BUSINESS
The Splash
In Biz Pulli appointed to Itron board Michael Pulli, chief executive officer of Pace PLC, joined the board of directors of Liberty Lake-based Itron, effective Jan. 1. Pulli brings nearly 15 years of executive leadership, international business experience and strategy development to the position. “Mike Pulli will bring tremendous experience and insights to Itron’s board," said Jon Eliassen, chairPULLI man of Itron’s board of directors. "We look forward to benefiting from his longstanding leadership in the broadband industry and his wealth of knowledge in delivering advanced technologies and services.” Pulli joined Pace in 2004. He was appointed CEO in December 2011 after nearly eight years as president of Pace Americas. Prior to joining Pace, Pulli was CEO of broadcasting company Digital Latin America and previously spent eight years at Motorola in various senior management positions, including vice president of international operations.
Slawter opens insurance office A branch of American Family Insurance opened in recently in the Albertson plaza, 1314 N. Liberty Lake Road. Vince Slawter is the agent at the location. For more information, contact the office at 255-5757.
Principal on Parade contest seeking entries STCU and Friendly Sons of St. Patrick are holding a Principal on Parade contest to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The organizations are soliciting entries for elementary school principals. The contest winner will ride on a float with his or her school principal in the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 15 in Spokane. Friendly Sons of St. Patrick will also give the winner’s school a $1,000 prize. Entry forms are available on the STCU website and can be mailed to Principal Contest, Kids Newspaper, P.O. Box 8293, Spokane, WA 99203. All entries are due Feb. 14, with the winner announced in March. In Biz features Liberty Lake-connected business items. Contact The Splash with business news at editor@libertylakesplash.com.
FEBRUARY 2014 • 25
Church selling Stepping Stone to LL couple Transaction expected to finalize early this month
Josh and Jennifer Goodley are in the process of purchasing the Stepping Stone early childhood education and childcare facility.
By Valerie Putnam
SPLASH CONTRIBUTOR
Never in his wildest dreams did new Liberty Lake resident Josh Goodley think he would be in the process of purchasing a school. "Everything happens for a reason," Goodley said laughing. "It's truly amazing." Goodley and his wife, Jennifer, who moved to Liberty Lake in July from Seattle, made an offer on Stepping Stone, a Christian early childhood education and childcare facility, this past fall. The sale is pending, though the Goodleys expect it will be finalized by early February. Stepping Stone is currently owned and operated by Liberty Lake Church, which will close a chapter of offering weekday childcare and preschool that lasted more than 30 years. The birth of Goodley's newest family member, Jacob, began a series of events leading to the offer for the school. Jacob was born in August. "My wife and I decided it would be nice if I'd stay home more often," said Goodley, who is currently a traveling medical sales professional. "In order to do that, I had to find something to do that didn't take me out of town." The couple were actively researching other business opportunities in Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley. They considered several options, including buying a restaurant franchise or opening a sleep lab to test for sleep apnea. "We did consider a lot of different industries," Goodley said. "But when it came down to it, we would ask ourselves is that really what we want to do." They had toured Stepping Stone as a childcare facility for their two children and fell in love with the facility and program. "Honestly, Stepping Stone is the best program I've seen in Spokane," Goodley said,
SPLASH PHOTO BY TIM PUTNAM
who looked at several other programs in add extracurricular programs. the area. "They have a strong academic pro "We are going to keep it the way it is," gram." Goodley said of Stepping Stone. "The proThe couple also liked the fact the facil- gram is amazing." ity is “purpose built,” The Goodleys meaning it was built said they will have specifically to be a ABOUT STEPPING STONE a hands-on role in childcare center, an the day-to-day opStepping Stone is located at 23306 attribute Goodley eration, interacting E. Mission Ave. It serves children from said makes it safer closely with the parinfants to fifth grade and offers a full-day for the children. ents and the chil"When we found private kindergarten. dren. out the school was Stepping Stone is one of only three facili"It's important for sale, we said to ties in the area that is National Associaparents know and ourselves, ‘wow,’" tion for the Education of Young Children trust who's there," Goodley said. "To (NAEYC) accredited. There are 10 Goodley said. be an integral part of program standards with specific criteria our children's early This spring, he that a facility must meet to receive the development — that hopes to introduce accreditation, including advancement was appealing to us. “Tennis Kids” for Everything from of children’s learning and development the children. The that point on was through relationships, curriculum, teachprogram teaches how we were going ing, child’s progress and health. children ages 3 and to do it logistically." up to play tennis on Though there was a smaller court. He an offer pending on plans to offer it to Stepping Stone families the school, the couple decided to put in a as part of a pilot program and, if successful, back-up offer on the 9,964-square-foot fawill eventually offer the program to other cility for $850,000. The original offer fell area schools. through the following day. Other extracurricular activities the couUpon assuming ownership, the Goodleys ple is considering introducing into the proplan to operate the program as it’s currently See SELLING, page 30 being managed but eventually would like to
Stott hired as marketing director for Splash and Current FROM STAFF REPORTS
Jocelyn Stott joined the Liberty Lakebased Peridot Publishing team last month as marketing director. Her role is to work with businesses partnering with The Splash, The Current or their affiliated publications to help maximize the impact of their advertising. She has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist, photographer and public relations and marketing specialist, primarily in the Inland Northwest. “Jocelyn is a versatile and creative talent with a proven track record of building quality relationships,” Editor and Publisher Josh Johnson said. “I expect that The Splash and
The Current — and our advertisers by extension — will benefit greatly from her expertise.” A graduate of Michigan State University, Stott most recently worked as a communications consultant STOTT for Community Colleges of Spokane and in a freelance capacity helping a number of local businesses and organizations, including as a freelance contributor for The Splash
and The Current. Stott moonlights as a therapeutic riding instructor. “While so many other media sources seem to move further away from the pulse of our communities, I’ve always appreciated the local stories and advertising found in The Splash and The Current,” Stott said. “Not only are we blessed to live in the natural beauty of the Coeur d’Alene-Spokane region, we also have amazing neighbors. It’s so inspiring to hear their stories. I look forward to collaborating with people to promote and prosper the businesses that make our area great.” Stott can be reached at jocelyn@libertylakesplash.com or 999-4567.