Dell Gay & Dana DuPree, Stylists Barbara Allegood, Owner

835113 Your Friend & Neighbor Since 1894

Marry Ann Smith Cranford Jewelry

Owner

Jana Wiggins Moultrie Technical College

Marketing Director

Dell Gay & Dana DuPree, Stylists Barbara Allegood, Owner, Stylist

Barbara’s Hair & Nail

Jenny Ray Alderman Classic Realty

Real Estate Agent

Debbie Mock Alderman Classic Realty

Real Estate Agent

Becky Null, Owner and her 2-year-old son, Zander

Heritage Embroidery & Design

Suzanne Leimer Suzanne’s Quilt Shop

Owner

Shana Goodno & Vernita Smiley Moore Convenient Care - Nurse Practitioners

IN BUSINESS SUPPORTS

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

COLQUITT COUNTY’S

WO EN

Page 2 Women in Business Thursday, October 30, 2013

is proud to honor the “Many” Women in Business who work in Colquitt County. Read their story, as they tell it and what they do that makes Colquitt County a great place to live, work and play. Included in this Special Publication is a section that is devoted to Breast Cancer Awareness and how it affects individuals and their families.

A Special “Thank You” t o All o f Our Advertisers t hat Participated and to th ose that a lso purchased a Pink Ribbon For Our Tree.

With Warm Regards,

Your Friend & Neighbor Since 1894 Staff

Adult women of all ages are encouraged to perform breast self-exams at least once a month.

Johns Hopkins Medical center states, “Forty percent of diagnosed breast cancer is detected by women who feel a lump, so establishing a regular breast self-exam is very important.”

While mammograms can help you to detect cancer before you can feel a lump, breast self-exams help you to be familiar with how your breasts look and feel so you can alert your healthcare professional if there are any changes.

Don’t forget, Once a Month

835151

Thursday, October 30, 2013 Women in Business Page 3

834111

Suzanne Leimer, quilt shop expandsSuzanne’s Quilt Shop

opened in 1988 to providequilting supplies and classesin Palm Beach County, Fla.Owner Suzanne Leimer, ahome economics teacher,dreamed of one day owninga shop when she made herfirst quilt in 1983. This yearSuzanne celebrated both her25th year in business and amove to a larger and moremodern location.

The first 18 years,Suzanne’s Quilt Shop waslocated in Royal Palm Beach,Fla. The business startedquite small and through theefforts of a supportive fami-ly, friends and prayer it grewand grew. There were upsand downs with the econo-my and hurricanes but Godwas faithful. Suzanne andLadd raised three children,who all decided to moveaway from South Florida.

Daughter Stephanie fol-lowed her career path toRiverside Manufacturing.

When Suzanne and Laddstarted visiting Moultrie in1998 they knew that this wasthe place they wanted toretire to. Stephanie marriedDuanne Massey and they arethe parents of Eli and

Joshua, two of the sixLeimer grandchildren. Laddand Suzanne started bUild-ing a home and planned onretiring completely, but Godhad other plans.

In August of 2006,

Suzanne’s Quilt Shop closedin Royal Palm Beach andmoved everything to theDowntown Square in Moul-trie. It was difficult to saygoodbye to customers andfriends and go to a new placeand reestablish a businessand build friendships. Moul-trie residents welcomed thenew business in town andspread the word that therewas a new place to shop forfabric. Florida customersmissed her and found a wayto come to Moultrie in theirtravels. Ladd decided to con-tinue teaching and taught atC.A. Gray for five years.

Suzanne’s Quilt Shop isthe largest independent fab-ric store in South Georgia.The new location in the for-mer Social Security build-ing, 415 Rowland Drive, atthe roundabout has 6,400square feet and offers a largespacious classroom and chil-dren’s room along withaisles and aisles of beautiful

fabric (over 5,000 bolts),notions, books and patterns.The walls are covered withbeautiful quilts. There isplenty of parking and thebuilding is handicap accessi-ble. The store is open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Suzanne hand-selects fab-rics from the top lines andseeks new designers andtrends in the industry. Youwill find a wide variety of100 percent cotton printsfrom historical reproduc-tions to contemporarytrends. They also carry alarge selection of Cuddlefabric.

