Monday, September 14, 2009

Laurie L. Ross has joined The Clark Company as vice president, bringing an impressive resume of experience and a wide variety of capabilities in advertising sales and creativity. A former competitive figure skater, she was raised just outside of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and is a graduate of Whitworth University with a B.A. in Communications and Marketing. She worked for Nordstrom Inc. both in Spokane, and as a manager in and around the Seattle area prior to becoming a buyer for the Seattle-based retail fashion chain, Jay Jacobs Inc.. Laurie moved back to Spokane in 1998, and began a career in broadcast advertising, working briefly with Citadel Radio Group in sales, then with Clear Channel in sales and as a local sales manager. She discovered a talented in writing radio advertising copy and generating original advertising ideas for local businesses. During her 10+ year radio career she specialized in entertainment promotion, handling this category for all six Clear Channel stations and became a highly regarded expert in generating event tickets sales by creating remarkable promotions for both regional and national promoters. Laurie has also worked in print advertising and is a consistently published freelance writer. She has been a contributor to the Nosey Parker Guide books, writing about many of the local businesses in the Spokane book and recently wrapping up writing the entire Oklahoma City guidebook. In addition, she writes a popular blog focusing on regional wine called Sip of Spokane which can be found online at www.sipofspokane.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sipofspokane and can be followed on Twitter. Laurie can be reached at 509-216-0554 or at laurie@clarkadspr.com.

There is an excellent article in yesterday’s (Sunday September 13) Business section of The Spokesman-Review about Kent Caputo, the chief operating officer of the Kalispel Tribe. Take a moment to read about "the most powerful man in Spokane that nobody knows."

Greater Spokane Incorporated CEO Rich Hadley has sent an email to the group’s 1,400 members urging them to vote no on Proposition 4 and to support the group opposing the city charter amendment being advanced by a group called "Envision Spokane." Hadley wrote: "We need your support on an important issue facing the entire Inland Northwest. A small group of activists, rooted in the East Coast, has placed a measure on the November ballot which claims to be a "Community Bill of Rights" (Proposition 4). Greater Spokane Incorporated is urging you to vote no on Prop. 4. because:
Prop. 4 would drive thousands of jobs away from Spokane. Restrictions on businesses would force existing companies to move and new companies to go elsewhere.
Prop. 4 would destroy city government finances, causing taxes to go up and services for families and seniors to be cut. Millions would be wasted on frivolous lawsuits.
Prop. 4 would give a small group of unelected activists the ability to veto the will of the majority. That's not democracy and it doesn't belong in Spokane.
We recently asked four well-respected regional economists to examine our research into the costs of Prop. 4. They all agreed the measure would hurt residents and have dramatic negative consequences for our economy. One economist said Prop. 4's costs could approach $1 billion over 10 years. Based on the average cost of providing healthcare at $8,500 per person in Washington, Prop. 4's price tag for a healthcare "right" alone could top $170 million annually. Even if the City picks up just 10% of that cost, the $17 million in additional mandated funding each year would require an increase in taxes such as property and sales, and/or a reduction in services such as police, fire and senior programs." For more information go to www.spokanejobs2009.com.

The former Artios furnishings store at 1303 South Grand has been transformed into a beautiful, upscale spa called Grassroots Wellness Spa and Fitness Studio, operated by Julie Greeley, a 20 year veteran of the industry. The 7,600 square foot building has three levels; the top floor is a fitness studio with yoga for adults and kids, Pilates, as well as mediation classes. The main, street level floor is the spa, offering massage therapy, pedicure and manicure treatments, detoxifying footbaths (which are now priced at $10 during their grand opening), organic facials, life coaching and other treatments. The lower level of the building is available for business meetings, retreats and other corporate events. The phone number is 509-474-0213 and the website is grassroots-wellness-spa.com.

Pressworks printing company has expanded with the recent purchase of the majority of Custom Printing Service’s equipment and will now offer high quality finish work to their list of printing products and services. Foiling, embossing, and die cutting are some of the services they now provide at their newest location in Post Falls. Mike Carpenter has moved over from sales at their main facility to manage the newest addition of the Pressworks operation. For more information, call 509-462-7627.

Lots of good things are happening around Deaconess Medical Center. New signs on the exterior of the building have replaced old ones with the current Deaconess logo and brand. The sign on the historic brick building facing north is beautiful. Go check it out at night when it is all lit up. Upgrades and updates are also being made to the Deaconess Emergency Room, including adding some additional exterior signage and parking places to help make it more convenient for patients to find and to park. In addition, two weeks ago, Deaconess opened its first Primary Care clinic. Dr. Juan Bala, a Spokane native, has come back to town as a new family practice physician in the clinic and is accepting new patients.

Governor Chris Gregoire has appointed Greer Gibson Bacon, CFP®, to serve as a member of the Financial Education Public-Private Partnership, which will review existing financial curricula in Washington's public schools, and develop procedures to endorse them. It will also develop an education certificate for Washington teachers indicating a specialty in financial education. Formerly, Bacon served as a member of the Securities Advisory Committee and Financial Literacy Work Group for the State of Washington. Greer is president of Asset Planning & Management, Inc., a fee-only financial planning and management firm. The phone number is 509-838-4175 and the website is www.assetplanning.com.

