SVM-SS4_03222016

A Day in the Life A Marketing Supplement of Sauk Valley Media

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C1

How things get done in the Sauk Valley Ever wondered what it’s like to be a firefighter? A day care worker?

Someone who demolishes buildings? Here’s your day-in-the-life look.

C2 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | DAY CARE Remmington (left) looks around the room at CGH Helping Hands Daycare while Dawn Willman holds her. Willman is one of two teachers at the day care, which is utilized at a discount by CGH Medical Center employees but also is open to the public.

(Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com)

Helping kids grow, learn Sterling day care provider does it all at her ‘rewarding’ job n the span of just a couple of hours, Dawn Willman and Julie Donovan, her partner in the infant room at CGH Helping Hands Daycare in Sterling, made many other jobs look like child’s play.

They squashed meltdowns, promoted sharing, changed diapers, offered encouraging

Willman, 44, grew up south of Rock Falls. She and her husband, Josh, 44, a Rock Falls firefighter, are the parents of two boys, Tyler, 16, and Cooper, 13.

'

Willman started working at the facility when it opened in 1992.

“I worked here for a year and a half, left for 2 years, and then have worked here ever since,” she said. She received an associate degree from Sauk Valley Community College.

After more than 20 years, Willman has been able to see countless children grow and personalities bloom.

Remmington, a 15-month-old at the day care, is a perfect example.

“She loves to dance; she’s a little dancer,” Willman said. “You can tell when Remmi’s not feeling well because she’s not dancing or playing.”

“She is such a ham,” Donovan added with a laugh.

With two teachers, the most children the infant room can have at one time is eight. The facility is utilized by CGH employees, who get a discount, but is also open to the public.

“And usually, when we get them into the baby room, we have them until they get into kindergarten,” Willman said.

“A lot of times, you know, we get families like with the little girl Ms. Julie’s snuggling on, we have an older brother that’s in the [toddler room],” she said.

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words, prepared bottles and more – all with smiles on their faces.

“Every day is a different day,” Willman, of Sterling, said. “You never know what to expect. It can be quiet like this, and then in 5 minutes all heck can break loose.”

BY LUCAS PAULEY lpauley@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5576 @LucasJayPauley

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A DAY IN THE LIFE | DAY CARE

‘Sometimes, they just need to express themselves’ GROW

CONTINUED FROM C2

The ages span from 6 weeks to 15 months in the infant room.

“Most of them nap after lunch, but they’re infants, they kind of set their own schedule as far as eating and sleeping,” Willman said. “The younger ones usually take a mid-morning nap and afternoon nap as well.”

Moms and dads usually let the day care providers knows if the child had a rough night of sleep, or if they slept all night, which will explain why they’re so hungry.

“It helps us with our day; although every day is a different one,” she said with a smile.

All the children in the infant room are breastfed, which is unique, Willman said.

“We usually have a few, and then the rest on formula,” she said. “[Preparing the bottle] takes a little longer, because we have to heat up the water and put the bottle in there for it to warm up.”

And trying to feed one without prompting jealousy from the others can prove to be tricky.

“When one’s having a bottle, the other wants a bottle,” she said.

“They’re kinda like ‘Oh yeah, I think I’m hungry now, too!’”

They know when it’s time to eat, Willman says.

“These guys are pretty smart, you know. Just like our bodies, you kinda get used to a routine,” she said. “Around 10, 10:15, they start getting a little fussy, like ‘OK, I know about 10:30 it’s lunch time, so my belly is kind talking to me.’”

Remmington, 15 months old, looks around the room while she plays at CGH Helping Hands Daycare in Sterling.

Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com

Dawn Willman reads a book with Lily at CGH Helping Hands Daycare in Sterling. On this day that Sauk Valley Media visited the day care, it was rather calm. “It’s not always like this,” Willman pointed out.

When it’s time to eat, most of the kids don’t mess around.

“Oh gosh, when you say ‘Wanna go back for num nums?’ They’ll scoot right on over there.”

But Willman and Donovan, try as they might, can’t please each kid at every moment in the day.

There will be moments when all the kids are crying, but the two women just do their best to meet their needs, one at a time.

“Sometimes, you’ve changed them, fed them, tried to lay them down for their nap, and they’re just not happy,” she said.

“All you can do is love them, snuggle them, and try to get them calm.

Sometimes, they just need to express themselves.”

On what seemed like a rather calm day, Willman was quick to point out with a smile that “it’s not always like this.”

Just like siblings at home, the little ones must learn to share.

“Did she get in your space?” Willman calmly and effectively asked one of the children. “Oh, I’m sorry she did. Sometimes, friends just get too excited to play.”

Willman must also do her best to keep germs from spreading each day, but as anyone with children will tell you, that’s a job easier said than done.

“We try to do really well to put their toys up when we’ve seen them put something in their mouth,” she said. “But, it’s day care; it’s inevitable.”

Especially in winter, little flu bugs and colds are just going to happen.

If a child has a temperature of 101 degrees, they are sent home. For them to return after they’ve been sent home with a fever, they have to be free of a fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine.

“A lot of parents know, when their kid’s sick, they want to be home with mom and dad.

Unfortunately, some par-

ents don’t always have the [option] to do that,” she said.

Having such great communication with the parents helps the providers at the facility, Willman said. It makes things easier, too, when parents drop a child off for the first time.

“We reassure them and tell them to call as much as they want,” she said.

“And it’s neat how we build those bonds and relationships with those parents.”

Those bonds and relationships can last far beyond the child’s time in the infant room, as Willman explained.

She has taken care of the children of kids she

took care of when she first started at the facility.

She also has taken care of some of her sons’ classmates.

“It is kind of funny when we’ll see a kid at the high school and I’ll say to myself, ‘Wow, I used to change their diapers,’” she said with a laugh.

“We’ll run into parents who will say, you probably don’t remember Ms. Dawn, but she took care of you at day care,’” she said. “Some will say, ‘I remember going to Helping Hands,’ and it makes me feel good that they had a great experience while they were here.”

The children grow up so fast, and Willman glowed when talking about how amazing it is to see the steps that they take.

It’s clear each of these children hold a special place in her heart.

“Nothing melts your heart more than when you get that hug or that smile; you’re leaving for the day and they’re like ‘Bye-bye!,’” she said.

“It’s just so rewarding.”

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C4 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | STARTUP BUSINESS

When ‘someday’ arrives All paths lead to fulfilling business dreams

BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier

G

ary and Angie Minor adhere to the theory that everything happens for a reason, and it has served them well.

The couple owns Minor Treasures, the area’s newest thrift and consignment shop, at 110 E. Second St. in Rock Falls.

While the Minors have been in the resale business as long as they’ve been together, the expansion into the brick-and-mortar realm had been stuck in “someday” mode.

The former Angie Cohenour grew up in Sterling, the daughter of a Northwestern Steel and Wire worker. She left town after high school, and worked as a travel counselor for American Express for 13 years.

She married Gary, an Elburn native, in 2002, and they settled in Huntley. The road pointed in the resale business direction for a long time.

“This is what we do for dates – we even spent a lot of time thrifting on our honeymoon,” Angie said.

While business on eBay and Amazon has been brisk for many years, there was one thing the Internet couldn’t provide.

“We’ve been selling at home for 15 years and I still have a perfect rating on eBay, but we just needed some space to store everything,” Gary said.

Gary traveled extensively for his internal communications job with Verizon, and with a growing family, time constraints and risk aversion were big roadblocks to expansion.

But then fate intervened, and the couple realized that “someday” was here.

After their first child, Josh, was born in 2005, the couple learned they couldn’t have more children. They decided to become foster parents.

“We were lucky to foster a brother and sister that were only 11 months and 4 weeks old, but we were under the assumption they were going back to their parents,” Angie said.

About that time, Gary had an opportunity to move to Atlanta for Verizon. They decided to leave Huntley, but about the same time their house sold, they received an unexpected phone call.

“Social services told us parental rights had been terminated for the children we were fostering,” Angie said. “We could adopt them, but we couldn’t leave the state until the process was completed.”

With no house and a growing family, Gary thought Angie’s past might be the key to their future.

“Rent was outrageous in Huntley, and Gary always loved this area when we visited, so he suggested we look near my hometown,” Angie said.

They moved to Rock Falls in 2011, and the

Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com

Angie Minor stands inside Minor Treasures Consignment and More in Rock Falls. Angie owns and operates the store with her husband, Gary. While the Minors have been in the resale business for as long as they’ve been together, the brick-and-mortar store was opened in January. desire to go all in with their business grew. The path became clear when what had been both a security blanket and obstacle was removed.

“After 20 years with Verizon, we learned Gary could be laid off, and we were preparing for it,” Angie said. “When we got the call, I said now is the

time.”

They gathered the kids who are now 10, 7, and 6, and hoped the efforts to teach them about finances at a young age would

pay dividends.

Initially focused on storage units, that changed when they ran into Bob Atilano, a friend of Angie’s dad. A spa had

recently moved out of a building Atilano owns, and it was in a great riverfront location.

They opened the store in mid-January, but a grand opening event will come when they’ve had more time to get things organized.

The store carries a mix of new and old merchandise. They spend a lot of time at storage auctions.

“People buy things and immediately put them in storage, and they often forget that it’s even in there,” Gary said.

There is a little bit of everything – from home decor items, furniture, jewelry, and clothes to kitchen gadgets, toys, and an array of things for sports enthusiasts.

Making it all appealing to the eye is always a challenge when setting up a thrift shop.

“When I was visualizing this, I didn’t want it to be another place that just looked like racks of junk,” Angie said. “I wanted it to be a place where people found treasures – things they didn’t even know they needed.”

She said her husband is a very visual person, and he just decided to dive in.

