This time around, the tables got turned.
It doesn’t happen often because, well, it’s not supposed to happen, like, ever. The author who proposes a question-and-answer opportunity must have some damn-interesting inquiries, right? Why else would such a suggestion even be made?
She and her husband, Phil, do own and operate three businesses, including an elder care service, a cab company, and a staffing agency, and they employ THE Tate Blanchard and THE Sherrie McCutcheon-Dunlevy. So, goodness, certainly there are tales to tell about all of that, right? Maybe some scoop on those local celebrities even?
Um. Well. This time? Well, this time the interviewee asked the best question. Hands down. No doubt. Unanimous decision. Perfect 10.
But sure, please read on. The actual “Q&A” questions don’t suck that badly, but Stephanie Ann Sauvageot DID officially win the unspoken-until-now contest for making the reader react with the most memorable emotion.
See, instead of asking something that provokes a tear or two, or maybe a long pause to contemplate, Sauvageot’s query literally inspires song. Smile-provoking song. That makes everyone sing. Out loud.
Who doesn’t feel happy singing, ‘Sha-la-la, la- la, la-la, la-la, la-la di-dah, la-di-da?
Absolutely no one and that’s why she wins.
As a female in business, what obstacles have you encountered because of your gender?
As a woman in business, particularly in the healthcare arena, I feel that if gender affects your ability to be effective then being a woman in home care is an asset.
Providing personal care services in someone’s home entails a great deal of trust and women are generally seen as natural caregivers. I actually think that I have been given a lot of respect in our community as a woman leading a for-profit agency. I believe, without being a feminist per se, that women can do anything they want in our modern society.
I came across a quote from Florence Nightingale during nursing school and it is now stamped on my office wall.
“I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results”.
So, as a woman especially, I believe that when you show others your passion, take risks, and do what you say then you will overcome any limitations set by sociological mindsets.
Do you feel your company, IC Cab, has solved part of the transportation problem in the city of Wheeling?
We have not solved the transportation issues in the Ohio Valley, but we are definitely committed to being a part of the long-term solution. When IC Cab was established in the Fall of 2022, we hoped to provide safe and reliable transportation to area citizens. We quickly discovered that in order to do that we must update the fleet of vehicles and create more user-friendly options for reserving their rides.
IC Cab has since modernized our dispatching systems by not only still having phone-in reservations but also, a website, and the newly launched IC Cab app. Along with our new vehicles and computerized dispatching and navigation systems, all of our vehicles are equipped with cameras to aid in our drivers and passengers’ safety.
We have seen an incredible uptake in the number of rides per day over the summer months and anticipate even more growth as we continue to add cars and collaborate with government agencies and area businesses to offer transportation to all Ohio Valley residents and visitors.
Do you realize some of your vehicles sound like one of the “future vehicles” in “Back to the Future”? Is it on purpose?
As a child of the Eighties, I do connect with the “Back to the Future” reference, and I once dreamed about what the 21st Century would look like. IC Cab strategically chose hybrid vehicles such as the Hyundai Elantras and Ioniqs for their sleek modern design and wrapped them in our more traditional IC Cab gold and black taxi colors to catch the eye of all passersby.
I have had fun creating a new version of the much-loved travel game “Slug Bug” which I have now rebranded as “Cab Jab.” But, on a more serious note, we did want our new fleet to be environmentally friendly and comfortable.
What is your theory on elder care as it pertains to the services offered by IC Care?
At IC Care we developed a philosophy that the care provided should be compassionate, affordable, reliable, and safe. We believe that our elders have very individualized needs but, as a whole, deserve to be treated with dignity and with respect for their physical abilities, emotional capacities, social aptitudes, and spiritual values.
Our elders are faced with the loss of control and independence as their bodies begin to endure the results of aging and illness. At IC Care we are sensitive to how this realization affects our elders and we aim to make the decision to accept support at home one that they can feel at ease with.
We design care plans that encourage what they can still do for themselves safely and complement the deficiencies in a way that keeps them safe yet honored.
What’s the one song that always makes you sing?
I am a music lover, and I can enjoy almost any genre of music depending on my mood or circumstances. Music is therapy to me. As a child I danced and played instruments. My family shared music as a pastime and my father-in-law was an accomplished musician. To pick just one song seems impossible, but since that is the question here it is … “Brown-Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison.
This song suits me in that it is joyful and celebratory. It takes me back to a time of life that was simpler. It takes me back to young love and being a dreamer. It highlights an attribute that I get from my mother and her mother who molded my life in the best ways.
Ed Sheeran (one of my favorite artists) tells of an interaction between him and his grandmother when she told him to fall in love with someone’s eyes because if you fall in love with their eyes, you’ll be in love forever.
You see, the eyes are the one thing that never changes about us as we go through every season of life. So, yes, I’m a brown-eyed girl and I pretend that Van Morrison wrote the song just for me.
Who doesn’t feel happy singing, “Sha-la-la, la- la, la-la, la-la, la-la di-dah, la-di-da”?
