"Where there's a quill, there's a way," was the closing comment by Abby Arauz-Chase at the Jefferson City Zonta Club's annual Yellow Rose Luncheon May 17.
Arauz-Chase was honored as the celebration speaker, selected for her familiarity with generational business success.
The family operates the Arkansas Valley Feather Company and Zucker Feather Products out of 77,000-square-feet of factory and office space, as well as holding Feather Place showrooms in New York City and Los Angeles.
Her grandparents established the family wholesale feather business, which passed to Arauz-Chase's parents and now to her and her brother Anthony Arauz.
Her mother, Donna Arauz, introduced Arauz-Chase to the room as "a person who makes the world a better place."
With a yellow feather decoration in her hair, Arauz-Chase brought other props to tell her family business' story. The first prop was fly fishing lures, which were the business beginning by her grandparents.
Next, a large, colorful fan made of feathers showed the "huge leap forward" for the business under her parents, who bought Zucker Feather Products.
After more than a decade in New York City, as a Rockette and a business owner, Arauz-Chase returned to the family business full-time in Missouri, working alongside her brother.
"I'm grateful to have the opportunity to work in a third-generation family business," she said.
The fundraiser for Zonta Club's scholarships for women also recognizes Women of Achievement. Among the 14 nominated women was California's Shelley Gabert, who is editor of the Jefferson City News Tribune's HER magazine. An accomplished writer, her skills have taken her to St. Louis, New York and Los Angeles. After graduating from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, she worked as a public relations writer, political consultant and entertainment writer before returning to Mid-Missouri
"Regardless of her location, Shelley has invested in a variety of organizations, including the St. Louis Cancer Hotline, the Literacy Council, the St. Louis International Film Festival and the Youth Mentoring Connection," according to the Zonta program. "Using her platform as the editor of HER magazine, Shelley connects one generation to the next by communicating the stories of the amazing women of Mid-Missouri."