March marks Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the women who shape our communities through creativity, leadership, and determination. From day-to-day operations in the corporate world to owning small businesses, making their mark within the school and medical systems, and even in their own homes, there are so many Bossier Parish women who make things happen and deserve to be celebrated. 

Jennifer LaPierre – Cayenne Marketing & Rush Greek Gifts

Cayenne Marketing has served clients for 20 years, with Jennifer LaPierre leading the company for the past 12. Beyond the marketing world, she is also the owner of Rush Greek Gifts, a sorority apparel store she launched five years ago after noticing a need for more Greek merchandise in nearby college towns.

These may be different businesses, but they still fall in the same space of branding and marketing. LaPierre is a Louisiana Tech graduate with a degree in journalism, but marketing didn’t necessarily go hand in hand with it. In fact, she didn’t originally plan to get into the marketing world. 

“I was actually producing TV news when 911 happened,” she recalled. “I was working at a 24-hour news station, and I kind of feel like that was my pivotal life-changing moment, so to speak, because I was working at a 24-hour news station, and I was in a control room for 16 hours straight. It was crazy. That was when I was like I need to get out of the news world and do something different.” 

LaPierre then went to find something different, where she fell in love with marketing and the fun aspect of product creation and customization. 

“I kind of consider myself a business shopper,” she said. 

She’s able to work closely with clients and find the right products for them to put their logo and brand into the world. A bonus for her with this career shift is being able to adapt her schedule to be the room mom and attend those school parties for her kiddos, as being a mom is a full-time job! 

This past year marked Cayenne Marketing’s biggest sales year ever, which was an exciting milestone for LaPierre. She admits that when she first entered the industry and found herself sitting at the table with the “big boys,” she had to fight to make her voice heard and sometimes still does. Even so, she has continued to grow her clientele and build strong relationships with manufacturers in China, Pakistan, and India, allowing her to provide high-quality products to her customers.

With competition locally, it can be hard to feel like women support women, but Jennifer LaPierre makes it her goal to encourage her employees in both Cayenne and Rush to be kind, supportive, and fair in their selling. 

“I have a saying that I’m not going to hell over t-shirts,” she laughed. “I’m not doing it. I’m not stabbing you in the back. I am not taking your customer.” 

This method has worked across both businesses as they are thriving and making an impact in the community. She’s also an active supporter of her local church, the school system, and The Gingerbread House.

 “I don’t like to get credit for community donations,” she said. “I want to do it quietly because I always feel like the saying that we have is, ‘If you get credit for it here on earth, you don’t get credit for it in heaven,’ and so I want to give back quietly, but I make sure to do that.”

The future of Cayenne and Rush is bright as LaPierre leads with compassion, creativity, and color. 

Dr. Ashley Turner – Southern Grace Animal Hospital

Dr. Ashley Turner, owner of Southern Grace Animal Hospital in North Bossier, has been practicing veterinary medicine for the past 11 years. Her journey toward becoming a veterinarian began during her second year at Louisiana Tech, when she landed her first job cleaning kennels. At the same time, she worked part-time at a local emergency clinic, taking on one overnight shift each week. This experience quickly solidified her passion for the field.

Before the practice became Southern Grace Animal Hospital, Dr. Turner operated under a franchised name that, after working closely with the original franchise owner, she was inspired to branch out and build. 

“I really fell in love with the whole idea,” she said. “They mentored me as far as opening a business and that sort of thing. I really gained a lot of education from them. It was intimidating to go out on my own initially.” 

Despite the tedious paperwork and legalities behind the name change, this rebrand has been especially meaningful to her, as it reflects the practice’s commitment to show grace, compassion, and hospitality to everyone who walks through their doors. The name also carries a bittersweet meaning, honoring the memory of her late grandmother, whose middle name was Grace. Through the practice, she’s able to pay tribute to her legacy while continuing to make her proud as a small business owner. 

Since opening her practice, Dr. Turner has been a trusted professional for pets of all kinds. Although she has a soft spot for dogs, she also provides great care for cats, reptiles, and other small animals. Although the typical four-legged friends make up a good portion of her clientele, she wants the community to know Southern Grace Animal Hospital is willing to care for all critters.

