux.com, and in major giftware catalogs. There’s even a piece of Jon Margeaux at the White House – a pewter wine bucket shaped like a cowboy boot.
“One day we got a call from the White House,” Ehlers said. “They needed to find out the retail cost, because someone gave it to the president as a gift; and it had to be reported. That was exciting. So, we sent the matching wine glasses.”
She said the president responded with a note of thanks.
“Our pieces have also been featured on The Price is Right,” Ehlers said, noting that it all began here in Southwest Louisiana.
Her wildly successful business began in 1999, operating out of Sulphur. Then, she changed her business strategy and, moved the business to the Cottage Shop District at 2706 Hodges Street, in Lake Charles.
“In July, we opened a storefront to retail,” Ehlers said. “People told me they have been buying Jon Margeaux for years, but had no idea we were local.”
She said her retail space includes a gallery featuring the works of local artists – photographers, potters, stained-glass artists, and an acrylics-artist.
“I am very active in supporting the arts and in the revitalization of the mid-town area,” she said.
Ehlers attributes her amazing to success to many wonderful people in her life, including her husband, Greg Mahoney, a senior operations director at Excel Logistics.
Her brothers, Chuck and Robert Ehlers, both of whom operate successful business have been very influential. Susan O’Connor, her sister, has also been a great source of support.
“Whenever I faced challenges, felt down, or just needed a good laugh to relieve stress, she was always there for me,” Ehlers said.
Ehlers said she faced many challenges in business – finding a manufacturer, protecting her original designs in foreign markets, and prospering in a tough economy.
“Gail Brame, a commercial loan officer at Cameron State Bank, was another person who was very influential and helped me overcome one of my business challenges. A couple of years after I started my business, I realized that in order to expand into other markets in the U.S. I would need financing. Gail reviewed my company, loved what she saw, could relate to my vision, and believed in me. I owe a great deal of my success to her faith and support.”
Ehlers also learned a lot about business and tenacity from her mother, who was the main breadwinner of the family.
“She was a terrific business woman in her own right, and was elected Business Woman of the Year by the ABWA (American Business Women's Association) many, many years ago,” she said.
Like mother, like daughter.
By Lisa Yates
Editor
The Briar Patch is a boutique, at 342 N. Main Street in Jennings, specializing in children's clothing, gifts, toys, shoes and baby apparel.
Owner Anna Romero started the business in 2000, because she loves working in retail meeting people and working with children.
“I spoil all of the children that come into the store,” she said.
Romero, 54, knows about spoiling children. This mother of three grown children has six grandchildren: Gracie, 8; Ireland, 6; Ella, 3; Haydon, 3; Thomas, 1 ½; and, Hudson, 1.
“And, there's one due in February,” Romero said.
When she's not working at the store, she's spending time with her husband, Rick, and their grandchildren. The grandchildren call her “Granna.”
“I guess you can say they are my biggest hobby,” she said.
As a successful business owner, Romero said her inspiration to make a positive difference in the world came from her own mother.
“My major influence has been my mom,” she said. “She didn't work in retail. Mom was a nursing home administrator who loved serving people.”
As a result of her upbringing, Romero has always found it is to treat people with respect and she believes that's one of the reasons she has been successful in business.
“If you treat people good, they'll be good to you,” she said. “Be pleasant and happy, and keep your customers happy – that's what I try to do.”
She said in a service-oriented business, you have to love working with people. Fortunately, she has a dedicated, talented employee to help her.
“I could not do this without Beth LaBouve,” Romero said. “She's been with me for seven years. She's dedicated, wonderful, honest; and, she's great with the customers.”
Romero said customers also provide feedback, which is important when it comes to selecting merchandise people want to buy.
“We have wonderful customers,” she said. “They give us tips on what's new; and, what they would like to see us carry in the store. In this business, you have to stay current.”
Also, Romero stays current through membership in the Jeff Davis Business Alliance. There she makes important business contacts at the Chamber's luncheons, mixers and social events.
Her charitable work includes volunteering for the American Heart Association.
“People should support their towns,” she said. “It's especially important to support youth, because they are our future.”
In business, Romero said it's important to diversify.
Her plans to diversify include adding a wholesale business. She will be manufacturing monogrammed and personalized hair bows and pacifier clips.
Romero's advice for young women, who want to follow in her footsteps: “be positive.”
“You can do anything you put your mind to doing,” she said. “Be ambitious, but be cautious.”
