![]() September 15, 2009 by Wendy Ingram
![]() She graduated from The University of Texas in Austin with a degree in public relations and journalism.
Janice married Lee after their meeting at UT. After moving to San Antonio she worked in the human resources department at Broadway National Bank and National Bank of Commerce.
Lee's jobs kept them moving frequently. Their next home was in Shreveport, Louisiana.
While expecting their first child Janice started her own business creating items for florist shops, such as terrariums.
While living in Houston, Janice was a Mom first but started working in real estate. The market was so bad that she started an interior landscape business for restaurants and office buildings.
After moving to Richmond, Texas, she started sewing appliqués for children's items such as sleeping bags, clothing, etc.
Janice joined her first federated garden club there and loved the structure of it. She won many awards at their shows and organized several community projects for beautification.
At this time, Janice was also working with Lee representing medical capital equipment. Lee needed to move to the head office of his company in Traverse City, Michigan to better administer the company's progress. They lived there for seven years until Lee sold the company.
She again sought out the local garden club and pitched in as she did in Richmond. Janice also found a niche that wasn't being filled and set out to fill it. She made molds for companies needing just a few proprietary items. She created RTV mold from original prototypes and duplicated those with various polymers.
![]() While in Traverse City her desire to learn about wines lead her to a winery. Working there she learned the art of establishing a customer's palate to better aid them in the purchase of the wines they would enjoy both at the winery and in restaurants.
In 2000 Lee and Janice chose Albuquerque for their new home. They first rented in Paa-Ko before purchasing their lot in Placitas. Lee started an Allstate Insurance Agency and Janice went into real estate here while the insurance company was getting started. She recently purchased her own Allstate Insurance Agency and is a gourd artist taking her work to shows and the shops in Old Town.
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Janice's favorite job is her gourd business now but she has enjoyed everything she has done.
Her hobbies now are fly fishing, camping, traveling, reading, working with flowers, anything in nature.
Her fifteen minutes of fame would be winning ribbons at federated garden shows as well as talking the garden club in Traverse City into holding an annual flower show after not doing so for twenty years. Janice was the organizer.
If she won a lottery she would pay off everything, provide funds for her family and create a foundation for charitable giving.
The person Janice most admires is her daughter Lisa - for the way she handles her life. Nothing is too difficult. She successfully balances her home life, her involvement in so many worthwhile organizations, continues her education, and never loses sight of the importance of spirituality.
Their best trip was to Turkey in 2000. This was 3.5 weeks of a five-week trip. They sailed the Aegean Sea with three other couples in a 65-foot wood Turkish schooner. Ephesus was the most amazing place. The trip also included time spent on an island in Croatia, staying in a 400-year-old house owned by friends in Traverse City. They immediately bonded with the island folks on the nightly strolls through town.
The one thing that Janice wishes she had done is to learn to fly a plane.
Her favorite things are wines, watching sunsets, quiet, discovering new things and flowers. Janice's favorite TV programs as a kid were "My Friend Flicka" and "Roy Rogers."
Her pet peeve is when other people waste her time.
Janice is a member of the New Mexico Gourd Society. She owns an Allstate business, is involved in property management and its bookkeeping.
Janice is not afraid of any worthwhile pursuit - she thrives on challenges.
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