b'HOLLY WESCHEbest at making customers feel special, but one place their creativity shines is through themed events hosted at the store, something the bigger building allowed them to take to another level. At the grand opening event, 900 people showed up.We know that because we teamed up with a charity and you had to have a ticket. That was crazy, Holly says.From major community fundraisers and live bands to fully catered ladies nights and invitation-only private dinners, Holly has hosted a variety of special events, some of which repeat annually.The details are what make the event so super. Its everything from the store dcor to the signature cocktail to what youre serving [and] how youre tying in the theme, Holly says. At our Le Vian event, we served a chocola-tini because Le Vian, you know, the chocolate diamonds.Quality is important to Holly as well. She makes sure clients receive nice gifts and the food and drinks are top notch.My most fond memories are tied to a lot of our great events. Theyre super-hard work, but its a bonding time for our team and its relationship-building with our clients. Weve really done some amazing and out-of-the-box events in the store, she says. That is a lot of what we laugh about and talk about now.Its rare to hear praise for Holly without the mention of how she interacts with her team, in all aspects of the business. Anybody who thinks you can be a success today without a solid team is dreamin, Holly says. Its the fantastic people we have had over the years that we could not have done it without.A LOVING LEADER Hollys longtime boyfriend Jim Woodard, owner of Woodards Diamonds & Design in Tullahoma, Tennessee, has seen her evolu-tion as a business owner and team leader from the beginning.Woodard started in the industry in 1974 in high school work-ing for a family jeweler. He and Holly met over 30 years ago in a networking group headed by Joe Romano, owner of jewelry con-sultancy Scull and Co., who invited jewelers from all over to come together twice a year.[Hollys] father was bringing her into this group of jewelers to help her communicate, get to know the industry better and make friends in the industry, which is very important to do, as well as be working with jewelers of like-mind and like-size, Woodard says. He was kind of the patron saint of the group because he had more wisdom and knowledge and skills than any of us combinedHolly was just really kind of coming in and learning how to run it and operate it.After a few years, Holly and her father moved into a bigger group, but because Hollys father had become a mentor for Wood-ard, they all stayed in touch. [Hollys] dad spent a lot of time with her, and she modeled an awful lot of his teaching and coaching, and she was a great stu-dent, Woodard says. The education and training of her sales team, especially the stores Friday morning meetings, is a top priority for Holly. She often brings in highly regarded industry teachers such as Shane Decker, who hosts sessions at the store for her team.She spends a great deal of time and money interviewing candi-dates if they need people, Woodard says. Shes always been a pro-22 RETAILER HALL OF FAME 2023'