BUSINESS BRIEFS: New business manager takes reins at Serenity House of Clallam County . . . and other items

PORT ANGELES — Herta Fairbanks is the new business manager at Serenity House of Clallam County.

Fairbanks supervises accounting functions and tracks revenue, including grants and daily sales at the agency’s thrift stores.

Fairbanks’ has a 23-year career in public sector finance, covering auditing, accounting, strategic and feasibility planning.

“Her qualifications are exactly what Serenity House needs,” said Kim Leach, executive director.

After a one-year move to Arizona, Fairbanks decided to return to Washington state, where she had spent more than 30 years in the Olympia area.

She earned her MBA at St. Martin’s University in Lacey.

“I feel very fortunate to have found an organization to work for whose mission is to help others,” Fairbanks said.

“The services offered by Serenity House provide for the most basic human needs, and having come from a public service background, I feel blessed to be able to help with that mission.”

Serenity House, founded in 1982, is a community-based private nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Clallam County.

More information about Serenity House is available online at www.serenityhouseclallam.org, by phone at 360-452-7224 or by emailing serenity@olypen.com.

New clinic hire

SEQUIM — Via Vita Chiropractice & Wellness, 128 W. Bell St., recently gained a new fitness class and instructor.

Alicia Demetropolis is an ACE-certified personal trainer and orthopedic exercise specialist.

She has been teaching a twice-weekly exercise class for chronic cardiac patients, which recently transitioned over to the studio at Via Vita.

Classes include use of hand weights, exercise bands and other low-impact body-weight exercises to strengthen the heart and move the body.

Demetropolis also includes a meditation component to her class.

The class is open to anyone who is recovering from a major surgery or injury.

Classes take place from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For more information, phone Demetropolis at 206-406­-9688 or visit www.lifebridgewellness.com.

Economy panel

PORT TOWNSEND — A panel discussion on “Building a More Cooperative Economy” will take place at the Quimper Grange, 1219 Corona St., at 7 p.m. Monday.

Admission is by donation, with proceeds going to the grange.

This talk explores how people start worker-owned cooperatives or transition an existing business to a cooperative.

Panelists include Deborah Craig, Northwest Cooperative Development Center; Kippi Waters, Peninsula Homecare Cooperative; and Robert Yourish, Sunshine Propane worker-owned cooperative.

The event is sponsored by Quimper Grange in honor of National Cooperative Month.

For more information, contact Deb Wiese at dwiese55@yahoo.com or 360-385-1928, or visit www.quimpergrange.com.

Invited guest

PORT ANGELES — Dr. Robert Witham, who has a medical practice in Port Angeles, was an invited guest of the annual International Conference on Hematology & Blood Disorders recently in Chicago.

He represented Washington state as a current board member of the Washington State Medical Oncology Society.

Witham’s medical practices are in Port Angeles at 224 N. Washington St. and Olympia.

For more information, phone 360-452-5322.

OMC recognition

SEQUIM — Olympic Medical Center’s board of commissioners recognized three employees for excellence at a recent board meeting held at the Medical Services Building in Sequim.

Plant operator Deborah McGruther, along with maintenance worker Robert Mason and registered medical assistant Dawn Savage, each earned special recognition.

Mc­Gruther manages the facilities and grounds of OMC’s Sequim campus and keeps everything functioning at an optimal level.

She specializes in heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and also does carpentry, electrical plumbing and fire systems.

Mason has been with OMC since 2012 and works on a variety of construction and general maintenance projects.

Savage is a registered medical assistant at Olympic Medical Cancer Center.

She always is happy and cheerful with a smile for her patients and co-workers, according to a news release.

5th anniversary

PORT ANGELES — Jason Peterson, owner of 3 Little Pigs Masonry LLC, recently celebrated the company’s fifth anniversary.

The business specializes in brick bonds, natural and synthetic stone veneers, flatwork, fireplaces and restoration.

It uses green products and tools, and all employees are trained and certified through the International Masonry Institute to specialize their skills to meet the customer’s masonry needs.

Peterson is a member of the North Peninsula Building Association.

For more information, phone Peterson at 360-683-4349, email ThreeLittlePigs@contractor.net or visit www.facebook.com/3LittlePigsMasonry.

KONP talk guests

PORT ANGELES — Here is this week’s schedule for the 1:05 p.m. to 2 p.m. local talk show segment on KONP radio, at 1450 AM, 101.7 FM and www.konp.com on the Internet outside the Port Angeles area.

Station General Manager Todd Ortloff hosts the Monday through Thursday segments.

This week’s scheduled lineup:

■ Monday: Port of Port Angeles candidate forum with Connie Beauvais and Mike Breidenbach.

■ Tuesday: Stevens Middle School leadership students and Principal Chuck Lisk discuss the upcoming Red Ribbon Week, a recap of Gov. Jay Inslee’s visit to their school and upcoming activities for the school year.

■ Wednesday: Sequim School District Position 3 candidates Jim Stoffer and Charla Wright.

Second segment: Port Angeles School District Position 5 candidates Jerusha Henson and Susan Shotthafer.

■ Thursday: Soroptimist representatives from three different clubs discuss the Live Your Dream Award.

Second segment: Eagle Scout Kyle Rutten, grandson of Danetta Rutten, discusses being a Boy Scout in Abu Dhabi.

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