By Lisa YatesEditor
Who says insurance is a male-dominated profession?
Not Karla Hunt, an industry veteran with her own agency – Shelter Insurance, located at 3028 Ryan Street in Lake Charles.
“Even though I am a woman in a man's world, more and more women are getting into this industry,” she said.
Her message to other women who want to succeed in a male-dominated profession is: “Don't be afraid to do it just because you're female,” she said. “Go out and try.”
Hunt, 43, said she has been working in the industry since graduating from McNeese State University in 1986.
She has managed to carve out a successful career setting out to achieve a big goal.
“I've always worked for someone else,” she said. “So when I got into this profession, I set a goal to own an agency by the time I was 30 years-old.”
She accomplished her goal.
“I turned 30 on Oct. 24, 1994,” she said. “My hire date was Nov. 7, that same year.”
Pleased to have met that goal, Hunt said her other goal is to help people.
“I'm a helper, and insurance is a great way to help people,” she said. “Besides helping to insure homes and autos, I get to help families.”
Besides helping families save for their future – college for the kids and planning for retirement, life insurance helps families when a tragedy occurs.
“If the breadwinner dies, it's great to be able hand the widow a check to take care of expenses,” Hunt said.
Her company also helped people who have been affected by the recent hurricanes.
“After Rita, I really got to see my company shine,” Hunt said. “I also got to see first-hand the good in people. People were very patient during this stressful time; and, the adjusters put in a lot of time working many hours to help them.”
Running a thriving business and raising kids doesn't leave Hunt with a lot of spare time.
“I wash clothes and tote kids,” she said jokingly when asked about her leisure-time activities.
As a wife and mother with two elementary-aged girls, Hunt stays busy juggling the responsibilities of home, family and business.
“I'm a room mother,” she said. “I am very active and involved at the school with the children.”
She's also an active member of her church and she loves to read.
“My parents raised us to go to school and get a good education, then to go to work and become self-sufficient,” Hunt said.
Her parents and her husband, Stewart, have been very supportive.
“When I told my husband I had this opportunity, he said 'I think you can do it,'” Hunt said. “It's very scary to leave something comfortable and to branch out on your own.”
By Lisa YatesEditor
Dr. Yoko Broussard, M.D. devotes her life to caring for others.
Her medical practice at 711 South Ryan Street in Lake Charles has operated successfully for 14 years.
Broussard, 41, chose to become a doctor having come from a long line of physicians. She said her grandfather has been her greatest influence.
“My grandfather told me that I could do anything that I set my mind on,” she said. “He believed in the perseverance and dedication. He instilled in me the belief that every person in this person can make a difference. I chose to make a difference by being a doctor and by being an advocate for my patients and their health care needs.”
She described some of the things she enjoys about her work.
“I enjoy talking to my patients and making them feel better,” Broussard said. “I cannot always cure an illness, but I can help make the pain a little more tolerable.
“I think it is a privilege when patients trust me enough to allow me to help them, whether it is writing an antibiotic prescription for an infection, to prevent illness by ordering a mammogram or colonoscopy, to being present to advise and guide patients and families in the last stage of life.
“I love following the birth of a newborn and watching that infant grow into the cute, toddler stage, then progress to a young child. Some of my patients have grown from adolescents to young adults having children of their own. I am blessed when they in turn ask me to be their new baby’s doctor.”
Happily, Broussard has been able to combine the family life she always wanted with the career she considered her personal mission. She has been married for 18 years and has raised two sons – “Matthew is an 11-year-old intellect, who wants to grow up to be a baseball player or to be the coolest video game creator,” she said. “Jared is the friendliest 8-year-old who recognizes no strangers and participates in every sport and social event that he comes across.”
Balancing work and family life isn’t easy, especially for a doctor. Broussard said her profession does not recognize a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift; and, she frequently works long hours caring for her patients.
“The time I spend with my family is very precious,” she said. “It is rare that I work less than a 45 hour work week. On call weekends, I may actually work up to 60 hours. I am lucky that I have a husband and children that are very tolerant of my work schedule. My children are well-known in the area hospitals for they have accompanied me frequently on rounds. They know which hospitals have the best food and how to get treats from the nursing staff.”
In addition to her medical practice, Broussard’s career includes charitable work to benefit the community. She is an advocate for children and the underserved.
Broussard serves on the board of the Children’s Museum, and is as a long time champion of the Children’s Miracle Network.