SOMEDAY CONTINUED ON C5

Year In Review

TOP 6 ACCOMPLISHMENTS Thanks to your generous gifts, we were able to accomplish many goals this year.

Here are some highlights!

$

Allocated $690,875 to United Way partner agencies’ 37 Community programs & Initiatives

1,588 Children Received over 18,574 FREE books thanks to the LIFE program!

United Way Partner agencies served 53,960 Whiteside County residents

Let’s Feed The Kids served 34,372 FREE lunches during the summer of 2015 throughout Whiteside County

4,400 Children Received FREE Back To School supplies

The FREE Pharmacy Assistance Program helped 210 individuals with up to $50 to those qualifying once every 90 days.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C5

A DAY IN THE LIFE | STARTUP BUSINESS

Photos by Michael Krabbenhoeft/mkrabbenhoeft@saukvalley.com

Minor Treasures Consignment and More features a wide variety of new and old merchandise in the store on Second Street in Rock Falls.

‘We worked with the business incubator from the start’ SOMEDAY

CONTINUED FROM C4

“We tried to plan and plan, but it was one of those things where you had to just do it to see it,” Gary said.

Macy Kornewald, 20, of Sterling, first came into the store as a customer, and left as its first employee.

“I saw this Audrey Hepburn canvas, and posted it on Facebook right away, and I think I ended up buying about everything in the front window,” Macy said.

She was so drawn to the store, she volunteered her services, but instead received a job offer.

Even with the storefront, space was still an issue. The Sterling Small Business and Technology Center took care of that problem.

“We worked with the business incubator from the start, and it’s been great working with them,” Gary said. “The rates were really good for using their storage units, and the fact they have a dock took care of another big issue.”

After years of pondering the possibilities, the Minors don’t want to stop at just one store.

Clothing, coats and movies are among the items you can find at Minor Treasures Consignment and More in Rock Falls.

“Our goal is to turn this into a boutique, maybe with a bakery, and move the store down Route 40 somewhere,” Gary said. “Then we want to try to duplicate the consignment stores in other places.”

He said they are particularly interested in Dixon, Fulton, Rochelle, and Clinton, Iowa.

Sterling would also play a larger role in the plans.

“We’d still use the incubator for our warehousing, and it would become a distribution point for everything,” Gary said.

The incubator has 24 1,500-square-foot units that have moveable partitions to accommodate growth. There is a separate kitchen incubator to help entrepreneurs with foodrelated businesses.

The business incubator offers startups much more than storage space. There is a conference room, and high-tech office equipment such as digital color printing and a postage meter. Support services, including consulting, and loan and grant assistance, are available.

Minor Treasures Consignment and More Owners: Gary and Angie Minor Address: 110 E. Second St., Rock Falls Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; closed Tuesdays Phone: 847-802-9661 Email: minortreasures@gmail. com Web: www.minortreasures.com; Facebook page; Twitter; Pinterest

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C6 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | FIGHTING FIRES, AND MORE

FIGHTING FIRE

with a fire in their bellies ‘Aggressive’ Sterling Fire Department working to stretch funds, best serve populace

A

BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM

crew of five firefighters, some on hands and knees, all of them flecked with droplets of off-white, painted their quarters on a recent Friday afternoon at the Sterling Fire Department’s main station.

Helping put the first new coat of paint on the second-floor space since the building was built in 1969 wasn’t unusual for

Lieutenant Tim Wright, a painter on his off days. New ceiling fans whirred to move the fumes, as none of the windows open upstairs. Those fans, bought at Menard’s, each with a $50 rebate, were installed by Captain Mike Wheeler – an electrician in his spare time.

Lieutenant Jeremy Billeb was off on this day, but, if he were on, he likely would have had work to do on various apparatuses, from the flat boat to engines. After all,

Billeb is qualified and certified to take care of some upkeep, rather than outsource it.

In charge of Shift 3 is Capt. Matt Laughlin, 37, who doubles as union president.

Noticing a theme? The firefighters’ versatility stretches taxpayers’ dollars as far as possible.

“Just this painting job alone?” said Wright, on all fours to finish off a section of paint. “This project would usually cost $5,000 or $6,000. It’s costing us about $1,000.”

FIGHTING CONTINUED ON C7

The Schilling Funeral Home Family Pictured: John and John Paul Schilling circa 1978 The Schilling family originated in Erie, IL where Dick Schilling owned and operated Schilling Funeral Home.

While the Schillings were growing up in Erie, the family lived in the funeral home, and during the holidays would take down their Christmas tree for visitations and funerals, only to put the tree back up after services were held. Dick Schilling had 4 sons and a daughter, two of his sons became funeral directors, John and Rich Schilling. John’s brother Rich Schilling has owned Preston-Schilling in Dixon, IL since 1975.

Schilling Funeral Home & Cremation was originally started by the Melvin family in 1913, on 6th avenue in Sterling. Ollie and Ross Melvin built the funeral home at its current location in 1974. The current location on 1st avenue was the site of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, before the church moved to its current location next to Newman Catholic High School. John Schilling purchased Melvin Funeral Home in 1975, and was named MelvinSchilling Funeral Home. In 1998 the Melvin-Schilling was changed to Schilling Funeral Home, and now Schilling Funeral Home & Cremation.

John Paul Schilling grew up in the Sauk Valley Area, attended Sterling High School, graduated from Worsham

College of Mortuary Science in 1998, and successfully completed the Medicolegal Death Investigators training course at St. Louis University School of Medicine.

John Paul Schilling is a 3rd generation funeral director of Whiteside County, and all three of those generations have served the people of the Sauk Valley Area and Whiteside County.

“It is amazing that my grandfather made a decision 84 years ago to become a funeral director and to serve the people of his community, and how that decision has been influential on my father John, uncle Rich, and now my life. We are still serving the people of the Sauk Valley and Whiteside County, in many ways, the same as my grandfather did so many years ago” “ It is an honor and privilege to help families in our community, at a very difficult time in their life. The friendships and bonds that are made, keep us focused on the different types of service that the people of our community request.”

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C7

A DAY IN THE LIFE | FIGHTING FIRES, AND MORE

‘We’re gone (from family) a third of our life’ FIGHTING

Mission statement

CONTINUED FROM C6

Tackling such tasks is commonplace throughout the 7 a.m. to 7 a.m. shifts, as are business inspections (391 of them last year alone), fire safety events at schools, public relations at nursing homes, and the endless litany of training events.

Throughout it all, Sterling’s bravest must keep knees bent and ears perked in anticipation of tones. When they go off, the crew has 2 minutes to be out the door, and is expected to be on scene in 4 minutes.

Whether the tone sounds while a firefighter is waxing an engine, in the shower, or fast asleep, instinct and training take over.

“You need to have a certain mindset when you come in in the morning, and to try to stay in that mindset of being at the ready,” Laughlin said. “That’s exactly why we do a lot of training, so it’s almost second nature. When that call comes in, you know how you’re going to get there, where the fire hydrant is.”

The department responded to 1,271 calls in 2014 and 1,275 last year. Preparation is paramount, and somewhat helps level the playing field against both danger and budget restrictions. Because of cuts, the department doesn’t often meet the National Fire Protection Association’s recommendation for four firefighters to be on an engine for a call. Most often, there’s an operator, an officer, and a tailgater – the last title a throwback to when firefighters literally clung to the tailgate while the

The Sterling Fire Department first adopted an official mission statement a few years ago: “It is the mission of the Sterling Fire Department to protect life and property through aggressive fire suppression, fire prevention, education, and emergency medical services.”

Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

ON PAGE C6: Sterling firefighters (from left) Tim Wright, Derek Sheaves, Adrian Avelar, Clark Liedberg, and Matt Laughlin pose for a photo at the fire station. ABOVE: Laughlin (left) jokes with fellow firefighters in the lounge of the station as they work the day shift. Each shift begins with debriefing, then regular station duties. The next 8 hours or so are taken up by public service, from speaking engagements and inspections to fighting fires and extricating car accident victims. rig high-tailed it to its destination.

An overhaul to the dispatch system is in the works. State law mandates that by June a plan be in place for a system in which the dispatcher is equipped to dispatch all emergency personnel – police, fire or EMS – whereas at the moment, a call to 9-1-1 more often than not must be rerouted to another agency, costing valuable seconds or, in some cases, minutes. Just between 2014 and 2015, Sterling Fire shaved 26 seconds off its average response time for emergencies, simply because the dispatcher began toning the house the moment a fire was reported, then returning to the caller to gather

further information.

Laughlin actually went to school for law enforcement at Western Illinois University, but landed a job as deputy sheriff in Madison, Wisconsin, before finishing his degree. Even while in school, he was having second thoughts about law enforcement, so when a job opened at Sterling Fire, he went for it, and was hired in October 2002.

“I knew I wanted to be a public servant, no matter what it was,” Laughlin said.

When he was one of six firefighters temporarily laid off in 2009, he finished his paralegal degree online, and later earned his master’s in negotiation and conflict resolution from Creigh-

ton University.

In April 2010, three positions were cut permanently, and the belt has just kept tightening. So when folks ask why firefighters wash and wax their engines every day, “It’s because we might have to make them last 20 years,” Laughlin said.

Shifts begin with debriefing, then regular station duties. The next 8 hours or so are taken up by public service, from speaking engagements and inspections to fighting fires and extricating car accident victims.

When the clock strikes 5, the saying goes that firefighters are “on their own time.” For instance, Laughlin usually heads downstairs to work out.

Those endorphins, like the coffee in the break room and kitchen, will be vital in getting through the 24-hour shift.

“Thankfully, we do a lot of things for downtime,” Laughlin said, adding that sleep is an option – sometimes. It hinges on how busy CGH Medical Center keeps them.