The annual survey by Stores magazine concerning favored online retail sites came up with few surprises. In fact, all of the top five sites were also in the top five a year ago. Amazon.com again was ranked at the most-favored site, followed by WalMart.com, eBay, BestBuy.com and JCPenney.com. Sites affiliated with companies that also operate bricks-and-mortar stores also accounted for 60% of the next five rankings, with Target.com sixth, Kohls.com seventh, Google eighth, Overstock.com ninth and Sears.com tenth. Wal-Mart rose to second place, taking over the number two position from eBay on a year-to-year comparison on rankings.

Stolen property alert! On Saturday 9/12 between 2am and 9am, Spokane’s Favorite Band, 6 Foot Swing (as voted by Pacific Northwest Inlander’s Readers 2008 and 2009) took a terrible loss of equipment and gear, with over $10,000 worth stolen. Trumpet player, Jared Hall's car was broken into at The Cedar Springs #1 Apartments in North Spokane. Dayan Kai, keyboard player, and Jared just finished a gig and had another in the afternoon. Several people were needed to pull off this job. It takes 2 people to carry the flight case that the keyboard was in. They are both professional musicians and feel as though a piece of themselves has also been stolen. If you have any information, please contact the Spokane Police Department. If you want to help, donate to the recovery fund, or just send some best wishes, email Dayan at dayankai@gmail.com or call 831-345-3312. Several fund raisers have been set up over the next few weeks to help replace the stolen equipment if it is not found. You can find details in Entertainment Spokane e-newsletter. Got to entertainmentspokane.com to sign up. You can follow the latest developments in this case on www.dayankai.com.

The 222 anniversary of the adoption of the US Constitution is September 17th. KAYU Fox 28 TV’s "US History By the Minute" with former US Representative George Nethercutt for the week of September 14th features a message about our Constitution. The message begins airing on September 15. An article on this anniversary, written by Nethercutt, also appears on KAYU TV’s "History by the Minute" webpage and has a link to a copy of the Constitution as well. The link is http://www.myfoxspokane.com/generic/features/history_minutes.

This Wednesday, September 16, from 8am to 5pm, the Chartered Financial Analysts Society of Spokane presents their Inaugural Northwest Investment Forum, at the Davenport Hotel. The event will include investment presentations from local company CEOs and CFOs, a keynote presentation, access to local portfolio managers during the equity panel and will conclude with a cocktail and networking hour. Members: $25; Non-members: $35; Table Sponsors: $500. For more information, contact Colin Kelly, CFA at 509-444-7007 or via email at colin@hartcap.com.

The annual Signature Chefs Auction benefitting the March of Dimes, returns with delectable tastings from Spokane’s finest chefs and the opportunity to bid on unique and desirable auction packages. All proceeds benefit the March of Dimes’ mission of improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature births and infant mortality. The event is Saturday, October 10th at the Doubletree Hotel, 322 North Spokane Falls Court. To reserve a table visit www.marchofdimes.com/Washington. Or call 509-328-1920. Sponsorship opportunities are still available as well.

A dedication ceremony and installation of "Footsteps to the Future", a full-sized Boy Scout statue, will take place Saturday, October 3, from 10 to 11am at Veteran’s Park in Riverfront Park at the corner of Monroe and Bridge Street just north of downtown. On Tuesday, September 15 at 4:45 PM, a group of Boy Scouts from Spokane’s Troop 325 will be placing a time capsule containing Scout memorabilia and other items related to the Footsteps project into the base of the statue. The capsule will have no planned reopening date, but simply left for discovery by future generations. It is not too late to help fund this project. Organizers have attained over 90% of their goal, but still need about $10,000 to complete the commitment of $125,000. All donations are tax deductible and checks should be made out to: Boy Scouts of America, and sent to: 411 W. Boy Scout Way, Spokane, WA 99201 (Please note in your memo section "Footsteps to the Future Statue Fund"), or visit the website at www.footstepstothefuture.com and donate online.

The 5th annual Fall Festival of Homes Tour scheduled for the last weekend of September and the first weekend in October is already underway. The largest show of its kind in Washington in 2008, and now 2009, homes valued at any price range and in every neighborhood will be featured in this free event with 36 new homes from 21 of Spokane’s finest builders. Presented by Pro-Build, the Fall Festival of Homes is a tour that features new home construction in Spokane where the public can view the newest in building techniques and styles. The festival committee is led by Lori Henriksen of Eagle Ridge and Jayson Hunnel of Greenstone. Among the many homes being featured will also be houses that are Built Green Certified – 7 this year from 2 to 5 stars these homes show off the finest in Built Green techniques and styles. All featured homes will be open to public viewing the weekends of September 25-27 and October 2-4 from 10am-5pm at several host sites developments including: Eagle Ridge, The River District, Crystal Meadows, & 5-Mile Heights to begin their tour and pick up home profiles and maps to each of the featured homes. To locate the host site nearest you and to see virtual tours, visit www.SpokaneFestivalOfHomes.com.

Make sure to register for the Governor's Aerospace Summit in Spokane, as registration will increase starting September 21, 2009. Visit www.greaterspokane.org for registration information. This year's summit event will include a reception and trade show event beginning at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, October 6. The official program will continue on Wednesday morning, starting at 8:00 pm, and will include keynote and general sessions, along with industry-specific sessions in the afternoon. The event will conclude at 3:30 pm on October 7.

The business thought of the week, is from English essayist and poet G. K. Chesterton: "The most unbelievable thing about miracles, is that they happen."

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