By Marsha Bonecutter
As many of us know, living through a painful experience can often make us a changed person. At age 34, Connie Ciekanski, owner of Dover Healthy Alternatives in Dover, Ohio, found her life altered forever, when she attempted to help a friend who was dying of cancer. “She was diagnosed with cancer at age 38,” explained Connie. “She went through several months of treatments. She had a five year old son. She was slowly losing her life. I felt so bad for her situation, so I went and listened to an herbalist speak, hoping to find something to help her. Sadly, it was too late and I wasn’t able to.”
Listening to the herbalist and the passing of her friend acted as a catalyst that ultimately led Connie to change her own health for the better. “I started by doing herbal cleansing,” said Connie. “I joined a multi-level company, bought a MRM (muscle response monitor), went to Michigan for training and certification and completely loved every minute of what I was doing.”
In September of 2000, Connie went into a health food store in downtown Dover and asked the owner if he wanted to sell his store—he said yes! “I really wasn’t thinking he would say yes,” laughed Connie, “I was so excited about owning my own store that I never feared failure. Our anniversary is September 1st.”
It has been an eventful 11 years for Dover Healthy Alternatives and for Connie and her family. The first location on Third Street in downtown Dover was a 1,000 square foot store which only accommodated the booming business for 6 months. Connie moved across the street to a location that was double the size and had a basement for meetings. The store flourished there for two years. Fortune smiled again when the former Goshen Dairy store at 320 North Wooster Avenue, Dover, became available. “My husband, Bob, took off work and we went to look at this building,” Connie recalled. “The whole time I told myself I was just curious to see it—there was no way I could move there. As soon as I saw the inside, I knew it had to be the next Dover Healthy Alternatives location.” Read the rest of this entry »
