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Shirley’s Cookies CEO honored for business excellence

Monday Spotlight: Shaw earns lifetime achievement award for efforts growing Claysburg company

By Walt Frank 8 min read

CLAYSBURG -- Patty Shaw had a simple goal in life.

"I was going to be a secretary," Shaw said. "I married Bryan Shaw, my goal in life was to be a secretary, (and) that's what I was going to do."

Shaw well exceeded her goal.

Today, she is CEO of Shirley's Cookies in Claysburg and has been named the recipient of the 2026 Lifetime Achievement for Business Excellence Award by the Blair County Chamber of Commerce. She will be honored Sept. 22 at the Blair County Convention Center.

Shaw is a worthy recipient of the award, said Mathew Fox, Altoona Blair County Development Corp. vice president of retention and expansion and event spokesperson.

"Patty Shaw's leadership is a wonderful example of what it means to put people first. She has grown Shirley's Cookies with tremendous care and purpose, always treating her employees like family and understanding that the success of a family-owned business is measured not only by how much it grows, but by how it cares for the people who help make that growth possible," Fox said.

He added that the Lifetime Achievement Award is a fitting recognition for a leader of Shaw's reputation, as she has shown her dedication to her family, her employees and her community and has made a lasting impact on Blair County.

Shaw was surprised to be selected for the award.

"It was very humbling. I may have been embarrassed," Shaw said. "I keep a low profile."

Shaw grew up in Freedom Township and graduated from Central High School in 1983.

She got married in 1983 and she and her husband moved to Marietta, Ga., where he got a job in construction.

While there, she worked as a teller at a bank and as an office manager at Humana Hospital.

She and Bryan moved back to the area in 1986 and she held jobs at Raystown Office Equipment and Montgomery Chevrolet. She then went to New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. as a programmer in the IT department and spent two years there. In September 1989, she "retired" from her job to stay home with her son, Tyler.

She also worked with her father, Zane Feathers, who had purchased a small bakery, and she joined her father in the business in 1990.

Shaw said it was her idea to start the cookie company.

"I got the idea to start a cookie company and dad was interested. It was my goal to get cookies in every mouth in Blair County," Shaw said.

Started with a raisin

Together, they established the new corporation known as Shirley's Cookies. At the beginning, they just sold their now-famous raisin-filled cookies.

Shaw continued to work alongside her father, changing the retail concept from a finished cookie to manufacturing a frozen product ready for in-store bakeries and food service companies. Upon the retirement of her father in 2018, Shaw stepped into the role of CEO.

From raisin-filled cookies, they branched out to making chocolate and peanut butter no-bakes.

"They are now our bread and butter," said Tyler Shaw, sales executive.

"We are the official dessert of the Altoona Curve. We have a night each year where we give away whoopie pies," Tyler Shaw said. "The top sellers are the no-bakes. It is the product that took us across the country and it still is."

Shirley's Cookies is also well known for whoopie pies and soft sugar cookies.

Shirley's Cookies products are sold nationally and are found in grocery and convenience stores under private labels.

The company has had steady growth over the years.

"My dad always cautioned from the very beginning to take your time and grow the right way and we did," Patty Shaw said.

Today, Shirley's sells about 500 million cookies a year.

"This year will be our biggest year for sales," Tyler Shaw said.

Tyler said his mother is deserving of the award.

"She would never say it is well deserved, but we know that it is," Tyler Shaw said.

"I am not a big savvy sales person. I am a mom that sold cookies," Patty Shaw said.

She said her father was her role model.

"My dad was my best friend ... (and) the best teacher I ever had. He was the smartest man I ever knew," Shaw said. "He would be so proud. If he was living, this would probably be his award. I'm accepting the award on behalf of both of us."

Jeffrey Boldizar, director of the Saint Francis University Small Business Development Center, said Shaw is very deserving of the award.

"The SBDC worked with Patty and her father when they were operating the donut shop on Route 764," Boldizar said.

Boldizar said early on, Shaw would pack up their products and bring them to local businesses to sell them. She was determined to make Shirley's work and would talk to anyone who would listen about the businesses and their cookies.

"Even great products do not sell themselves. They need a great spokesperson, and Patty is that for Shirley's Cookies," Boldizar said.

Model citizen, leader

Shaw is well respected in the local business community.

"Patty Shaw is the consummate 'under the radar' business leader. She has overseen the growth of Shirley's Cookies without calling attention to the dynamic role that she has played in that growth," said Joe Hurd, retired president/CEO of the Blair County Chamber of Commerce. "Her longevity makes her an ideal honoree for the Lifetime Achievement Award."

Sherri Steward, director of human resources at NPC Inc., has known Shaw personally and professionally for many years.

"I have come to know her as a fellow business leader in the Claysburg community and someone I greatly respect. As local employers, we have worked together and supported one another in attracting and retaining talent in our community. I have always found her to be approachable, knowledgeable and genuinely interested in the success of local businesses," Steward said.

Micheal Macionsky, vice president of commercial banking at First National Bank, said the award is well deserved.

"Patty is a genuine person who truly cares about others. She has positively impacted our community not only through business but also from a philanthropic standpoint," Macionsky said. "The contributions she has made, and will continue to make, are good examples of what it means to be a leader and pillar of our community."

Shaw has been a dedicated supporter and friend of Blair County Christian School since her oldest son began attending the school in the mid-1990s. She helped create the school's largest annual fundraiser, the BCCS Auction.

"Under her leadership, the event has grown into a much-anticipated tradition and an important source of support for the school," said elementary Principal Patricia Ludolph. "Although Patty has since passed the management of the auction on to others, she has continued to faithfully support Blair County Christian School and participate in school functions whenever she can."

Shaw and Shirley's Cookies have been big supporters of the Easter for Eli foundation.

"Nineteen years ago, I was running a foundation out of my basement and borrowed enclosed trailers. They didn't even know me personally but believed in my foundation and offered me a key to their storage facility to use as I needed. They never batted an eye at helping and supporting EFE," President Martin Garrett said.

Shaw is also well-respected by her employees.

"Patty has a very strong faith. I believe this is what makes her who and what she is. She is one of the most thoughtful and caring people I know. Although owning, growing and maintaining a business is very time consuming, she is constantly doing (things) for others and volunteering her time to help where she can," said quality assurance manager Bruce Woodring Jr. "When I heard about Patty winning this, it made me very happy and proud. She would never ask to be recognized for anything, but I can not think of anyone more deserving in our community."

Warehouse manager Don Wagner said Shaw treats her employees as family.

"Her door is always open to talk, not only about work, but about personal issues as well. Even though she expects quality, she is not intimidating in how she goes about business," Wagner said. "Starting out peddling raisin-filled cookies from a station wagon to sending cookies all over the country shows what dedication and determination can accomplish."

Shaw, 62, has no immediate plans to retire.

"My job is still too much fun. I enjoy coming here," she said.

The Shaw file

Name: Patty Shaw

Age: 62

Position: CEO of Shirley's Cookies

Education: 1983 graduate of Central High School

Family: Husband, Bryan; sons, Garrett and Tyler; nine grandchildren

Quote: "There is not a lot of 'I' in team. I am an employee just like everyone else."

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.

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