Freedom to fly. When Independent Senior National Sales Director Emeritus Jeanne Rowland signed her Independent Beauty Consultant Agreement in 1974, she told everyone not to expect anything from her. “I was defensive,” she admits. “I didn’t want any pressure from anyone.” And with good reason. Jeanne’s young daughter was undergoing chemotherapy and life was a hectic jumble of doctors’ appointments wedged among everyday demands. Never one to sit still, she managed well under the circumstances. For years she’d been active in nonprofessional theater, working with voice and dance majors, singing solos, and even touring with the USO. “I was the type that needed to keep going,” says the former part-time ballet teacher and avid aviation fan. “I planned to work in a few Mary Kay appointments nights and weekends.”

That was before she qualified to be an Independent Sales Director six months later – before her career took off, only to veer off in the 1980s. “I got distracted by life,” she says. “But However, Independent Executive National Sales Director Emeritus Emily McLaughlin did not. “Emily never gave up on me,” says Jeanne. “We can talk about anything to this day.” What did her experience teach her? “I was scared when I moved my business across the country and had to learn to cold book. Now I teach others, ‘One a day keeps the scaries away.’ Get a new booking or phone number each day. Work inch by inch!”

Known for sticking to the Mary Kay basics, Jeanne became known for her simplistic approach to working the business and for teaching that approach. “What I most enjoy is when people come to me and say, ‘You don’t remember me, but you gave a speech once that really made an impression and I did such and such because of it.’ It’s nice to know I made a difference in people’s lives.”

Jeanne loved her Mary Kay business because it surrounded her with opportunities to live her life the way she believed God wanted her to live it. As an NSD Emeritus, Jeanne intends to continue that way of life, travel all over the country on her Harley and visit friends, many of them Mary Kay friends.