• By KAREN MARTIN
• Assistant People editor
• Published: May 17, 2009

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If Baton Rouge’s economy shows an unexpected uptick this month, a group of women from Michigan just might be the cause.

While some women might venture across town for a good sale, this group traveled more than 1,000 miles to take advantage of great shopping at the boutiques and malls of Baton Rouge and the surrounding area.

Why, you might ask?

“Baton Rouge has incredible boutiques,” said Amy Kogler Langeler, the ringleader of this merry band of hardcore shoppers. “You can find things here that you won’t find anywhere else.”

Langeler, 33, grew up in Baton Rouge but now calls Jenison, Mich., home.

Shopping in the North, she said, is more function than fun. Yes, you can get great coats, but when it comes to fun summer tops, handbags, sandals and dresses, Baton Rouge just can’t be beat.

Over the years, a friend or two or five have come home with Langeler.

“In 2005, five of us came. In 2006, there were seven. This year, it’s 10 of us,” said Langeler.

Once here, the group was joined by Langeler’s mom, Jeannene Kogler, 60, of Baton Rouge; her sister, 25-year-old Allison Kogler Matherne, of Covington; and Julie Salguero, 25, a family friend from Baton Rouge. That made a total of 13.

They all stayed at Kogler’s Baton Rouge home.

And that took some organization. Fortunately, Langeler, a graphic designer and the mother of two, is an organizer extraordinaire.

That’s what it takes to get 10 women on the right plane and to shuttle 13 women in a three-car caravan from New Orleans to St. Francisville and back again, with many, many shopping stops along the way.

“She scheduled who’s rooming with who, and she made a bathroom schedule. You had to decide if you wanted to shower in the morning or at night,” said Jane Haney, 62. “She wanted to make sure we all had hot water.”