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Women In Business

Pre-Med Student Finds Career in Accounting

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“I started with an office as big as this desk,” said a smiling Christina Talley from her expansive executive desk in her corner office that overlooks Flagstaff. Today, she serves clients from all over with accounting services, including Prescott and Chino Valley.
Last December, the CPA moved her business, Christina R. Talley CPA PLLC, into the two-story building that the firm purchased. “I started in Kingman with a laptop, a portable printer and a cell phone.”

Talley’s passion for excellent service has fueled the growth of her business from a backpack and laptop into a full-service accounting firm with a staff of seven and a 4,100-square-foot office building in downtown.
“When I was in college, deciding what I wanted to be, I was in pre-med. I always wanted to be a veterinarian,” Talley explained. During the summers, she worked in Stanton Island, New York, for her dad, who had just left a successful career in chemistry to buy and operate a short-haul trucking company. Her father’s bookkeeper, the firm’s CPA, Bernard Del Rey, eventually influenced her career choice and mentored her.
“I changed my major to accounting largely because of those summers,” said Talley. After graduation, she held accounting positions for a variety of businesses in New York, including hospitals, credit card companies and Deloitte & Touche. “I learned from all these different companies before I opened my own. That has a lot to do with how I run things.”

As she established her business in Arizona, she’d call Del Rey. “He was a wonderful resource,” she said.
Talley had quit working in the accounting industry to have children and be part of an Urgent Care business that she, her then-husband and others opened in Kingman. By 2006, she was ready for a change and interested in part-time work.
“‘Let’s do something for me,’ I thought. So, I opened my own [accounting] office,” Talley said. “Quickly it blew up. Within a month, I knew it wasn’t going be a part-time gig. The floodgates opened and business flooded in.”

Many of her my clients couldn’t come to her, so she took her backpack and went to them. Talley hired someone to help, and then she was pregnant with her third child. “With my big pregnant belly, I couldn’t get back behind my desk,” she laughed, describing her small office.
Talley’s baby was born on March 14. “March 15 is the corporate tax deadline,” she said. She kept all her appointments on March 14, visiting clients at their workplaces. “My water broke, and I continued working. My last client was a nurse practitioner, and she looked at me and said, ‘Oh, you really ARE ready to have that baby!’”

By the time her children started entering elementary school, Talley and her family moved to the mountain town of Flagstaff in January 2010. She drove back and forth to serve Kingman clients as she expanded her client base across Northern Arizona.
Holistic Approach
“The reason we were able to grow as quickly as we did is our holistic approach. We take a partnership approach with our clients because we care and take the time,” she said. The team at Talley CPA PLLC has diverse backgrounds in medical, human resources and engineering, and so they can advise based on a vast realm of business knowledge. “I like to say, ‘Let us be your CFO and you can run your business.’”
She also offers this advice: “Be aware of your financial situation. See where your money comes and goes and adapt to the ever-changing environment.”

Talley’s serves clients around the world, including aircraft painters, auto dealerships, long-haul trucking companies, charter schools and chambers of commerce. QCBN

By Stacey Wittig, QCBN

Going It Alone Together

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Artist and entrepreneur Melanie Banayat has emerged victorious time and again as unforeseen challenges disrupted her world and forced new beginnings on the canvas of her life.

Loss of family, scuttled dreams, depression and debilitating physical pain have left their mark, but her buoyancy has encouraged others fighting fear, isolation, loss, loneliness and pain.   

Banayat’s award-winning book, Stretch Your Brave, Hack Your Story, Break Through Chronic Disease with Storytelling, documents her journey with sudden-onset rheumatoid arthritis and inspires forging ahead despite despair.

Writing the book became an impetus to founding WingSpace Coworking, a collaborative professional environment for entrepreneurs. From mastering work/life balance to commanding fear of the unknown, Banayat readily shares her capacity for drawing hope and light.

“Fear doesn’t like anything exciting, new or resembling potential,” she advised. “Fear loves boring and predictable. It likes the way things have been done before. Fear says, ‘Don’t ever change.’ But since life is ever-changing, I like giving it direction.”

Banayat urges fellow professionals to field their own curve balls.

“This modern world in which we live is like walking through a minefield of triggers and distractions that knock us off course at the slightest move,” she said. “So, it’s important to develop awareness of how everything is interconnected and how we impact one another.

