INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
I said, I’m going to tell you girls right now, I’ve never had the luxury of being in a room and thinking that I wasn’t supposed to be there; I was there because I had to be. It was a baptism by fire. My husband is not a people person; he’s a big concept kind of guy. He spends all of his time with the cattle. He loves cattle. He’s the Chairman of the Board of Directors for BOYCOM. But I own controlling interest. We are a woman owned multi system operator, first generation. Frankly, my motto has always been: never beg for a seat, when you can build your own table! I am proud of who I am, but it’s been hell in the hallway. My parents were born in 1916 and got married in 1934 at the height of the Great Depression. They were married 19 years before they had a live birth. My mother had seven miscarriages prior to my brother being born in 1954, and he died of leukemia at 14 months. Then she gave birth to my sister in 1956, me in 1958, and my little brother in 1961. Imagine: a woman in her 40s in the 1950s having children, it was unheard-of. We were row crop farmers, raising hogs, cattle, chickens and the like. We sustained ourselves on our farm in Southeast Missouri, right where I grew up. I’ve never gotten too far from the house. Now, I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like any man in any room or at any table. And I’ve always been that way, and proud of it. I never even thought that somebody else wouldn’t feel the same way. I bet you’ve got some stories. We had a male customer come in the office years ago. He was having problems with his cable and he was rude. He would curse at the customer service representatives on the phone. In the end we sent a technician out to disconnect him because we just couldn’t make him happy. Gave him his service free. All he wanted to do was complain. He got so mad, he came flying up to the office and said, ‘I am tired of talking to you poodles’. Of course, all we had in the front office are female CSR’s. All our men are out, they’re up a pole. He said, ‘I want to talk to the big dog.’ My manager calls me and says, “Hey, Patty, there’s this man down here in the lobby. He’s having a cow. He wants to talk to the boss.” I said, not a problem. I’ll be right down. I said, “can I help you?” He looked at me and he said, ‘I told you, and I told all these girls in here that I was tired of talking to poodles and I was ready to talk to a big dog.’ I looked at him and I said, ‘Let me tell you right now, sir, you best get down on your hands and knees and start praying to God with a capital G, ‘cause it doesn’t get any higher around here than me.’ I said, ‘I told you I’m the boss. I own this joint, and we’ve disconnected you. Thank you for your being a customer. We appreciate it. But with customers like you, I don’t need your business.’ He stormed out of there and about three weeks later, his wife reconnected the service. I love an opportunity to be underestimated! I don’t feel like an imposter. I have never had that luxury.
50
MAY 2026 Volume 48 No.2
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker