Carl interviews the unstoppable Stephanie Stuckey, the CEO of Stuckey's. The brand is known by generations as a highway oasis serving up pecan log rolls and kitschy souvenirs. Many Boomers fondly remember family road trips throughout the U.S. when stopping at Stuckey's was a tradition. Reviving her family's company is just the latest in a long list of Stephanie's accomplishments. She's been a Public Defender, a Georgia State Representative, a Director of Sustainability and Resilience for the City of Atlanta and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia School of Law. Stephanie's story has recently been featured in The New York Times, the TODAY Show and the Washington Post.

Stephanie was born in Easton, Georgia and was surrounded by family. "It was a fun childhood!" Her father was a U.S. Congressman, so the family split their time each year between Washington D.C. and Easton. Going back and forth between two very different homes, Stephanie says, "You grow up very resilient and you have to learn those social skills to survive."

After college and law school, Stephanie spent over 14 years as a Public Defender. She then served for 7 years as an elected Representative for the Georgia State Legislature. in 2012 she left politics and became the Executive Director of GreenLaw, an environmentally focused law resource center in Atlanta. (Another one of her passions.)

Stephanie's grandfather sold Stuckey's way back in 1964 for $16 million (the equivalent price in today's value would be $158 million). She purchased back her family's company in 2019 with no prior entrepreneurial experience. "I didn't even know how to read a balance sheet!" she tells us. Stephanie learned what she had to do--and that didn't include upgrading the actual physical stores, which were on the decline. Only a dozen out of 300+ stores were left. Instead, she realized people still wanted to be able to buy their pecan snacks and candies. Undaunted, she found two partners, (one a pecan farmer and one a marketing exec) and the brand now has an online store, a distribution center and just two years later, the company's sales have gone from $2 million to $14 million.

In addition to running the company and raising a family, Stephanie just wrote her memoir, UnStuck: Rebirth of an American Icon this year. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys traveling by car to explore the backroads of America and pulling over at every boiled peanut stand. She says she follows her grandfather's and father's advice: Work hard, be fair and have fun!"

Stephanie's advice on starting a second (or third) act:

• "You are not alone! I think a lot of times it's very lonely, I know it is, it can be isolating when you're trying to put something out there."

• "Go out there and find your community so you can support each other. Just reach out!"

• "Embrace your weaknesses as opportunities to learn and celebrate your strengths!"

• More about Stephanie Stuckey

• More about Stuckey's

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Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog.

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