Should she take over leading a family-run, foundering flag-making company? Or should she liquidate it, as its board of directors suggested?
Christiansen married into the business. Her husband, John, oversaw sales and marketing. They married in 1968, had two sons, and in 1975, Christiansen joined the outside sales team. The company branded itself as FlagSource in 1979. Within five years, she rebuilt it. Achievements include installing the largest embroidery machine in the world to make the star fields for the U.S. flags, and in 2014, adding direct-to-fabric digital printers for other items.
And she was especially proud that the U.S. flags the company makes are 100% made in the USA -- both materials and labor, he said.