Brunette clad head barely bobbing above the wooden podium in the auditorium, accompanied to either side by cheerfully painted cardboard cutouts of teddy bears bearing—no pun intended—equally jubilant balloons, the bubbly voice of Maxine Clark projected throughout the audience. Clark, a Gables graduate, is also the founder and CEO of Build-A-Bear, an internationally successful franchise with over 200 locations worldwide.

Who could have imagined that such a petite person could pack such a punch? Former editor-in-chief of Highlights, Clark graced her alma mater with her business-savvy presence on Tuesday, March 20th, courtesy of FBLA’s [Future Business Leaders of America] sponsor, Ms. Lucy Benchetrit.

“She [Maxine Clark] was being interviewed by Channel 10 News in October because she was opening her store at The Falls. She was being interviewed by Nikki Mohan, and I saw the story on the Sunday morning news, and she spoke about how her inspiration came from her high school journalism teacher, Marlene Adams, and how she was a Gables grad… I e-mailed her and she said she would love to [speak at Gables],” Benchetrit said.

President of the FBLA chapter, Vincent Andrews, began the assembly, accenting some of Clark’s lifetime achievements, and enticing students to heed her wise words.

“Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll start a business of your own,” Andrews said.

The assembly was then continued by Benchetrit who spoke about Clark’s initial motivation: her former teacher, and Highlights sponsor, Marlene Adams.

“As a teacher, it is an honor for someone to acknowledge a teacher’s influence,” Benchetrit said.

Clark then took the show into her own hands, and began what would be a cornucopia overflowing with, what she considers, the essential ideas to live by when running a business. Ideas, that she believes, begin at an early age.

“While I was here [at Gables], I was successful, a good student. I was always told I could be everything I wanted to be. There was no stopping me,” Clark said.

Her inspiration, she says, came from a family friend who suggested they make their own plush toys after a futile day of searching for Beanie Babies, plush toys that were popular in the 90’s.

“I wanted to take the concept of children’s retailing a step above and turn it into creative retailing,” Clark said.

She also credits the believer in her, and her ability to “dream big” as part of her success. Let’s not forget the bear she lost when she was ten either.

“I’ve been looking for it ever since,” Clark said.

She seems to have found it among the dozens of options offered in her shop, which can range from a penguin to a pink poodle, to the traditional brown teddy bear.

Clark also acknowledges the participation of her consumers as a crucial part in the development of her company.

“Our guests are the heart of our business,” Clark said.

In fact, Clark uses a group of children as a pseudo-board of advisors, ranging from ages five to eighteen, to aid the company expand in ways appealing to children.

She also depends on her employees, who can be said to be the arteries that help the “heart” pump, to make the Build-A-Bear experience enjoyable.

“[You want to] go to a place where everyone knows your name, [and] we hire people who care,” Clark said.

Clark, who was inducted into the Junior Achievement National Business Hall of Fame last year and was featured on The Oprah Show, among her other accomplishments which include the 2005 iParenting Media HOT Award, and she was one of the National Finalists in Retail for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004.

Clark’s presentation reached students and seemed to appeal to the students.

“The advice she gave was really insightful, and it gave me a taste of the real world, and I also liked how she emphasized that dreams aren’t completely unreachable,” Matthew Archer, sophomore, said.

Clark, who knows about accomplishing goals, reiterated that message.

“You have to take risks and be accountable for the consequences,” Clark said.