“WingSpace Coworking is for people who want to be part of a community of like-minded individuals. We’re a mix of freelancers, small business owners, micro-business owners, remote workers, thinkers, doers and idea makers. We are the misfits of the workforce who finally have a place to call our own in the Prescott area. And there is plenty of room for more.” 
The location offers private offices or open space where members and guests can use a desk, conduct business, attend workshops, teach seminars, reserve conference rooms, book events and mingle.

“We may have to work, but we don’t have to work alone,” Banayat contended. “We spend many hours of our life devoted to bringing home a paycheck, so we may as well set ourselves up to enjoy it as much as we can to keep our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health in good shape.”

Starting her own career as a freelance artist after studying graphic design and fine art in the mid-1980s, Banayat established a successful business.

A dozen years later, she sold the company and entered resort management with her husband. The couple bought a lake resort in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, which presented “a rare opportunity to dive into a lifestyle” she anticipated as ideal for raising her children.

“I laugh at myself for that decision because I didn’t even know how to fish, let alone sell fishing tackle,” she chuckled, drawing comparisons to actress Ava Gabor’s city slicker socialite moving to a pig farm in the 1970s TV comedy Green Acres.

“It was hard work and an incredibly beautiful life that I would never trade,” she said. “I jokingly tell my kids that I raised them like Mowgli [the Rudyard Kipling character raised in the jungle by wolves]: out in nature, covered in dirt, where every day was an adventure.”

Later divorced, Banayat became a full-time artist, convincing high end galleries to carry her art. Soon, she “met a man, fell in love, and all was humming along fine until the economic downturn in 2008,” when stress-triggered rheumatoid arthritis toppled her dreams.

“I was no longer able to paint because the joints in my hands, arms and feet were swollen, painful, and I could no longer hold my tools,” she explained. “My fine art career came to sudden halt. I felt blindsided.”

Determined to fight the disease without medication, Banayat completed an 18-month holistic health coach certification, reversed her symptoms, and embraced another career.

“The health coach training really changed my whole perspective on life and work,” she said. “I learned how impactful stress is on humans and how it manifests in us in a multitude of ways mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. That whole experience led me to want to use my skill sets to help others, so I started a private practice out of my home working with clients one on one.”

Banayat “realized how isolated and lonely I felt working by myself every single day. I began looking for ways to collaborate with others because I just knew in my gut that others were experiencing similar problems working from home.”

Thus began the idea for WingSpace: “I have never regretted honoring my intuition or taking the road less traveled, but I take only calculated risks, looking at all sides of a venture to see if it matches up with my values, goals and the lifestyle I want. As long as I can maintain a sense of curiosity, creativity and elements of quirky fun in whatever I do, any hard work is worth doing.”

She derives great joy from “playing matchmaker” between someone who is working on a project and needs help with a logo, branding or coding a website. “I say, ‘Hey, there are a few members here that can help you with those things, let me introduce you.’ I want my members to feel like they are part of a community that cares about them, their work and their life beyond work.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

Designing a Life; Growing a Business

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“If you put energy, focus and heart into what you desire, it will unfold for you,” said Sadie Sarti, owner of Sadie Sarti Design Co. “So, be positive, think big, believe in people and businesses, and do good in your community. If we believe in ourselves and follow these ideas, we can live a fulfilling life.”

Sarti has applied her philosophy to her career, family and community, and is now leading four employees in web and graphic design.

“It’s a fun and inspiring place to work,” Sarti said. “We are a growing business where each time we hire a new employee it is like adding someone to our family. We have a great time collaborating and discussing our projects as we work together.”

The company helps clients reach target audiences with design and messaging. “I love the word-of-mouth referrals. There is no bigger compliment than someone referred by one of my existing clients calling to ask about a new website. We strive to be really authentic with everyone we work with and help them achieve their goals. It is rewarding to see that we accomplish that and our clients appreciate us for it.”

Cherishing relationships while tending to business, Sarti spends her working hours managing, supporting and interacting with clients, prospects, designers and other professionals.   

“I wake up to my two beautiful boys, now 9 and 11, get us ready for the day and run them to school. When I arrive at the office, usually with a cup of coffee in hand, I look over the email communications for the day. The time I actually get to do design work is limited at this point, but I love providing feedback and pushing my designers in the direction that best fits the client.”

