By Forrest Hershberger
News Editor
Friday’s Colorado Business Women of Sterling (CBW) meeting included recognition of a team in the Sterling business community.
Some businesses are recog- nized for groundbreaking achieve-ments, innovations that change processes in their field. Others earn their accolades by how they conduct business and relate to their customers daily.
Rich and Pam Doyle, owners of Walker Pharmacy, were recognized Friday for their involvement in their field, the commitment to local service and how they encourage the advancement of women in the workplace.
They were named “Business Team of the Year” by the Colorado Business Women Friday.
The Doyles grew up in Nebraska. They dated while Rich was attending the University of Nebraska majoring in pharmacy and Pam was attending the Lincoln School of Commerce. They married in 1969 and worked at Four Star Drug, a local pharmacy.
“With a lot of help from Pam, I graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Pharmacy in 1971,” Rich said.
He then entered the Army National Guard on active duty while Pam took care of the home and their first son. After his service in the Army, he worked as a pharmacist in North Platte, Neb.
They moved to Sterling in 1976 and he went to work for Robert Walker’s establishment. Walker retired in the 1990s, offering the business to the Doyles. Pam joined Rich at the pharmacy as a technician and took on checking in drugs and ordering and purchasing gift merchandise with emphasis on jewelry and perfumes.
When making the presentation, CBW member Nancy Bohac said that Pam is also well-known for her customer service.
“We have watched Walker Pharmacy grow over the years, and hope we had something to do with that,” Rich Doyle said.
He said he is honored by the recognition of the award.
South Platte Sentinel Publisher Delinda Korrey McDowell was also recognized as Woman of the Year. The award goes to a person in the community who exemplifies the “perfect balance of business and community service,” according to CBW member Sarah Matthews.
Delinda and husband Ken McDowell started the South Platte Sentinel newspaper in 1988 because they were tired of the corporate mentality the news industry was moving toward. They believe a local newspaper is by and for the community and should reflect as much.
They have maintained the Sentinel as a free weekly newspaper for Logan and surrounding counties.
Korrey has also won several newspaper awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Colorado Press Association.
In addition to her business success, she volunteers with the Northern Plains Colorado Red Cross, Logan County Emergency Planning Commission, the Logan County Salvation Army, the Northeastern Junior College Business Advisory Board, the Re-1 Valley Foundation Scholarship Committee, and the Logan County Chamber of Commerce Banquet/Gala Committee.
Korrey was also the chairman of the Mystery Book Fundraiser with four books, three of which benefitted Sterling Public Library and one for the Light the Lights Courthouse Christmas lights program. She is also involved in Project Linus, which knits blankets for critically ill children and volunteers with an international Internet group that helps non-profits.
Friday’s annual CBW meeting included guest speaker Marcia Emrick. Emrick recently started a personal training program, Body By M.E. She talked of how her path in life was anything but a straight line, frequently experiencing unexpected detours and speed bumps, even what could be called major crashes.
“I’m a realist,” she said. “What you see is what you get.”
Emrick deliberately walks outside of the norm according to many people’s expectations. She said growing up in Gunnison, she became a dancer and dance instructor, but didn’t last long.
“I was too tall and weight was always an issue,” she said.
She “celebrated” her 18th birth-day in U.S. Marine boot camp.
“At that time, I was the youngest woman to enter the Corps,” Marcia said.
She remained in the Marine Corps for 2 1/2 years.
Marcia was married for about six years. After the marriage ended, she started working at Bally’s Fitness during the transition. In 2005, she left to go to college. She went to the Colorado School of Trades and became the first female gunsmith.
By the end of her first year, in her second marriage, her weight went from 160 to more than 200.
“Work became more important than my health,” she said.
When their marriage reached a low point they tried counseling, and even individual counseling: Her husband was arrested on a domestic violence charge.
Emrick returned to Colorado and found out the Colorado Department of Corrections was hiring. The first location available was Sterling.
“As a female in corrections, you have to decide how much you’ll put up with,” she said.
She met a guy who became a boyfriend. Then, life changed again. It was a fairly typical morning when Marcia discovered her son missing at 5:30 a.m. The police were called at 6 a.m. Her boyfriend called at nearly 6:30 to tell her that her son had been found in Columbine Park. Trey Schumacher died of a self-inflicted injury.
“It is funny how things change after a tragedy,” she said. “You find ways to cope. You find ways to breathe.”
Later, after she and her boyfriend broke up, Marcia began working out with other DOC staff, including one who was a powerlifter. She began considering becoming a personal trainer. “I realized there is a deficit in Sterling for female trainers,” she said.
She credits her personal training and the clients she works with for her success. She said she loves what she does, even with the long hours required.
She loves it so much that Marick was married in December, in a gym.
“The only promise I can make you is some day the mirror might actually be your friend,” Emrick said.
