Bruce Anschuetz, left, claps after handing Mary Kay Senior Sales Director Charmaine Lipscomb the keys to the SUV. Pictured next to Lipscomb, from left, are Team Leader Sherryl Kelly, Future Sales Director Theresa Niles, Independent Beauty Consultants Bernie Klimaszewski, Diana Amlotte, and Cassie Dubie, and Lipscomb’s mother Anett Deadman.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley

A celebration was held Friday at Cliff Anschuetz Chevrolet in Alpena, as a Northeast Michigan Mary Kay unit earned a Chevy Traverse for exceeding sales goals, even during a pandemic. Above, Bruce Anschuetz, left, claps after handing Mary Kay Senior Sales Director Charmaine Lipscomb the keys to the SUV. She will be the one driving the vehicle for the next two years, with no car payments. Then, she said, they will qualify for another car. Pictured next to Lipscomb, from left, are Team Leader Sherryl Kelly, Future Sales Director Theresa Niles, Independent Beauty Consultants Bernie Klimaszewski, Diana Amlotte, and Cassie Dubie, and Lipscomb’s mother Anett Deadman.

“Our unit just increased to the Premier Plus Car, because our unit is doing so incredibly well,” said Lipscomb, formerly of Alpena and now living in Traverse City. Most of the unit’s 88 members live in the Alpena area. “Literally, for 20 years, I’ve had free cars from Mary Kay,” Lipscomb said, adding that six or seven other people in the area have also gotten to drive free Mary Kay cars for meeting and exceeding sales goals. “It’s just a wonderful perk.”

According to a press release from Mary Kay, more than 3,600 Mary Kay Career Cars are currently on the road.

Lipscomb said the pandemic actually increased their business, because they were able to reach more people virtually.

Mary Kay does more than just sell beauty products, Kelly said.

“We have a charitable foundation, and I work with our local shelter (Hope Shores Alliance), and for the last 15 years, they’ve gotten over $95,000,” from Mary Kay Charitable Foundation. She added that the foundation also supports doctors who are working on cures for cancers that affect women.