Paul with her eight siblings, most of which are still relatively local (and almost all still in Oregon). She spent the majority of her career in the Health Insurance field, most recently as a Senior Vice President for Moda Health. She retired from Moda, and spent the majority of her days with her five grandchildren. The Daughter & Businesswoman: Angie (Murphy) Craig also grew up in St. She ventur
ed to the University of Oregon, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree, and met her husband. She moved from Eugene to Portland to pursue a career in Retail Sales and Management, and decided to go back to school to get her MBA. She graduated from George Fox University with her Master’s Degree in 2010. She worked in retail as a Director of Sales until 2017, when she decided to get into the Insurance Business, which would offer a better work/life balance, so she could spend more time with her husband, and three children. She bought an insurance agency in 2017 in Beaverton, OR and has been there ever-since. She is actively involved in her kids’ school as a Co-Chair on the PTC, and dedicated to the growth of the youth sports programs in St. Paul, running camps in the winter and summer, and serving as the Assistant Varsity Girls Basketball Coach (alongside her Dad) at the High School. How did this new business adventure happen? About four years ago, Tracie, Angie and her 5-year-old daughter, attended a cookie decorating class. It was just meant to be a fun activity we could do together. We had a kit of cookies that we were tasked to decorate and given instruction. However, our cookies looked NOTHING like the “expert” ones that we had to try to replicate. We were so impressed with how well the instructor decorated her cookies, and just couldn’t believe how effortless it looked. We laughed as we walked out of the class with our novice cookies, and some recipes that we never thought we’d use again. Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Tracie went home, and modified the recipes to be more in alignment with our tastebuds (sugar cookies that look pretty don’t always taste as good as they look). She modified the cookie recipe, and mastered the icing. Then, it was practice, practice, practice. She started making special cookies for her grandkids’ birthdays and special functions at school. They were a hit! She learned how to make her own stencils, and took the customization to another level. Tracie found herself waking up in the morning, wondering, “What am I going to bake today?” And, “Who will I give it to once I’m done?” She started playing with other things, like cupcakes. She has every icing tip you can imagine, and can do some pretty fancy work with the frosting on her cupcakes. She mastered delicious breads, including banana bread, zucchini bread, and a cinnamon swirl bread. Her most recent challenge was to master making Macarons, and after a few days of a lot of trial and error, she figured out how to make the perfect, delicious Macaron. Angie saw an opportunity for her to turn this hobby into a small business, and jumped in to help set everything up. Occasionally, Angie comes into the kitchen to help with the baking as well.
