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VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT: Oak Harbor High School is looking for community volunteers to listen and provide feedback for students on senior presentations 8:45-10:30 a.m. March 11-12. Students present on what they learned and how they will apply it to future schooling or career opportunities. To sign-up,or for more information, call the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce at 360-675-3755, or email info@oakharborchamber.com
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 • Whidbey News Times
Travel, event planning business opens downtown By SARA HANSEN Staff reporter
If you look up at the second level of a building in historic downtown Oak Harbor, you might see a silhouette of a wolf. “I love wolves,” Iris Gutman said. “He’s guarding my business.” Gutman started Oak Harbor Travel and Event Planning a year ago out of her home and just moved into an office on 801 S.E. Pioneer Way. She moved to Oak Harbor two years ago to be closer to her children, who live on Vancouver Island and at Whistler. She has three grandchildren she loves to visit. “It’s all about family,” Gutman said. She chose Oak Harbor because she liked the feeling she got when she arrived. “The small town, make yourself at home feeling,” she said. “This is where I want to live, this is where I want to fish, this is where I want to play.” For 34 years, Gutman has worked in the hospitality industry, and she’s happy to
Sara Hansen / Whidbey News-Times
Iris Gutman, Oak Harbor Travel and Event Planning owner, has more than 34 years of hospitality experience. bring that experience to Oak Harbor. “I thought, ‘What could I do to bring revenue to Whidbey Island?’” She wasn’t always in the hospitality industry.
Originally, she started out teaching but applied for a job in sales at a full-service convention center. At the first conference she ever ran, only 250 people were expected to attend. That number quickly
ballooned to 1,200 attendees, and she had to figure out how to make it work. “It was crazy, I had people sleeping in my office,” Gutman said. A baby (which was named
after her) was even born at the conference, she said. “Every hotelier has experiences that are just jaw-dropping,” she said. After that, Gutman was hooked and knew she was on
the right career path. Gutman used to work in Helena, Mont. Because the city is between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks, she was responsible for organizing trips, events and everything in between. She’s been a step-on guide for tour buses too. Using her past experience, Gutman organized a two groups to come and visit the island last summer— one from Alberta, Canada, and another from California. With all the history the island has, many retirees and travelers would enjoy the area, she said. “A travel agency is not a thing of the past, I’m here to help you,” Gutman For example, if people are planning a family reunion, they can come to her. She can arrange for the hotel rooms, where they want to hold a dinner party, organize a barbecue or even book a sailing trip — Gutman said she takes care of all that. “I’m your employee from the minute you dream until the last person leaves,” Gutman said. She can also host fundraising trips for nonprofit groups
‘Happy guy’ becoming a familiar face along highway By SARA HANSEN Staff reporter
Sara Hansen / Whidbey News-Times
Demetrice Wall smiles and moves to the music while waving a sign at the corner of Pioneer Way and Highway 20.
Driving by on a weekday, you’ll see a guy smiling with a sign in front of Louie-G’s Pizza. He’ll give you a wave as you’re waiting for the light to turn green at the intersection of State Highway 20 and Pioneer Way. “I just wave at people and they wave back,” Demetrice Wall said. “You wave at someone random that you don’t even know and they wave back.” The first time Wall was hired to be a sign waver, he was a little nervous. “It was scary because I wasn’t used to it,” Wall said. “I got nervous. Then I just started dancing and doing my thing.” The music resonating from his ear-buds is an eclectic assemble. Wall said he likes to mix it up with reggae, hip hop, techno and some rock. “Sometimes if the wrong type of song comes on, it can throw you off,” Wall said. Wall has been working at Louie-G’s Pizza for two months, but this isn’t his first sign gig. He used to work at Liberty Tax, but that job was only seasonal during tax time. “I wanted more work and they just didn’t have it,” Wall said.
Victoria Hallett, one of Wall’s coworkers at Louie-G’s Pizza, said he’s always smiling “He’s just a happy guy,” Hallett said. “He’s out there, doing his thing and he loves his job. He’s a good worker.” Louie-G’s Pizza owner John Youngsman Sr. said Wall is great to have around. Youngsman also said if it’s raining or snowing, he doesn’t want Wall out there facing the elements. “If I wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t want anyone else to,” Youngsman said. Wall said it’s not just his employer who is looking out for him. During his first week on the job, a man passing by stopped and asked him if he was cold, and then came back with a hot cup of coffee to warm him up. Most of the time people are really friendly and shout hellos from there vehicles, Wall said. During his shift, he sees people going about their day, whether it’s good or bad. Besides being a people person, Wall said this type of job is great if you like to be outside. But it’s not just about moving a sign around to the beat of the music. “It’s not about the dancing,” Wall said. “It’s about letting people know about specials and getting them out there.”