Recollections owner and founder honored as Entrepreneur of Year
by Richard Lamb, Advance Editor
An outstanding member of the business community earned high honors at last week?s meeting of the Rogers City Area Chamber of Commerce. Marianne Fairbanks, owner, founder and designer of Recollections, earned the honor of ?Presque Isle County Entrepreneur of the Year? as awarded by the BO$$Y program. The business creates beautiful Victorian-style clothing handcrafted by local workers. Dave Nadolsky, representing the program, said the program is designed to develop business skills in young people.
?Who knows the next Bill Gates may be out there in our community and trying to start his own business in his parents? garage,? he said. HE EXPLAINED that the annual award has high standards. ?The Entrepreneur of the Year award recognizes an outstanding Presque Isle County business person who exemplifies what its members aspire to,? Nadolsky said. Nadolsky said Fairbanks represents the entrepreneur spirit at its best, creating a business from her interest and talents in sewing and clothing design.
?By her countless hours of effort, she has created a successful niche business in Hawks which employs 30 people and has national and international sales. Her period clothing creations have appeared in Hollywood film productions, television programs and stage theater presentations, ? Nadolsky said. The business has grown each
Fairbanks accepted the honor and shared it with her staff, ?I HAVE TO thank my staff in Hawks. I could not be successful today if it wasn?t for them,? Fairbanks said. Many of the staff has been with her, she said, at least 15 years. ?They are very hardworking people who care about what they do and we see it in the letters from our customers. They thank us for the customer service and they see that we really care about our work,? she said. ?The quality of the work exceeds what our customers thought it would.?
Fairbanks said she grew up with six siblings, the daughter of Janet and the late Maurice Dewey, who each inspired her to the success she has obtained. Her father operated an advertising agency out of the home. ?I LEARNED that at an early age, it is a lot of hard work, most of the time not very glamorous, and a lot of times you don?t make much money. But my dad loved what he was doing. He was doing what he was best at and he was a very happy man.? BO$$Y, short for Business Oriented Success Strategies for Youth, an educational and mentoring program in the area schools. The program was developed by the Presque Isle County Community Development Corporation through a Michigan State University initiative and is partnered with the junior achievement program in the schools Members of the chamber board of directors include president Bill Dempsey, Brian Bannasch, Anne Belanger, Kevin Borowiak, Jim Fleis, Becky Hanson, Jackie Noffze, Scott Pauly, Katie Haywood, Richard Lamb and Harry Whiteley. Dave Snow is executive director of the chamber. Entertainer Mike Ridley capped the evening?s proceedings with a set of his musical and comical offerings.