“They’re a very, very busy bunch. And when they’re busy, oftentimes, we’re busy. Some nights we do get some rest, but most nights, we don’t, because of the various calls.”

The calendar daylong shifts are bittersweet.

Firefighters are on a day, then off two, and every 15 shifts, they get one off, to comply with labor laws. It lets firefighters work part-time jobs in

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the off-days, allowing spouses to be full-time, stay-at-home parents.

Conversely, the spouse can work those off days, while the firefighter works a second job that’s closer to home – mom or dad.

Laughlin, for instance, works part-time as an independent insurance inspector. His wife, Brittani, worked as a registered nurse until their third child, Ava, was born nearly 2 years ago.

If a firefighter works a holiday, there’s no assuring the kids they’ll be home by 5 or 7, when their shift’s over.

“We’re gone a third of our life,” Laughlin said.

“I’d never say we have it worse than anybody else. But you miss a lot: birthdays, holidays and stuff like that. When you work Christmas Day, you’re gone. You’re going to miss it completely.”

Laughlin, who said he’s paid for monthly insurance of some sort since he was 16 – whether auto, health, life or the like – said that, seeing as how he’s never filed a claim, can relate with the populace.

“You might not need us every day, or every hour, but we’re here in case we’re needed. We’re basically the taxpayers’ insurance policy.”

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C8 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | SELLING REAL ESTATE

THE NEW VIRTUAL REALITY

Brian Corwell, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Sauk Valley, works on his Microsoft Surface tablet at his office in Sterling. As it has with most other professions, technology has changed the daily routines for real estate agents. Behind Corwell’s name on the office’s website is the designation “e-PRO.” “On days I don’t have any showings, I basically play around with technology,” Corwell said. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com)

Real estate professionals plugged in 24/7

B

BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier

rian Corwell comes from a real estate family, but the business is very different from the one his father knew.

Bob Corwell also was a general contractor, and left an impressive footprint in the area.

“My dad was involved with building a lot of subdivisions in

Sterling,” Brian said. “You look at 11th, 12th, and 13th Avenues especially, and he left his mark there.”

Bob helped change the local landscape for 40 years, and after retiring, still lives in the area. His sons, Brian and Gary, are broker associates at RE/ MAX Sauk Valley.

Behind Brian’s name on the office’s website is a designation Bob never would have consid-

ered – e-PRO. That means he not only sells real estate, he also specializes in harnessing the powers of the biggest change in his field.

“Every day is different here, and on days I don’t have any showings, I basically play around with technology,” Brian said.

While technology hasn’t been as disruptive in real estate as many other businesses, the day isn’t far off.

The low-hanging fruit was in the

area of listing services, which introduced prospective buyers to a bevy of websites such as Zillow, Trulia, and realtor.com.

But before that, another listing advancement made the lives of agents in the trenches much easier.

“When I first started, we had printed MLS [Multiple Listing Service] books, and when we first went electronic, we had spreadsheets and still had to burn PDFs,” Brian said. “Now we have live MLS with continual updates that you can see immediately.”

REALITY CONTINUED ON C9

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Dimond Brothers Insurance Agency Amboy 815-857-3966

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C9

A DAY IN THE LIFE | SELLING REAL ESTATE

Local offices seeing early spring bounce in market REALITY

RE/MAX Sauk Valley

CONTINUED FROM C8

The electronic version also is linked with the major listing sites, as well as the agents’ individual sites. Not only do the RE/MAX agents have a local office website, they have individual sites.

Two major technology changes are in the works at the local RE/MAX offices. One is the implementation of DocuSign, a program that allows for scanned documents to be signed from any location.

The other important ongoing tech project is an upgrade for digital property tours.

“This allows for more interaction with the clients, and sends details from listing sheets to phones,” Brian said.

“This is the kind of technology that allows us to run our office 24/7.”

While computers revolutionized office efficiencies, the push has now moved to mobile capabilities. Whether the real estate professionals are agents, appraisers, or developers, they are constantly on the move. Clients also want more mobile interaction.

“We can set clients up for updates, and most of them get searches emailed twice a day,” Brian said. “With the company app, we can schedule showings, confirm them, get feedback, and it goes right to the phones.”

The office still keeps paper documents for 5 years, and office staff keep track of information electronically. Ever the tech guru, Brian takes his housekeeping a step further.

“I have all of my stuff

RE/MAX Sauk Valley has offices at 110 E. Lynn Boulevard in Sterling, and at 1319 N. Galena Ave. in Dixon.

Visit them online at saukvalleyrealestate. com, or call the Sterling office at 815-625-3722, or the Dixon branch at 815-284-4663.

Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

While computers revolutionized office efficiencies, the push has now moved to mobile capabilities, said RE/ MAX Sauk Valley agent Brian Corwell. “With the company app, we can schedule showings, confirm them, get feedback, and it goes right to the phones.”

‘‘

People still joke that 2007-2008 were the good old days when anyone who had a pulse was approved for a mortgage. The new guidelines have slowed down the process. You used to be able to close in 30 days, and now it’s more like 60.

scanned on Dropbox,” he said.

Some agents use professional photographers for their tours, but Brian takes his own photos.

“They tend to hire out for the real high-end listings, but I figure the quality of pictures taken with my phone is pretty good,” Brian said.

His biggest challenge with photos comes in his capacity as a Fannie Mae agent. He is required to send at least 12 photos for foreclosures, when the yard might be the most

Brian Corwell, of RE/MAX Sauk Valley

attractive feature.

In addition to mobile enhancements, the biggest opportunities for disruptive technology exist in software, particularly for the commercial side of the business.

Regulatory changes have helped carve out a niche for Internet-based lending enterprises that make it much more convenient for buyers. There also is great potential in software that makes development and property management much easier. Technology companies are targeting

everything from market research and analysis to tracking capital.

Upgrades in commercial listing services are aimed at making the process more marketplacebased rather than one heavily based on personal relationships.

Brian said the offices are getting an early spring bounce, after enduring the slowdown that is expected every December and January.

“I don’t know if it was the mild winter or what, but we’re really busy right now,” he said.

TRUST

’’

Another huge change had little to do with technology. The industry has been forced to adjust to the new federal lending guidelines that emerged from the subprime mortgage crisis that peaked nearly a decade ago.

“People still joke that 2007-2008 were the good old days when anyone who had a pulse was approved for a mortgage,” Brian said.

“The new guidelines have slowed down the process. You used to be able to close in 30 days,

and now it’s more like 60.”

A quick search of Sterling’s ZIP code brings up 124 listings, showing that amid the many changes, some of the key demographics have remained stable.

Brian said first-time homebuyers are generally looking for homes in the range between $55,000 and $85,000.

The price range of available homes started at $20,000, topped out at $449,000, and settled in at an average price of $108,643.

The real estate industry has used television to more closely interact with prospective buyers.

Channels such as HGTV have helped elevate house-hunting and home renovation to hobby status for many dedicated viewers.

While the Internet and television have brought in more educated clients, it can sometimes make it tougher on the professionals.

“It can ratchet up expectations, and if the budget doesn’t match, it can be tough to find them something,” Brian said. “Everybody seems to want big fenced yards for their dogs, and quartz countertops.”

There are 19 agents combined in the Sterling and Dixon RE/MAX offices.

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C10 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | TAXES & ACCOUNTING

A CAREER BY THE NUMBERS

Dana Ronk-Potthoff opened her new tax and accounting business in Sterling in January, just in time for the current tax season. Potthoff started doing taxes as she worked for her father while she was in college. In her spare time, she started doing taxes for her family at no charge. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com)

Potthoff follows teacher’s advice, opens new business after years in banking

W

BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5525 @JPigee84

hen local accountant Dana RonkPotthoff was a teenager, she heard something that changed her life.

“I had a teacher pull me aside and say, ‘Dana, you have a real aptitude for numbers.

Instead of wasting your time getting into trouble, you should do something with it,’” Potthoff said. “I listened to what she said.”

Potthoff, 53, said she began doing taxes

as she worked for her father while she was in college. In her spare time, she started doing taxes for her family at no charge. It has quickly blossomed into a career.

Her father, Thomas Ronk, and her teacher, Juanita Harrel, one of Potthoff’s teachers at Calvin Coolidge Junior High School in Moline, helped steer Potthoff to a successful career.

“My teacher had the confidence in me and pointed me in the right direction,” Potthoff said. “My dad was always a businessman and he has always been my main driver. He also knew I was good with numbers and he taught me well.”

Today, Potthoff is the owner of Potthoff Tax and Accounting in Sterling. The business has been open since January, the same time tax season got underway.

Although she has experience in tax preparation, that is not the only thing Potthoff does.

The firm offers a wide range of services, such as income tax preparation for businesses and individuals; QuickBooks setup, support and training; bookkeeping; personal financial planning; and tax planning and projections.

Potthoff was in the banking business for almost 30 years. She worked for Metrobank in East Moline as a controller for 14 years.

NUMBERS CONTINUED ON C11

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C11

A DAY IN THE LIFE | TAXES & ACCOUNTING

‘My dad knew I was good at this and he taught me well’ NUMBERS

CONTINUED FROM C10

She then moved on to Southeast National Bank in Moline, where she spent 13 years as a chief financial officer.

“I’ve been doing tax work since I’ve been in college, ever since I was 20 years old,” Potthoff said. “At one time, I worked for a Best Buy and I did the accounting there.”

She spent about a year working at a Best Buy in Moline as a bookkeeper.

Because she worked there, Potthoff said she spent most of her paychecks on Best Buy products, such as stereo systems.

Her father also owned a Dairy Queen right when Potthoff got out of college. She did the taxes for

his firm, as well.

“My dad knew I was good at this and he taught me well,” she said.

