March brings us some funky winds, daylight savings, and thirty one days to celebrate the women in our lives. Today, on International Women’s Day, we shine the spotlight on the woman that keeps our shop running, our attitudes in check, and our hearts full. Laurie is one of the most selfless people we know; her giving-roots run deep and she has made not only our lives but those of all she meets better for being in it.
Today, we celebrate Laurie Biracree, our bookkeeper, shop den mother, friend, cheerleader and sister. Laurie attended one of our events back in 2016, and fortunately for us, she signed up for our newsletter. Right around the time of our move from the farm to our current shop at 73 Webber Rd, Laurie read a job posting we posted and the rest is history. She jumped in feet first into the role of bookkeeper and master of all organizational information here at Grain.
Laurie likes to joke about the last line on her job description, “all other duties as assigned”. But she takes it in stride and embraces that notion, managing the books, paying the bills, putting up with a shop full of guys and dealing with the multitude of daily IT issues. She’s a center for all information in the shop, keeping us all connected and communicating, a conduit between our customers, our staff, and our vendors. A job that requires incredible attention to detail through the chaos.
Driving into the shop, it’s not unusual to see her sitting at the beach welcoming the sun as a daily ritual. Laurie’s a Yogi at her core, traveling the world to train and share her passion with others. Outside of Grain, she's dedicated her life to being there for others, often putting her own life on hold to do so. She’s a loving sister and aunt, a dedicated daughter bringing patience, dignity and support to her mother’s side, and a friend to all. A positive force in a challenging world.
In addition to all the personal qualities that make her a person you’ll always want in your corner, she exemplifies the spirit of the holiday. A true child of the 70s?,a music lover with a side of generational angst against “the man,” Laurie embodies progressiveness. Today we recognize her and her sisters in womanhood, a sector of our community that has been long overlooked and whose rights are constantly under attack. This month is meant to take a look inwards and see if we’re doing right by the women in our lives, in our workplace, in our country - and if the answer is ‘ I could do better’, then do better.
The light in all of us at Grain honors the light in Laurie (that's yogi speech for we admire you, Laurie.) So here is to you, our friend and soul sister. We couldn’t do it without you.