Wine Town Designs has been releasing an ornament every year to commemorate a landmark in the Hermann Missouri area. This year marks the 8th in a series of 10 and features the Pommer-Genter house at the entrance to Hermann on Highway 19. While this is a big step for the two sisters, Tina Geltz and Ronni Mitchell, who co-own the company, Tina’s friendship with a local in Hermann has inspired them to create a completely new line of jewelry.
More than 10 years ago, a thirty-something group of friends decided to take a float trip together every summer. This was appropriately named the “No Kids, No Husbands, No Problems” trip. In spite of the name, the 12 ladies inside the raft turned to the discussion of breast cancer which is definitely a problem for 1 in 9 women. The 12 ladies looked at each other and said, “With those odds, it could someday be one of us.” They were right.
Fast forward 10 years. One of the group’s original members, Jody Stiers, lost her battle to breast cancer in 2006 at the age of 39. In 2007, Raylene Hollrah was the second in the group to be diagnosed with breast cancer and in April of that same year, Raylene had a bilateral mastectomy without reconstruction followed by a full summer of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, her battle for her health wasn’t quite over.
Just Call Me Ray
In the summer of 2013, Raylene found out that her implants were 100% the cause of a new form of cancer and the she would once again be in a fight for her life. After surgery and treatment, she is now well on the road to recovery, but she wants other women to be aware of her cautionary tale. Raylene has successfully setup her new organization called “Just Call Me Ray.” (justcallmeray.org)
Raylene says, “Every day is a gift and I truly live my life that way, but I don’t want other women to have to go through the same journey as mine. I want to spread hope, courage and knowledge to women everywhere about early breast cancer detection and the dangers of implants.”
The goal of her organization is to spread the awareness of the risk of breast cancer but also to provide help and support to those who have been affected by this disease and their families. Tina Geltz was sitting next to Raylene on that float trip and their friendship has blossomed and strengthened since that day. Thus, Tina is excited to support Raylene’s mission with the resources she has.
Fight Like a Girl, Drink Like a Lady
Wine Town Designs has created a fundraising campaign called “Fight Like a Girl, Drink Like a Lady.” This offers several unique designs with the pink breast cancer symbol. For every one of these items purchased, Wine Town Designs will donate $1 to Tina’s dear friend Raylene and her foundation.
Each time you purchase a hand-crafted necklace or keychain from www.winetowndesigns.com, you not only get to enjoy the item itself, but you also can rest in the knowledge that you are helping spread awareness by supporting a worthwhile organization; “Just Call Me Ray.”
Wine Town Designs was founded by sisters Tina Geltz and Ronni Mitchell. John and Lynn Mead of Creative Casting were instrumental to the start of Tina’s business success. Through this partnership, they are able to offer custom pewter items as well as an exclusive line of over 20 fine pewter Christmas Ornaments available online and wholesale to retailers.
Their mission statement is simple:
“Wine Town Designs was founded by sisters with creative ideas and a love of wine. Our goal is to offer affordable quality products and promote artisan crafts. All of our products are proudly handcrafted in the USA.”
Their goal is to market their products and websites to women who love wine and jewelry. Wholesale kits are available to wineries and retailers. Their handcrafted products can usually be seen at wine-themed festivals and events. When Tina and Ronni are together they enjoy each other’s company and invite you to admire their jewelry and startup an engaging conversation; usually over a glass of wine.
You can contact Tina and Ronni at:
- Wine Town Designs Website
- (573) 680-0999
- winewithus@winetowndesigns.com
You can contact Raylene at:
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