“He would tell me to do some of his business for him and I always wanted to please him. I always wanted to please my dad, and I always got positive feedback for it.”

She has an accounting degree from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. But she said real world experience helped give her the confidence to open her own business.

“In order to do all that I am doing here, I believe a strong accounting background is a good thing to have,” she said. “That and a good business background.”

Retired Sterling Police Chief Ron Potthoff also works in the office with Dana, his wife of 22

More information Potthoff Tax and Accounting, 2317 E. Lincolnway, Sterling, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

During tax season, hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call 815-716-8255, visit Potthofftax.com or search for Potthoff Tax & Accounting on Facebook. years.

Potthoff retired in January after 42 years of police work, with nearly 20 of those as the city’s top law enforcement official.

Instead of sitting at home and doing nothing, he answers the phones and runs errands for his wife.

“Rather than take 10 or 20 minutes to do your tax returns and you are out the door, she delves into what people are doing and makes recommendations,” he said. “She

looks into everything and takes a personal interest.”

For now, Ron and Dana are the only two staff members in the building, but she’d like to see the business grow.

Back when Ron became chief, Dana moved to Sterling and commuted back and forth to the Quad Cities. Those days are over.

“I don’t have to commute anymore,” she said with a laugh.

Since this is the first time Dana is working on

Bu uilt to Perform!

her own, and because the business is only a couple months old, she does not have much of a clientele, but is hoping to get more customers.

“I’ve always enjoyed this and I’ve always enjoyed helping people with their taxes,” she said. “I would like to have more exposure from local businesses. I had a small clientele when I first came in, but nothing big.”

One of the major advantages Potthoff said she gets from her job is the ability to help people grow and succeed.

“That is the most rewarding part for me,” she said. “In the older days, people wanted to get you in the door and out. Now, people want to help you and build strong relationships.”

A drawback, Potthoff

said, is dealing with a person’s negative mindset when it comes to taxes.

“There is a mindset with people when it comes to taxes,” Potthoff said.

“No one likes taxes, and they don’t want to pay taxes or pay someone to prepare their taxes. Their mindset is we are supposed to do this for them and they are really not supposed to pay much for the service.”

Despite that, Potthoff said she loves the interactions and the relationships she has with people.

“I enjoy customers walking in the door and I like the business side of things,” she said. “I like meeting with people and learning more about them. I like meeting with people and learning more about them.”

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C12 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C13

It is the mission of the Dixon Park District to maintain a high standard of leadership and competency in the promotion of sound environmental practices and lifestyles, and to maintain a creative and efficient park and recreation system.

2016 FUN GUIDE

Park Security….....631-0062 or 973-0401 Park Office………………..…...284-3306 Fax……………………………..284-4950 Maintenance Garage….………284-9134 Nature Center…………………288-5209 Woodcote……………………...284-0844 Tennis Courts...........................284-2785 Sports Line (after hours)……..284-3306

Over 1,100 acres of recreation space and natural areas, including century-old Lowell Park, which boasts a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as Lowell Forest, a designated Illinois Nature Preserve.

804 Palmyra Street, Dixon, IL 61021 • Office Hours: Monday - Friday • 9 am - Noon & 1 - 4pm dixonparkdistrict.com • dixonpark2@gmail.com

March March 5th - Yeti Race at Lowell Park March 12 - Shamrock Shuffle at Lincoln Statue and Page Park th

March 13th - Girl Scouts Selling Cookies at John Dixon Park March 26th- Easter Egg Hunt At Meadows Soccer Field Washington Avenue, Dixon Age Divisions • Begins at 1:00PM (it’s advised to be early) Rain Date is Saturday April 2nd

April April 2 - Bow Hunt Registration at Nature Center, Lowell Park nd

April 28th - Cubs Trip April 30th - Meadows Monster Race at Meadows & Lowell Park

May - June May 14th - Make a Wish Race On Lowell Bike Path May 21st - Boat, Truck, R.V., ATV, Etc. Show and Outdoor Fun Day at Vaile/Reynolds Parks May 21st - Shining Star Walk at Lowell Park May 21st - Oct. 15th - Farmers Market Haymarket Square June 3rd & 4th - Cabela’s Catfish Tournament In Page Park June 11th - Flea Market at Meadows Park

Woodcote

... A Stone & Timber Cottage in Lowell Park Built of native limestone in 1909, Woodcote was once home to the park’s keeper.

Today, Woodcote’s 6 bedrooms, full kitchen, and 2 1/2 baths are available for: • Corporate, business, or civic meetings • Small weddings and receptions • Bridal or baby showers • Art, garden, or antique shows • Family or church activities • Bird and wildlife watching • Family or class reunions

Inquire about touring Woodcote before making your plans

815-284-3306.

Facility open April through December

Picnic Shelters Reservations for park shelters for the upcoming season are taken on a first come/first served basis.

(Stone shelters at Lowell Park are free of charge and will not be reserved.)

Persons are invited to rent the historic Reagan Bathhouse in Lowell Park — with a kitchen counter, fridge/freezer, a grill, 6 - 9 picnic tables, & huge roll-up windows to a river view

Park 4 Paws Dog Park

The dog park is located at 1600 Washington Avenue, adjacent to the soccer fields. There is no charge to use the park.

Ruth Edwards Nature Center in Lowell Park Activities for All Ages!

• Canoe trips • van trips • kids programs and activities • programs for Scouts, school students, retirement homes, service clubs, etc. • wildflower walks in Lowell Park • tree planting • birding • classes and seminars

Please call, leave a message. Nature Center 815-288-5209 or check dixonparkdistrict.com

GOLF

June 25th & 26th - Bass Pro Tournament In Rock Falls using Page Park Ramps June 29th - July 4th - KSB Tennis Tournament In Page Park

July July 2nd - Art Show At John Dixon Park July 2nd -Reagan Run; Farmers Market In Page Park July 3rd - Gospel Sing at John Dixon Park July 9th - Home of Hope Human Foosball at Meadows Park July 25th - 29th - Hubbs Tennis Tournament In Page Park July 30th - Knock Out Race Sara Schnake Memorial at Meadows Park

August - September Aug. TBD - Cops & Bobbers at Lowell Park Aug. 2nd - Cubs Trip Aug. 13 - Matt Jones Tournament at Lowell Park - Catfish th

Aug. 20th - 21st - Carp Tournament in Page Park Aug 27th-28th - Carp Tournament in Page Park Sept. 3rd - Bow Hunt Orientation at Nature Center, Lowell Park Sept. 10th - Scleroderma Walk in Lowell Park Sept. 10th - Steps for Strays Lowell Park & Bike Path Sept. 17th - Alzheimer Walk at Lowell Park

October Oct. 3rd- 6th - Outdoors Stewardship (1000 Students) Lowell Park Oct. 15th - Hairy Buzz Run 10K Lowell Bike Path Oct. 21st -23rd Haunted Hayrides @ Lowell Park Oct. 22st - Haunted 5K at Lowell Park Oct. 23rd - 50/50 Drawing - Get Your Tickets Now! Oct. 29th - Meadows Monster Race in Lowell Park & Meadows Park Oct. 29th - Lions Halloween Parade at Haymarket Square

Dixon Park District’s Golf Center

1010 Washington Avenue Driving range & Putting green Open April through October (weather dependent), Seven Days a Week, dawn to dusk, Ball Machine - same days, same hours FREE Golf Camp for Kids, Ages 9 - 13 • Register through April 29, 4 pm.

May 2, ten names will be drawn. Camp will be held at Dixon Park District Driving Range, 1010 Washington Ave. July 12th - 15th 10am - 11:30 am Golf Lessons for Kids, Ages 9 - 13 Week #1: June 14, 15, 16 • Week #2: July 19, 20, 21 10 - 10:30 am all days. Choose one or both weeks.

Only 3 students per class • $25. per student, per week.

Sauk Valley Inline Hockey

Divisions for ages 5 and up, challenges and competitions, loaner gear for new players, music and lights, more special events.

Register Online at dixonparkdistrict.com

Girls Softball Girls, K - 4 Learn the Fundamentals of Softball at the KSB Instructional Camp - Reynolds Field East Tuesday, May 31st - Thursday, June 2nd • 9am - 10:30 am Register Deadline: Friday, May 27th Instructed by DHS Softball Coach & Girls Team.

Sponsored byy KSB Hospital p p Girls K - 8th Grade Slow-pitch Softball Fee- all grades…..$30. per player Registration Deadline……………......Fri., May 13

Adult Softball

Summer Adult Leagues (18 years & older) ASA and Dixon Park District Rules apply.

Deadline. Mon., May 9 or when full League ............................. Fee $475.

Mens .......begins Monday, May 23rd

Co-Ed ........begins Friday, May 27th Captains meeting .......Mon., May 9

Splash Pad

Free 9am-9pm • Open May21st - Weather Permitting

Meadows Park • 567 Acres Trails For Horses, Bicycles, Walking, Bank Fishing & Wildlife Watching

C14 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | BUILDING DEMOLITION Curt Poff, owner of CP’s Demolition Service in Sterling, watches closely as he moves scrap metal into a dump truck to be hauled away prior to the demolition of a building at 1112 E. Fourth St. in Sterling.

(Dave Fox/For Sauk Valley Media)

Meet the demolition

Poff likes ‘tearing stuff up,’ now gets paid to do it

BY DAVE FOX • Special to Sauk Valley Media

Even a cold windy day in early March didn’t slow Curt Poff down as he walked around his shop talking about what he enjoys doing.

His “shop”, literally at the end of a sidewalk (105 Fourth Ave. in Sterling) is grandly reminiscent of the mechanics’ shops of yesteryear.

