Melissa Sanders Purchasing Director

Melissa was born in small town Alabama, but her father’s business brought her family to Anderson, SC, when she was growing up.  She graduated from Converse College in Spartanburg with a double-major in Business Administration and Sociology.

Melissa says that meeting Emily in 2000 truly changed her life because she not only found her calling, but found a second family here. Melissa has worked in sales, customer service and marketing, but found her real passion in purchasing and production management.  Melissa loves the vendors she works with from all over the world, and embraces the challenge of tracking down hard-to-find raw materials.

One of Melissa’s proudest “life moments” she says was buying her own house, where her life is now very full and happy with Daniel, the love of her life, and their two fur-kids… Hampton, 10, a yellow lab, and Rose, a 13 year old beagle.

Melissa’s favorite channel of relaxation is cross-stitching incredibly detailed projects that may take up to two years complete; but for real fun she likes attending estate auctions and live concerts…recent favorites are Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and Billy Joel.  She also loves going to Broadway musicals and is excited about seeing “Wicked” when it comes to Greenville soon.

Kay was born and raised on the beautiful shores of Lake Martin, Alabama, in a little, “if you blink, you’ll miss it”, town called Red Hill.

She spent much of her adult life in Birmingham in the advertising business, but moved to Spartanburg in 2000 to be near her closest friend, Betsy, (Emily’s sister) who had also moved from Birmingham a few years earlier.

Kay is “big time” into football and basketball …college or pro…it doesn’t matter, she loves it all.  Not surprising she is a huge Auburn University fan… War Eagle! 

She’s also such an avid reader that she reads three to five books a week. Kay can read an entire book on a Sunday afternoon at the same time she’s watching a couple of pro football games!

Kay loves everybody at Emily Ray, and we all love Kay because she’s just one of those most kind-hearted people who will do anything for anybody. She loves interacting with our customers and says she still gets excited when she runs into someone wearing Emily Ray jewelry, especially when she’s traveling out of state.

Kay is very involved in her church, loves to cook and go camping with her family.  She doesn’t have any pets of her own, but she loves to dog-sit for Emily’s dog, Jack, and Mallory’s dog, Stella when they go out of town.

Betsy and her husband, Paul, met on Match.com and knew right away they were destined to be together forever!  She moved to Rock Hill, SC, when they got married and Betsy was blessed with an instant family of three wonderful children, and now has three beautiful grandchildren who call her “Bebe”.

When Betsy was just nineteen and wondering what to do with her life, she tagged along with her dad on a business trip to New York.  Before the week was out she had decided to stay in the “Big Apple” and landed a receptionist job with a Madison Avenue ad agency who found her southern accent “charming.” 

But, a few years in New York left Betsy homesick for the south, so she moved back to Birmingham, Alabama, and worked there in the advertising business for the next twenty years.  It was here that she met Kay Taunton who has been her very best friend for nearly thirty years!

Betsy loves working with her “baby” sister, Emily.  She is so proud of the business that Emily built and says that few people really know and appreciate how hard Emily worked and sacrificed to make this business a success.  Emily Ray Jewelry is truly a family business because everyone here is like family. 

Like Emily, Betsy inherited her creative talent from their mother.  She loves graphic design, interior decorating and reading.  Betsy and Paul live quietly in the countryside of Rock Hill.  They are now empty nesters, but they adore spoiling their 16-year old dog, Snickers, and 13-year old cat, Grace.