BIZ WHIZ
Mah Jongg players participate in Mah Jongg for Memories on June 27 at the Oaks Country Club.
Tulsans
Shawnna Latham-Feddersen is the founder of Gameday Couture. Here, her team styles a product photo shoot — one component of the business — on Skelly Field at the University of Tulsa. Gameday Couture’s licensed products include TU and Oklahoma State University.
FAN FASHION Local company tackles casual game gear for women. BY KAYLIE COTTON
A
native Tulsan has scored a touchdown with her business. Gameday Couture LLC is a manufacturer and distributor of boutique and licensed women’s apparel with an e-commerce and private label division headquartered in Jenks. Incorporated in 2010, Gameday Couture was first idealized after CEO Shawnna LathamFeddersen and her husband, Gameday Couture President Kurt Feddersen, attended many Oklahoma State University football games. Not interested in wearing a dress and boots to the game like some of her peers, Shawna Latham-Feddersen wanted something she could dress up or down — casual clothing for the game-going gal. Feddersen test-marketed some of her T-shirt and top designs with licensing from OSU, the University of Tulsa and the University of Oklahoma. As Gameday Couture took off, she and Kurt traveled to Atlanta for a trade show, but attendance was low due to area flooding. That’s when she saw an ad on the local news for ABC’s “Shark Tank.” The Feddersens stood in the rain and awaited 18
TulsaPeople SEPTEMBER 2019
a chance to pitch their business to a blank-faced judge. Afterward, they assumed they had wasted their time and left Atlanta discouraged. But they received a call and, after a round of auditions, eventually made it onto the live show, where Gameday Couture gained financial backing from businessman Mark Cuban. “It opened a few doors, but luckily, we had already seen so much growth that we have been really fortunate to not necessarily need his help so far,” Feddersen says. “He’s there if we need him and he’s excellent. He gives great advice, and he lets us run our business how we like.” Feddersen was nominated for the 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year Award this past June by Ernst and Young. She competed alongside other wellknown regional business owners such as Michael Browning of Urban Air Adventure Parks and Spencer and Jeff Jan, co-founders of Solo Stove. Although she didn’t win, Feddersen says, “I was completely honored and grateful to be considered among such amazing and talented innovators in business. I was very humbled to be in that mix.” TP
SMALL GROUPS OF WELL-DRESSED WOMEN gather quietly around tables, each studying intricate Chinese characters on small tiles. This game with ancient roots doesn’t share the energy of Bunco or the rhythm of Bingo. The challenging Mah Jongg requires concentration and skill, says local player Jenelle Schatz. The object is to make part of a hand, of which there are 65 types. “You can’t just sit down and play,” Schatz says. “I watched people play for a few weeks before I tried it.” Now she plays at least weekly for three hours at a time. More than 500,000 people play Mah Jongg regularly in the United States, according to the National Mah Jongg League. The mental stimulation of the game, along with the social element of gathering to play, connected some dots for Schatz, whose husband, Tony, died from Alzheimer’s disease in 2012. These aspects of Mah Jongg cover two of the Alzheimer’s Association’s “10 Ways to Love Your Brain”: tips to prevent cognitive decline. In 2018, Schatz organized a Tulsa benefit for the Association called Mah Jongg for Memories. The event was so successful, the National Alzheimer’s Association launched it as a pilot national event for The Longest Day, a campaign around the summer solstice. On or around June 21, thousands of participants from across the world come together to fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s through an activity of their choice. In June 2019, 28 Mah Jongg for Memories events across the country raised more than $50,000 collectively for the fight against Alzheimer’s. Schatz is proud others find pleasure in the game and are joining in the cause. “I look at it as a way to honor my husband’s life that is taking what we’ve been through and turning it into something positive,” she says. — MORGAN PHILLIPS
VALERIE WEI-HAAS
AT PLAY