A partial car sits in the middle of an oil-dotted concrete floor, surrounded by parts, a workbench, a few tools, and a ramped-up engine in the corner of the room. Along the south wall is a shelf lined with trophies – lots of them, and some of them huge.

Curt owns Poff’s Automotive, and now also CP’s Demolition Service. He enjoys building demolition derby cars and entering them in competitions during his free time, which he admits he doesn’t have much of anymore.

DEMOLITION CONTINUED ON C16

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C15

A DAY IN THE LIFE | BUILDING DEMOLITION

Photos by Dave Fox/For Sauk Valley Media

ABOVE: The stripped building at 12th Avenue and East Fourth Street in Sterling is ready to be demolished. The building had been a distinctive presence in the neighborhood for many years, with its gold-colored ornamental facade, but had been empty for some time, and a faulty roof caused mold and interior structural problems.

RIGHT: The building is in the process of being demolished. “It gets pretty intense,” Curt Poff of CP’s Demolition Services said of the process, “because if you don’t knock down the right wall first, you can have all kinds of problems.”

Prior to knocking down a building, it is stripped of many items and all utilities are disconnected. Here is a pile of scrap metal from the building at 12th Avenue and East Fourth Street in Sterling.

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C16 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | BUILDING DEMOLITION

‘It’s a stress release to do this kind of service for people’ DEMOLITION

CONTINUED FROM C14

His face gleams with pride when he talks about the trophies he has won in the past.

At his current location for 10 years now, Curt “used to work on cars a lot,” and has been salvaging them since he was 16.

“That was my main source of income for a long time,” he said with a smile.

Now focusing more on demolition of old buildings, he is humorous about his work, a career that he greatly enjoys. “I guess I just like tearing stuff up,” he said with a laugh.

Auto mechanic work, and salvaging cars, are things he still enjoys doing, but he said they often take a back seat to tearing down old buildings. Matter of fact,

demolition has gotten so busy that he now has a cousin, Corey Shipman, working with him pretty much full-time.

“He’s worked with me part-time for about 10 years, mainly on weekends and during his spare time,” Curt said, “but now things are so busy he’s with me pretty much full-time.”

Demolishing buildings is something Curt actually began doing when he was 12 years old.

“I used to work with a lot of farmers as a kid,” he said, “and we’d tear down barns, old houses, corn cribs, silos, and that kind of stuff.”

A steady flow of work has been coming from the city of Sterling for about 5 years, he said, “and that really keeps us busy.”

SERVICE CONTINUED ON C17

Dave Fox/For Sauk Valley Media

Curt Poff moves scrap metal, including pieces of the gold-colored ornamental facade, from the building at 1112 E. Fourth St. before it was demolished recently.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C17

A DAY IN THE LIFE | BUILDING DEMOLITION

‘It’s a lot more than just ... smashing the place up’ SERVICE

CONTINUED FROM C16

Doing both residential and commercial work, Curt has lost track of how many houses he’s actually made disappear.

“I can’t say how many homes around town I’ve taken down,” he said, “but for the city, we probably average 6 to 10 houses a year, and probably do 20 to 25 houses a year total. Then we do the commercial work on top of that, so it keeps us hopping, for sure.”

In spite of the work he does, Poff doesn’t view himself as a destructive person.

“I just love machinery,” he said, grinning again. “I’m not a destructive person, but it’s a stress release to do this kind of service for people, getting rid of old stuff, then cleaning up and making it a nicer place.”

Taking down a building of any kind involves much more than just swinging a heavy steel ball from a crane.

“Safety is always the most important thing,” he said. “You always have to be aware of everything going on and use a lot of common sense. A lot of it is watching which way the building is twisting and which way stuff is starting to fall. It might not always go the way you think it’s going to, so you have to be ready for just about anything.”

Poff cited the Manahan Building downtown on East Fourth Street, which he demolished recently.

“That was one of the most complicated jobs I’ve done,” he said, “because there were high-voltage power lines on one side, a busy street 5 feet away, a building

right next door, and cars parked nearby.

“Then there were a lot of spectators, too,” he said. “People like to stand and watch something like this happen.

“The trick with that particular building was to literally make it fall in on top of itself, which we did, but it was very hard.”

Another difficult job was the old Bogott building on East Third Street in Sterling, near his shop.

“With that one, there were power lines and a busy street right there,” he said, “plus 50-foot steel beams inside the structure, which was pretty tricky to deal with.”

Safety and precision are vitally important.

“You have to be precise,” he said. “You have to know which wall to take down first. It’s a lot more than just running in and smashing the place up. You have to know what will happen when you break a wall, because a board or a beam can break that you weren’t counting on, and that can change things.”

Poff credits a good working relationship with his cousin for making the work less stressful.

“We do really well together,” he said.“He’s good with the equipment, and we have hand signals that work really well, too, so I can be working on a building and he can watch and signal if the building begins to shift or if something is going wrong. We trust each other, and that makes a big difference.”

No job is too big or too small, Poff said, and he can tear down anything from a small shed to a 5-story building.

Being thorough and having good prices are

Dave Fox/For Sauk Valley Media

Curt Poff (right) and his cousin, Corey Shipman, have been so busy demolishing buildings in the past year that it’s basically become a full-time job for both. “He’s worked with me part-time for about 10 years, mainly on weekends and during his spare time,” Poff said of Shipman. “But now things are so busy he’s with me pretty much full time.” two things he attributes to bringing him so much business.

“I do take pride in my low prices,” he said, “especially when I do work for the city, because it frees up more money for the city to be able to do other things.”

He is is certified, licensed, bonded and insured to remove asbestos.

Thoroughness adds to his love of his work.

“We work at getting a building down and hauled off and getting the mess cleaned up as quickly as possible,” he said. “and we do all the extras. We don’t leave until the customer is satisfied. Maybe doing a really good job now will get us another good job down the road.”

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

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C18 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | VETERINARIAN

Only the best for your pet

Dr. Erin Graves (right) holds her dog, Zoomer, as he wears the standard eye goggles when receiving a laser treatment at River Ridge Animal Hospital in Dixon. The laser is a recent addition to the technology available at the clinic and can be used to treat many pet ailments.

(Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com)

Relationships and technology drive evolution of veterinary medicine at River Ridge

BY BREANNE HUNTER bhunter@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5545 @breannehunter4

ence, people and animals, Graves is now in the business of working to help people avoid the devastating impact of losing a beloved pet. And she aids them in making difficult decisions, when necessary.

s a child, Dr. Erin Graves couldn’t imagine anything better than spending the day playing with puppies and kitties.

Her childhood interest evolved when her own dog was hit and killed by a car. At the time, there wasn’t anything that could be done to save the dog. So, having combined her interests in math, sci-

Graves, originally from Belvidere, has been at River Ridge Animal Hospital in Dixon for more than 8 years. Like many of her colleagues, she completed her undergraduate, master’s, and doctor of veterinary medicine degrees at the University of Illinois.

A

PET CONTINUED ON C19

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Sauk Valley Media • C19

A DAY IN THE LIFE | VETERINARIAN

‘It’s a great profession, ... and it’s very rewarding’ PET

CONTINUED FROM C18

She credits the average student loan debt of $185,000 for a veterinarian coming out of college as the guiding factor for so many veterinary students staying in state.

“When you are looking at a starting salary of $50,000, which is the average across the nation, it just doesn’t pan out,” Graves said. “You need to be realistic. It’s a great profession, it’s one we love and it’s very rewarding. But kids need to know there are probably going to be some lean years.”

Relationships are what make it all worth it for Graves, who now lives in Sterling. Over the years, she has realized the importance of building relationships with not only the animals but also the owners.

“I’m afraid that so many young people I know, like when I was 6, just want to play with the puppies and kitties all day,” Graves said. “You have to like people, too, and realize that’s a huge part of the equation.”

Her position allows her to watch those relationships evolve and develop over the years. She’s there when clients welcome a new pet into their lives, and helps them navigate through those early years. She experiences the depth of the bond that forms between an owner and a pet. And when the time comes, she provides them with the information they need to decide when it is time to let their pet go.

“I always tell people, ‘They are going to look at you one day, and you are going to know it’s time.’

But it’s emotional and it’s hard,” she said. “I try not to let my emotions

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Nathan McClain is a doctor of veterinary medicine at River Ridge Animal Hospital in Dixon. Dr McClain grew up in Dixon and, like many of the doctors at River Ridge, is a graduate of the University of Illinois. make those decisions for them, but we do cry.”

Some cases have more of an impact on Graves than others. As advances in technology allow pets to live longer, different problems arise more frequently, such as cancer.

“I had one dog that had cancer, and I had treated her for a long time,” she said. “That was one of the hardest. I saw her every week for a long time, and then that was it.”

On the other hand, thanks to advances in technology, the diagnosis of cancer isn’t necessarily the death sentence now that it was merely 10 or 15 years ago.

Graves and her colleagues see the field constantly changing before their eyes. She remembers when the ability to do blood work in-house was a mind blowing advancement in the field of veterinary medicine.

Doing blood work in labs like the one at River Ridge allows veterinarians to provide answers within a matter of 15 minutes, a luxury not often seen in human health care.

There are many instances when the human and animal health care fields overlap, such as with laser therapy. New to the veterinary medicine field in

just the past few years, River Ridge was recently able to introduce a class 4 laser to the facility.

The machine at River Ridge has the same sorts of technology used on professional athletes.

The therapy targets a specific area, and can be used on post-op surgery patients to aid healing and decrease swelling.

That also helps combat arthritis in pets, as it increases cytokines and decreases inflammation. For a pet with hip arthritis, a treatment takes about 5 minutes.

However, most pets with this ailment need multiple spots worked on,

so it can take 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the case.

