NORTH OLYMPIC PENINSULA business meetings this week (all are open to the public)
Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce — Weekly luncheon meetings are held Mondays at noon at the Red Lion Hotel.
There is no meeting this Monday because of the Veterans Day federal holiday.
Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce — Weekly luncheon meetings are held Mondays at noon at the Port Townsend Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St.
However, there is no meeting this week because of Veterans Day on Monday.
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce — Luncheon meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at noon at SunLand Golf & Country Club, 109 Hilltop Drive, Sequim.
(There will be no meeting Nov. 26 because of Thanksgiving.)
This Tuesday’s speaker will be Kelly Shea, Sequim School District superintendent.
The meeting sponsor is Assured Hospice of Clallam and Jefferson Counties.
Luncheon reservations closed Friday, but seats are available for those who are not having lunch.
Coffee or tea is $3. Phone 360-683-6197 or email info@sequimchamber.com for information.
Forks Chamber of Commerce — Luncheon meetings are Wednesdays at noon at JT’s Sweet Stuffs, 80 N. Forks Ave.
This Wednesday’s featured speaker will be Andy Callis, president and commercial insurance agent of Callis & Associates Inc., who will discuss the federal Affordable Care Act.
Lunch costs $8; a bowl of soup, $4.75; and a cup of soup, $4. The entree is baked ham.
Port Angeles Business Association — Breakfast meetings are Tuesdays at 7:30 a.m. at Joshua’s Restaurant, 113 DelGuzzi Drive, Port Angeles.
This Tuesday’s speaker was not announced.
There is a $3 minimum charge by Joshua’s for those who do not order breakfast.
________
Jefferson County employee wins environmental award
PORT TOWNSEND — Tami Pokorny, a nine-year veteran of Jefferson County Public Health’s water quality division, received an Environmental Achievement Award recently from the Hood Canal Coordinating Council, or HCCC, for her conservation work in Jefferson County.
The ceremony took place in Port Gamble and was attended by residents, tribes and state and local agencies from Kitsap, Jefferson and Mason counties that work together for the restoration and protection of Hood Canal.
Pokorny was awarded for her “dedicated passion for conservation and preservation.”
The award recognizes those who protect, enhance and restore the natural resources and water quality of Hood Canal watershed.
Pokorny has worked to protect Hood Canal through the Conservation Futures, Watershed Resource Inventory Area 16, HCCC, field work, education materials, committee and board work.
Along the Dosewallips and Duckabush rivers, she has managed numerous land acquisitions for salmon restoration, wildlife corridor protection, flood plain land conservancy and restoration and water quality improvements throughout the watershed.
Classes set on improving holiday meal
SEQUIM — Kia Armstrong, sales manager for Nash’s Organic Produce, will present the second of three seasonal cooking classes focusing on preparing local fruits and veggies for Thanksgiving dinner.
The event will be at Nash’s Farm Store, 4681 Sequim-Dungeness Way, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 14).
The talk is free and open to the public.
Armstrong has been with Nash’s for more than a decade, and the store describes her as “one of our area’s great improvisational cooks.”
She will provide tips and tricks on using fresh, local, organic ingredients to enhance the Thanksgiving table.
Nonprofit forum addresses ‘funds controversy’
PORT TOWNSEND — “The Operating Funds Controversy: Should Nonprofits Function More Like Businesses?” will be tackled at a Jefferson County Community Foundation Nonprofit Alliance Breakfast Conversation on Thursday (Nov. 14).
The event will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St., with networking at 9 a.m. and the program from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
It will be facilitated by foundation Executive Director Carla Caldwell.
Cost is $10 per person at the door and includes a continental breakfast.
A TED Talks video featuring Dan Pallotta’s “The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong” will be screened.
Caldwell also will present a summary of main points from Pallotta’s book, Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, as well as counterpoints others have made in response to his book.
An opportunity to share responses to the material in small groups is planned as well as a chance to discuss effective ways to communicate to donors and potential donors the issue of overhead as a percentage of budget and how it is related to capacity-building.
Those attending are asked to RSVP to carla@jccfgives.org.
Rural prosperity conference set Nov. 15
BLYN — The Rural Pathways to Prosperity Conference, a statewide, interactive forum with entrepreneurship expert Becky McCray, will be presented in Blyn on Friday, Nov. 15.
The forum is designed to help rural communities identify ways to build their local economy by creating a place for businesses to thrive.
McCray, co-author of Small Town Rules: How Big Brands and Small Businesses Can Prosper in a Connected Economy, will deliver a keynote presentation via webinar to an audience gathered at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center Cedar Room, 1033 Old Blyn Highway, starting at 8:30 a.m.
After her presentation, each site will turn their attention to the issues, resources and project ideas for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
There will be time for networking over lunch and then the sites will work together on ways to improve how they support entrepreneurs.
Registration for the event closed last Friday at http://waruralprosperity.wsu.edu.
Each of the sites has an individual page that highlights the local panelist, location details and local contact information.
Several agencies and organizations are sponsoring the 2013 Rural Pathways to Prosperity Conference; they include WSU Extension, state Department of Commerce, Association of Washington Cities, Washington Microenterprise Association, USDA-Rural Development and the state Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board.