Suzanne’s offers BreastCancer Awareness fabricand gifts to raise funds forbreast cancer research.Many a quilt has been madeto hug a loved one goingthrough treatment.

Suzanne’s offers a fullrange of sewing classes,from traditional hand quilt-ing to the latest machine

techniques. They want theircustomers to have access tothe best tools, products andtechniques. Class offeringsinclude small projects likehandbags, pillows, table run-ners and wall hangings aswell as large bed quilts.Classes are offered duringthe day and some evenings.A class schedule is availableto pick up in the shop orview online. Besides learn-ing a new skill, classes are agreat way for people to gettogether and encourage oneanother and share a com-mon bond.

The staff at Suzanne’sloves to help customers withtheir fabric selection. Theyhave also designed and writ-ten some of their own quiltpatterns.

Quilting Retreats areheld three times a year at theGeorgia Baptist ConferenceCenter in Norman Park.

SUZANNE LEIMER

Please see LEIMER, Page 4


Since 1951

104 South Main Street Moultrie • 985-3344

the difference in dressed and well dressed...

833933

ladies’ fine clothier

Observes Breast Cancer Awareness

Hospitality begins at home...Your home begins with an Experienced

and Trusted Realtor.

If you are in the market to sell your home or looking for that Perfect place to call home give me a call

today so I can put my commitment and experience to work for you.

Moultrie is a City of Southern

Living

Debbie Mock

Residential, Commercial and Land

229-873-2533

Debbie Mock

Residential, Commercial and Land

229-873-2533 125 South Main

at The Grand 229-985-0177

835125˙

Voted Best Real Estate Agent 3 years in a row

Bring your own sewingmachine and learn a newsewing technique as youstitch away on a mysteryquilt. Space is limited to 50so make sure to sign up earlyto reserve your spot.

Suzanne’s customers arelooking forward to accompa-nying her on a trip to Irelandfor the Irish Quilt Festival inJune 2014. You don’t have tobe a quilter to come on thetrip. They will be visitingmany beautiful sites in Ire-land as well as the quilt festi-val.

When you visit Suzanne’sQuilt Shop take notice of thelarge quilting machines.Grandma may have stitchedby hand but many of themodern quilters havelearned to use computerizedquilting machines. Thereare so many choices in quilt-ing today, which makes it sointeresting and fun.Suzanne’s is an authorizedHandi Quilter dealer. Ladd

and Suzanne sell thesemachines and set them up intheir customers’ homes.Many of their customers usethese machines to quilt forothers or for charity in addi-tion to finishing their ownprojects.

Quilting is not just aboutmaking a warm bed cover-ing. It is an artistic expres-sion. Each year a quilt exhib-it is held at the ColquittCounty Arts Center to show-case the talents of our localquilters and raise funds forthe arts center. This year theexhibit is from Oct. 12 to Nov.19. The exhibit is free to thepublic.

On Saturday, Nov. 3, a spe-cial luncheon andlecture/slide presentation“Way Down Under ... Quiltsof the Deep South” withquilt historian Teddy Pruettwill take place. Tickets areavailable at Suzanne’s QuiltShop.

www.suzannesQuilts.co

m was established in 1998and was one of the firstonline quilt shops. Morethan 6,000 items are avail-able to ship world-wide. Newproducts are added daily.You can register online toreceive SuzNews and getweekly updates on new prod-ucts, weekly specials andshop happenings.

Suzanne explains herdesire to continue working.“It’s been 25 wonderfulyears. It’s hard to stop whenyou are having so much funand enjoying all the wonder-ful people you get to know.My staff and I love to pro-vide all this for our cus-tomers’ pleasure.”

Suzanne is a member ofthe Fabric Shop Networkand the Tourism committeeof the Colquitt CountyChamber of Commerce.

“Cherishing quilts ofthe past and inspiringquilters of today,” is hermotto.

Continued from Page 3

Leimer


OFFERS SELECTIONS…

TO CHOOSE FROM!

PACKER LADY

CANDLES CHILDREN’S WEAR

BABY

BABY GIFTS

BABY PACKER

BABY SWADDLE

OPEN: Monday - Friday (10 am to 6 pm) • Saturday (10 am to 5 pm)

120 - First Street S.E. • Moultrie, GA • 985-4990Sam and Becky Null

833936

Becky Null, new face at HeritageBecky and Sam Null

recently became the proudowners of a longtime Moul-trie business. HeritageEmbroidery and Designchanged hands after 20 years.

