Jennifer and her family are right at home in the beautiful Grapevine area.
Jennifer Rawls came to GRACE just as the coronavirus pandemic was hitting headlines. There is never a good time to take over a massive resale operation like GRACE’s, but for Jennifer it has truly been one for the record books.
“Hit the ground running” woefully pales to describe the actions Jennifer has taken in her first months at GRACE. “Hit the clouds flying”—“soaring” may be a more apt description. GRACE has been blessed over the years to have the exact right person in the right place at the right time. This is exceptionally true in Jennifer’s case.
Jennifer brings to GRACE a career’s experience in marketing, merchandising, and advertising with Michaels, the Dallas-based arts and crafts conglomerate. In her fifteen years with Michaels, Jennifer launched numerous product lines, marketing programs, and brand partnerships.
With the inclusion of social media as a marketing tool, Jennifer transformed the Michaels marketing calendar into a tactical cross-platform program. She opened new markets with the launch of a French-language marketing program for stores in Canada, and implemented the company’s first Hispanic marketing initiative in Texas.
Michaels recognized her talents and accomplishments with the Marketing Person of the Year award, and previously with the Marketing Partner of the Year award.
Jennifer hails from San Antonio and received her BBA in Marketing from San Angelo State. She started her merchandising career at the Kmart Corporation, managing product lines and services at stores in Mississippi and Texas.
In her ten years with Kmart, Jennifer progressed from visual merchandising specialist to advertising coordinator to divisional advertising manager and to co-buyer. She received the ACE Award for Outstanding Accomplishment from the Kmart Corporation for her exceptional work.
At GRACE, Jennifer assumes the management of the nearly 35-year-old resale enterprise. GRACE Resale, including the GRACEful Buys shopping centers, GRACEful-E online seller, and Donation Station, generates nearly $2.3 million in gross revenues each year.
The Resale Division provides a stable, reliable revenue stream for the agency, and generates almost a quarter of the annual budget for GRACE Programs and Services. Moreover, gifts through Donation Station are distributed to clients through the GRACE Transitional Housing program, and GRACE Client Services.
Her plans for the coming year include shifting high-end merchandise from the costly Style & GRACE storefront to the more cost-effective GRACEful-E, and launching a building project to establish a more efficient and easier-accessible Donation Station.
With her three school-age children, Jennifer is much-involved in community and school activities, teaching at GCISD schools, and serving as Sunday School teacher at Calvary Lutheran in Richland Hills.
You can welcome Jennifer by calling 817-305-4470, or visiting one of the GRACEful Buys stores where you’ll find her helping shoppers.