Graves says there are very few contraindications or side effects from laser therapy. She sees it as a non-invasive way to make pets feel better with short sessions. She does warn it is not a permanent solution, and is a treatment that must be maintained to yield continued results.

Laser therapy also cannot be used on any spot that might be cancerous, because it can stimulate those cells. Aside from that, laser therapy can be used on any animal.

“There are protocols for

bunnies, guinea pigs, and so on,” Graves said.

As with the introduction of laser therapy, River Ridge strives to consistently offer the newest technology to the community.

“I feel like right now we are doing a pretty darn good job of having a lot of the newer, cutting edge technology,” Graves said.

“Especially for where we are at, you know, we aren’t in Chicago. So to be able to offer laser therapy, ultrasound, digital radiographs, and to be able to do some of the orthopedic procedures we can do, I think those are all pretty good.”

C20 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | FUNERAL DIRECTOR

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Kayla Brown, a 2007 graduate of Newman Central Catholic High School, said she’s “always been intrigued” by the funeral services profession. Brown, 26, is a funeral director for McDonald Funeral Home. She said some people, generally older, are still surprised to see a female funeral director. “I will go on calls and they’ll ask, ‘Did you bring anybody else?’”

Not your average funeral director Brown sheds light on a career that so often remains in the dark

BY KACIE KLINGE kklinge@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5521 @kacieek4

Kayla Brown, 26, sits at a round table in a black pant suit, smiling as she discusses her career in an enthusiastic, chipper tone. She shows an evident passion for her profession. Looking at her, one might not assume she’s a funeral director.

“This has always piqued my interest,” Brown said. “I’ve always been intrigued by it.”

Brown lives in Rock Falls and was a 2007 graduate of Newman Central Catholic High Schoo. She has been a licensed funeral director for almost 5 years, and works at McDonald Funeral Home. Prior to her pursuit of funeral services as a career, she was a CNA at a hospital when she mentioned to her co-workers what occupation she was interested in.

“They were like, ‘You’d be really great at that,’ and they encouraged me to pursue it,” Brown said. “It was just something I was drawn to. I can’t even say I job shadowed it. I just jumped right into it.”

She waited until she was 21 to begin her pursuit, but said she was glad she did so.

“I think if I would have been any younger I wouldn’t have been ready for it,” Brown said.

“I wouldn’t have been mature enough.”

Brown said she participated in a yearlong, fast-paced mortuary program in Wheeling. The first 6 months consisted of classwork ranging from accounting to embalming, and the second 6 months included mainly labs.

LIGHT CONTINUED ON C21

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C21

A DAY IN THE LIFE | FUNERAL DIRECTOR

‘You’ve got to try to keep your work life separate from your personal life’ LIGHT

on call.

“Death is a profession you can’t ever predict,” she said. “We never know when our next call is going to be.”

Brown said she tries her best not to bring the sadness that comes with her job home with her, but sometimes it’s difficult to avoid.

“I definitely have had times where you go to the back room and you have to wipe away the tears really quick before everyone sees you,” she said. “There’s times where it’s really tough.

Children, young people, ... you see an old man crying over his wife, it’s hard not to get involved emotionally. You’ve got

CONTINUED FROM C20

“You have to be the middle man. You just have to do your job the best you can, and it can be tough.

It’s actually more prominent than you’d think,” Brown said. “I wasn’t expecting it to be – you think that it would make everybody come together when actually it can tear people apart.”

Because of the unpredicability of the business, her work days vary greatly, Brown said.

“We do have five locations, but every morning we meet here [Rock Falls] at 8. If we don’t have time to talk about what’s going on today, Joe [McDonald, the owner and founder of McDonald Funeral Home] will

NAPOLEON

“We would go to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and do our embalming practicums there,” she said.

“Fortunately, for me, I worked in a funeral home in Chicago as well. You get to work as a student, so I was able to observe the embalming; so, thankfully, I got to do that before we went to the labs. It is intimidating to take it all in, and scary, but I was fortunate enough to have some knowledge of what was happening.”

Brown also mentioned the tables are turning on what used to be a predominantly male career path.

“We graduated pretty much with an even amount (of men and women),” Brown said.

“There’s still the older generation that kind of stereotypes you like, ‘Oh, you’re the funeral director?’ or I will go on calls and they’ll ask, ‘Did you bring anybody else?’”

Despite this, Brown said most people take her seriously and look at her job in a respectful manner. She said her family tells her how proud they are. and her husband is incredibly supportive of what she does.

“Ironically, my husband and I met because of this profession,” Brown said.

“He actually works for the burial vault company – essentially we met in a cemetery; there were a lot of jokes at our wedding.”

Brown said her husband is always encouraging her and is understanding when she has a tough day or comes home feeling down because of what happened at work that day.

She also occasionally has to leave home at arbitrary times when she is

to try to keep your work life separate from your personal life. You just have to work on doing your job instead of getting too emotional.”

When she first started as a funeral director, Brown said, the most difficult job task was talking to the families of the deceased.

“Usually there’s no way to prepare yourself,” Brown said. “There have been times where i’ve been completely blindsided because you don’t expect them to be reacting the way they are.”

She said one of the most common problems is when the family members trying to plan their loved one’s funeral aren’t getting along.

THROUGH MARCH 31ST

post a schedule of where we’re going to be at,” she said. “Every day is different. This morning we had two funeral services back to back, then we had to switch around for a visitation tonight.”

Although part of her job is organizing and helping set up funerals and visitations, she also does embalming and cremations, including “many” for pets.

She said the job ensures against taking life for granted.

“You see how quickly people can go, and I think it makes you hug your loved ones a little tighter,” she said.

What advice would Brown tie to someone considering getting into

the funeral industry?

Make sure you are mentally prepared for the job.

“They need to be mature and compassionate,” she said. “I would suggest job shadowing, to make sure this is what you really want to do. Or try to work for a funeral home and get a feel for what a day in the life is like.”

The best part of the job, she said, is when someone says, ‘Thank you for all you did.”

“We’re not expecting that, but hearing that is a little bit of encouragement,” she said. “Just knowing that you’re making their time a little bit easier, it’s why you do what you do.”

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C22 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | CATHOLIC PRIEST Father James Keenan gives his homily during Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dixon. While Sunday services give churchgoers their most frequent access to Keenan, he serves many other roles for parishioners during the week.

(Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com)

Answering his callings Faith and friends brought Keenan to Catholic Church, the Midwest

BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5525 @JPigee84

W

hen Father James Keenan was 3 years old, his grandmother Beatrice heard the youngster say something about his future.

“She said that I said I wanted to be a priest when I grew up,” Keenan said. “I don’t remember that, but grandmothers usually do.”

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Keenan, 51, serves as a priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Sterling.

He has been at the church for about 3 years.

At one time, Keenan had dreams of becoming a lawyer. Then, “I heard the calling of the Holy Spirit,” he said.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Keenan was ordained about 16 years ago, he said. Keenan attended seminary school in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

He came to the Midwest based on several recom-

mendations from some of his classmates at seminary school.

“They were telling me how wonderful the Midwest is,” Keenan said, speaking with his East Coast accent. “Because I heard so many positive things about the Midwest, I transferred from the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, to the Diocese of Rockford.

I came here with the recommendation of friends and fellow students.”

When he came to Illinois, he spent 3 years at St. Edward Catholic Church in Rockford. Bishop David Malloy then sent him to Immaculate Conception Church in Fulton.

CALLINGS CONTINUED ON C23

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www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • C23

A DAY IN THE LIFE | CATHOLIC PRIEST

‘God gives you the grace to switch from one emotion to another’ CALLINGS

CONTINUED FROM C22

From there, he went to St. Patrick Catholic Church in Albany before going to St. Patrick Church in Dixon.

“When an opening came open in this area, I wanted it,” Keenan said.

Keenan said each priest is assigned a diocese, and Malloy assigned him to the Diocese of Rockford, which means he can be transferred to any church in the area.

It’s up to Malloy to decide where each priest lands, he said.

Keenan has an undergraduate degree in history and political science from the College of St. Joseph in Rutland, Vermont, and a master’s degree in divinity from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg,

Maryland.

“Some guys have degrees in philosophy and others have a degree in history,” Keenan said.

Although most of the public nteracts with a priest only on Sunday mornings, they do much more than speak inside a crowded church.

Each day, Keenan leads morning prayer and Mass services at St. Mary’s. He then goes back to his office and does administrative duties, which include paying bills and other clerical work.

“I come back to the office and see what messages are left,” Keenan said. “People also call looking for financial assistance, and people call for special assistance or encouragement.”

Keenan said he takes requests to visit hos-

pitals to speak with grieving families, or he might speak with the the spouse of someone who is battling an illness.

He also provides marriage counseling, performs funerals and burials, and he gives spiritual direction.

“It changes from day to day,” he said. “There could also be a day when no one calls.”

He leads two Sunday services at the church, where he is able to interact with the most people.

Although each day is different, Keenan said there are plenty of positives about being a pastor.

The positives usually fall on the spiritual side, such as bringing a family back to the church, uniting a couple in marriage, or doing a baptism.

Keenan said he must keep his emotions in

check, which he says some priests struggle with. Sometimes, there are days when he has the daunting task of conducting a funeral in the morning and a wedding in the afternoon.

“Priests have to deal with different people at different times of their emotional life,” he said.

“You can’t be all joyful and happy at a funeral and be sad at a wedding.

You have to put aside the sadness of the loss of a parishioner.”

The change of emotion is all part of the job, he said “God gives you the grace to switch from one emotion to another,” he said. “Some guys get tired out or warn down because they are switching emotions all the time.

I deal with that through prayer and trusting God’s glory.”

In addition, Keenan said he is always in the public eye. Among other things, he has blessed the Reagan Statue in Dixon and he blessed the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Dixon.

