Best, Brightest, and Most Beautiful 2010: Tashmica Torok

                                           Tashmica Torok
Owner of Heritage Flooring

Tashmica Torok is a Lansing business owner, community activist and popular blogger who’s made her home in mid-Michigan since 2001.

In 2003, she and her husband Paul launched Heritage Flooring, a professional flooring installation company.  Torok manages all marketing and public relations for the business, including community outreach, social media strategies and the writing of the “Completely Floored” blog.  Backed by her energetic, strategic support, the business has grown over its seven-year history.  The Toroks were honored with the Capital Area Michigan Works Employer of the Year in 2009, and in early 2010, Heritage Flooring’s first storefront opened in Lansing’s Southside.

For Torok, the construction industry and her Lansing address are a world away from her upbringing in El Paso, Texas. An aspiring vocalist and songwriter, Tashmica majored in vocal performance at the University of Texas at El Paso.  Eventually, she relocated to Lansing, married, started a family and became one of the area’s active business owners and community supporters.

Through Heritage Flooring, Torok is involved with the Habitat for Humanity Community ReStore, providing donated construction materials on a regular basis, as well as collecting wish list items for the Ronald McDonald House of Mid-Michigan.  In her personal life, Torok serves as the West Michigan Coordinator for the Michigan Darfur Coalition, aiding area refugees relocated from, Darfur, Sudan.

On October 9th, 2010 from 2pm-4pm, the Downtown Capital Area District Library will be hosting an event in partnership with the Habitat for Humanity Community featuring Abubakar Abdulrasool.  Abubakar is a “new American” from Darfur, Sudan.  Abubakar will be sharing his experiences as a refugee, the story of his flight out of Darfur and how volunteers and mentors have contributed to making his resettlement a success.

Torok began her popular blog , “Mother Flippin’”, with the intended purpose of supporting other mothers through solidarity and truth.  As a busy mother of three boys (Isaiah, 6, Isaac, 4 and Levi, 1), Tashmica holds this effort especially close to her heart, as she offers humor, insight and inspiration to women in Lansing and across the U.S.

“I am in love with my family which makes owning a family business not only a perk, but an amazing blessing,” Torok says. “I am allowed to take my heart to work with me everyday. The work we perform benefits other families and businesses by creating a work of art that they will enjoy for many years to come.”

She credits her success to her abiding faith in God, an insatiable appetite for learning and the encouragement and support of her husband Paul whose “craftsmanship is a source of pride and inspiration” for her and the Torok family.

For more information visit Heritage Flooring at 5312 S. Pennsylvania Avenue (next to Rycus Flooring).  Contact Torok directly at 517-999-TILE or www.thetorokheritage.net.