Sarti learned about computer systems from two brothers who tinkered building them. Her   parents had careers as fine artists. The family would travel the country to galleries and museums, discussing composition and design. Those encounters were “very influential in shaping my view of art and design,” she says, and spurred her to study art and art history at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.

Sarti had no inkling then that she would pursue graphic design, a discipline that beckoned after college and after she got married. With her first son on the way, it also gave her the opportunity to work from home. 

Sarti had performed website maintenance for a fine art print company, which became her first client. She expanded services to Durango-area businesses and designed real estate flyers. When a friend established a rafting company, he hired Sarti to create the website.       

“I had never built a site from scratch, but I took the challenge and learned a great deal from that experience. I found I had a real talent for understanding all the complexities of that field, as well as how to use my artistic background to help businesses visually organize their content in an effective way.”

Businesses had just begun to recognize the importance of a strong web presence, a trend still demanding quality web design 11 years later. 

“It is rewarding to work with so many local businesses and organizations. The work that we do stays incredibly interesting because of the wide variety of subjects we are introduced to. From non-profit missions to selling spices, we never know what our next project will have us dive into.”

Sarti believes success is as much about an owner/manager choosing the right people as the cohesiveness of the group they have become. 

“My design team [was created based on] their talent as well as how I thought they would fit into our team,” Sarti explained. “We spend a lot of time together and collaborate on most projects. I needed a team that would be good thinkers, get along and work together while complementing each other’s skills.” 

Despite the pressure of so much to accomplish during the limited hours of any given day, Sarti said she loves the independence of business ownership. Her downtown Prescott location enables her to walk to many clients’ offices, providing a sense of community.

“All the hats that I wear as a business owner gets exhausting sometimes, but we always figure out how to get all the work done,” she added. “Changing technology and troubleshooting challenges are big as well; we have to stay up on these changes so that we can be current with our offerings.”

Despite the intense workload, she also has volunteered for the past nine years with Prescott Area Young Professionals (PAYP) and recently joined the board of Prescott Downtown Partnership (PDP). Yoga and hiking help her stay focused.

Family is Sarti’s greatest reward. “I have to just walk away from my to-do list when it is time to pick up my boys. I really enjoy being a mom, attending school events and watching baseball games. I make sure that I prioritize my family at every important moment.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

Making Later Life Easier

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With the number of people living to the age of 85 and beyond expected to double from more than 6.4 million today to 14.6 million by 2040, companies like Comfort Keepers are expecting the demand to continuously increase for those needing day-to-day assistance.

Comfort Keepers provides as much or as little help required to enable the elderly to live in their homes as long as possible. Services include providing meals, doing shopping, running errands, reminding about medication, performing light housekeeping and laundry, and also personal care.

Owner Cindy Harris says Comfort Keepers strives to get the client involved in life again.

“Like when they [the caregivers] are cooking a favorite meal, they ask the client to help them with the recipe. We try to make it interactive.”

Jim Ellis and his wife, who are in their 80s, have been clients of Comfort Keepers for the past eight years. “I don’t know what we would have done without them,” said the Flagstaff resident. “They have been a lifesaver for us. We started out three days a week and right now, we are having them seven days a week, twice a day. They are the first people here to help out whenever necessary.”

Ellis’s wife has Alzheimer’s, but with the company’s support, she has been able to stay at home. “That has been a real comfort to both me and her,” Ellis said.

Harris, who has been with the company since 2003, is the owner of Comfort Keepers in Prescott Valley, Flagstaff, Payson, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Fountain Hills. She says she is very careful about who she hires. “I am proud of how we hire the caregivers here. There is a huge caregiver shortage and its going to get worse.”

Harris grew up with four stepbrothers and two half sisters. Born in New Mexico, her father’s engineering job took the family to numerous states. “Our last major venture was in Kayenta on the Navajo reservation. My father was the assistant superintendent for the Black Mesa Pipeline. We lived there for five years.

“The boys and girls were all friends who explored this vast area together,” she said. “We made our own fun playing baseball, swimming, riding motorcycles and exploring caves.”

She finished high school in Flagstaff.

Harris loves music, especially country and piano-based blues. “I love to dance and laugh.”

