Women in Business

Awards/Celebrations

Honoring Columbia County’s Businesswoman of the Year

The Columbia County Chamber of Commerce dedicated its March Executive Luncheon series to “Women of Influence.” The event marked the 15th time the Chamber selected its Businesswoman of the Year, presented annually to “recognize a woman in the workplace for her hard work, dedication, and passion both professionally and personally.” Kathleen Ferguson, Senior Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager with Bank of America, announced Wendy Perry, co-founder of Katalis, a company to foster leadership in any organization, as the honoree for 2025. “She is someone who has shown exceptional leadership,

Read More »
Women in Business

Women to Know: Auben Realty

  Company/Title: Auben Realty Augusta Headquarters: 909 Walker Street 706.305.1551 www.aubenrealty.com Auben Realty stands out as the Southeast’s first vertically-integrated SFR investment brokerage with a robust presence and offices in key locations such as Augusta, Columbia, Chattanooga & recent expansion into Charlotte and Greenville. And more markets to come in 2024! Their dynamic team at Auben, comprised of accomplished women is crucial to the company’s upward success. Meet three of their team members who lead efforts in ensuring our clients thrive in their investment endeavors, property management needs, and commercial

Read More »
Women in Business

Women in Business: Alicia Fitts

Name: Alicia Fitts Title: AVP, Business Development and Community Relations for Peach State Federal Credit Union Start Date: January 2013 Phone:  678.889.4328 Website:  https://www.peachstatefcu.org/ Today’s Woman to Know is a self-proclaimed, “employed-preneur” who has spent the last ten years in the finance and HR industry. As an Augusta native, Alicia Fitts has worked her way up through the financial ranks from teller to loan officer to HR manager and then found her passion in business development. Serving as both the Assistant Vice President of Business Development and Community Relations for Peach

Read More »
Women in Business

Women to Know: Tiffany Faulk

Name: Tiffany Faulk Company/Title: Business Consultant, Best Office Solutions Start Date: March 2017 Phone: 706-437-9771 Web: www.bestofficesolutions.com For nearly 20 years, Tiffany Faulk was the face of Jefferson County High School as the front office administrative assistant. “I was the one who everything fell on,” Faulk told Augusta Business Daily.  “I was the ‘go to’ with the parents, the children, the staff. And I did love my job.” But in her heart, she knew she wanted more. “Sandi (Shields from Best Office Solutions) would come weekly to visit because we

Read More »
Women in Business

Women to Know: Terra Carroll

Name: Terra Carroll Title: President/CEO, North Augusta Chamber of Commerce Start Date: August 2012 Phone: 803-279-2323 Website:  https://www.northaugustachamber.org/ As the President and CEO of the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, Terra Carroll is the face of the organization. When you call the Chamber office, most likely she answers the phone. When a business opens with a ribbon cutting, Terra is there. For the Small Business Roundtables to help local entrepreneurs build their businesses and for all of the other Chamber events, she is there. Like the Academy Award-winning movie, Terra Carroll

Read More »
Women in Business

Women In Business: Shnita Wiley

Name: Shnita Wiley Title: Owner, Blessed Hands Wellness Spa Start Date: August 2021 Phone: 706-399-9624 Website:  Blessed Hands Wellness Spa The blessed hands of Shnita Wiley have been focused on caring for those around her since she was a child. Wiley was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and raised in the small town of Aliceville. Healthcare has always been her passion. All successful businesspeople draw their strength and success from a few role models along the way. For Wiley, it was her mother, Priscilla Fountain. “She has been very supportive of my

Read More »
Women in Business

Women to Know: Cheryl LaRonde

Name: Cheryl LaRonde Title: Owner, Serenity Wellness- Evans Start Date: April 2021 Phone: (706) 726-0000 Website:  https://www.serenitywellness-evans.net/ Address: 4490 Washington Rd # 6, Evans, GA 30809 Professionals need to relax and focus on their wellness. Owner, Cheryl LaRonde, has been poised to help them do just that since April of 2021. With over 85, Five-star Google reviews, LaRonde really knows how to make clients feel detoxed and refreshed. “Wellness involves feeling good in all aspects, in mind, body as well as spirit,” LaRonde explains. Specializing in hydrocolonic foot detox, v-steam/a-steam, and

Read More »
Women in Business

Women to Know: Stacy Moore

Company/Title: Scale South, Division of Southern Industrial Scales, LLC/Business Manager and Internal Auditor Start Date: October 2013 Phone: 800-858-1151 Email: stacy@scalesouth.com You might not know this, but a single loaf of bread is taxed seven times and goes over 13 scales before you pick it up at your local grocery store. Products are sold by net weight, thus, the weighing process. Not only that, but the trucks that transport the food are weighed. As the Business Manager for Scale South for the past 10 years, one gets the feeling Stacy

