Q&A

I will start with the hardest-hitting questions on everyone’s mind:

Coffee or tea?

Coffee.

How do you take it?

I am a fairly low-maintenance coffee drinker, so I just use a Keurig and drink it black, hot or cold.

Dogs or cats?

[Lauren begins pointing to a tattoo on her bicep] Dogs!

Who’s that on your arm?

It’s actually my first tattoo. I just got it last year, and it’s my Australian Cattle Dog, Olivia, who is 11 and a half years old.

Have you had her since she was a puppy?

Yeah, she was eight weeks old when we got her. My husband used to do some exterminating, and she was in an accidental litter at a farm where he was working. So we got her from there, and the rest is history. It’s funny because they’re called cattle dogs, but we call her a couch dog because she only likes to be inside.

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

I think Olivia has made me a little bit of an early bird, because I feed her at 5:30 a.m. every morning, and she will not let it go past that time. So, that’s really helped me become an early bird. I just get up, I stay up and I get everything done early.

Where do you call home?

I was born and raised in Broadway, Virginia, so I consider Rockingham County my home. Right now, we live in Port Republic, and I love it. I didn’t appreciate it growing up here because I thought there was nothing to do, but I never want to go anywhere else now—permanently, at least.

Where do you feel most like yourself?

I love our home and being in our backyard, where there’s endless wildlife to watch. We have two and a half acres, so I love just hanging out, walking around barefoot with the dog and having her explore.

What is something surprising about you that not many people know?

I think people don’t typically pin me as someone who would be into racing and cars, but I’ve grown up loving going to NASCAR races with my dad and my uncles. And now, I like drag racing, and we’re doing that almost every weekend, March through October.

Did you say drag racing?!

Yeah, it’s been in my husband’s family since forever. His grandfather was a huge drag racer. His dad’s been a huge drag racer. I’d been waiting for my husband to get into it, and finally, last winter, he bought a drag truck. So now, he’s racing at local tracks most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. They race on an eighth of a mile track—his dad has a Chevy Nova, and TJ [my husband] has a Chevy S10. It’s just super fun to go hang out at the track and be around it. I love racing and fast cars.

Have you ever been behind the wheel in a race?

No, never.

Would you ever consider doing it?

My heart pumps pretty fast just watching them race, but I wouldn’t completely put it off the table.

Well, if you do, let us know and we can put an Estland logo on your car.

That would work! Every racer needs sponsors.

I’m ready to shift the conversation to your professional background and what brought you to Estland. Are you ready?

Yes, of course.

What initially attracted you to Estland?

I think what really drew me to Estland, other than knowing my friend Courtney loved working here, was the idea of working in an agency setting and being able to do marketing work with a wide variety of clients across multiple industries. I worked in-house in my previous marketing roles, which narrows the subject matter. I also appreciate that it’s a local company based in Harrisonburg; I felt like it couldn’t have been a better fit.

Can you speak a little bit about what your role at Estland consists of?

I’ll be doing a lot of project management, which is very exciting because I’ll get to meet every single client we have and help them reach their goals. A lot of business owners come to Estland with general ideas or starting points, but in my role, I get to use the information we learn in client meetings to strategize and organize, taking their brand to the next level and getting them results.

What makes you the right fit for this role?

I’ve been in customer service since high school—starting at the local pool, then retail, property management and finally commercial real estate. Helping people really comes second nature to me, and I know that communication is key. So, that combined with my extreme organizational skills and ten-plus years in the marketing world, I’m prepared to help Estland’s clients.

What part of this role have you found most rewarding so far?

What I like the best is getting to know each client—their story, where they came from and how they built their business. It’s powerful to help them tell their story, set goals and see growth, especially when they’ve worked so hard to get where they are.