After building her business, Sardell serves in industry organization

By NOAH TINKER

for the Gazette-Times

Success is a journey, not a destination.

For Pat Sardell, the owner of Country Vitamins in Corvallis, that famous phrase is more than just a sentiment that hangs on a sign in her home. It's a life lesson taken to heart.

Sardell's journey has taken the mother of three from a young wide-eyed entrepreneur starting Country Vitamins with her husband, Glenn, in 1982 to the halls of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress, and to a wider world beyond the confines of Corvallis.

Yet the Southern California native still knows where she's rooted.

"I like Corvallis; I choose to live here and have the privilege of selecting a place where I really want to live and I have no problem retiring here."

With her children now grown and off to college, Sardell, now 55, has turned her time toward a national industry association, the Natural Products Association. She now serves as president-elect of the association and will take over her new duties next summer.

Sardell said the association "advocates for the right of the consumer to buy, for retailers to sell and the supply side to manufacture and distribute natural products." Two lobbyists are stationed in Washington to watch for bills that affect the availability of natural products.

Sardell herself has been lobbying twice a year in Washington since 2002.

"It's a very eye-opening experience," she said. "You realize that every single group that has a cause is also there so you learn to be a very succinct speaker as everyone competes for attention."

As president of the association, which has an office in China and contacts with like-minded groups in Europe as well, Sardell wants "to bring more visibility to the consumer what a store that's a part of the NPA means, sort of like the Good Housekeeping Seal of approval."

As a teenager growing up, Sardell was much less enthusiastic about vitamins and dietary supplements than she is now. "My mother started putting vitamins on our table when I was 9 years old and would counsel my friends about their acne, and I would have to take her aside and tell her I didn't want people thinking we were health-food fanatics."

But after becoming a mother herself and reading about the benefits of vitamins and dietary supplements, Sardell did what she describes as a "180-degree flip." With passion and commitment her two driving forces, Sardell and her husband decided to open Country Vitamins, located at 919 N.W. Circle Blvd., for clients who were interested in taking a proactive stance on their health.

"People embrace being empowered to do things to keep themselves healthy; they feel that there are ways they can take part in managing their own health and obtaining a better quality of life."

After first starting Country Vitamins, Sardell attended her first meeting for local business and remembers seeing the recognition given there to businesses that had been open for 15 years. She remembers thinking then how much of an accomplishment it would be just to stay open for less than half that, seven years.

When she reached that milestone, Sardell began having an anniversary party every year. On Sept. 20, Country Vitamins will be celebrating its 26th year in business.

Sardell can now count as her achievements 35 years of marriage to her high school sweetheart and eyeing 26 years in business, not to mention being sitting president of the Corvallis Independent Business Association and her position with the NPA.

Success is a journey? Pat Sardell doesn't need to hear it, because she's lived it.

Profile

NAME: Pat Sardell

AGE: 55

OCCUPATION: Owner of Country Vitamins in Corvallis.

FIRST JOB: "Working in my father's financial institution approving credit applications."

EDUCATION: Cal-State Fullerton.

CAREER HIGHLIGHT: "The one that was most special was reaching that seven-year milestone (for Country Vitamins) that I thought would be the greatest success in and of itself."

Keys to Success:

Here are Pat Sardell's keys to success:

1. Having a passion for what you want to do.

2. Being committed, totally, to achieving your goals.

3. Customer service. "In this day and age there is less and less emphasis on customer service as we become more of an Internet and text-messaging society."

4. Having a quality product, something that will make a difference in your customer's lives.

5. Knowledge. "To sustain your business's credibility you have to know your products and what they can do for your customer."