Faith Collides

Anne Beiler was 40 years old when she came up with the Auntie Anne’s brand for her famous soft pretzels. The company, now owned by private equity firm Roark Capital Group, has over 1,800 stores worldwide and annual sales of $800 million.   Growing up in an Amish community, Anne Beiler did not think about pursuing a career. She wanted to get married and raise a family. In her 20s, Anne married Jonas who was a mechanic and they were both lived happily on a farm. But on September 8, 1975, Anne was 26 years old when her second daughter Angie was killed in a tractor accident. Anne eventually sought counsel from a well-respected pastor in their community, but this would soon turn into seven years of sexual and religious abuse from him. When Anne finally had the courage to “confess” to her husband, Anne and Jonas got help through counseling. Out of that experience, Jonas wanted to change his career to become a counselor to help others in the community. Anne soon realized that she may need to find a job to support