“I’d say if it fits in the door, then I’ll see it,” she laughed. 

Owning her own clinic often means long hours, something Turner admits can sometimes bring on a little “mom guilt.” Balancing life as a wife, mother, and veterinarian isn’t always easy, and there are days when not every role can get her full attention. Even so, she’s grateful for the opportunity to do what she loves while caring for both her family and the animals entrusted to her.

“I still ask God all the time like, ‘What is my purpose?’ and you know, I think for some they figure it out early on but for me it’s still a journey that we’re meandering through but I love animals, and that sounds so cliche, but I do and through the years where time gets hard or you just get tired of doing the same thing, I try to imagine, ‘What if I didn’t do this?,’ and honestly I can’t think of a darn thing that I would feel more proud to do. Every day is a blessing.” 

Bossier and the surrounding areas have continued to support Dr. Turner and her team as they provide compassionate, trustworthy care for pets and their owners. Even when veterinary treatment can become costly, she wants clients to know they are always focused on what’s best for their animals. 

Southern Grace Animal Hospital is going to have an open house on Good Friday, where the community can come see the newly rebranded space and meet the team that provides such great care. For details on the opening, you can follow them on Facebook or give them a call. They’d love to meet you and your little dog, too. 

Amy Breshears – Sourdough Coe

What began as a friendly competition between sisters has turned into a thriving small business for Amy Breshears.

About three years ago, she began baking sourdough simply for fun and gifted a loaf to a neighbor who quickly insisted that she sell them. Taking that encouragement to heart, Breshears decided to go for it.

Today, in addition to her custom orders and porch pickups, she sells her breads and other goodies as a vendor in two local stores – Smith Family Farms and the Benton Boutique. She’s even updated her kitchen to keep up with the growing demand, adding in tables to prepare her goods, two giant mixers, and a large dough mixer for her countertop. She laughs that even though the family dinner table may not be present, there is still plenty of room for everyone at the bar counter. 

Sourdough Coe sells a variety of baked goods that all have sourdough from her three-year-old, resilient starter she affectionately named Doughlene.

“Doughlene often becomes three different things. So sometimes she’s Tayloaf Swift, and sometimes Selena Doughmez,” she laughed. “It all just depends on how much I have to bake.” 

Breshears says her top sellers include her cookies, classic artisan bread, jalapeno cheddar and garlic asiago loves, and her sandwich slice bread. She also makes bagels, scones, and a newer addition, cinnamon rolls. Each item is a labor of love that takes time and careful planning. 

“I have to just know in my mind, okay, four hours from now, I know I have to start shaping these loaves and putting them up and it also depends on if they’re going to ferment overnight, or if it’s going to be a same day bake, or having to figure out what the next day is for any porch pick up orders what those are, how to space those out. It’s a lot of timing and planning.”

A typical baking day for Breshears starts early. After getting herself and her son ready, she dives into baker mode once he’s off at school. She mixes dough, pulls proofed loaves from the fridge to the oven, prepares cookies, and packages orders, and that’s all before 10 a.m. After that, she heads upstairs to log in to her remote corporate job, which helps pay the bills so she can bake. 

Her dream is to leave corporate America and take Sourdough Coe on full-time, but for now, she’s being a professional juggler, balancing being a baker, an employee, a wife, and a mom. 

“I give so much to my son,” she said. “He’s autistic and on the spectrum. He’s neurodivergent. It’s his superpower, we call it, but it’s exhausting, and I came to the point where I needed to find a hobby and something for me, and honestly, something to channel, to not have to think. I can put in a good audiobook and just pound the bread and do stretch and folds, and then it just kind of became a thing, and I became good at it, and it just kind of took off.” 

Breshears has received tremendous support from her neighborhood, with their word of mouth and the neighborhood Facebook page helping keep her business consistent. The opportunity to become a vendor at Smith Family Farms came from a fellow baker who was stepping back and focusing more on being a stay-at-home mom. She recommended Sourdough Coe take her place, and now Breshears makes daily drop-offs to ensure fresh, high-quality products meet the demand. She agrees it is definitely a great example of women supporting women.