New bicycle line
SEQUIM — Ben’s Bikes, 1251 W. Washington St., is now approved to be a Velotechnik recumbent bicycle dealer along with the full line of Catrikes recumbent bicycles manufactured in Florida.
Ben’s Bikes is the only Catrike and Velotechnik dealer on the Olympic Peninsula.
For more information, phone 360-683-2666 or visit bensbikessequim.com.
Knitting events
PORT ANGELES — Cabled Fiber Studio, 106 N. Laurel St., will host a free trunk show, knitting demonstrations and book-signing party intended to help holiday knitters from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. this coming Saturday (Nov. 16).
MarySue French, owner of Cabled Fiber Studio, is featured in the book 60 Quick Knits from America’s
Yarn Shops’ collection of Cascade Yarns-inspired patterns.
In addition, there will be demonstrations of a unique technique of knitting directly from layers of raw silk fibers called Mawata.
Independent yarn dyer Susan Stumbaugh of Abstract Fiber will present a wide range of their knitted and woven samples in the trunk show.
Abstract Fiber produces hand-dyed yarns and fibers of wool, silk and exotic blends from a small studio in Portland, Ore.
Attendees may participate in a drawing for an autographed book, a skein of Cascade 220 yarn and an extra-large project tote.
For more information, phone 360-504-2233 or visit www.cabledfiberstudio.com.
Master’s earned
PORT ANGELES – Licensed mental health counselor associate Aimée M. Bradley recently graduated with a Master of Science in counseling psychology from Argosy University, Seattle, and sat for the National Counseling Examination in October.
She recently opened her private practice, Honored Spaces Psychotherapy, in Port Angeles.
Bradley’s Rogerian-based counseling orientation includes children, teens and adults.
For more information, phone her at 360-808-8518 or visit tinyurl.com/PDN-Counselor.
Peninsula Behavioral Health holds annual meeting
PORT ANGELES — Peninsula Behavioral Health recently elected new officers, welcomed new board members, honored employees for their years of service and recognized outgoing board members at the organization’s annual meeting.
Elected officers for the coming year are Bill Dole, president; Laura O’Neal, vice president; and Yvonne Ziomkowski, secretary/treasurer.
New board members are Dave Neupert and Leanna Ray Colby.
Outgoing board members Grant Munro, Carol Barnes and Ron Sukert were honored for their six years of service.
Employees honored by the board:
■ Five years: Anita Mauger, Brenda Gilchrist, Gayle Lutschg, Jean Coursey and Suzanne Dinius.
■ 10 years: Dee Dee Hansen, Kathy Stevens and Meg Depew.
■ 15 years: Les Samples and Terri Hill.
■ 20 years: Dan Pottiger.
Peninsula Behavioral Health has offices in Port Angeles and Sequim.
For more information, visit www.peninsulabehavioral.org or phone 360-457-0431.
Help for Habitat
PORT ANGELES — Habitat for Humanity and First Federal have joined forces in Clallam County.
This partnership will enable Habitat to triple its building capacity this year, with one house already under construction and two more in the planning stages, the agency said in a news release.
“This partnership is very exciting for us” said Habitat Executive Director Dave Finley.
“First Federal is as committed to helping the local community as we are, and we look forward to building together in the years to come.”
First Federal has taken ownership and servicing of four Habitat loans and is providing servicing for the remaining loans currently held and serviced by Habitat.
This has provided some much-needed cash flow and freed up business resources that are now dedicated to building more homes, according to the news release.
First Federal also has given a cash donation of $10,000, and its employees are donating time to assist with construction.
For more information or to request a volunteer application, email volunteer@habitatclallam.org; or pick one up at the Habitat Store or office, both located at 728 E. Front St.; or phone 360-681-6780.
CEO appointed
SEATTLE — Sound Community President and CEO Laurie Stewart has been appointed governmental relations vice chair of the American Bankers Association.
This appointment grants Stewart both a board and executive committee seat on the ABA board of directors.
ABA represents banks of all sizes and charters, and is the voice for the nation’s $14 trillion banking industry and its 2 million employees.
Sound Community Bank has North Olympic Peninsula branches at 110 N. Alder St. in Port Angeles and 541 N. Fifth Ave. in Sequim.
Real estate business honors agent
PORT ANGELES — Kathy Brown has earned the Agent of the Month honor for October at Coldwell Banker Uptown Realty.
Agent of the Month is achieved by producing the highest amount of business transactions in one month’s time.
Brown is also celebrating her 25th anniversary as a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Uptown Realty.
Brown can be reached at Brownkat@olypen.com or 360-417-2785.
Marijuana issue sent to state bar
SEATTLE — A question to the state Supreme Court concerning marijuana and the state’s ethics rules for lawyers has been referred to the state bar association.
A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court said Friday the justices have asked the state bar to expedite its consideration of the proposed rule changes from the King County Bar Association.
Some lawyers are worried that if they advise their clients on how to navigate the fledgling marijuana industry’s legal complexities they might get in trouble themselves.
That’s because marijuana is still illegal under federal law and lawyers aren’t supposed to help their clients break the law.
The lawyers are asking for a change in the rules to make it clear that they won’t get in trouble for giving pot-related legal advice, or for smoking marijuana themselves, as long as they’re not smoking at work.
