Karen & I go way back to the days of our original store, Furniture in the Raw. She began working for us in 1989 when we were both young moms chasing after toddlers. Mosey ahead 6 years later and Me & My House is born along with the 5th Chesser baby. New babies and new stores can be a bit tr
icky so Karen stepped up, rescuing me & was crowned manager of Me & My House. Because her dad, like mine, had been in the furniture business during much of her growing up years, she had sales in her blood and Jesus in her heart, a perfect combination for running a store whose goal is to serve the Lord in the marketplace.Karen has been married almost 34 years to her sweetheart Allen. She drags him along to work with her everyday & we're so glad she does. They're a package deal. They have 2 sons, Brett & Matt, not so much toddlers anymore but men of 28 & 23 years of age.
One of my funniest memories of Karen was the day she forgot to glance in the mirror before coming into work. It was well past noon and she just couldn't close any of the sales she had worked on that day. She had greeted and guided..., mixed, matched and measured..., picked, pulled & placed...but could not close a sale. Discouragement was tapping on her shoulder so she came into my office for a pep
talk. As we were talking about some of her designs for the day, I happened to glance down & quickly discovered why her clients had to question her abilities to design. Karen was wearing 2 different shoes. How do you go all day without noticing that not only are you wearing 2 different shoes, but all of the sudden, one leg is taller than the other & you've developed a limp? ...Only Karen...Thank you Karen, Allen, Brett & Matt for 22 great years!
