AWBA Woman of the Year: Beth Brooks

There are many successful business owners in Fayette County. However, when it comes providing both excellent service to clients and dedication to the wider community, there are few who have reached the level of Beth Brooks, who owns ServiceMaster Commercial Services in Peachtree City along with her husband Bruce. Beth was recently named “Woman of the Year” of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) McIntosh Chapter.

It was an unfortunate twist of fate that initially motivated Beth and Bruce to open their ServiceMaster franchise. Back in 2000, Beth was a stay-at-home mom, raising the couple’s sons, Taylor and Alden. Bruce was employed in the commercial real estate industry. The bottom fell out of the market in late 2000; around the same time, Bruce was diagnosed with cancer. Thirty days after returning to work following his diagnosis, Bruce’s employer sent him to the unemployment line. Facing the realities of the situation, Bruce and Beth—the parents of two sons, Taylor and Alden, who were teenagers at the time—decided it was time to venture into a business they could work in together.

The couple decided to start a ServiceMaster business, getting off the ground in January of 2001 and providing commercial cleaning services to the Fayette and Spalding areas ever since. With a couple of years of college business classes under her belt, Beth naturally fell into the role of the company’s administrator, handling the accounting, customer service and marketing.

“Our company’s core belief is that cleaning is not a commodity but an opportunity to provide consistently remarkable service. It’s fundamental to our business,” Beth says.

Commitment to service is certainly a large factor in the franchise’s success. In 2007 (a mere six years after the company’s start), ServiceMaster Commercial Services was named “Small Business of the Year” by the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce.

Not only is Beth passionate about providing exceptional customer service to their clients, but she also strongly believes in being active and serving in the community. And she follows through on her passion.

In addition to being an active Chamber of Commerce member, Beth participated in the Leadership Fayette program, which leverages local businesspersons’ networking and mentorship to initiate team projects that benefit a variety of community non-profit organizations. After participating in the program, Beth became a mentor to other participants and went on to serve as Secretary for Leadership Fayette for three years. It was through this program that Beth realized her passion was to help others through her volunteer work.

Beth’s outreach to the community has been extensive. She has worked with a team that was instrumental in getting a GED Program started at the Fayette County Jail and served on its Ministry Board. She’s volunteered her time to help start up the Fayette County Certificate Literate Community Program (CLCP). And she’s on the Board of Fayette County’s “Shop With A Sheriff,” which helps families in need in Fayette County at Christmas. For these efforts and others, the Brooks’ ServiceMaster franchise was given an award on a national level by ServiceMaster Corporate for service to the community.

Beth continues to contribute to Fayette’s business organizations, serving on the Business Expo committee for the Fayette Chamber for two years. She was a Charter member of the Coweta-Fayette Rotary Club and served as its Secretary for one year. And, of course, she has been involved with ABWA’s leadership, serving as its Treasurer in 2011.

Her hobbies include gardening, playing the piano, studying the Bible. She enjoys spending time with Bruce, Taylor (now 30) and Alden (now 26) and Taylor’s wife Rachel.

“We’re passionate about providing exceptional customer service to our clients and believe in being active and serving in our community,” says Beth.

True indeed. And it’s great to see that she’s being recognized for it.