An animal lover, she has had as many as three dogs at one time. For fun, she enjoys time with friends, taking them exploring in her CanAm side-by-side, and having a good red wine with dinner.

“Lake Powell is my favorite place to revisit,” she said, but adds that her heart is with her clients and her business.

“I had always wanted a business of my own. I can go to work every day, but I wanted to do something that makes a difference. If I spend time with a client, it grounds me. It brings me back to life.”

Harris receives letters and thank-you cards from clients and their families. “That makes me realize why I am here.”

Steve Nunn, who lives in Phoenix, has Comfort Keepers watch over his 92-year-old father, Jimmie Nunn, who lives in Flagstaff. For the last five years, the staff has far exceeded his expectations. “Some of the caregivers are particularly good and proactive. They let me know if something might need attention in the house,” he said. “When I found I needed to make changes with what I would like to do for my father, they have been very accommodating.”

Caregivers receive training updates, especially for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. They learn how to handle different scenarios and help family members, who can sometimes become frustrated.

Harris also works with a company that helps veterans who didn’t know they qualify for free in-home care. QCBN

By Patty McCormac, QCBN

To learn more about Comfort Keepers, call 928-541-0888.

Melissa Cripps Composing a Life of Business, Service, Music 

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Managing a rewarding career is as much how a person approaches living as what transpires during business hours. That reality was poignantly reinforced in 2018 for Flagstaff’s Melissa Collins Cripps, agent/owner of Melissa Cripps Insurance Agency, Inc.

“My life changed last year when both my parents died within 12 days of each other,” Cripps said. “My mother died of leukemia and my father died of a broken heart 12 days later.”  

Characterizing her “world as a very different place now,” Cripps relishes blessings that have enriched her life and given new meaning to goals and relationships. Every day, she takes to heart her mother’s last words: to avoid judging others.

“I have received many blessings, not the least of which is a closer relationship with my older sister,” Cripps explained. “I have a different perspective on what is important. I don’t have room in my heart for hate or jealousy or resentment.”

For Cripps, the most rewarding aspects of her career always have been interacting with people and forging ahead with an impact. Her solid work ethic and desire to help people led to opening her own State Farm Insurance Agency Sept. 1, 1989. During this, the agency’s 30th year of operation, she mused about how her life all came together.

In 1968, at age 10, Cripps moved with her family to Flagstaff. She later relocated to Tempe to attend Arizona State University (ASU). Working for a family friend, she managed an insurance agency for a consumer lending service. She quickly learned the business, grew to appreciate the industry, and obtained her state insurance license. 

“I had never been in insurance before and had majored in music at university,” she said. “I liked solving problems and fitting the pieces together. It was very hard work in the beginning. I wondered at times if I was going to make it. Now, I look back on 30 years, which seem to have gone by very quickly.” 

Deciding after four years that she wanted to make money for herself rather than an employer, Cripps contacted major insurance companies about how to start her own agency. She chose to join State Farm because she appreciated the company and its contract for agents.

“However, they would not appoint me as an agent until I had my college degree,” she explained, noting that she had fewer than 20 credit hours remaining. “I was in Tempe at the time and wanted to get back to Flagstaff, so I wrote 22 letters to agencies in Flagstaff to get a job while I finished my degree at Northern Arizona University in night classes.”

State Farm Agent Bill Trent hired her for the two years until graduation and the State Farm approval to open her own agency.    

“I have worthwhile work where I can help people in so many different ways, not just through selling products, but by helping [clients] plan for the unexpected,” she explained. “I love working with people and helping them.”

Cripps attributes her business success to a strong focus on “doing a good job, doing the right thing and developing relationships, not only with clients and potential clients, but also with members of the community.”  

Some of that civic involvement indeed is music to others’ ears. Cripps began playing cello at age 12, ultimately participating in regional and state festivals and attending music camp at NAU. After leaving music for a while after high school, she successfully auditioned for the Flagstaff Symphony and played there for 20 years.

“Ten years ago, my husband and I, along with some brave souls, started Orchestra Northern Arizona,” she recalled, adding that her husband, David Cripps, is the artistic director and conductor. “This orchestra is comprised of mostly amateur players who love playing and have no other opportunities. Our tenth anniversary concert and celebration is in May.”  

