Photo: Owner Kelly Parkinson (front left) next to Kelly Cashen. Back (L-R) Sherry Cherry, Tammy Smith, and Lyne Losey, Allegra’s client support critical to its success, each with over 20 years of experience in the business. Photo courtesy of Allegra.
Kelly Parkinson, owner of Allegra Marketing Print Mail Ann Arbor, recently earned national recognition for her team’s exceptional performance, but her journey to the top is deeply rooted in legacy, mentorship, and a lifelong dedication to the printing industry.
Parkinson and her team, including account managers Sherry Cherry, Tammy Smith, and Kelly Cashen, were honored with the Systemwide Sales Growth Award by Alliance Franchise Brands. The award recognizes the top 10 franchise members across the network for the highest dollar and percentage sales growth. Parkinson also received an additional award as the top Transfer Center for systemwide percentage growth.
While the accolades are noteworthy, Parkinson is quick to credit those who came before her, namely, Pat and Therese Mahoney, who founded the business in 1973. “I really can’t talk about Allegra without talking about Pat and Therese Mahoney,” Parkinson says. “As the driving force in our early growth, their commitment to staff success, personally and professionally, set a terrific example of how to nurture people, clients, and the business for the long haul.”
Parkinson first joined the company while studying at the University of Michigan. “I started working for this company when I was a student back in the late ’80s,” she recalls. “I came back in 1992 and was hired as a full-time sales representative, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Her path from employee to owner included a gradual transition. In 2013, she and a longtime colleague purchased 50% of the company from the Mahoneys. “The four of us were equal partners in the ownership of the business,” Parkinson says. “Two of us were actively managing the business.”
In 2020, Parkinson was poised to purchase the remaining shares, when the pandemic hit. “COVID was very difficult and very tough on our business,” she says. “We never closed. We stayed open as an essential business. We never said no to a job.”
After navigating pandemic challenges and a change in partnership, Parkinson became the sole owner. “Through the grace of a lot of help, we survived,” she says. “We’re a smaller company, a leaner company, but still producing visually interesting printed materials daily.”
Parkinson emphasized the importance of fulfilling the Mahoneys’ vision. “They wanted to see this company continue on after their retirement,” she says. “Our vision includes carrying on this legacy of service to the community.”
She attributes much of Allegra’s resilience and success to a loyal, experienced team. “I think we’ve got an average tenure around here of like 18 years,” Parkinson says. “Our customer service team, the ones that won all those sales awards, have close to 110 years of experience working with these products.”
The recent awards are a validation of that team effort. “They’re just quietly working behind the scenes, solving problems for our clients,” Parkinson says. “We were able to improve our overall performance compared to other centers around the country.”
For Parkinson, the work remains meaningful. “It really, truly does take skilled trades to successfully start with a piece of blank paper and end up with a beautiful brochure, book, booklet, or campaign,” she says. “It still, to me, feels like a miracle every day.”
Allegra Ann Arbor is located at 1283 Industrial Drive in Saline and is part of the Alliance Franchise Brands network. For more information, visit www.allegra.net.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