“I’m a public person as well as a private person,” he said. “I get stopped at stores because people know me.”

Keenan said there are very few negatives about his role, other than dealing with paperwork.

“It would be nice to have someone who is paid to do just that,” he said with a laugh. “But, we are connected to that part of the parish ministry. Other than that, everything is good.”

One of the ways the position has evolved over the years, he said, is that not many people follow the ministry as closely.

People are able to get

their information or spiritual guidance from television, the Internet or their friends.

He also believes people are not as ready to believe a priest or take advice from one.

“There was a time when a minister said something, people followed,” Keenan said.

“People are now able to get more information online and because of that, they don’t always believe what the minister says. People see something elsewhere, but it’s not factual or spiritual as far as the church is concerned.”

At the end of the day, Keenan said, he is happy and blessed in the position he is in. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“For me, this is a vocation, an inner thought or a calling from God,” he said.

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C24 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

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Sauk Valley Media • D1

A DAY IN THE LIFE | SUPPLYING VENDING MACHINES Dave Contreras of Eldena enjoys his job at Arch Vending in Dixon. “It’s something different each day. I get to talk to people each day,” he said.

(Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com)

Man behind the machines Longtime supplier of workplace snacks enjoys the faces he sees each day

BY LUCAS PAULEY lpauley@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5576 @LucasJayPauley

A

s time passes, trends come and go.

What people eat and drink is no exception. But even as more people are trading in their chips for granola bars, they’re still going to the same place to get them: vending machines.

Dave Contreras, 47, has been bringing the people what they want for about 30

years. He lives with his wife, Julie, 49, in Eldena. They have a daughter, Kiaya, 23, and son, Matthew, 20.

As a vending machine supplier at Arch Vending in Dixon, he services six or seven routes a day.

“I do most of the big stops, so I go to the same places every day,” Contreras said during an interview at the company’s facility at 1217 E. River Road.“Every day, I go to Crest Foods. Every day, I go to BorgWarner. Every day, I go to Allied Lock.”

While some people Contreras serves might be trying healthier choices, he says the vending machine staples are still very popular.

“People still want their Snickers,” he said with a laugh. “People still drink a lot of pop. But yeah, there’s been a shift to more Gatorade, Snapple teas and non-carbonated drinks.”

Contreras let out a big laugh when asked if people actually still buy Almond Joys.

“Yes, people still buy Almond Joys,” he said.

“They want something different once in a while.”

MACHINES CONTINUED ON D2

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D2 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | SUPPLYING VENDING MACHINES

Rocked a machine to get a stuck candy bar? That’s ‘normal’ MACHINES

CONTINUED FROM D1

Each location that he services is a little different.

“Like at Crest Foods, they’re spread out in different spots. I have three major spots there and three other small ones,” he said.

Before his routes, he packs his van with an assortment of drinks, sandwiches, chips and candy bars, so that, depending on what a certain business needs, he has – ideally – everything he needs for each trip.

The company buys fresh sandwiches once a week from a catering business out of Wisconsin, he said.

The frozen sandwiches and a majority of the other products come from a supplier called Chicago Vending Supply, a distributor which supplies items for business in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, western Ohio, eastern Iowa and southern Wisconsin.

Some of the workers at Arch Vending have routes that they service only a couple times a week, but with the bigger routes, Contreras has been able to become familiar with the employees and their schedules.

“I actually try to be there during break sometimes so people tell me [what they want] and what they don’t like,” he said.

And if he notices a

product is just consistently not selling at a certain location?

“We just take it out and try to find something else,” he said.

Finding a new item likely isn’t hard for Contreras, as he has many years of experience in the business.

The vending business runs in the family. His father, Chico, was in the the business for about 45 years.

“He was doing it, and I started working part-time in high school,” he said.

He graduated in 1986 from Dixon High School, and earned an associate degree in 1990 from Sauk Valley Community College, becoming a fulltime employee at Sauk

Valley Vendors.

After that company was sold to Arch Vending, owned by Bob Wegner, he became an employee and has worked there ever since.

Through the years, the technology has definitely changed, bringing new challenges with each new machine.

“Machines have a lot more variety,” Contreras said, pointing to an older pop machine that had 6 choices, and comparing it to a brand new pop machine, which allows 40 different flavors.

“Especially with the coffee, too. Before, it was just coffee, hot chocolate and tea,” he said. “Now, you’ve got your cappucci-

no, French roast coffees.”

And if something goes wrong with a machine, Contreras is the one fixing it. This is the case with all the workers at Arch Vending.

“We try to fix it on our own to save someone else a trip out there,” he said.

“It just kind of backs up my day. When something breaks down, I’ve gotta figure out what’s wrong with it, and then hope I have the part with me,” Contreras said. “Because, you know, all the machines are different.”

With some of the pop machines the company gets from the suppliers, however, they’ll come out and fix them. Also, with many refrigeration

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issues, the company has someone more qualified with that aspect of the vending machine come in and fix the problem.

Contreras handles about three to four variations of pop, chip, sandwich, coffee and change machines.

Practice makes perfect, when it comes to the new additions to the company’s collection of vending machines.

“Usually, we get a new machine in, we look at the manual, and sit there and play with it before we take it out, to see how it works,” he said.

But even when you know a machine inside and out, they can surprise you.

“I’ve had a sandwich machine where the compressor wouldn’t shut off and kept running, and everything in it froze,” Contreras recalled with a laugh. “I’ve had some with Monster drinks and pops that all [got too cold and] blew up.”

That threw a wrench into his plans for the day.

“Yeah, that was a cleanup job,” he said.

As far as damage done by people to the machines, that doesn’t happen very often in the Sauk Valley, Contreras said.

“Most machines we do are inside of a business,” he said. “Sure, occasionally, you’ll have somebody rock a machine because a candy bar got stuck; that’s normal.”

Each day brings new challenges, and that’s what Contreras says keeps things interesting.

“It’s something different each day. I get to talk to people each day,” Contreras said. “On nice days like this, I get to be outside and get to see people.”

It’s those simple joys of his job that keep him coming back after every day – even after those exploding-pop-everywhere type of days.

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

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Sauk Valley Media • D3

A DAY IN THE LIFE | APARTMENT MANAGER

Retirement’s a part-time thing Woman keeps herself busy by managing Sterling apartment

BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5525 @JPigee84

W

hen some people retire, they spend their days golfing, fishing or doing anything to relax.

Rock Falls native Leanne Hodgson wanted to continue working.

Because she wanted to stay active in her retirement from the real estate business, Hodgson decided to become an apartment manager at Ster-Lynn Estates, a 60-family unit apartment complex at 215 E. 25th St. in Sterling.

“I’ve owned several homes and apartments, and after I retired, I decided I wanted part-time work,” Hodgson said. “I totally enjoyed the housing industry, and this is right up my alley.”

For more than 20 years, Hodgson spent time as a real estate broker in both Denver and Sterling.

“I’ve listed and sold properties, bought properties and I flipped them, and I did all that in Denver,” Hodgson said. “I started my real estate career here and went to Denver 15 years ago.”

She was in Denver for 12 years before returning to the Twin Cities.

“The housing market was extremely good and it is beautiful in Denver,” she said.

She worked for RE/MAX in Sterling and while she was in Denver she worked for Keller Williams Realty.

Hodgson also started her own real estate broker company called Simply Real Estate in Denver.

But having 10 grandchildren and a great-granchild drove her to come back to Rock Falls 2 years ago.

Hodgson enrolled at Sauk Valley Community College, but she did not get a degree. She said her continuing education is through real estate.

She has a real estate broker’s license, is a certified real estate specialist, and is a certified accredited broker specialist.

“There are a lot of things I have done without finishing college,” she said with a laugh.

Hodgson began her role as apartment manager at Ster-Lynn Estates on March 1. She works only about 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Because of that, she is able to enjoy her retirement by spending time with her grandchildren.

As apartment manager, she makes sure the complex operates smoothly.

Hodgson does things that are usually go unnoticed, like negotiating leases

and maintaining records, collecting rent and security deposits, and overseeing maintenance of the property.

She works in an office at the apartment complex. Although some apartment managers decide to live on-site, Hodgson lives in Rock Falls and keeps her phone on at all times.

Ster-Lynn Estates is a low-income facility that has only 2- and 3-bedroom units. The complex is run by the Whiteside County Housing Authority.

“She has years of experience in real estate, and she has an outgoing personality, which is why we selected her for the position,” said Lynn Deter, executive director of the Whiteside County Housing Authority. “She is also very dependable. She is there every day, and she enjoys her work and it shows.”

Hodgson said there is something new that happens at the complex every day, which keeps her on her toes.

“People move in and people move out,” she said. “There are challenges and conflicts taking place every day.

We have to work through it and resolve the issues.”

Being an apartment manager requires communication skills, as Hodgson must speak with tenants to resolve disputes and recruit new residents. And because her job involves multi-tasking, organization is a must.

She said she also must have superb customer service skills, and said she works with the tenants to make sure they are happy.

She does all this while only working with one other employee, who works in maintenance.

“I want to do what I can for this complex to be at 100 percent occupancy, and right now we are at 100 percent occupancy,” Hodgson said. “We also have nine people on a waiting list.”

Hodgson is also very active on the apartment grounds. She walks the grounds to make sure they are neat and clean.

“If there is a tenant with a clogged toilet or if a tenant does not have hot water, I have to get on it right away,” she said.

One of the disadvantages she deals with is unruly neighbors. Among other things, she deals with noise complaints, someone parking in the wrong place, or a tenant using drugs.

If there is an issue with a tenant, she deals with it right away.

“If a tenant says they smell pot coming from an apartment, or if an apartment has a lot of traffic all hours of the night, I have to go in and figure out what is going on,” she said. “My job is to also make sure are people not moving in with the tenants.”

