Alvarado - Alvarado Construction

Alvarado has been a pioneer on several fronts. She started her own construction company in 1976 with a $2,500 loan from her parents. Alvarado Construction, based in Denver, Colo., has become one of the fastest growing commercial general contracting firms in the country. It was one of three firms that built the new Denver Broncos stadium and was also part of the construction of the Denver International Airport and the Colorado Convention Center.

Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, one of the largest beauty products firms in the United States, Ash sold a child psychology book door to door in the late 1930s and then was a sales representative and manager at the Stanley Home Products Co. from 1939 to 1952. Later, she was national training director at the World Gift Co. In 1963, with $5,000, she founded Mary Kay Cosmetics in a Dallas storefront. The firm sold products door to door using nine saleswomen, called "beauty consultants." The business grew steadily, helped by Ash's positive philosophy and her generous use of incentives, such as free pink Cadillacs and diamond jewelry, for successful sales people. With over 1.5 salespeople in 32 countries, the firm remains a major presence in the competitive beauty market. She was married three times and had a daughter and two sons.

1888-1955, American lecturer and writer on self-improvement, b. Maryville, Mo., as Dale Carnagey; grad. State Normal School Number Two, Warrensburg, Mo. (1908). After stints as a salesman and actor, he began teaching (1912) public speaking in New York City at a YMCA. His popular classes eventually became the Dale Carnegie Course, a pioneering training program in communication and interpersonal relations for people in sales, business management, and other fields. Carnegie wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), a runaway bestseller; How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948); and other books. He also penned newspaper columns and had a radio program