We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Wagner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kelly, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I got my work ethic by having a close and open relationship with my parents and grandparents. Our relationship allowed them to share their professional experiences with each other and myself freely. As a child, I might not have fully understood what they did for a living, but I did know that going to work every day and doing your best was very important because it was the backbone of a successful career, stable income, and a happy life.
I also learned there would be times when you won’t feel like going to work and/or like your job, but you have to push through and continue to do your best.
My parents, Carol and Pete, and my grandparents, Rosa and Ralph had professional careers with longevity.
My mom started working for Westinghouse, now Northrop Gruman at the age of 18, and having a positive mindset, dedication, and motivation gave her the work ethic needed to retire early after 33 years of service.
I remember a time during my mom’s employment when management changes were occurring and they made short-term adjustments to her schedule and work location. Even though she didn’t like working the night shift or driving an additional 40 miles round trip, she did what was required of her.
After a short stent in the US Army Reserves, my dad began his career working for Roper Eastern in Columbia, MD as a Millwright. His position with Roper extended for 28 years – when they closed their doors.
Having to change jobs after 28 years was heartbreaking, but he kept his head held high and secured new employment. During the rest of his career, he obtained employment with Coca-Cola and SCM Chemicals but was forced out when the companies had lay-offs, closures, and buy-outs.
In 2011, my husband John and I started Mechanical Solutions – a company that provided industrial piping and structure services throughout Maryland. In 2012 my dad decided he wanted to finish his work life working for us, thus retiring five years later in 2017.
In short, even though his career and employment changed over the years, his work ethic remained unchanged.
As for my grandparents, my grandfather had a lifelong career in the Army. I like to tell people the best thing he gained from working for the Army was a wife. While stationed in Germany he met an amazing woman, whom I would later call, Oma (German for Grandmother). During his stay, they were able to grow their relationship into an undying love and when he received his orders to return home, that amazing woman he had met and fell in love with joined him and became his wife.
Now in the US, my grandmother had to start her career. She obtained a job with a large company, known as A&P Bakery in Baltimore where she retired from 42 years later.
As you can read, I was given the best opportunities to experience what hard work was and learn what it takes to have a great work ethic and a successful career.
I also wanted to let you know that their careers didn’t just end with their professions, they all worked just as hard at home, keeping a clean and organized home, a maintained lawn, and providing a nurturing and structured home environment.
I will say though, even though I wasn’t fond of them – CHORES, having chores that I had to do right the first time, gave me a stable foundation to build my work ethic and pass it along to my children.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
In 2017, Kelly Wagner and her daughter, Danielle Fraunhoffer, two long-time residents of Harford County, Maryland, decided to take the risk to open a unique wellness facility that would provide the community with a simpler and more direct way to receive alternative wellness services for people to get relief from chronic health issues. This way of healing was experienced in Kelly’s personal journey to healing her chronic health problems and was inspired by the holistic and naturopathy doctors that she had the pleasure of working with along her journey.
When we decided we wanted to open Harford County’s first and Maryland’s third salt facility, there were no reservations, but we did know that this new chapter would be a challenge. I was starting a new profession that I had no experience in, as my current and prior work experience was related to construction and the industrial environment.
I would now be working in the health, service, and retail industry, interacting with customers on a daily basis, ordering and selling retail products, learning about demographics, participating in community enrichment, networking with other businesses, hiring a staff of different trades, that I wasn’t yet familiar with, learning more about alternative wellness, and educating the community on the benefits of salt therapy and holistic wellness in a way that they would understand and accept as a healing modality.
“Additionally, knowing firsthand how expensive it is to utilize holistic doctors and alternative wellness services, I had to make sure service costs are affordable to all,” Kelly said.
We opened Serenity Salt Spas’ doors to clients in early 2018, providing only salt therapy sessions to adults and children of all ages, but rapidly grew into the one-stop wellness center they are today. Our concern for kids’ health in today’s lifestyle is what drove us to open Maryland’s first and only facility in the Mid-Atlantic Region that offers a special salt room dedicated to kids ages 3 months to 12 years old.
Serenity Salt is a hidden gem for most as it provides a tranquil environment and a unique experience for all. During a single visit, you can breathe easier with a Salt Therapy session, detox your body utilizing the ION Foot Detox, enhance your skin by choosing a signature or deluxe facial, and fully relax by receiving a customized massage
For the past 6 years, my focus has been directed on growing my business and providing all-natural, drug-free, and holistic wellness services to the community, along with utilizing the knowledge and experiences I’ve gained over the years to assist clients who suffer from Fibromyalgia, Lymes Disease, Mold Exposure, Chronic Inflammation, and Pain, including Chronic Respiratory Problems and Skin Conditions.