That same month, she will complete her Masters of Music in Cello Performance at NAU, where she has studied with Mary Ann Ramos, Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA). “I started this journey after being inspired by attending the Baltimore Symphony Academy in 2014. The culmination of that academy was to play side-by-side with the professional musicians of the Baltimore Symphony.” 

No matter the situation, Cripps has composed her own path to success, filling life’s pages with notes high and low. Her son, Robert Collins, attends ASU and works at Gateway Community College. As a wife, mother, daughter, businesswoman, mentor and musician, Cripps has authored the sheet music for achieving her goals. 

“I was the first woman [insurance] agent in Flagstaff, and in fact, one of a very few throughout our region,” she said about her initial foray into the industry. “It was challenging to find my voice and stand in my strength, and to be accepted as professional and knowledgeable.”   

She built her business early on by networking through volunteerism. “I simply said ‘yes’ every time someone invited me to be on a committee or board of directors.” When she jumped back into volunteering several years after becoming a mother, she “made a conscious decision to only participate in organizations that fit my mission and passion.”

Cripps since has served on the Flagstaff Arts Council for six years, including two years as president, and regularly contributes to Girls on the Run and “just about anything to do with young people’s development.” A KNAU sponsor, she also is a major contributor to the arts through the Arboretum, Dark Skies, the Viola Awards and Orchestra Northern Arizona.

“My mission is helping to empower women, young and old, and my passion is the arts,” she explained, adding that she’s compiling a long list of “when I graduate” volunteer opportunities, including more involvement in Orchestra Northern Arizona. 

This year, she again plans to sponsor Movies on the Square and will host a refreshment table at the American Cancer Society Climb the Mountain to Conquer Cancer on Aug. 17. 

Having been honored with the Athena Award for leadership from the Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce in 1995 and the Flagstaff Arts Council’s Viola Award in 2017, Cripps encourages others navigating the world of life and business to “just do the best job you can.”

She said, “Don’t try to find shortcuts or easy streets. It takes a lot less effort to simply do your job well and with integrity. Never measure success by the amount of money made or the size of the business. Success is knowing you did your best.” QCBN

By Sue Marceau   

  

Photo caption: 

Music has been a life-long love for State Farm agent Melissa Cripps. 

Courtesy photo  

 

World Traveler Builds Career Out of Sending Clients on Vacation

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Monika Leuenberger loves what she does and does what she loves. Her expansive world is all about travel. Having sojourned to more than 20 countries (she has lost count), this Switzerland-born wanderlust, travel advisor and co-owner of Avenues of the World Travel has tips and suggestions for situations you would not dream of happening and back-up support for when they do.  

“Several years ago, we traveled to New Zealand via Flagstaff to LA. On our flight back, we landed at the LA airport and our flight was cancelled back to Flagstaff,” said Bob Golub, a retired teacher and non-profit administrator. “Monika had been monitoring our return and saw the Flagstaff airport alert. She called us immediately with three options: schedule a flight back to Phoenix; rent a car and drive; or stay in Los Angeles and she would plan things for us to do.” 

Golub said he and his wife decided to drive back from Los Angeles. “Monika suggested she rent us a car equipped with GPS. We told her we didn’t need it, but she insisted. We realized that navigating the freeways there would have been impossible without the GPS! Monika is just fabulous. She has unbelievable experience, plus she’s creative, detailed and has extensive resources. She doesn’t just get you where you want to go but she helps you get the most out of the experience when you get there.” 

Golub has been using Leuenberger’s services for several years. His most memorable excursion was an African safari.

“Traveling gives you a better understanding of humanity and teaches tolerance,” said Leuenberger. “What always strikes me is that regardless of the differences in culture and religion, no matter where you live, we all have the same basic needs and everyone responds to a smile.”

To ensure that her clients have the best traveling experience, Leuenberger maintains contacts worldwide to assist with emergencies. “We have local connections in their time zones, plus we keep up-to-date on issues or changes going on and we have developed strong associations.”  

Some of Leuenberger’s popular trips include hiking in the Swiss Alps or on the Inca Trail, or an African safari. She highly suggests multi-generational trips. “This is a fantastic way to create family memories.” 

Some emerging destinations are Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Borneo and travelers, she says, are raving about the Antarctic. “They all offer some very unique experiences.”

