Mary Ann Henderson returned to Natchez after a career in Hollywood to new success as a bed and breakfast proprietor. Named the Natchez Business and Civic League’s Woman of the Year for 1999 last week, Henderson said she was especially pleased to know that her peers appreciated what she was trying to build with Mary Magnolia’s Bed and Breakfast.

&uot;It really made me very happy,&uot; Henderson said. &uot;When you’re new in business, it’s wonderful to have people say ‘I know what you’re trying to do.’&uot;

The award reads that it is given to &uot;a female exemplifying outstanding entrepreneurship.&uot;

Born and raised on Providence Road in Natchez, Henderson graduated from Sadie B. Thompson School and then from Jackson State University with a major in business education.

Not long afterward, she headed to California where she worked in the medical field as a transcriptionist for about 20 years and then through an acquaintance in the movie industry, worked in television for 18 years.

&uot;My last job was as director of late night programming for ABC,&uot; she said.

&uot;It was fun working in that industry, but I was definitely ready for something different. It was time to reinvent myself.&uot;

So, from her home in the Hollywood Hills back to her hometown of Natchez, Henderson was looking for her next career.

&uot;I came down to Natchez on one of the Era Reunions,&uot; she said. The Era Reunion was for the entire era of high school graduates from Sadie B. Thompson School.

&uot;Rather than just have one class or the other, we have era reunions for all who graduated high school there.&uot;

It was then she began to imagine opening a restaurant in her old hometown.

Her first move was to buy a downtown property at 312 Main St. in October of 1997. While renovating that property, she saw a freshly renovated 1860 home at 501 Madison St. and the first thoughts of Mary Magnolia’s Bed and Breakfast was born.

&uot;I thought I would see if I could turn the house into a bed and breakfast,&uot; Henderson said. &uot;There would always be time to own a restaurant.&uot;

So Henderson put the restaurant on a back burner, and in April 1999, opened Mary Magnolia’s Bed and Breakfast.

&uot;I’ve had some of the greatest guests,&uot; she said.

Some are early morning runners and she plots various routes for them based on their skill level. If they’re experienced runners, she plots a course along Silver Street, letting them tackle the challenge of running under-the-hill.

&uot;Some guests have been Germans with five good words of English,&uot; she said.

&uot;But it’s amazing how quickly you learn to communicate.&uot;

Specializing in Southern breakfasts, the developing niche for Mary Magnolia’s has been wedding anniversaries.

&uot;I like to offer anniversary weekends for people in town and I promise to keep the kids away,&uot; Henderson said with a laugh.

Henderson said she is pleased with her bed and breakfast, but she still thinks of opening her restaurant one day.

&uot;It’s interesting that I thought of the restaurant first and the B&B has turned out to be a good idea,&uot; she said.