Debbie Shelor:  

Change is the primary theme of my life . . . I was born in Radford, Virginia. Both my parents grew up near there. We moved to Texas when I was 3. We then moved to Florence, New Jersey where I attended junior high. My parents always wanted to move back to Virginia to be with their friends and family. So, during eighth grade we moved back to the little town where I was born. lol. I attended high school in Radford. After high school I put myself through college. First New River Community College where I studied business administration. Then later on I went to Virginia Tech and got a degree in Industrial Engineering. I started skiing during my college years. My first job as an Industrial Engineer was for Armstrong World Industries at their Corporate Headquarters in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I traveled alot doing projects for the Corporate office. I was then assigned to one of their plants near Lancaster. They started up a new plant near Portland, Oregon. I became part of the start up team there. After too many hours working and too much stress, I left Armstrong for the Bayer Corporation back in Pennsylvania. I was a Factory Leader in the Bayer Factory - in charge of manufacturing and packaging Bayer aspirin for the whole U.S. market. I specialized in team development and plant-wide computer systems. The company went through a major restructuring and I was forced into the one job I had repeatedly turned down. I became a front line supervisor with over 40 people reporting to me. I began in-line skating while working for Bayer. It is still one of my favorite physical activities. I finally left Bayer, giving up the corporate life for an even bigger challenge. I moved to the San Juan Islands of Washington State and co-founded a non-profit for dolphins and whales. I changed my name to Takara. Talk about a shift. I fell in love with the west coast. That's when I took up working on the internet. My first website was for the dolphin and whale non-profit. We moved operations to San Diego County in southern California. My busin...Expand for more