She adds that traveling opportunities and choices are more abundant than ever before. “Working with a travel advisor helps avoid missing out on a lot benefits,” explained Leuenberger. “We have special terms with over a thousand hotels worldwide, so we get special rates and upgrades, food and beverage credits and freebies such as breakfast, Wi-Fi, early check-in and check-out and sometimes even spa credits.” 

“I’ve been working for Monika for almost 10 years and it’s been the most fun,” said Daniela Harrison, a travel advisor with Avenues of the World Travel. “Monika is very supportive and an amazing role model and inspiration. She’s an active member of several non-profits and is always eager to help out in the community. If we’re having a stressful week, she’ll make sure we don’t forget about self-care and take a break or go home early to enjoy a sunny hike.”

According to Harrison, the most fun part of her job is touching base with clients after their vacation. “We hug, laugh, share pictures and funny tales. This is when we know our hard work has paid off.” QCBN

By Veronica Tierney, QCBN

Boutique Owner Working in Style

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Fashionista Sara Murray brings flair to any venue when she showcases stylish clothing and household ensembles from her boutique, Fancy That! For the entrepreneur, running any successful retail business is every bit about producing an exceptional customer experience as managing the critical bottom line.
    She and her daughter, Amanda, work together to embrace fashion trends, sport their chic inventory, accent with eye-catching baubles and seize every moment to mesmerize clients and prospective clients with accessories they will love. Doubling their creativity in vision, power in merchandising and spot-on fashion sense, the pair effortlessly reveals just how specific adornments might work for shoppers in their own homes and wardrobes.
    Sara Murray embarked as a teen on her 33 successful years in the Arizona retail trade. Her professional enthusiasm emerged during internships while she was in high school. Murray earned a degree in interior design from Scottsdale Community College.

She chose small business environments throughout her career because “learning and doing all kinds of things” appealed to her adventuresome spirit. Trained by doing assorted tasks ranging from working with purchase orders to unloading trucks and pulling fabric swatches, she also conquered the Los Angeles Fashion Mart. Well-respected as the only 21-year-old employee, she was entrusted with overseeing one business when the owners were not present. She lived and breathed retail operations from the ground up.

When the time was right for Murray to finance her first Fancy That!, the bank laughed at the 24-year-old entrepreneur. The decision-makers were not keen on retail inventory as collateral. Already having saved $10,000, Murray refinanced personal property for another $10,000, and was offered her final $10,000 from grandparents. From that $30,000 kitty, she attended her first Fashion Mart as a business owner and spent $20,000 on inventory for the new store. Carpet, signage, counters and props were bought with remaining funds.

After multiple fruitful years in the Valley of the Sun, the family moved to Prescott in 2003. The local Fancy That! was born. Never one to settle for anything ordinary, Murray opened the Prescott store on a Friday, the 13th of September. Happily, that date cast no unlucky charms on the business.

Later, when a building across the street became available, they opened it as an annex. Murray’s husband, Dan, father to Amanda, also works in the business.

Amanda Murray was exposed to the fashion industry as a newborn. The family stopped at the store post-delivery on the way home from the hospital. As a young child, she accompanied her mother on buying trips. Amanda reflected her mother’s work ethic and love of fashion. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Grand Canyon University.

The Murrays have worked hard over the years and triumph has followed. One key to their retail success, they say, is engaging friends and customers in marketing the business. Everyone is encouraged to post or like tidbits on social media, where they have a popular Facebook page. Word of mouth also is appreciated. Some have modeled an outfit or two for promotional cameras.    

The good fortune of FancyThat! is also shared with give-backs to the local community. Setting trends of their own, the Murrays have supported non-profits such as The Launch Pad and Acker Night Musical Showcase.

No matter the season, locals and visitors can find what strikes their fancy in the Murrays’ collections. QCBN

By Sue Marceau, QCBN

Bronze Sculptor Shapes Her Rural Lifestyle 

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Bronze sculptor Diana Simpson said she didn’t know she was an artist until she was 30, even though her talent was recognized very early on. 

“I was always drawing and painting,” she said.  

Simpson won her first award for art when she was five. Her father entered a crayon drawing of a deer in the forest into an art contest at The San Francisco Chronicle. It won first place. That, she says, is when she got the bug. 

Years later, her talent came into focus as a noted sculptor. 

