Recently, my dad referred to my mother as a tiger. I’d never thought of it before, but he’s right. It suits her. Of course, she’s the most influential woman in my life. Her and my grandmother both were business owners back when many women stayed home to raise the family. They were bringing home the meat. It got me to thinking about other ladies I’ve known that could be called tigers and on a random search for one in particular, I’ve found her obituary. She died last year. I’d like to contact her family and let them know that I’m remembering Nettie and the early influence she had in my life. When I met this classy lady, she was a single parent with 3 teenagers at home. She was probably in her 40s, and working full time as a lender by day and call center supervisor at night. She was attractive and smart and I learned so much from her.
Based on those two ladies, we dedicated a tiger keepsake in their memory. It seems fitting that the tiger would be their spirit animal.
Since then, I’ve been meditating on the women that who were an early influence in my career. It all comes back to the female leadership that I had the privilege of working with at Bass Pro. Back then, they had just released the full color master catalog and toll free number to place orders. The growth was phenomenal. Good role models, excellent training, the latest technology at the time, all helped shape my life journey. I’m so grateful.