Awards
Outstanding Alumna Award - 2014
The Zeta Tau Alpha Foundation introduced the Outstanding Alumna Award at the 1982 Convention in Atlanta to recognize ZTA alumnae who have become outstanding leaders in their chosen professions, demonstrated significant accomplishments and made notable contributions to society. Many of the past recipients have also served the Fraternity in their post-collegiate years, but that is not a requirement for the award. These outstanding women serve as role models for all members of Zeta Tau Alpha and their informative and inspiring speeches are highlights of our biennial Convention. You can view all Outstanding Alumna recipients here.
Bonney Stamper Shuman
Gamma Pi Chapter, The University of Georgia
When Bonney Stamper Shuman was just three years out of college, the bank where she had worked since high school promoted her to a manager position at a large-market branch. That milestone, which should have been cause for celebration, instead became a catalyst for a life-changing career move.
“As I reviewed the budget, I saw I was being paid significantly less than a man with less experience had been receiving before me,” Bonney recalled. “When I asked about it, I was told ‘well, he has a family.’ That really motivated me to do something else that would prevent me from ever being in that situation again.
The something else became taking a leap of faith to team with a fellow University of Georgia graduate who had a simple, yet unproven, idea. They formed a company called Bar Code Systems and set out to sell camera-ready bar code art to printers and packaging companies to help them track products. In 2014, bar codes are ubiquitous; in 1983, they were a virtually unknown technology—just a seemingly meaningless arrangement of lines of various widths and spacing and numbers.
“I wish I could now claim to have had an incredible insight into how this technology might truly change our lives,” Bonney said, “but I didn’t have that vision. I was just excited about a new opportunity and the ability to build something from the ground up.”
At the time, only three companies in the country were manufacturing bar codes, and Bonney began to travel to sell the concept. As the technology became more widespread, major retailers began to see how the Universal Product Codes, when tied to a database, provided an efficient, quick and accurate way to track products.
“Retailers had no idea what was selling and often made mistakes,” Bonney said. “A cashier makes one error in every 300 key strokes, versus one error in every 3 million barcode scans. It was very easy to show companies how bar codes could help them run their business better.”
Soon, major corporations like The Home Depot, Napa/Genuine Parts, Sara Lee, Federated Department Stores, Saks and Coca-Cola were on board with Bar Code Systems.
“First, we worked on developing relationships built on trust,” Bonney said. “We did this by working to understand the business inside and out. For example, I attended The Home Depot’s cashier training. Other staff members rode in delivery trucks and sold shoes. We were able to offer solutions that allowed clients to run their businesses more efficiently and we were able to demonstrate a quick return on investment.”
In 1998, Bonney sold the bar code generation portion of the business to her brother and changed the company’s name to Stratix Corporation, with a concentration on total solutions and new software products. By 2011, Stratix, with Bonney as its Chief Executive Officer, had 160 employees and just over $150 million in revenue. Her leap of faith had grown from two 20-somethings with an idea to an internationally used technology.
Bonney sold her ownership in the company in 2011 and retired to spend more time with her husband, Billy, and their son and daughter, who both now play collegiate golf—Billy at Furman University and Mary Ellen at Georgia, where she followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a member of ZTA’s Gamma Pi Chapter. Bonney uses her new, flexible schedule to travel to their tournaments and volunteer with a school board of trustees, community foundation, her church and The University of Georgia Alumni Board.