Wendy and Oliver Steinnagel welcome state legislators to Oliver's Hair Salon in Overland Park, Kansas. (Image by: Kati Porter.)

On a Friday evening on June 26^th, things were still hopping at Oliver’s Hair Salon in Overland Park, Kansas. Groups of women were circulating through stations in the salon, enjoying complimentary hair touchups, polish changes, hand and neck massages, makeup touchups and chakra treatments. Others ventured outside where an Operation BBQ Relief food truck was dishing up pulled pork sandwiches and cocktails.

While it sounds like a typical client appreciation event, none of these women had stepped foot in Oliver’s before. This was a special reception was hosted by the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) in partnership with Women in Government (WIG) Business Council, and the guests were 70 state legislators who were attending WIG’s annual conference which happened to be in Overland Park this year. The event provided an opportunity for beauty professionals to educate and inform state legislators about industry-related issues impacting their businesses and communities.

“The reception was a first of its kind for the beauty industry,” says Oliver Steinnagel, who owns Oliver’s Hair Salon with his wife Wendy, and serves on PBA’s board as vice chair of the government affairs committee. “The timing of this conversation was important as more states consider deregulating our industry, which would be detrimental to manufacturers and distributors of beauty products, as well as to a salon owner like me.”

The salon’s 38 employees were on hand that evening to provide the mini services or conduct salon tours, and attendees enjoyed beverages donated by Boulevard Brewing Co., appetizers donated by Operation BBQ Relief and desserts provided by Schwarzkopf. Operation BBQ Relief is a disaster response organization dedicated to providing warm meals to communities after a disaster strikes.

In addition, representatives from Aveda, Luxury Brand Partners, Schwarzkopf and Cosmoprof were on hand to welcome and guests and talk about issues. In addition, the companies, along with Oliver’s Hair Salon, provided product samples for gift bags and products for gift baskets that were awarded throughout the evening.

“We’ve never done anything like this, and the team was excited to participate,” says Steinnagel. “Overall, the women were delighted to be treated to complimentary services and said it was very different than most of the educational events they attend. We were surprised by how many of them shopped. We sold $900 in retail that night, something we never expected.”

“It was girl heaven,” says Kansas State Senator Kay Wolf.

One of PBA’s core pillars is to advance the beauty industry by government advocacy. In addition to advocating at the state level, PBA focuses on building relationships with elected officials at the federal level. As a member of the Professional Beauty Federation, PBA hosts “Welcome to Our World” which introduces the professional beauty industry to members of Congress.   Welcome to our World 2015 will take place on Monday, September 28^th from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. in the Canon Building Caucus Room.  For more information please visit: probeauty.org/wtow.

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