“I also have been the director of Kidpower of Southwest Louisiana, which is a program that addresses the obesity problems of our kids today,” she said.
In addition, the doctor serves as the medical director, and on the board, of Matthew 25:40 – a nonprofit organization that oversees the intervention of recovering addicts and integrates them into being productive members of society.
“I also serve on the Calcasieu Medical Society Foundation Board,” she said. “We provide the funding necessary to run the Calcasieu Community Clinic that provides health care for the working uninsured poor in this community. I am also a volunteer physician at the Calcasieu Community Clinic.”
Broussard was nominated recently to serve as vice president of Louisiana Medical Society.
“I hope to be able to play a part in finding a solution to the health care crisis in our society, and to encourage our legislators to come together to solve the Medicare/Medicaid and uninsured issues of our state,” she said.
By Lisa YatesEditorAn old Chinese proverb says that the person who can not smile should not set up shop. After all, who wants to buy from a shopkeeper who is rude or impatient? Anna Wiggins agrees. She's the owner of Curious Cargo, at 1118 N. Pine Street in DeRidder, and her goal is to see people smile.
“People are so much fun,” she said. “We have a goal here – when people come in, our goal is to make then laugh, or giggle, and to get them to relax and forget their troubles for a little while.”
This philosophy has kept Wiggins in business for 25 years.
Wiggins, 66, said she likes to give her customers “a little bit of extra” service -- like gift-wrapping.
“Around Christmas time men will stick their heads in the door and ask if we gift wrap,” she said. “I tell them 'sure, come on in.'”
She also plans special events also helps to attract new business. For example, George Fenton, president of collectible Fenton Art Glass, will be in her store Nov. 6, to sign pieces for customers.
“Fenton Glass is a 103 year-old American company that started in West Virginia,” Wiggins said. “A signed piece of glassware can triple its value.”
Fenton Art Glass, gourmet coffee, silk flowers, made-to-order gift baskets, holiday and home décor, Louisiana souvenirs, LSU memorabilia, and more – Curious Cargo is a shoppers paradise and a fun place to browse.
“We laugh and say we have everything but motor oil!” Wiggins joked.
Never planning to go into business for herself, Wiggins said she “fell into it.”
“It was really and accident,” she said.
Before becoming a business owner, Wiggins worked a couple of days per week at Pier One Imports. When the owners retired, she bought the franchise and ran it. Eventually, she sold it back to the company and started Curious Cargo – her own retail business.
“I enjoyed it, so I guess it was just meant to be,” she said.
Wiggins is a bundle of energy.
In addition to running a successful business, Wiggins is active in the community. One of her many activities includes serving on the Military Affairs Committee of the Greater Beauregard Chamber of Commerce.
She recently re-activated a yellow ribbon campaign through the committee.
“It’s something we’ve done in the past, but it has kind of fallen by the wayside for awhile,” she said. “We have a lot of military in DeRidder and Ft. Polk, so we want to be sure and support them. We also want to remember that we still have soldiers fighting oversees.”
Ampacet Corporation in DeRidder donated spools of plastic ribbon for the cause, which Wiggins ties into bows and distributes for donations at her store.
“We're asking for donations to purchase phone cards for soldiers and their families,” she said.
Besides supporting the troops, Wiggins is the president of the local community theatre.
“I've been with the Impromptu Players Dinner Theatre volunteering for 20 years,” she said. “We've revamped the building. It's beautiful now.”
Volunteering includes cooking all of the food for the dinner theatre. How does she do so much?
“I guess I'm just scared to stop,” she said, “So, I just keep on truckin'!”
When she's not working, or volunteering, she is spending time with her husband Dave, who works as a transportation officer at Ft. Polk. The couple has grown children -- a son in Ft. Worth, and two daughters – one in Dallas, and one in DeRidder.
“Thank goodness my two grandchildren – a boy and a girl – live here,” she said. “Sarah is a senior at DeRidder High School, and Kevin is an 11-year-old soccer player.”
Wiggins said her granddaughter is very involved with her business. She even works with her at the store on Saturdays.
“She put together the ballet area of the store by herself,” Wiggins said. “She also goes to market with me in Dallas.”
Her granddaughter also designed a souvenir mug featuring the Gothic jail and courthouse in DeRidder. Wiggins said the mugs will be available soon and will be sold in the store this Christmas.
“We make a good team,” she said.
When entrepreneur Sarah Ehlers’ mother died, she left her job as ad director for The Times.
