Boutique grows from humble online roots
I have written a couple of times before on fraternal organizations and their unique structure. As a quick reminder, fraternals are member-owned organizations that deal in financial products. They use revenue from their financial services operations to fund projects and encourage member participation in local activities.
So as an advisor with Modern Woodmen of America, I help people with budgeting, insurance needs and investment planning, right? But I also meet with my clients/members to help people around us, as well as the community at large. All our money must remain local, and all activities require involvement of clients/members. In other words, I cannot simply write a check.
Why is this relevant? I was asked in December to speak to a local civic organization, and for that presentation I pulled together a summary of what I and Modern Woodmen members had done in Starkville in 2017. The numbers surprised even me a bit, so I want to share.
Hometown Heroes – Each year, we’re invited to recognize local heroes, people who go above and beyond, either in their work lives or as volunteers. We like to choose individuals who might have flown under the radar in the past. For this person, Modern Woodmen recognizes his or her efforts with a plaque, and also a donation to the charity of his or her choice. We honored six Hometown Heroes last year. Dollars back to Starkville - $600.
Educational Projects – Modern Woodmen educational projects are as broad in scope as there are members in the organization. We hosted lunchand-learns, participated in a baby-boomer/senior expo, hosted a “Mentoring Matters” workshop and sponsored a civil rights experience for high school seniors. Dollars back to Starkville - $1,397.
Service Projects – Our service projects can be for an individual, for a group or for the community at large. They can involve an expenditure of money, or simply of time. In 2017, we built an outdoor classroom, provided classroom supplies for six local teachers, provided food/drink boxes for voting poll workers, delivered and served lunches to Habitat for Humanity volunteers, conducted art activities with residents of several skilled nursing facilities and assisted living homes, provided snow cones for runners in the Hannah Pote Run for education, built Little Free Libraries, created and distributed disaster preparedness kits to seniors, hosted a backto-school party for kids, and helped with home repairs for an elderly community resident. All these activities involved Modern Woodmen members and friends spending time together and giving of themselves. What great lessons for our kids! Dollars back to Starkville - $4,684.
Matching Funds – A matching fund project can, again, be for an individual or for something in the community. The need must be specific and the dollars cannot go into a general operating fund. As with everything else we do, members must be involved. In 2017, we sold tickets (LOTS of tickets!), served food, played trivia, and cooked barbeque to benefit Starkville Community Theater, Youth Community Explosion at Christian World Missions, Volunteer Starkville, Salvation Army, Backpack Buddies of Starkville, Starkville Academy Athletics, Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department, and a Modern Woodmen member with a terminal illness. Dollars back to Starkville - $83,177
If you don’t have a calculator handy, I’ll help you. That’s $89,858 in real dollars put back into Starkville and Oktibbeha county. Real dollars. This doesn’t include time, donated items, discounted items or manpower. In a community the size of ours and by an organization that is, for all intents and purposes, a relative newcomer to Starkville, I say that’s amazing. (Modern Woodmen has been around since 1883 and our president is a Starkville native; however, there was no Starkville office for many years before I opened mine in 2012.) I’m proud to be part of an organization that’s doing good, and I’m grateful to my chief planners/organizers – Jamey Bachman, Ben Bachman, Susan Griffin, Angela Hill, Lori Smith, Lee Ann Williamson, Jane Metcalf, Caitlin Ramage, Lauren Lang, Jonathan Reeves and Eddie Coats. They’re the idea people and the worker bees who make everything happen.
Want to hear something even more impressive? I’m one of maybe fifteen Modern Woodmen representatives in the north half of Mississippi – above the Highway 82 dividing line. Among us all, along with our clients/members, we put back just over $980,000 into our collective area. Holy smokes, folks! I’m so proud of the people I work with!
There is so much going wrong in our world today, and so much bad news. Yet there is so very much good. I’ll end with this – If you can have your financial business, insurances and investments with anyone, why would you not want to work with an organization that affords you the opportunity to be a part of this? BY MARY RUMORE life@starkvilledailynews.com
Alesia Lucas’ online business George-Mary’s, LLC has continued to grow since its opening in 2015, and now the store has a brick-and-mortar location on Main Street in Starkville.
George-Mary’s is a boutique that sells women’s clothing and accessories, Lucas said, and George-Mary’s will begin selling men’s clothing in the fall.
Lucas said George-Mary’s also features Urban Ancestor, a sector of the store that includes home goods such as pottery, candles, kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies, cutting boards and other kitchen goods.
“My ultimate goal is to be a modern-day general store,” she said.
Lucus said she draws inspiration for the business from European and Pacific Northwest styles, creating a minimalist feel that is unique in Starkville.
“I feel like we really like the minimalist feel,” she said. “It’s something different, something fresh that Southerners don’t usually see. I just wanted something a little more modern and bring a fresh look to Starkville customers.”
Lucas said George-Mary’s will add a few new lines of merchandise that are new to Starkville, and she gears her merchandise for a wide range of shoppers, from college students to more mature women.
“Our apparel is a little more edgy and minimalist, but it’s something you can wear everyday and dress up or dress down,” she said.
George-Mary’s started out solely online, with occasional pop-up shops and home trunk shows. Lucas said she began looking for a small storage space when her business began outgrowing her home where she was operating from. She found a small space on Lafayette Street and moved George-Mary’s into the building.
“I thought if I’m going to be downtown, I may as well make it shoppable for customers,” she said. “So along with online and pop-up shops, I turned that space into a tiny store.”
George-Mary’s operated out of the Lafayette Street location for around a year until opening the new storefront on Main Street in November.
Along with the new storefront, GeorgeMary’s also began hosting pop-up shops for other local businesses and artists.
“I feel like it’s great for other local businesses to support each other, especially up and coming businesses,” she said. “I wouldn’t have made it if people hadn’t welcomed me at their home or business, so I really want to return the favor.”
Lucas said she makes the pop-up shops fun for shoppers and offers drinks and refreshments.
“Collaborations are great, and they really highlight the local artists and businesses in the area,” she said.
After graduating from Mississippi State University with a degree in fashion merchandising and design, Lucas said it took several years of traveling and various work experiences to find the inspiration to start George-Mary’s.
“In the beginning, I wanted to move to New York and work in the fashion industry there,” she said. “I attempted that and it didn’t work out. In the South, I’ve worked at several places such as Anthropologie, Aspen Bay and Libby Story. Once I had worked at all of those, I gained enough experience that I learned that I wanted to open my own business.”
Lucas opened George-Mary’s after meeting her husband and settling in Starkville.
“The best direction for me to go, and where I really felt led to go, was to open my own business, and fashion has always been my pursuit,” she said.We decided I was going to start online and start small and build from there. It has been slow, organic growth, and it’s been really great”
George-Mary’s is located at 210 East Main St. in Starkville and online at www.shopgeorgemarys.com