“We love downtown Moul-trie and wanted to be a part ofit,” Becky Null said. “Myhusband worked at HeritageEmbroidery a few years ago,so he was pretty familiarwith it.”

Sam Null digitizes newlogos, sells and places ordersfor embroidery and promo-tional items and managesproduction. Becky managesthe gift shop, pays the billsand taxes, files reports, pur-chases merchandise andpays payroll.

Becky graduated fromBrewton-Parker College in2000 with a bachelor’s degreein early childhood education.

“Teaching elementaryschool for 13 years really pre-pared me for being a busi-ness owner,” she said. “As ateacher you must have good

time management and class-room management. Thoseskills have proven to behandy.

“Creative presentation isalso an excellent skill I havebeen able to use in the busi-ness,” she said. “Like teach-ing children, a businessowner needs to be creative sothat you’re able to appeal todifferent types of shoppers.

“One of the most impor-tant skills I gained frombeing a teacher was a respectfor diversity. We have shop-pers from different back-grounds and being able tohave some knowledge ofthose differences helps me toknow what they are lookingfor in products.”

Heritage Embroidery andDesign offers a wide varietyof merchandise. The front ofthe store is the baby bou-tique, filled with clothing andaccessories.

“We are the only carriersin Moultrie of the baby com-panies Rosalina and Feltman

Brothers,” Becky said. “Wealso have baby blankets,lovies, swaddles, bows, socks,stockings, diaper bags (withmatching accessories) andmuch more.”

The adult gift area fea-tures Yala bamboo wear,Alternative Earth apparel,throws, French soaps,Himalayan Candle Companycandles, linens, luggage, Von-nie casserole covers, Biblecovers, a variety of recipebooks, Packer wear andmany other gift ideas.

Aside from the storeitems, Heritage offers severalservices.

“Many know of ourembroidery services for sin-gle items,” Becky said, “butwe also mass embroideritems such as caps, hatbands, T-shirts, button-upshirts, soft coolers, koozies,throws, fabric bags, jackets,vests, cloth gun holsters, lug-gage, aprons, umbrellas,lawn chair covers, stadiumseat covers, lab coats and

scrubs, to name a few.”Heritage Embroidery also

sells promotional items.“Customers can promote

their business with pens,pencils, notepads, T-shirts,thumb drives, flashlights, cof-fee carafes, mugs, mousepads, knives, umbrellas, cal-endars, golf trinkets, bags,Bic lighters, folding chairs,cooking accessories, awards,thermoses and most any-thing we can get your logoon,” Becky said.

Like any business owner,Becky envisions HeritageEmbroidery growing. Herhopes are to expand the chil-dren’s lines and get intoitems for bigger kids.

“I love everything aboutmy work,” she said. “Myfavorite part is working withmy husband. I do really enjoyletting out my creative sidewith decorating the store. Ialso like searching for prod-ucts I think will ‘wow’ mycustomers. It’s fun meetingnew people and getting to see

the same folks over again.”Becky said she loves to

spend time with her family— husband Sam and their 2-year-old son, Zander.

“My ideal weekend con-sists of cuddling with Zanderin the rocker watching one ofhis favorite movies and work-

ing on displays for the store,”she said. “We love art in ourhome, so it’s not unusual forthe three of us to be neckdeep in some sort of art pro-ject. We also enjoy drivingsouth to Tallahassee to visitthe organic markets andjunk stores.”

BECKY NULL WITH SON ZANDER


Mother. Daughter. Friend. Sister. Wife.

*Proceeds from Pink Ribbon sales will go to Susan G. Komen For a Cure.

Dedicated to a Cure, in the Name of Love.

In 2013, it is estimated that over 232,340 women in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and that there will be more than 39,620 breast cancer deaths. Experts agree that early detection of

breast cancer saves lives. Screening tests can help diagnose breast cancer in its early stages, when it’s most treatable. Doctors recommend a clinical breast exam every three years beginning at age 20, and a mammogram every year starting at age 40. Breast self-exams and healthy lifestyle choices that include exercise, good nutrition and not smoking can also help protect women against the threat of breast cancer.

