Businesswoman leads by example

Marie Hickey AuClaire had a request before she agreed to tell her life story: She doesn’t want the spotlight to shine on her.

“Look at the bigger picture,” she urged. “It’s not about me.”

AuClaire is so apt to downplay her accomplishments that one of her sisters and her mother provided written comments about her, lest she fail to blow her own horn.

“Knowing how humble she is, she will be very reserved in saying too much about herself and will always put the focus on others and build others up before herself,” her sister Michelle Siderius Moore confided.

AuClaire, 40, is well-known in her hometown of Kalispell as an accomplished businesswoman and community leader. Those who know her best say she has an uncanny ability to bring out the best in others, always leading by example.

“The trickle-down effect from her is a true love for life and doing the right thing. Her time revolves around others,” Moore continued.

AuClaire and another sister, Kim Alexander of Bozeman, are partners in the popular and quite eclectic Soucie Soucie Salon, Day Spa and Boutique in Kalispell. AuClaire started working there a year after graduating from Flathead High School in 1994.

Her job history began well before that, though.

At age 15 she started running the concession stand at Montana Raceway Park, a facility started in 1991 by her parents, John and Sharon Slack. AuClaire, her husband, Aaron, and her sister Michelle bought the race track in 2004 and operated it until selling the facility in 2008. After that she and her husband continued to manage the race track through 2012.

AuClaire juggled her work at the race track with managing Soucie Soucie, drawing on an inherent ability to manage and lead people.

“I had to deal with people. I figured it out, and I learned a ton from my mom and sisters,” she said. “Having that support is huge. They’re always there for guidance.”

Her role at the salon has always been managerial; she doesn’t do any of the hands-on cosmetology work. The salon business figures prominently in her family. Her sister Kim also operates a salon in Bozeman. Another sister, Tracy Anderson, owns Amore Salon & Spa in Kalispell. Sister Michelle is a massage therapist at Soucie Soucie, and her niece, Christina Hickey, is a hair stylist.

Soucie Soucie is known not only for its array of services but also for its unusual decor — “it’s got a medieval type feel, Gothic, sort of,” she said. A hair and fashion show with elaborate costumes and headpieces is staged annually at the sale as a fundraiser. This year’s event drew 600 people to benefit the Sparrow’s Nest homeless shelter for teens.

“We clear everything out. It’s a production, a team effort,” she said.

Another of AuClaire’s endeavors is working at Snow Line Tree Co. during its holiday season; she’s done that for 20 years.

Part of her success is taking on any job that needs to be done.

“I’m not too proud; I’ve cleaned bathrooms at every job I’ve had,” she said.

Never one to shy away from civic duty, AuClaire has been serving on the Flathead County Planning Board since 2008, most often the lone woman on the board.

“I saw an ad in the paper for a board vacancy and I thought, ‘Oh, that sounds fun. Why not?’” she recalled. “I’ve enjoyed it. There are some amazingly smart gentlemen I’ve worked with over the years.”

AuClaire said she felt out of her comfort zone at first, but in typical fashion, she figured it out, even serving five years as chairwoman of the board.

“It’s challenging. It has helped me,” she said, adding that she toted around a copy of Robert’s Rules of Order for years. “It’s been a good experience.”

AuClaire said fellow Planning Board members have been “super supportive,” though she jokes the only reason they put up with her is that she brings snacks for everyone.

The board has done some heavy lifting in recent years, revising the county growth policy and shepherding the planning jurisdiction switch from city to county for the Whitefish “doughnut” area.

She has one more year left on the Planning Board and said it may be time to try something new.

“The Board of Adjustment looks interesting,” she mused. “But who knows?”

Whether it has been raising her son, Jerum, 21, or working with her employees, education has been paramount for AuClaire.

“I believe in sharing knowledge,” she said. “I want everyone I’m leading to be successful.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.