IN PROFILE: Bonnie Shemp

BUSINESS: Co-owner of Awards Plus with her mother Mary Stevens

AGE: 63

BACKGROUND: “We owned the Texaco gas station and towing company in Beatty for a long time, where I did all the accounting and payroll, and I have worked for Janda Ribbons as well.”

FIRST JOB: “I was a cashier in a pharmacy in Lakeside, Calif.”

YEARS IN BUSINESS: “We moved here from Beatty in 1994 and opened Awards Plus in 1996. We are members of the Chamber of Commerce and I’m a former Rotarian. We are involved with several churches and other charitable organizations with cash donations and providing trophies for whatever they need.”

PERSONAL: “I love my time at home. I crochet, which is becoming a lost art. I learned it from my grandmother and I enjoy making things. I adore my grandchildren.”

BUSINESS CLIMATE: “Pahrump is a great place for my business. It’s a small community and people like to do business locally. The county needs to give other companies incentive to come here, such as a break on sales taxes for a year or waiving impact fees. We need the jobs here and we need more businesses to provide them. I’m glad to see Dollar General opening and Big 5 Sporting Goods here.”