During October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we remember the mothers, daughters, friends,

sisters and wives who have lost their lives to breast cancer. We also salute the survivors whose successful fight against breast cancer gives us hope for the future and a cure.

834831˙


These Local Friends and Family Members Stand United With Women Everywhere in Raising Awareness and Supporting the Search for a Cure.

834837˙

The Moultrie Observer, Recognized Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October with a Pink Ribbon Tree. For every $2.00 Pink Ribbon Sold in Honor or Memory of, to Hang on the Tree, Another was Given to Wear. 39 Pink Ribbons Were Sold and the Proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen For A Cure Fund.

Honor of Honor of Brenda Brenda

From From Pam Pam

Honor of Honor of Sarah Sarah

Edwards Edwards From From

Sandra Sandra Edwards Edwards

Honor of Honor of Mrs. Mrs.

Carolyn Carolyn Tallman Tallman

From From Trina Sasine Trina Sasine

Honor of Honor of “Sister” “Sister”

From From Miza Tucker Miza Tucker

Memory of Memory of Janice Janice Tucker Tucker

Hillman Hillman From From

Miza Tucker Miza Tucker

Honor of Honor of Vickie Vickie

Fountain Fountain From From

Sadie Sellers Sadie Sellers

Memory of Memory of Ruth Ruth

Barker Barker Wickliff Wickliff

From From Bill & Earline Bill & Earline

Honor of Honor of Debbie Debbie

Sutherland Sutherland From From

Sidney Sidney Sutherland Sutherland

Honor of Honor of Susie Susie Knox Knox From From

Sadie Sellers Sadie Sellers

Honor of Honor of Elaine Elaine Cobb Cobb From From

Vickie Sinclair Vickie Sinclair

Memory of Memory of Janice Janice Tucker Tucker

Hillman Hillman From From

Carolyn Voyles Carolyn Voyles

Honor of Honor of Mrs. Renee Mrs. Renee

Sasine Sasine From Dr. & From Dr. & Mrs. Robert Mrs. Robert

Sasine Sasine

Honor of Honor of Auntie Auntie Nanny Nanny

From From Miyata Miyata Thomas Thomas

Memory of Memory of Pauline Pauline

Day Day From Vickie From Vickie

Sinclair Sinclair

Memory of Memory of Tanya Tanya White White

From Chris From Chris

Honor of Honor of Janice Janice Tucker Tucker

From From Earnest Earnest Tucker Tucker

Memory of Memory of Ginny Ginny

Kroblen Kroblen Allen Allen From From

Lucile Turner Lucile Turner

Honor of Honor of Mary Mary Leila Leila

Thomas Thomas From Beverly From Beverly

Honor of Honor of Nadine Nadine Howe Howe From From

Valerie Valerie Alderman Alderman

Honor of Honor of Brenda Brenda Daniels Daniels

From From Lillie Polite Lillie Polite

Honor of Honor of Louvenia Louvenia Kleedehn Kleedehn From Bean From Bean

Honor of Honor of Susan Gay Susan Gay Worsham Worsham

From From Dale Dale

Worsham Worsham

Honor of Honor of Chris Chris Lollar Lollar

From Vickie From Vickie

Honor of Honor of Gloria Gloria

Stevenson Stevenson From Class of From Class of ‘68 - William ‘68 - William Bryant High Bryant High

Memory of Memory of Rufus Rufus

Fender Fender From From

Vickie & Vickie & Ricky Ricky

Honor of Honor of Charlotte N. Charlotte N. Buchanan Buchanan From Frank From Frank Buchanan, Buchanan, Husband Husband

