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Page 2 Tuesday, October 18, 2011 Red Bluff Daily News Jessie Woods: An important part of being a good business woman is helping to support local youth By JULIE ZEEB DN Staff Writer For Jessie Woods, owner of The Gold Exchange on Walnut Street, business is more than just a source of income- it's a place for her to help and her employees are family. "I'm very proud of the fact that I can leave and my busi- ness will be run as if I'm here," Woods said. "It's not just a retail business. It's really about reaching out hands to the community." Woods, who has had no formal education past gradu- ating high school, worked in a variety of areas including advertising, television, taught school for six years at a pri- vate Christian school before the jewelry business. "In 1990 I went to work for Rudy and we had a jewelry store in Stockton," Woods said. "We moved it to Red Bluff in 1994." When she and Rudy Christians, who was her partner from 1994 until his death in 2006, bought the building on Walnut for the jewelry store there was a pawn shop attached to it. So, the couple decided to try and make a go with the pawn shop, she said. "At the time, 17 years ago, very few women were involved in pawn shops," Woods said. "Rudy and I looked at pawn shops in Reno, Arizona and California. We had nice, new jewelry in the other side so we wanted a pawn shop that was female and family friendly." As a part of that, the store always has suckers for chil- dren and red licorice for the "kids at heart", she said. While she credits Rudy with having the vision for the business, she has put her own touch to it, she said. "He's the one with the big business mind," Wood said. "When he died in 2006 we added a new spin. I do my spiritual work so we added the Angels Among Us line." The Angles Among Us line, which uses the spiritual attributes of minerals and gems is just one of the exclu- sive jewelry lines that makes The Gold Exchange unique. " We design and put together each piece according to the spiritual qualities that we want to imbue," Woods said. "Cheryl Bonham is our main designer for this line howev- er we all to get inspired to make pieces." The other line, Creations by Cary, is made by Master Gold Smith Cary Freeman, who is a three generation gold smith. Her designs include the waterfall pieces, which has been passed down in her family with each gen- eration of gold smith. "Cary's jewelry that she designs and creates are unique, one of a kind pieces," Woods said. "We call it "Wearable Art"." "We're not your typical jewelry store," Woods said. "Each piece is different and caters to the customer to give them that unique piece that they want. We singly buy pieces so that even bought pieces are unique." Woods is proud of the fact that her business honors those who have served in the military, she said. How it works is someone brings an item in, the loan is discussed and a contract is signed with a set amount of time to pay the loan back plus a small fee, she said. Pawning the item keeps them from having to sell it right away and gives them a chance to get it back, she said. "It's really a way to reach out hands to the community," Woods said. "You hear lots of stories from the people and you can't help by be compassionate." As part of the process, Woods has the person fill out a JUS123, which includes the driver's license of the person pawning the item and checks with the police depart- ment's list of stolen items to ensure what she is receiving is not stolen property. "Less than 1 percent of what's brought in is stolen," Woods said. Woods was one of seven people to win a Women Who Throughout the year, military personnel receive 40 per- cent off and the first two weeks in November veterans are given a special deal. Believing that word of mouth is a key part of a success- ful business, Woods is very active in her community. She feels an important part of being a good business woman is helping to support local youth in a variety of programs from 4-H to the cookie dough fundraisers put on by schools, she said. "Supporting our youth is something we absolutely must do," Woods said. "They are our future. If any of them come in asking for a donation, I always do. My criteria is that they take the time to come talk to me about what they are doing." Woods is an active member of the Downtown Red Bluff Business Association and helped start the Food From the Heart project, which collected 8,000 pounds of food in 2010 for its second year. "Feeding the hungry is real big and having places for our youth to have good, clean fun is really important," Woods said. "I believe in holding hands with your neigh- bor. So many times we can help people with even some- thing simple like a smile." The Gold Exchange is one of several sites that collects tabs from soda can for Toby Drummond, a two-year-old Red Bluff boy with Arnold Chiari malformation, and even the homeless people bring in tabs for him, she said. "It's beautiful to watch our little community and what they do for each other," Woods said. "Right now, in these tough economic times, it's tough. I'm proud to have a place where a family can get a small loan." Banks do not lend the smaller amounts a family may need to get by for a short period, which is where the pawn shop side of the business comes in, she said. Make A Difference Award at the Tehama County Democrats sponsored Women's Right To Vote: 100 Years Strong event held Sunday, Oct. 9. She is one of three founding members of The Center For Mind, Body and Spirit in Cottonwood and on the board of directors for the DRBBA, Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Valley Catholic Social Services. "The key thing is not giving up," Woods said when asked for advice for women who want to go into busi- ness. "If you have a dream, pursue it. My mother always told me I could do anything or be anything and I grew up believing it." It was tough in the work place for women in her gener- ation, but she feels it was worth it to make things easier for the generation coming behind her. "A woman needs to be strong, but compassionate," Woods said. "I encourage my employees to come talk to me about their visions (for the store). If you have a dream, go for it. It can change along the way and that's ok." Woods also advises women to have no fear. She sees a lot of women with self-worth issues and she is glad to see that changing over time, Woods said. "One of the strongest for me is you just have to take that first step and God will come rushing at you," Woods said. "Above all, have fun. Do something that you enjoy because that's what you'll be successful at." While she would not have thought of herself owning a pawn shop or jewelry store, she enjoys getting to help people, Woods said. "I can improve their lives and if I can do that, I've suc- ceeded," Woods said. Woods is in the process of setting up a chance for young girls to be mentored by herself and other women in the business community. "I want to give them a chance to see what it's like in business," Woods said. "The more we expose them to option and let them explore, the better."