Dolly Parton built an empire out of a childhood that had nothing to spare, and she never once let anyone forget where she came from. That’s the part of her story I keep coming back to, especially today. She grew up poor in the Smoky Mountains, one of 12 children, and she turned that beginning […]
Years ago, a coach at a leadership retreat handed me a blank piece of paper and asked me to draw my life. Every high year climbing up, every hard year dropping low, one long line from where I started to where I stood that day. I thought I would sail through it. Present my line, […]
There is a story I love telling, and I told it not long ago to a group of women in the profession. The organ player for the St. Louis Cardinals died. If you’re from St. Louis, you know exactly who I mean (for those not from St. Louis, his name was Ernie Hayes and he […]
I have spent more than four decades in this profession. I’ve seen it change in ways I never could have predicted, and I’ve stayed close enough to the ground to hear what’s really happening to the women trying to build careers within it. That’s why I’m honored to share that my story, and my advocacy […]
I grew up in a family where children were to be seen and not heard. Sit quietly at the dinner table. Sit politely in church. Do not make a scene. Do not take up too much space. And being a curious, opinionated child in a very boisterous German family, that was a considerable ask. So […]
My dad believed that when you invest in a woman, you invest in the entire profession. We are still proving him right. Last May at the Professional Women’s Conference, something remarkable happened. Twenty female funeral professionals and students walked away with the David C. Baue Scholarship, funded by my family, in honor of my dad. […]
There’s something about spring that reminds me of a lesson I learned a long time ago. Sitting on the back of a bucking Shetland pony on my grandfather’s farm in southern Illinois. Pop didn’t let me quit when I hit the ground. He stood over me, brushed the dirt off his hands, and said, “Now, […]
Proud to be featured in Southern Funeral Director this month on the value of mentoring. Mentorship has been one of the most powerful accelerators in my career—helping me grow, stretch, and lead with more confidence. If you’ve had a mentor (or been one), I’d love to hear what made the biggest difference for you. Click […]
As women leaders in the funeral service and deathcare profession, we face unique challenges. Gallup’s research, particularly the article “Women’s Engagement Advantage Disappears in Leadership Roles” by Camilla Frumar and Anna Truscott-Smith, highlights that women generally exhibit higher levels of engagement than men at nearly all organizational levels. However, this engagement advantage tends to disappear […]