Memory of Memory of Elizabeth Elizabeth

Lollar Lollar From Vickie From Vickie

Honor of Honor of Faye Faye

Massey Massey

Honor of Honor of Doodle Doodle

From From Billie Jo Billie Jo

Honor of Honor of Sandra Sandra

Edwards Edwards From From Sarah Sarah

Edwards Edwards

Memory of Memory of Everyone Everyone

From From Arlene Arlene

Memory of Memory of Pauline Pauline

Ray Yonce Ray Yonce From From

Earline Barker Earline Barker

Memory of Memory of Caroline Caroline

McCallum McCallum From From

Beverly Beverly

Honor of Honor of Irma Irma

Foreman Foreman Bigham Bigham

From From Carolyn Voyles Carolyn Voyles

Memory of Memory of Linda Linda Oliff Oliff From From

Jimmy & Bev Jimmy & Bev

Memory of Memory of Patty Patty From From

Billie Jo Billie Jo

Honor of Honor of Barbara Barbara

Thompson Thompson From From

June Nation June Nation

Honor of Honor of Helen Helen Sewell Sewell

From From June Nation June Nation

Honor of Honor of Mamie Mamie Rentz Rentz From From

June Nation June Nation

From eHow.com

Women starting out inthe business world have allthe same challenges as mendo, with perhaps a few morethrown in as well. For exam-ple, women are more likelythan men to be caretakersfor young children, whichcan make it difficult to findenough time to run a busi-ness effectively.

Cut back commitmentsJan Marie Dore, an inter-

nationally known businesscoaching expert writing onthe website Duct Tape Mar-keting, advises women busi-ness owners to cut back ontheir non-business commit-ments to free up more timeto devote to their fledglingventures. Businesses, partic-ularly when they are newand vulnerable, require agreat deal of time and atten-tion to flourish. Women whohave too many other

demands on their time suchas social groups, volunteer-ing or family commitmentsmay be forced to neglecttheir businesses. Dore sug-gests as a rule of thumb thatnew business owners try todrop 25 to 50 percent oftheir non-business commit-ments.

DelegateDon't try to do everything

yourself. Many perfection-ists believe that they can doany task better than one oftheir employees or a subcon-tractor. While this is oftentrue, a single person simplydoesn't have the time to com-plete all the tasks that arenecessary to run a success-ful business. Find good, reli-able help and learn to trustthem, communicate consis-tently and let them knowexactly what you need fromthem. You will find thatthings run much moresmoothly than if you over-

whelm yourself by trying todo everything. Particularlywhen first starting out, it isimportant to choose wiselywhen delegating to others. Ifyour choice does a poor job,it will only reinforce yourfeeling that you need to do itall.

Promote your businessAndrea Buckley, writing

on the website WomenUnlimited, stresses theimportance of marketingand advertising. Your newbusiness won't get far ifnobody knows about it, nomatter how well it is run orhow superior its product orservice is. Try to do some-thing every day that will pro-mote your business, whetherit is sending an email to apotential contact or cus-tomer, taking out an ad in alocal magazine or develop-ing a presence in onlinesocial networking groupssuch as Twitter, Facebook

and MySpace. A little promo-tion every day over a longperiod will get betterresults than a hit-or-missapproach.

Know your rightsAs a woman, you may

occasionally encounter peo-ple who question your abili-ty to do what you are doing.This is particularly true intraditionally male-dominat-ed fields such as car repair,

woodworking or construc-tion. Remain aware of yourlegal right to equal treat-ment, and maintain yourconfidence in your ownability to do a good job.Some areas have organiza-tions that are dedicated tosupporting women in busi-ness. Joining such an orga-nization can help you todevelop a support networkthat will benefit yousocially, practically and emo-tionally.


113 1ST STREET SE • MOULTRIE, GA • 668-8437 NEW STORE HOURS: MON-TUES & SAT 10AM-6PM, WED, THUR & FRI 10AM-9PM

BREAST CANCER SANTA SANTA HAT SANTA BOOT CHRISTMAS TREE PRESENT SNOWMAN SNOW FLAKE

TRY ALL 8 FLAVORS OF FROZEN YOGURT & ENJOY!

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834091˙

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Top It Off Weigh & Pay Enjoy!

nora fleming items

egg platter with replaceable mini create your own jewelry in a snap

125 South Main at The Grand

229-985-0177

Jenny Ray 229-873-2291

835126

Tips for first-time women business owners

RUNNING A BUSINESSis a lot of work. Maketime for it by cuttingback on other commit-ments and delegatingduties. Photo by MetroCreative Graphics


833230

Jana Wiggins, telling Moultrie Tech’s storyAfter 10 years at Moultrie

Technical College, Jana Wig-gins has settled in comfort-ably as director of market-ing and public relations. Abackground in broadcastjournalism and marketinggives her the skills she needsto tell the college’s story, buta passion she says is com-mon to all of MTC’s employ-ees drives her to do it well.

