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WRITTEN BY HEATHER ROTHBAUER-WANISH
Sometimes life turns out differently than we planned. Megan MacLaughlin-Barck’s current reality bears little resemblance to her original plans. After graduating from Chippewa Falls Senior High School, Megan vowed never to come back to the area. She earned her undergraduate degree from UW-Madison, followed by a law degree from Pace Law School. Today, Megan is the sole owner of Larson Construction Co., Inc. (a Chippewa Falls company her grandparents founded). She admits she never envisioned herself in this role—but she has eaten a lot of “nevers” along the way. Nevertheless, while balancing motherhood, a thriving business, and a completely enriched life, she couldn’t imagine a better path.
Faith
Megan grew up with concepts of God and faith through the structure of religion. She realized the importance of her faith in adulthood:
My first conscious memory of faith interacting with God was during our first IVF (in vitro fertilization) procedure, when
the doctor expressed that he had used all of the science he knew to create our embryos, but the “spark” that is life was in God’s hands. After six years of trying to conceive and armed only with a strong desire to be a child’s parent, my prayer that day was that God would help me to see the path He intended for us, and that is what I have come to view as faith—being open to God’s plan.
Today, faith intersects with every aspect of Megan’s life, as she understands that things may not be what she wants them to be or what she was expecting, but she is called on to have faith that things are unfolding exactly how they are supposed to occur:
I love and accept what is happening—that is my faith.
Family
Megan has been married to Tim, a Boston native, for 19 years. They have been blessed with two children, Matthew, age 13, and Emma, age 11. Megan’s parents reside in the Lake Wissota area, while Tim’s family largely remains on the East Coast. Because they have a family-owned business, Megan and her family admittedly spend a great deal of time working:
The family that works together plays together. Since we made a commitment to our business, we also made a commitment to our children, which requires sacrifices from all of us. During the construction season, you will find us together on jobsites, in our construction yard, or in our office; we are all doing our part to get the work done that needs to be done.
While they work hard, the family also celebrates and takes vacations together.
We take our kids just about everywhere. The winter season offers a great time to travel with our children, disconnecting from work and really connecting with each other as a family.
She adds that the best part of vacation is spending time together, relaxing, playing games, making jokes, eating great food, and enjoying each other’s company.
Friends
Megan knows that finding time with friends is challenging but is absolutely necessary:
We find time to meet because it is essential to rejuvenate with the laughter and support of friends. Whether we get together once a month or once a quarter, these friends have us laughing and being more ourselves.
In addition, Megan and Tim see people throughout the Chippewa Valley at various events, and it reminds her that she lives around a great group of individuals that she feels privileged to call friends:
Some of the best times we have ever had with friends are the spontaneous times when we run into someone somewhere or they have called us on a whim.
Fitness
Megan admits that she used to think of fitness as this “other” part of life, something she did “on the side” of everything else already included in her schedule.
As I have grown, I have come to understand that fitness is part of every aspect of life.
She now thinks of fitness as the little things that we do every day, such as running up and down the stairs, chasing kids around, taking a walk to clear our minds, having a dance contest with the kids, or going on a bike ride.
My best advice about fitness is that if you’re thinking that you don’t have time to go to the gym, don’t! Instead, just go and experience life.
Finance
Finance plays a pivotal role in Megan’s daily tasks at Larson Construction.
I came into this business with a law degree, so I had a good foundation but had to learn about finance and business from the ground up. My personal and professional goals are heavily influenced by finances, as there is a constant need to balance the needs and goals of the business with the needs and goals of our personal finances.
Megan encourages women who may be weary of finances to learn as much as they can by focusing on what you don’t know and asking questions of others that can help you:
The answers are out there, and, in my experience, life is trying to give you the answers you seek; so the more ready you can be to receive them, the happier and easier your life will be.
Megan originally returned to the Chippewa Valley so that Tim could work construction with her father. But before she knew it, both she and Tim were in the bridge building business. Even though it wasn’t what she had planned, Megan knows she is on the right path:
The challenge to us is to be open to God’s greater plan—our reality—and to clear our minds to accept things as they are, rather than trying to fit them into a scheme of how we want them to be.