Read More »
Women in Business

Women to Know: Tara DeLoach is dedicated to helping deal with life challenges

Name: Tara DeLoach Company/Title: Tara DeLoach, LLC, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist/Owner Address: 930 Stevens Creek Road, Augusta, GA Phone: 706-343-3661 Email: tara@mftAugusta.com Website: https://www.mftaugusta.com/ No matter how successful you are, life and business present everyday challenges. Some are more monumental than others. One thing is certain, the two are often intertwined. “If you aren’t functioning well, if you can’t relax, or focus, or if you’re struggling in your relationships, then that will show up at work. You’ll have difficulties meeting deadlines, managing challenges with employees and customers, or you

Read More »
Jenifer Davis

Jenifer Davis calls the shots at Premier Networx

Name: Jenifer Davis Company/Title: Chief Operating Officer, Premier Networx Years Served: 6 years Company Address: 116 Cooper Drive, Augusta (off Riverwatch Pkwy) Website: augustaitguys.com The IT professional who comes to your desk, cubicle, or corner office when there is a technical issue is typically a guy who can run circles around hardware and software. However, at one local company, it’s a woman who is calling the shots. Jenifer Davis, Chief Operating Officer at Premier Networx, is responsible for the daily operations including business development, spearheading new initiatives, overseeing the implementation of

Read More »
Robin Baxley and Sandi Shields

Dynamic duo finds the best solutions for local offices

Name: Robin Baxley and Sandi Shields Company/Title: Co-owners, Best Office Solutions Years Served: 22 Phone: 706-437-9771 Web: www.bestofficesolutions.com Photography by Melissa Gordon ABD Boardroom furnishings by Best Office Solutions It takes two to make a thing go right. That’s how you could describe the tag-team approach, Robin Baxley and Sandi Shields have to run Best Office Solutions. The pair manages everything a commercial business needs: furniture, supplies, promotional products, and more. For more than 20 years, they have worked together to help set their company apart from the rest. “We

Read More »
Diane Coughlin

Meet the “go-to” woman at Clifton Construction

Name: Diane Coughlin Company/Title: Office Mgr. and Project Manager Asst. Years Served: Clifton Construction for 25 years Phone: 706-731-0978 Email: diane@sdclifton.com Diane Coughlin wears many hats for Clifton, an Augusta commercial general contractor in business for 35 years. She’s been with the company for 25 years and is involved in the bidding process, qualifications, compiles the construction plans, secures pricing from sub-contractors, documents everything and makes sure every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed, meets deadlines, handles Human Resources, and serves as Office Manager. Despite the workload, Clifton

Read More »
Nadine Pulling

Nadine Pulling uses her business to empower and mentor others

Name: Nadine Pulling, Ph.D. Company/Title: Owner, Amazing Lash Studio Evans Years Served: More than 30 years in business ownership and management Phone: 706-419-9234 or 706-829-9367 Website: www.amazinglashstudio.com/studios/ga/evans/evans Nadine Pulling wears several hats in the business world: Business development and strategic planning, operations, and managing and mentoring an amazing team. It’s all part of being a multi-unit franchisee of Amazing Lash Studio, including her newly opened studio in Evans. “I have the privilege of working with several experienced management teams at each Amazing Lash Studio location,” Pulling said. “Additionally, I use the Corporate Amazing Lash Teams and Executive

Read More »
Amy Richardson

Amy Richardson’s got your back for business

Name: Amy Richardson Company/Title: President/Founder Richardson Professional Solutions Years Served: 2 years Phone: 706-426-1773 Website: richardsonprosolutions.com Are you the owner of one of the thousands of businesses in the CSRA? Do you have time for bookkeeping, IT, marketing, recruitment, project, or event management? If not, maybe it’s time to call for backup. Amy Richardson created Richardson Professional Solutions to help solve the issues most business owners may not have time to address when their time can be better spent building a successful company. In other words, she has created a

Read More »
Kay Benitez

Kay Benitez makes a living playing with makeup

Name: Kay Benitez Company/Title: Mary Kay Sales Director Phone: 803-295-8111 Little girls love playing with makeup. Sometimes, they grow up and turn that into a successful business. Kay Benitez has built a thriving career, thanks to Mary Kay cosmetics. The company started in 1963 with a few simple products. Over the years, Mary Kay has developed in 35 countries with more than 3 million consultants, averaging $60,000 a year. Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants who reach the status of Mary Kay Independent Sales Directors can earn the use of a

Read More »
Michelle Grant

Michelle Grant advocates the health benefits of salt

Name: Michelle Grant Company/Title: Owner/Operator, Sól Himalayan Salt Cave and Spa Years Served: Almost 2.5 years Website: http://www.solcaveandspa.com Phone: 706-364-7958 Michelle Grant is salty. About everything, And with good reason. You see, salt drastically improved her quality of life in many ways, and she wants others to benefit from what she says is its healing properties. That’s why she opened Sól Himalayan Salt Cave and Spa in February 2020, just five weeks ahead of the massive economic shutdown of the global pandemic. “We are the first and only salt cave