“I work with the best pos-sible group of people thereis,” Jana said. “Each of ourfaculty and staff memberscare deeply about our mis-sion at Moultrie Tech --- andthat is to change the lives ofour students and their fami-lies through education andworkforce development forgenerations to come. Whatwe do really matters! I justget to be on the fun side oftelling our great story.

“Hopefully something I,and the members of ourmarketing team, say, do orcreate on behalf of the col-

lege will draw someone toMoultrie Tech, and the edu-cation they receive here willmake a huge difference intheir lives.”

Growing up, Jana was“mesmerized” by femaletelevision news anchors likeConnie Chung. She followedin their footsteps, getting abachelor’s degree in broad-cast journalism from Sam-ford University.

Her career veered, how-ever, when she startedputting that degree to use in1991. As an intern reporterfor WXIA-11 Alive, the NBCtelevision affiliate inAtlanta, Jana experienced“the hard realities of broad-cast news in a big city.”

“Although a wonderfulexperience, that positionhelped me see that a betterfit for me might be the softerside of news and promo-tions,” she said. “I movedinto related areas of masscommunications in market-

ing, advertising and publicrelations at two agencies inBirmingham, Alabama:Slaughter-Hanson Advertis-ing and Details Marketing &Design, Inc.”

Jana moved to Moultrie,hometown of her husband,Ben Wiggins, in 1996, andshe joined the staff of Her-itage Church as the worshipand communications coordi-nator. In March 2001 she washired as executive directorof the Moultrie-ColquittCounty Chamber of Com-merce with a primary focuson tourism and supportingthe business and industryclimate in the county.

“I joined the staff ofMoultrie Technical Collegein September 2003 as thedirector of career servicesbut returned to my masscommunications roots with-in nine months when I wasnamed the director of mar-keting and public relationsat the college.”

“If I could choose mythree favorite things aboutthe work I do, I wouldchoose: (1) developing com-plete marketing and publicrelations campaigns with aparticular bent toward writ-ing and directing TV ads andpromotional videos; (2)working with editors andreporters from the televisionand newspaper media toshare the news of the col-lege; and (3) acting as aspokesperson for the collegeacross all areas of media,including as the host of the‘TechTalk’ segment of theCNS Television ‘Moultrie onthe Move’ show and as theprimary voice of MTC’ssocial media outlets on Face-book, Twitter and Insta-gram.”

Jana is active in commu-nity organizations and inher church, Heritage

JANA WIGGINS Please see WIGGINS, Page 10


(L-R): Jean Gay; Dana DuPree; Barbara Allegood

Located in Reeves Properties Main Street Centre Tuesday thru Friday: 8am – until

587 South Main Street •�Moultrie, GA •�985-7340

WALK-INS WELCOME

WE ARE A FULL

SERVICE SALON

Barbara and Dana, both Master Cosmetologists, have worked together for over 23 years. Jean, also a Master Cosmetologist, looks forward to greeting longtime as well as new clients at her new location. To schedule appointments, she can be reached at the same telephone number as for the past 47 years, 985-2134. Following a routine mammogram in 2012, Jean heard the words that no one wants to hear; You have breast cancer.” After surgery and reconstruction, she has been declared cancer free and now enjoys the status of “survivor.”

833934

Barbara’s Hair & Nails CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF SERVICE

Breast cancer by the numbers• About 1 in 8 women in the U.S. (12 percent) will develop invasive breast cancer during

their lifetime.• About 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in

2013.• About 64,640 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-inva-

sive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).• About 39,620 women will die from breast cancer.

Source: www.cancer.org

Church, where she’s a wor-ship leader, sings on thepraise team and leads aBible study for high school-age young ladies.

“Our family is involved inforeign missions to the Beth-lehem School in the WestBank territory of Palestine,”she said. “For three years Ihave assisted with the mediarelations for Mega ImpactWeek — a springtime eventin which hands-on missionsprojects make life better forColquitt County residents inneed.”

Jana served on the board

of directors for the Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber ofCommerce for six years,including serving as chair-man in 2009. She has held aposition on the executiveboard of the Moultrie YMCABoard of Directors, as themarketing chairman for theAmerican Cancer SocietyRelay for Life, and currentlysits on the Hope House Preg-nancy Care Center Board ofDirectors and the ColquittCounty Career AchievementAward Board of Directors.She is also a collegiate alum-nus of the Phi Mu Sorority.

