Beginning on November 22 and for each of the 40 days thereafter a photograph of a Kamsack woman will be shown on a billboard in Times Square in New York City.
Kathy Handzuik of Kamsack, an independent Mary Kay sales director, is one of 16 Canadian Mary Kay sales directors, whose photos and brief messages will be posted on the rotating billboard along with similar American sales directors.
They earned the privilege for the recognition because their teams did more than $500,000 in sales in the last “seminar year,” their sales were greater than they were the previous year and they had attended the required seminar, Handzuik explained last week.
“I think the photos of all of the sales directors will be seen on the rotating billboard several times each day,” she said.
Along with her photograph, which was taken in Toronto by a photographer from Dallas, Texas, the billboard will have a version of the following text printed on it: “I love my Mary Kay business because it allowed me to be very flexible with my career while my children were growing up and now it allows me to spend as much time as I want with my grandchildren.”
She said she currently spends 30 to 40 hours a week at work.
Handzuik and her team of about 132 active salespersons did $600,000 in sales during the last year, which is somewhat different than the calendar year, she said, adding that her team members live in several locations from British Columbia to Ontario, but mostly in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Handzuik joined Mary Kay 37 years ago when she became 18 years of age and has been a sales director for 25 years. The car she drives is the third consecutive distinctive Mary Kay pink Cadillac that her work has earned her over the past six years. In fact, she has had a new car from the company each two years since 1992.
“This is all very exciting,” Handzuik said, adding that because the pre-Christmas season is a busy time of year for her business, she will not be able to travel to New York to see the billboard.
“It’s good for my team to know that their efforts have put me there,” she said, adding that normally her team has been either the first or second-place in sales in Saskatchewan.
“It has been with the support of my family that I have been able to do as well as I have with Mary Kay,” she said. “It’s a matter of how much one puts into it; the more you put into it, the more you receive.”
Handzuik and a collection of Mary Kay products will be among the vendors attending the annual Christmas in November sale at the OCC Hall in Kamsack on November 19.
