Patti (Foust) Bailey, Class of 1983
When did you graduate from HHS and where did you go from here? I graduated from Hillsdale High School in 1983 and went to Hillsdale College, graduating in 1987. I started my career with Jacobson's Stores in July of 1987. I went through their Management Training Program for the first year, learning about everything from warehouse duties to store display to the buying offices. I then went to the Dearborn store as a Manager of Sweets & Treats, Stationary and Electronics. After a year there, I came back to the Jackson Main Offices as an assistant buyer in the Children’s Department. I eventually became a buyer for the Preteen and 4-6x department until I quit in 1994 when I had Megan. Then in 1995 I bought Maggie Anne's and have never looked back!
Can you tell us a little bit about the company you work for? I love being my own boss. I wear many hats and the training I received at Jacobson's comes in handy every day! Some days I work on displays, some days I help customers, some days I write orders - it's a lot to keep myself organized and I enjoy the different tasks from day to day.
What does your workday look like? Every day is different, however I try to make myself a schedule and stick to it. Since I work in the store on Monday and Tuesday, I take Monday's to pay bills and do paperwork, Tuesdays I am on the floor helping customers or creating displays. Wednesday and Thursday is my day off, but that doesn't mean I am not working! I am usually home working on emails and other marketing duties - ads for the radio, social media posts, contacting vendors for upcoming events etc... Fridays and Saturdays, if I am working, we are busy enough that I need to be available to be on the floor. If I am not working, I am home catching up on housework!! Cleaning, grocery shopping and doing any other store related items that I didn't complete on Wednesday or Thursday.
Can you tell us what your time at HHS was like? I loved high school! I was a cheerleader for the basketball season and a flag corps member in the Marching Band. I also played on the tennis team and some of my best memories are from the fun we had on the team! I was not in any particular "clique" but was friends with a lot of people. I also worked on the yearbook and was class president my Junior year, which meant organizing the Prom. I was sad to graduate and move on, but proud of my high school accomplishments.
How did your time at HHS help you now? I learned to get along with a variety of personalities. Being class president, I learned about leadership and again, getting along with others when working on a project, like Prom! High school was at times very lonely and at other times full of friends and fun. I had a boyfriend who graduated my sophomore year so that is what convinced me to run for class president, I had lost out on some of the friendships because I spent so much time with him, so I needed something to do my Junior year. I so enjoyed my Junior and Senior year because I developed friendships with my classmates that I had neglected the first two years.
Is there a teacher or coach who had a significant impact on your life? Most definitely my tennis Coach, Rich Trombley
Advice for current students? Enjoy the time with your friends! It goes by so fast! Your friends are what is important and those are the relationships that will last. I keep in touch with my tennis teammates and my coach to this day! Just had dinner with coach Trombley in Vegas the other day and it was great catching up! Remember that high school is only a moment in time, a blip on the radar of life, so things, (the drama!) that seem so overwhelming or important today, are really not going to matter 10 years from now. Get involved in clubs, sports, and class projects - those are the things that are going to help you grow and mature, and prepare you for college.
Anything else? Just live every moment, believe in yourself and do your best every day!
Thank you for reading the HORNET PROFILES, a place to highlight the work done around the world by HHS graduates. If you know of another person who should be highlighted in the future, please email Mindy Eggleston at Mindy.Eggleston@ hillsdaleschools.org.