“My husband, Ben, andmy two children, Blake andLeah Grace, have alwaysbeen supportive of whateverI am passionate about andinvolved in, whether that beprofessionally or in otherareas like church ministryor community service,”Jana said. “My father andlate mother taught me froma young age about the impor-tance of doing everythingwith excellence, as unto theLord. You may not alwayssucceed or win, but at leastyou’ve given it your all withno regrets.”

Continued from Page 9

Wiggins


Holiday Occasions...

Come see Mary Ann, Jack,

Bo, Celena & Janice... 108 S. Main St • Moultrie, GA • 985-6521

Visit us on Facebook

Since 1933 Hours:

Mon - Fri 9-6 Sat. 9-2

CHINA • CRYSTAL • FLATWARE

833943

MaryAnn Smith, owner of Cranford JewelersCranford Jewelry Store

has been in business for 80years. The business wasestablished by Jay Cranfordin 1933 and was operated byhis family until 2012. Itchanged hands last yearwhen MaryAnn and JackSmith bought it from Judyand Herbert Dixon.

The Smiths have threechildren: Laura Conger andher husband, Kyle; and sonsReid and Wesley; and twowonderful grandchildren;Jacob and Kathryn. Thefamily has all played a rolein some aspect of the busi-ness from computer help toassisting customers.MaryAnn’s mother, RobertaMoak, is always willing tostep in and help in anyway.

MaryAnn began workingin retail at the age of 15. Shelater received her degreesin education from ValdostaState University and taughtin both the public and pri-vate settings for 20 years.

Jack received his electricalengineering degree fromGeorgia Tech and a master’sin business from FloridaState University.

A couple of years ago theSmiths began looking for abusiness opportunity.MaryAnn has always lovedworking with people. Sheenjoys helping with bridaland baby showers. She alsolikes china and decorativeitems and had alwaysshopped at Cranford’s forgifts and herself. When shefound out the business wasfor sale, it seemed like a nat-ural fit.

Cranford’s sells jewelry,gifts, china, invitations andmore. They provide jewelryrepair, jewelry cleaning andengraving. They offer a fullservice bridal registery,from helping brides pick outitems they will love foryears to come to assistingcustomers in choosing theperfect gift. Cranford’s willwrap the gift and make sure

the bride receives it. Theywill even ship it out of townif needed.

MaryAnn has alwaysenjoyed people — getting toknow them and learningtheir stories. She lovesworking with the brides. Itis such a pleasure to seetheir excitement as theychoose china, flatware,glasses and other items thatwill grace their new homes.Building relationships, cele-brating special moments,watching the children grow— this is the best part of herjob.

The Smiths are activemembers of First BaptistChurch. MaryAnn is a Ymentor, town chairman ofThe National Society ofColonial Dames of Ameri-ca, a member of DeltaKappa Gamma and theRound Table Book Club. Sheenjoys spending time withher family and friends.Much of that time is spentattending her son’s soccer

games or celebrating wed-ding festivities with friends.MaryAnn does note thatsince beginning in businessthere is never enough timefor family.

Jack and MaryAnn real-ize how fortunate they areto live in such a wonderfulcommunity and be a part ofits history. They appreciateall of their friends and cus-tomers for the continuedloyalty and support theyhave shown. The entirestaff at Cranford’s wantsthem to know how muchthey value those relation-ships and love hearing thestories from the generationsof customers who haveshopped there. They striveto meet each of their cus-tomers’ needs to the best oftheir ability.

It is very satisfying toknow that Cranford’s hasbeen serving Moultrie andColquitt County for so long.The Smiths hope to contin-ue that tradition. MARYANN SMITH


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Hours: Monday - Friday 9 am - 6 pm • Saturday 9 am - 1 pm

W E T REAT A LL T YPES OF I LLNESSES AND M INOR I NJURIES

• A NNUAL P HYSICAL E XAMS • S PORTS P HYSICAL E XAMS • S CHOOL P HYSICAL E XAMS • DOT P HYSICAL E XAMS • W EIGHT L OSS P ROGRAM • L IPOVITE I NJECTIONS

S HANA G OODNO Nurse Practitioner

V ERNITA S MILEY M OORE Nurse Practitioner

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Dell Gay & Dana DuPree, Stylists Barbara Allegood, Owner