Fred Chamber May_June Magazine FINAL

Feature
Mother follows her son’s
business footprints
The pair work together in the family-owned business using
leadership skills to understanding each other better
Story & photos by Dawn Haun
Just like the earlier days when her
children were in school, Shelia Burns
would bake and deliver brownies
for her children’s elementary classes.
Surprisingly, she still devoted her time
and cooking for her son James Roberson’s
Leadership Fredericksburg ’15 class.
She is known as the “Brownie Lady.”
Not only are Roberson, 34, and Burns, 58,
mother and son, they both graduated from the
Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Fredericksburg
program. Not at the same time. Roberson
completed in 2015 and Burns in 2016.
Roberson learned about business management
when he young. He grew up in the family-owned
store, Roberson’s Music. It started
as a music repair facility in 1978 and has
expanded to two locations and has become
the headquarters for band and orchestra instruments,
instruction and repairs. He is the
chief operating officer, and Burns is president.
Roberson applied for Leadership Fredericksburg
after talking to LF alumni
Rob Dodd, Jr. Dodd, President of DLR
Contracting Inc., had a positive learning
experience and encouraged him.
At the start of the course, the class fellows
bonded quickly which made the learning experience
exciting and informative. By the end
of the course, he was voted class president.
“I knew James was a leader since his first day
at Pre-K. He went in right about his business
of playing and got others involved were crying
and clinging to their moms,” said Burns.
When Burns occasionally delivered homemade
brownies to Roberson’s class, she could
see the excitement from the groups and presenters.
After attending an information session,
she was convinced to apply for the next
class. “The opportunity to learn from highly
respected business leaders in our community
was exciting,” says Burns. “Having watched
James go through the course in 2015, I knew
I wanted to experience the same for myself.”
One attribute of LF is the RightPath personality
profile assessment. This along with a
360-rating assessment and executive coaching
session gives each fellow a description of
their personalities and enhance their leadership
style. “This stretched me from my
long-standing comfort zone,” says Burns. “It
gave me the opportunity to look deep into
myself and the opportunity to meet top-notch
executives that I would not have on my own.”
Burns and Roberson realize they have
different personalities. As an Analyzer, she
is more detailed, firm, and thorough as she
thinks through decisions. A Director, James
makes quick decisions and will adapt the goals
as he goes along. “I am more a ‘big picture
person,’” says Roberson. “Sometimes having
James Roberson LF ‘15 and Shelia Burns,
LF ‘16, at her graduation.
different business styles can be an advantage,
but also a roadblock. One of the aspects
of LF is that we both know how to use our
strengths and understand each other better.”
Continued on page 25
MAY/JUNE 2017 Fredericksburg Regional Business 23