Family priorities. Independent Senior National Sales Director Emeritus, Sandy Valerio, quit her job as a bank manager after she had her second child. “I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom with family as a priority. I did not want to send my children to daycare, but wanted to raise them myself,” she recalls. She had another important reason for staying motivated with her Mary Kay business – her mom. “My mom,” she says, “was disabled and needed a car. I set my goal to earn the use of a Mary Kay Career Car so I could give her the car I owned.”

Growing personally and professionally, Sandy found that a Mary Kay business was not only a way to make a living, but a way to make a life. She says, “When the Mary Kay opportunity came into my life, we had no idea we could live the life we dreamed about.” As Sandy reflects on her accomplishments through her Mary Kay business, she practically has to pinch herself. “I say, ‘Thank you, Mary Kay Ash!’ I love my life!”

Now, as an Emeritus, Sandy wants to remain close to “the pink bubble” to watch her daughter achieve her own dreams. “My hope for those who were in my National Area is that they will continue to live out the Mary Kay dream and pass it on, to keep this precious Mary Kay culture alive, to be the best they can be and to become all that I believe God created them to be.”

And as for Sandy? She says, “I am ready for my next adventure! 36 years of living in the Mary Kay culture has equipped me for such a time as this. I have learned so many lessons in my Mary Kay years that I will carry and pass on in this next chapter of life, such as: maintaining a positive attitude in all things, making people feel special, bringing out the best in others and making a difference to and for others.”