“My kids were always asking me to do this or that. I would make critters out of clay for them. My best friend’s dad was Fred Lucas, a well-known artist who told me I had talent.” 

Lucas advised her to get her work into bronze and learn how to do it. He advised her to work at a foundry. That was nearly 30 years ago. Today, she works at Thumb Butte Bronze in Prescott, creating molds and her own pieces. 

Simpson’s art is represented in several local galleries and before the recent recession, all over the world. “I have shipped to Australia, New Zealand, England, all over Europe. It has gone everywhere.” 

She says people buy pieces that touch their heart. 

“I had a man buy a rooster because it looked like his first pet that had been given to him by his grandfather.”  

Simpson’s work runs from $100 to thousands of dollars. Her biggest piece, a 5’7” mama black bear, has a price tag of $18,000. 

“I sculpt what strikes my fancy. Sometimes I do rabbits, sometimes I do horses, sometimes birds. Art is a very personal expression of who we are inside and what we feel inside. Most of my subjects are animals and things I have experienced in my riding or hiking,” she said. “I really admire Southwestern animals because of how hard it is making a living, like that mama rabbit or mama antelope, and how difficult it is for these critters, but they still manage to raise their babies in such a harsh environment. I try to give them a personality to make people look at it not just as an animal, but as a creature that has feeling or emotion. I feel creatures have souls, too. A good artist has to bring that out in their work.”  

Her favorite piece is entitled “Traveling Companions,” her own dog and horse are the inspiration. 

“I made only 25 of them, made one for myself, and broke the mold.”  

The pieces sold quickly. 

Simpson has been in the Quad Cities since she was nine when her parents moved to Chino Valley from the San Francisco Bay area. “We had a small farm where we raised calves and alfalfa. I loved my critters. You rode horses and camped and did a lot of outside activities.” 

The youngest of three sisters, she adored the rural life.  

In high school, she played volleyball, excelled in Future Farmers of America and blossomed as an artist. 

“If anyone wanted to buy something for me, it could be anything with paints or anything art related,” she said. 

Upon graduation, she went right to work for the U.S. Forest Service. She was also a lineman for the local cable company. And, she married and raised children. 

Today, the grandmother of two says she lives a happy, busy life.  

“I have four horses, three dogs and my life revolves around them and my kids.” 

To view Simpson’s work, visit dianasimpsonbronze.com. QCBN 

 

By Patty McCormac, QCBN   

 

No Whining Allowed 

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Barbara Austin Clark Stevenson takes enormous pride in mentoring and sharing her corporate and entrepreneurial savvy with people committed to work and learn. But those she works with should expect that they will be required to deliver their personal best, just as she demands of herself. Ethics and values instilled from childhood remain her compass for success.  

“My grandmother used to say that any job worth doing is worth doing well, and any job worth doing well is one to take pride in,” Stevenson said. She strives to follow that advice in every business and personal journey, taking pride in every job, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential. 

Stevenson began her executive career in commercial insurance at Electronic Data Systems (EDS), where she had answered an ad and convinced the recruiter that she should be the last interviewee. Years later, she joined Oracle, another large information technology company, and “the world opened up.” 

Stevenson attests that life is 10 percent what happens and 90 percent reaction, showcasing a multi-year career spanning 19 countries, many industries and diverse cultures. She quickly understood how to navigate the highly competitive and male-dominated corporate climate.    

“You have to be flexible; you have to roll with the punches,” she said. “I am your original bootstrap girl. You fall down, do a good doozy and then get your ass up and keep going. I’m not a june bug stuck on my back with legs flailing in the air and whining. I have managed pretty much on my own terms, even when my hard-headedness caused some angst.” 

Co-owner with husband, Ron, of Prescott’s American Financial Security, LLC and American Financial Investments, LLC, Stevenson said she feels blessed every day that she met Ron and that they are partners in business and life. “Our clients love it.” 

She says her professional relationships go well beyond taxes and consulting. “They know more about me than my family. If my job were only about sitting in a back room and not interacting with clients, just shoot me now. My light does not shine in a closet.”   

Stevenson can walk into any room and bond with strangers, a knack perfected early on through attending nine schools before the fifth grade because of her father’s job. Her worldview was shaped by family, a debate teacher, a swim coach and EDS’s Ross Perot. She completed three degrees in less than five years while working part-time. Still, she says she learned more on the job than from any class.  

