Segner’s Jewelers, a Fredericksburg-based family business with a second location in Bee Cave, is donating 10 percent of all sales (excluding loose diamond sales) in 2017 to area charities for its 80th anniversary.

Segner’s is a full-service jewelry store that offers both name-brand and custom jewelry as well as in-house repair services for pieces and watches.

Manager Bruce Pokorny opened the Bee Cave store in 2010.[/caption]

Originally located in Oak Hill for 22 years, Manager Bruce Pokorny moved the second store to Bee Cave in 2010 with his wife, Sandy Segner Pokorny, and operates the store with their daughter, Kelsey Veve. 

Instead of trying to glorify 80 years in the business, Bruce said the year of giving campaign is about 80 years of appreciating the community’s support. However, the campaign took on a new meaning after the couple’s daughter, Allina Pokorny, died suddenly from colon cancer last summer at age 28.

“All of us between the two stores thought about doing something special for the 80th year,” he said. “We decided, however painful it may be to tell Allina’s story, we would have her in mind when celebrating the anniversary. It’s something we needed to do in her honor.”

Through April, the Bee Cave store will be donating to Volunteer Healthcare Clinic, an Austin organization that offers medical services to people who are uninsured, Segner’s Marketing Adviser Cerise Carter said.

“Allina went to the hospital with a backache and never came home,” she said. “We had no idea she was sick until then. There are people out there who don’t even get that opportunity to find out if something is wrong. Any kind of health care is a great start.”

From May through August, both locations will donate to the Central Texas Food Bank, Carter said.

Clay prototypes have been created for the store's Allina Collection, which will feature metal pendants and earrings stylized as ribbons to reflect specific forms of cancer.[/caption]

Beginning in September, Segner’s will donate to local charities and projects, including the Hill Country Memorial Hospital’s cancer fund, that promote cancer research and support families with loved ones who are currently fighting the disease, Carter said.

Bruce also plans to launch the Allina Collection near the end of 2017. The jewelry will aim to represent the struggle families go through when dealing with cancer as well as give hope to those who are affected by the disease, he said. Designs are based on the cancer ribbon, and colored gemstones will represent specific types of cancer.

“We’re so busy here; it’s easy to lock yourself in your work because it’s less painful [than remembering Allina],” he said. “This is something that has made [the job] fun and rewarding.”

Segner's Jewelers in Fredericksburg has been offering its services to the community since 1937.[/caption]