By Susan E. Campbell
At ease with hair cutting shears in hand or applying makeup for a professional photo shoot, it is not easy to imagine Autumn Wright in a combat uniform.
The owner of Seraphina Divine Beauty, 437 Geyser Road, Ballston Spa, and specializing in bridal hair and makeup, Wright had a four-year tour as a U.S. Marine driving trucks in Iraq. When her deployment ended in 2009 she went “wherever the wind” took her. “All around the country,” she said, from New York to Arizona to Tennessee.

By Susan E. Campbell
The mortgage market is driven by a variety of complex factors that make the times look more or less attractive to those seeking to buy, renovate or refinance a home.
A mortgage originator for three decades, Caroline Hommel of Homestead Funding has experienced just about every permutation and combination of circumstances imaginable, from severe market corrections to record-setting interest rates.
“There have been so many highs and lows over the years. Mostly highs,” said Hommel. “The relationships with customers are certainly high points.”
Hommel joined Homestead Funding in 1995 after a few years as assistant to the PR and communications director for the New York State Association of Realtors and then as a mortgage broker for a small firm.

By Rachel Phillips
For more than 30 years, diners have been enjoying the age-old family recipes and hand-crafted breads and sauces offered by Village Pizzeria on Route 29 in Galway.
The restaurant, which opened in 1988, is owned and operated by Sandra Foster, along with her partner Joseph Guerrera, and is managed by her daughter, Jessica Mancinone.
Foster’s professional career began in 1969, when she became the first female licensed barber and men’s hair stylist in Waterbury, Conn. At the time, cosmetology and barbering were segregated by gender, and Foster pioneered the transition that brought into being the unisex salons that are now standard today.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Natalie Sillery is in her 25th year as owner of Saratoga Trunk at 493 Broadway in Saratoga Springs and shows no signs of slowing down.
“My husband and I were in print publishing back in the 80s in New York City,” said Sillery. “I grew up in Rensselaer. My parents were getting older and infirmed. Our business ended after 12 years or so, and we moved from New York City to the town of Brunswick.”
“I was caring for my mom, who had slow progressive dementia moving into an Alzheimer’s situation. I also had a great aunt I was caring for. I took my mom in with me, and my dad had 24 hour care. I knew I had to work for myself,” said Sillery.
She put together a couple business plans.