And, she loves a debate. “I can argue both sides of anything – because I had to.” She recalls words from her swim coach, “Effort is great, but if it doesn’t result in you being first or second or third, you did not win, unless it was your personal best. And then you had better learn to take pride in that.”   

The notion that “everybody who shows up is a winner is crap,” she says. “The first time anybody says, ‘You failed’ to those people, they simply won’t have any coping mechanism. Sometimes you need to learn that your personal best won’t win. You just keep a smile, keep going and be grateful for what you have.” 

As a manager of four employees in accounting, financial planning and business services, Stevenson is very involved and also very hands off. “I am very clear in defining expectations, and both offering support and holding people accountable.”  

The former elementary and high school educator remains a teacher at heart. She takes pride in role modeling life lessons: refusing to take “no” for an answer, focusing on solutions versus complaints, maintaining trust and values, proving yourself in a business environment before demanding more, learning as much from bad managers as good ones and recognizing the positives in achievement by “dreaming about it, planning for it, and making it happen.” QCBN 

 

By Sue Marceau, QCBN 

Photo by Sue Marceau 

  

Making Moves that Count 

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Social media and digital marketing entrepreneur Donna Werking elevated stepping out of one’s comfort zone to new heights in April, performing a fiery samba with local dance professional Zach Leonard to help the Boys & Girls Club of Central Arizona (BGCCA) raise more than $220,000.  

For this second year of the hugely popular Dancing for the Stars (DFTS) fundraiser at The Elks Theater, Werking leapt at the chance to become one of 10 celebrity dancers when the BGCCA board asked.   

“Of course I was immediately 100 percent in,” said Werking, owner of Northern AZ Social, a provider of social media and digital marketing services. So began her weeks-long transformation to one-time (for now) stage performer.   

From a fulfilling day job developing, implementing and monitoring digital marketing campaigns,   

Werking burned the midnight oil to evolve from zero professional dance expertise to one-half of a tour de force on stage. 

“I did have some reservations,” Werking admitted.  “But I have learned over time that if you do not take opportunities when they are presented to you, they may never come around again. When you look at the bigger picture, DFTS is a team effort and the reward is serving the children in our community.”   

Money raised is spent directly on programs and improvements for area youth, including additional extracurricular programs and a new club in Chino Valley.     

“The biggest challenge was learning the technical steps,” Werking said. “I really had no idea how complicated Latin ballroom dancing could be. We also danced from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. three to four times a week.”  

Werking said she was amazed by the support of the community for this event, including the “incredible talent and guidance” of her professional dancing partner, Leonard. Asking for sponsorships was made easier by the success of the inaugural 2017 event, she added, noting that businesses she approached “jumped for the chance to be involved.” 

She originally connected with DFTS when she was invited as a member of the marketing committee in 2017. “With such a grand fundraising concept, I gladly contributed my time and supported the event as a sponsor. My role also included negotiating marketing trades with local businesses. It was well worth every minute spent to this cause. The organization is first-class, and I hope to be involved in some capacity in the future.” 

 

Besides Dancing for the Stars, Werking has volunteered with Chapel Rock Camp & Conference Center, Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County and the Whiskey Row New Year’s Eve Boot Drop, which she co-founded in 2009.  

 

“Philanthropic work creates relationships and strengthens bonds in the community,” Werking said. “I have reaped the rewards of referrals and built strong friendships by dedicating my time to select organizations. Most of my success is because of the friendships I have established over the years, while volunteering guidance and knowledge so people can grow as a business. They are forever grateful, and I am pleased to have made a new friend.”  

For budding volunteers, she suggested having “solid guidelines in place” and asking themselves, “Do I have enough time? Can I serve this organization in a responsible way? Can I fully commit and achieve the goals?”  

“You must choose wisely because time is a valuable asset,” she said. 

Werking has great respect for people who work in the non-profit industry. “They are inspirational and hard-working individuals. We should all spend a day in their world.” QCBN 

 

 

Photo caption: 

Social media and digital marketing entrepreneur Donna Werking performed a samba with local dance professional Zach Leonard April 14 at the 2018 Dancing for the Stars fundraiser benefitting the Boys & Girls Club of Central Arizona.   

Photos courtesy Tracy Fultz of Blushing Cactus Photography