The most fulfilling part of my job is when I’m able to help those who want a healthier lifestyle, those who don’t know what’s going on with their body, those being misdiagnosed, and those who ask for advice, suggestions, and/or direction.
Here are a few of the services provided at the spa that can help people who are not getting the relief they need and deserve from Western medicine.
Ion Foot Detox – detoxifies the body by removing environmental toxins, and heavy metals boosts the immune system, and more.
Medical Massage Chairs – working with pneumatic airbag technology, sessions in the massage chairs, reduce pain, reduces stress, and anxiety, improve sleep problems, circulation, and more.
Lymphatic Drainage Massage – this hands-free service relaxes muscles, increases circulation, reduces swelling, loosens stiff joints, removes toxins, etc.
Oxygen Bar Therapy – increases energy levels, decreases inflammation, improves concentration and athletic performance, reduces stress, and promotes better sleep habits.
Celluma LED Therapy – only FDA-approved form of light therapy that decreases inflammation and pain, accelerates tissue repair, kills bacteria, and improves acne.
Infrared Sauna Cocoon – beneficial for joint pain, stiff aching muscles, whole-body detoxification, increases energy levels, and more. Wellness is achieved when your body is encompassed with healing far infrared rays, gemstones, and magnetic and photon therapy.
PEMF Therapy – enhances the body’s natural recovery process, corrects cellular dysfunction throughout the body, and helps you recover from an injury faster.
In addition, Serenity Salt Spa offers signature, deluxe, and specialty facials, massage therapy, energy healing, body sculpting and muscle-building services
Since we are always learning about new ways and services that can benefit our customers, we will move to a larger building in February 2024 to accommodate the new equipment and services.
So, if you are ready to start your journey to wellness, visit Serenity Salt Spa located at 2216 Commerce Road, Forest Hill, Maryland, or contact them at 443-640-6020.
New Client Discounts:
• $10 Off 1st Salt Therapy Session
• 15% Off 1st Skin Care Service
In conclusion
I’d like to ask our readers, to think back to when you were young and your mom and dad would tell you, “Try it, you might like it, but you’ll never know unless you do”. The same concept applies to Salt Therapy because I can talk all day about the health benefits it provides and how relaxing a 45-minute session is, but you’ll never know until you try it and experience firsthand how salt therapy will benefit you.
We are confident that once you do, you’re sure to make salt therapy a regular part of your healthcare routine. And to prove it we’re giving all new clients their 1st Salt Therapy Session for FREE.
Book your first session through our website by using the discount code: VOYAGEFREE
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
During my journey and by taking the hard road at times, I will tell everyone the best education comes from experiences. The more experiences you have the more knowledge you’ll gain.
Here’s a perfect example, during my journey to improve my health problems caused by being susceptible to mold, I went to an excessive amount of doctors, and specialists, obtained more than my fair share of tests, and underwent several Western and Alternative treatments, procedures, and services – totaling a whole lot of experience and a bucket load of knowledge.
If I hadn’t met the doctors, had the tests, or experienced the services that were recommended to me, I wouldn’t have the knowledge I have today to assist people like me, those searching to improve their health, but don’t know how to move forward. Just as important, I didn’t give up – had I given up, I wouldn’t have had those experiences and I wouldn’t have the knowledge to open Serenity Salt Spa.
If I had to let the readers know the best ways to prepare, develop, and improve themselves for their journey, I would tell them
Never give up – Be optimistic – Take chances – Step outside your comfort zone – Don’t let others bring you down or tell you – you can’t do something – Most importantly, be open to trying new experiences and remember –
You Don’t Know-it-All – Learn Something New Every day.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We are ALWAYS looking to partner and network with others; it makes for a stronger community.
Our ideal partnerships would include promoting each other, sharing literature, offering sharable discounts, and affordable costs to customers and staff members, and most importantly coming together to enrich the community.
But to be honest it’s been a struggle thus far, finding others that actually want to commit to an ongoing working relationship. We’ve experienced promises made, but never fulfilled and plans created but never set in motion.
We’ve heard so many yeses but without action intention. We’ve even experienced our partner slowly and unnoticeably turning our partnership into competition.
Serenity Salt Spas’ mission is to make the communities’ health, wellness, and environment a top priority and our partners should share the same mission.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.serenitysaltspa.net
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/serenitysalt
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/serenitysaltspallc
- Youtube: @serenitysaltspa8649
- Other: https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/a-spa-day-at-serenity-salt
Image Credits
Kelly Wagner/Owner