Read More »
Jan Johnson

Hometown girl makes good

Name: Jan Johnson Company/Title: Senior Vice President, Marsh McLennan Agency Years Served: Entire career in insurance Contact info: Office: 706-836-8811 Email: jan.johnson@marshMMA.com Jan Johnson grew up in North Augusta and has been in the area all her life but she has learned to travel outside those boundaries for a job she loves. She has worked her way up to Senior Vice President of the Marsh McLennan Agency. Johnson was working for J. Smith Lanier, at the time the largest privately owned agency, when they decided to sell to Marsh McLennan

Read More »
Andrea Bryant

Andrea Bryant excels in the balancing act of life and real estate

Name: Andrea Bryant Company/Title: Realtor-Blanchard and Calhoun Years Served: 3 years Contact info: Office: 706-868-1000, Cell: 716-307-6179, Email: abryant@blanchardandcalhoun.com There’s an adage that says, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” That certainly applies to Andrea Bryant. She is a wife to Tracy, who is Regional Director for Classic Collision, and a mom to three sons ranging in age from 20 to 11, volunteers for the Columbia County Chamber, and has a successful career in the competitive field of real estate. “I first started in real

Read More »
Sabrina Hines

Sabrina Hines is a survivor of the struggling staffing business

Name: Sabrina Hines Company/Title: Branch Manager for HireQuest Years Served: Staffing for 15 years, 7 years in current position  Contact info: 706-798-5860 Sabrina Hines has learned how to scramble the hard way. She worked her way up over the years from a receptionist to a recruiter, to her present position as a Branch Manager with HireQuest. When COVID reared its ugly head a couple of years ago, staffing agencies struggled to meet their client demands for workers. The hardest-hit industries like travel, restaurants, entertainment, education, health care, and retail grabbed

Read More »
Stacey Campbell-Hopkins

Meet the woman who makes Duckworth Development run like a well-oiled machine

Name: Stacey Campbell-Hopkins Company/Title: Business Operations Manager for Duckworth Development Years Served: 7 years  Contact info: 706-922-6186 Stacey Campbell-Hopkins has found her dream job in an unlikely place – the male-dominated field of construction. Women comprise only 11 percent of the workforce in the industry. For executive positions, the number drops to 7 percent. To be both female and the Business Operations Manager of the fast-growing Duckworth Development makes her a phenomenon in the industry. When Campbell-Hopkins began working on her marketing degree in 2000, she took a job answering

Read More »
Emma Myers

Emma Myers transforms youthful enthusiasm into care for the elderly

Name: Emma Myers Company/Title: Savannah River ProHome Care/Director of Operations Years Served: 8 Contact info: 706-814-5906 or 815-351-1098 Emma Myers was fortunate enough to know from an early age that she loved working with the elderly. At 27 years old, she has an intensity for helping people that usually comes with age. Myers graduated from Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., with a degree in Health Care Administration. She worked in assisted living facilities there and in Chattanooga before moving to Augusta to join her family in 2019. When Covid changed

Read More »
Debbie McCord

WIB Spotlight: Debbie McCord has long history of serving local and state voters

Name: Debbie McCord Company/Title: Columbia County GOP Chairman Years Served: 34 years in various roles with GOP Contact info: 706-833-4731 No phrase better describes Debbie McCord’s rise in Columbia County and the state of Georgia’s GOP better than the ‘apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’ “My father worked on the presidential campaign for Barry Goldwater when he ran against incumbent President Lyndon Johnson in 1964,” she explained. Even as a child she was paying attention. Civics was her favorite subject in school and politics would become a passion. McCord

Read More »
Helen Blocker-Adams

Helen Blocker-Adams learns it’s never too late to reinvent yourself

Name: Helen Blocker-Adams Company/Title: The Adams Group Agency, LLC/Vice President Years Served: 7.5 Contact info: theadamsgrouplife.com One could call Helen Blocker-Adams a phoenix who has risen from the ashes of defeat. A crippling public fall from grace in 2014, after a financial scandal tanked her second run for Augusta mayor, catapulted her from what she thought was her calling – politics – to what is truly her calling: people. “It’s never too late to reinvent yourself,” she said. “It is never too late to take a profound self-reflection and self-assessment and

Read More »
Thought Leaders

ABD kicks off Women in Business program

Tuesday, March 8, is International Women’s Day and there is no better time to celebrate women at your company who make a difference. ABD founder and publisher, Neil Gordon is inspired by the woman in his own life. (See featured photo above) “I’m in awe of what my talented wife, Melissa, accomplishes juggling life as a wife, mother, superintendent of our building and professional photographer,” Gordon said. “She’s my inspiration for this Women in Business initiative and one of thousands of female professionals who deserve recognition in the CSRA.” International

Read More »