Almost from the beginning, Kelly Sigg knew she had a rare gem of an employee in Toni Manbeck.
“We clicked from Day 1,” Kelly said.
“At age 20, she was managing our store in Pittsburg and never did I worry,” said Kelly. “Never once did I think it was too much for her to handle.”
Over the next 10 years, that confidence in Toni grew. And even if they never discussed it, each began to nurture dreams of an eventual transition.
On Nov. 6, Toni and her husband, Jake, assume ownership of Audacious Boutique — Kelly’s “baby.”
“This has been my dream for so long. It’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Kelly said Thursday.
Toni feels equally committed.
Knowing that Kelly wanted to step away, “I thought if I don’t do this, who will?” Toni said. “I feel like this is what I’m supposed to do. I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
That wasn’t always the case.
As a 2011 Iola High School graduate, Toni had her sights on becoming a teacher.
The same week she began classes at Allen Community College, she took a job at Audacious.
“I had no fashion sense,” Toni said. “I was a tomboy through and through. I’d never worn a pair of pointed heels. I’d never met Kelly.”
Kelly backs up Toni’s every word.
“The first time she wore heels she walked like Herman the monster,” of The Munsters sitcom fame.
“Yeah,” Toni said. “I couldn’t even bend my legs. I was so scared.”
Toni kept her sights on pursuing education. After a year at ACC, she transferred to Pittsburg State University while maintaining a part-time position at the Iola store.
