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By
ADAM
LAPIERRE
News staff writer
Mari-Beth Guenther deals in bliss, and after a year in business
she’s finding a slice of it for herself. The
Hood
River
native always wanted to start a business, and returning to town in
2008 to get married brought
her the opportunity to make that happen.
“Hood
River
is an amazing place, and a popular destination for weddings,” she
said from inside her
Oak Street
shop, Mari Bliss Boutique. “When my husband and I got married here
we couldn’t find everything we were looking for in
Hood
River.
There was an opening in the market and we saw it as a good
opportunity.”
Today, thanks in part to sharing space with Lucy’s Informal
Flowers, Guenther gets to work in a bright, colorful and downright
delicious smelling shop. Not long ago, however, her career path
would have put her in quite a different setting.
“After high school I went to
Oregon
State
and majored in political science,” she said. “I graduated in three
years and was planning to go to law school. I did an internship
with a lawyer and decided it really wasn’t something I wanted to
do anymore. Looking forward, law school didn’t fit in with the
direction I wanted to go.”
Instead of law school, Guenther went back to OSU and got a
master’s degree in business.
With political science and business degrees before she turned 23,
the word overachiever comes to mind; but looking back at
Guenther’s past, it makes sense. The 2002
Hood
River
Valley
High School
graduate had a list of accolades, including class president and,
her senior year, student body president.
“At first, leadership was a good way to get to know people,” she
said. “Then it turned into a great way to give back, to school, to
students and to the community. Mr. (Bob) Kadell was an inspiration
to me at school. He went a step beyond being a teacher; he really
showed students he cared, and he helped show kids how to give back
to the community. That was a great influence on me.
“Time flies. I can’t believe it’s already been eight years since
then. But it feels good to be back in
Hood
River,
to be married and to be in this business.”
With her mother, Mari Ortega, Guenther opened shop in April 2009,
and despite a down economy, the wedding and event accessory
business has been doing decent so far.
“We’re looking forward to things picking up,” she said. “But
people are still getting married and there’s always going to be
weddings.”
Adding to her schedule of keeping up with Mari Bliss and working
on remodeling a newly purchased home, Guenther recently started
Gorge Events, which will entail wedding and event planning.
“I just started it in February,” she said. “It just naturally
happened; there was a need for it, and it makes sense for me. So
far I have six weddings scheduled for the season.
“Things are a challenge sometimes, but it all feels great at the
end of the day. And that’s something I can be truly blissful
about.”
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