At 87 years of age Edna Hennessee, founder and CEO of Cosmetic Specialty Labs and Dream Valley Aloe Vera Farms in Lawton, is as passionate about the CareerTech system as she has been about cosmetics since the 1930s. 

Cosmetic Specialty Labs is a private label of the highest quality aloe vera-based cosmetic and health care products in the industry. The lab has the ability to assist in every area of the product from creating formulas to packaging, labeling and shipping. What began as a dream from a small gift of cosmetics given to her during the Great Depression has grown into this family-owned and operated company serving more than 10,000 customers in all 50 states and 23 foreign countries. Her dream came true, but not without a lot of grit, determination and spunk.

Raised on an Oklahoma cattle ranch during the hard times of the Great Depression, Hennessee graduated from Union Valley High School in 1936 as class valedictorian. After receiving a scholarship from Central State University in Edmond (now the University of Central Oklahoma) and finding a place to work for room and board, she still decided to go directly into the workforce in Oklahoma City, as the family would have to sell the cattle to buy her schoolbooks.

While living in Oklahoma City, she received a gift that changed her life - Merle Norman Cosmetics.

“I knew then that I wanted to have a cosmetic company of my own,” Hennessee said. 

A window of opportunity was opened when she moved to Lawton.

“Lawton didn’t have a cosmetic studio,” Hennessee said. “So, I contacted Merle Norman and found it would cost $1,000 to start my own Merle Norman studio. That’s when I talked Merle Norman's son into letting me start up for $300 on the condition that I would attend training in California and pay off the balance.”

Hennessee washed clothes at night and worked as a department store clerk for $17 a week during the day to pay the money back. Then, she packed up and went to California, sold cosmetics at night, was trained and able to purchase $1,000 worth of cosmetics to bring back on the bus to Lawton.

In 1950, Hennessee opened the Hennessee Family Center, the largest salon in the area. After many years of experience with products available on the market, she started looking for ways to improve her product.

The company grew with its owner’s natural curiosity. Writing to various chemical companies and spending time in the local library researching chemistry, Hennessee’s kitchen in the Hennessee Family Center became her lab, while her studio customers became her testers.

In 1973, Cosmetic Specialty Labs was created. In 1980, Dream Valley Farms was added with nine acres of greenhouses to produce the best aloe vera possible.  Today, Hennessee continues to learn more about improving business processes with a long-time partner, Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton. She boasts that two-thirds of her employees have gone through one of Great Plains programs. “The first piece of advice I offer to customers who come to Cosmetic Specialty Labs hoping to start a cosmetic line is to find a technology center in their area and enroll in a class about starting a small business,” Hennessee said.

That is one of the reasons why Hennessee is being recognized as a CareerTech Business Champion, according to Phil Berkenbile, CareerTech state director.

“CareerTech Business Champions attribute much of their economic success to the partnerships they have formed with the local technology center or high school CareerTech programs,” Berkenbile said.

Through the years, Hennessee’s on-going affair in her love for learning has found an educational partner in Oklahoma’s CareerTech system. Not only has she served on the CareerTech State Board of Directors, but also she takes classes for her personal growth in classes such as Real Estate and Starting Your Own Business.

 “No one could be as successful as they want to be without taking advantage of what CareerTech has to offer,” Hennessee said. “CareerTech teaches the basics for so many industries. Young people do not have the fundamentals that CareerTech programs teach. Everyone should seek the benefits of CareerTech programs.”

GPTC has provided training for employees at Cosmetic Specialty Labs in the area of print work, artwork, computers and safety training as well as forklift training and Occupational Safety and Health Administration Certification for forklift workers.  Also, through the partnership with its tech center, the company has achieved the International Organization for Standardization Certification, Lean Manufacturing Certification, Six Sigma Certification and management training.   

Related Links 

• Cosmetic Specialty Labs
• Oklahoma Horizon Video story

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