Moms & daughters share a

unique bond by working together

By Jennifer Becknell - Jennifer Becknell

Whether they're fighting or laughing, fixing a meal or buying a dress, mothers and daughters share a unique bond. Imagine such a tumultuous relationship in the world of work.

For this Mother's Day, we spoke to some mothers and daughters who work together -- both in their own business ventures or as co-workers for the same employer.

Some of these mom-daughter teams are so much alike that they have to keep a bit of distance between them. Others don't ever seem to tire of spending time together.

The food is homestyle and the atmosphere is country at the Cracker Barrel eatery on Fort Mill's Carowinds Boulevard. And the employees? They're family.

The restaurant counted five sets of mothers and daughters among its 120 employees until last week -- the number dipped to four after one mom moved to another store.

They include pairs like Brenda Heath, 47, a backup cook whose daughter Shontae Hensely, 30, is a server. "We see each other every day, because we work the same schedule, same days off," said Heath. That's a good thing, she adds. "We don't ever not get along."

Heath recruited her daughter for the job. And so did Michelle Blue, 38, a server and trainer whose daughter Kelsey Reece, 17, is a server.

What's the advantage? "Seeing her striving in what she does," Blue said. "I give her pointers at home." Kelsey agreed: "My mom helped me memorize the menu."

Cherlisa Billie, 30, a server and trainer, got her mom, Michele James, to apply for a retail sales job at the store. They like to work together -- just not too closely.

"We love each other to death, but we're just so much alike," explained James, 57. "We clash sometimes because we have very similar personalities."

Two other mom-daughter pairs who work at the Fort Mill location are Niccole Marshall and her daughter Devaney and Kimberly King and her daughter Megan. Kimberly transfered last week to a store in Gastonia, N.C.

Cherlisa Billie says they're like one big family. "Everyone really looks out for each other here," she said. "That's why a lot of people bring in their family members."

Brian Spriggs, the store's general manager, said Cracker Barrel encourages the family connection. He said it seems to make his job easier.

"I see mothers keeping the daughters in line," Spriggs said. "Making sure they're at work on time, making sure that they do the job right. The mothers take pride in their daughters doing the job right."

Teaming up

Nancy Smith and daughter Melody Carswell say they're so much alike they'll show up at a business meeting dressed in eerily similar suits. On the phone, people often can't tell them apart.

But this mother-daughter business team is different in other ways. Smith, 67, owner of N & W Smith Properties in Rock Hill and Pineville, is quietly thoughtful, a bit reserved. Carswell, 45, is happily bubbly and outgoing.

The company leases shopping center space in North and South Carolina. Smith's son, Brad, suggested that Smith hire her daughter after the 1999 death of Smith's husband, Freddie. But Smith wasn't sure it would work.

"At times, we are like fire and water," Smith said then.

Now, Smith said that it would have been a big mistake if she hadn't brought her daughter on board as the company's property manager.

"My office would be very dull without her and my life would have a huge hole without her input and take on things," Smith wrote. "She is a very smart young woman who has a way with people."

That doesn't mean they don't have some differences. Sometimes, the two would disagree so loudly that Smith's housekeeper would close the door between the office and her Lake Wylie home.

But over the years, Smith and Carswell said they've learned to value each other's perspective.

"My mom was, in the beginning, like, it's my way or the highway," Carswell said. "In compromise, I've learned to respect her way of doing things and she has learned to listen to and respect me."

Carswell said she admires her mom's unbounded energy and perfectionism, which include the business, decorating, gourmet cooking and entertaining.