And sometimes her phone rings at odd hours.

“If the police call me at 2 a.m., it’s my job to get over here,” she said. “It’s just the nature of the beast.”

Despite the days and the late-night calls, she is happy to be doing what she is doing.

“Each day is different, but it can be exciting,” she said. “I could just sit in someone’s cubical all day, but I would get bored and complacent.”

Deter said she definitely appreciates Hodgson’s work.

“I’m very pleased with what she has been doing,” Deter said. “I’m looking forward to a long future with her.”

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Leanne Hodgson retired after more than 20 years as a real estate broker in Denver and Sterling. But hasn’t stopped working. Now, she has a part-time job as apartment manager at Ster-Lynn Estates in Sterling.

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D4 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | SERVING DRINKS & FOOD

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www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • D5

A DAY IN THE LIFE | SERVING DRINKS & FOOD

The Factory manager has had more than 10 years of bartending experience, but has enjoyed taking on new management position comes off as being pretty abrasive and pretty straightforward.”

BY KACIE KLINGE kklinge@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5521 @kacieek4

W

hen Tanya Strader began bartending at Champs Sports Bar and Grill 13 years ago, she was doing it solely to make enough money to support her daughter, Sierrah, on her own.

Over the years Strader became multi-faceted in the tavern industry, and when her brother, Jared, decided to gain ownership of what is now The Factory, Strader joined ranks and put her skill set to use as a manager.

“When I moved here 14 years ago, I was working as a CNA and it just wasn’t paying the bills,” Strader said. “I was a single mom, so it was more about making tips and supporting [my daughter] and having less hours but more money.”

Strader said after some persuading, she convinced her father, Denny Strader, the owner of Champs, to let her bartend.

“I think coming into this profession, ... either you have it or you don’t as far as the right attitude,” Strader said.

“I’ve carried that attitude with me for many years. It sometimes

Strater said a lot of people look at her occupation as just a bartending job, but she takes it very seriously.

“It’s a respect thing,” Strader said. “You literally have to come into the bartending world with the attitude that you’re going to gain people’s respect. If you’re nice and sweet to everybody, most likely you’re going to get walked on.”

Strader said when she started bartending at Champ’s, she had no prior experience and didn’t drink. Despite this, she managed to quickly pick up on her new job.

“This isn’t a job that’s like, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll understand it or maybe I’ll get it.’ It’s a hands-on job,” Strader said. “I can teach you everything, but it’s doing it. You literally need to be thrown into it.”

Although Strader said she had the respect of most of her customers, she did have to deal with a few unruly characters while bartending at Champs.

“I’ll never forget, one guy threw a quarter at me and said, ‘Here, just in case you need to take this to the laundromat.’

I said, ‘Thanks, but I have a washer and dryer at home,’” Strader said.

She said a lot of people tend to view bartending as a job that ranks someone lower on the social totem pole, a job that requires someone to have no education or skills.

She’ll assure you that that isn’t the case, especially when it comes to her own experience.

So, what does it take to be a success behind the bar?

“It requires you to multitask; you have to focus,” Strader said. “You also have to be outgoing and responsible.”

She said one of the most challenging aspects of tending

In the photo on D4 After spending years as a bartender at Champs Sports Bar and Grill, Tanya Strader has branched out. Now, she manages The Factory Pub and Grub in Sterling. Her brother, Jared, owns The Factory. (Alex T. Paschal/ apaschal@saukvalley.com) bar is getting to everyone in a timely manner, especially on busy nights.

“I’ve worked some extremely busy, busy nights, and you just feel like you’re never going to see the end of that line,” Strader said. “There’s money waiving around everywhere. ...

It’s stressful. It’s like [the line] is never going to end.”

Strader also mentioned how troublesome it can be monitoring people’s consumption of alcohol, and how closely she has had to watch some of her customers in the past.

“I’ve cut so many people off over the years,” she said. “You worry about people; people don’t necessarily worry about themselves sometimes, so you want to watch out for people’s best interests.”

Strader bartended for more than a decade, but she said she prefers the new role she has taken on as manager of The Factory.

“Everybody has their burnout moments,” she said.

“Everyone hits a wall once in a while. I had hit my wall [at Champs]. I tried to go and do something else, so I went and got an office job and I lasted a couple of months and I said, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t sit behind a computer.’ I like to stay active.”

She said one of her big reasons for leaving Champs was she was simply ready for a change of pace.

“I had ideas and I had things that I wanted done. I wanted to do things and it just, ... my dad’s very set in his ways, and he knows that, so we [she and her brother] came into

this completely new,” Strader said.

Her work days at The Factory are a little different than they used to be. She does a little bit of everything – payroll, inventory, ordering products, and scheduling everyone’s hours; she’s even learning how to cook the food.

“My days vary,” Strader said.

“I order from three different liquor companies, two different beer companies, and then Pepsi and Coke. I literally count down to the beer to keep track of inventory. If we have a new girl start, I work with her for two to three days through the week.”

Strader said it sometimes takes a while for new girls to get the hang of things when starting out as bartenders and waitresses, and it can be hard for her to sit back and let the girls take the reins.

“Sometimes I’m probably a working manager too much,” Strader said. “It’s just hard for me to sit. I’m getting a little better, I’m pretty anal about the way I want things done, so it’s a little hard for me to sit back and watch other people do things. It’s definitely a work in progress as far as that stuff goes.”

Strader confessed that many of her duties as manager of The Factory were completely new for her.

“I can bartend my butt off, but as far as doing other things, this has been a learning experience for me here,” Strader said. “There’s a lot of different stuff with the whole computer system. ... I didn’t have anything like that before.

It was a lot of sitting and hours of and hours of putting stuff into the system, starting from scratch.”

She also has to determine how much to price each drink.

“I’ve went through every little liquor that we have and calculated how much we should charge to where he [her brother] makes a profit,” Strader said. “I don’t think people understand you can’t

be stupid to do this stuff and figure this stuff out. It’s not just a bartending or serving thing.

There is a lot more to it than people realize.”

Another part of her job is to make sure there are always new and exciting changes happening with the drinks, the menu and the entertainment at The Factory.

“I think the thing is just to try to keep things fresh,” Strader said. “I rely a lot on the Internet to find out new ideas. It’s hard sometimes because the crowd I dealt with for so many years isn’t even out anymore.

They’re at home with kids; married. So that young crowd that’s out now, I don’t know them because I’m 40 and I don’t put myself out there like that. It’s about being innovative. We’re trying to figure out bringing in some new things and some fun things and changing things up when they need to be changed.”

Strader said one thing she prides herself on is providing good service to her customers, and she tries to instill that sentiment in her staff.

“If these girls don’t grab menus and get drinks within a couple minutes of people sitting down, it’s like, ‘Whats wrong? Why are you still standing here?’” Strader said.

She said what she enjoys most about her job is the interaction with customers and meeting new people.

“You meet all kinds of different people,” Strader said. “I think that’s the funnest part of the job, is just talking to people and making sure that people have the very best possible experience that they can have.”

Strader said if she could give any advice to an aspiring bartender or bar manager, it would be to not let things get to you, or hurt your feelings, and to always stay up to date with what’s popular in the tavern business.

“Be tough and be innovative. ... Good luck,” she said with a laugh.

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D6 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | BARBER SHOP

Richie Jomant, owner and barber at Sterling Barber Shop, cuts hair on a Tuesday afternoon. Jomant has owned the shop for 7 years.

(Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com)

Shear joy Barber calls job a demanding labor of love

BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM

R

ichie Jomant is not unlike an artist.

His canvas is the human head, his sculptures the hair that sits atop. To boot, he doesn’t bank nearly as much as

a therapist, even though the occupations have substantial crossover.

Eight years ago, Jomant bought Sterling Barber Shop which, founded in 1926, is the oldest continually operating business in downtown Sterling. His is a staff of three: him, his father, Mark, 55, and his brother, Josh, 31.

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memorabilia – with two flatscreen TVs nestled in – and boasting a 265-gallon saltwater fish tank, it’s a sort of boys club.

That designation is best for all parties involved, Jomant said. The last time he cut the hair of his wife, Laura, was, … well, the last time.

SHEAR CONTINUED ON D7

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • D7

A DAY IN THE LIFE | BARBER SHOP

People skills perhaps most vital key to success SHEAR

CONTINUED FROM D6

“It didn’t go well,” he said, laughing. “Women don’t want us to cut their hair. And I get enough drama from males, I don’t want to bring females in here.”

He cherishes the 30-minute drive home to Amboy, to his wife and his three kids, Easi, 15, Isela, 11, and Mathias, 9.

“That’s my recuperation time,” Jomant, 34, said. “When you’ve had 40 different conversations, your brain is toast.”

He’s been asked to cosign for loans. For $20 for diapers. For marriage advice. It’s like being a bartender. Only no one’s hung over in the morning.

“It’s almost like a therapy session,” Jomant said. “When you’re a bartender, alcohol makes people talk.

There’s something about the chair that opens people up. People are very comfortable around their barber.”

He’s gotten some headscratching requests, including a skin-tight flattop trailed by a shoulder-length mullet that one customer is growing back out, and who bleaches said do blonde.

“I almost told him not to tell anyone where he got it,” Jomant said, “that we don’t cut hair like that here.”

He said the shop brings in nearly 300 customers per week, including youngsters.

“They remember this place as the barber shop with the aquarium,” Jomant said.

When said whippersnappers marvel at his job, and that he gets to watch sports all day, he

squashes that myth.

“Dude, if I’m watching ESPN, I’m not making any money,” Jomant said.

The nearly 300 strong also feature a handful of transplants like Ron Van Wyhe, whose hair Jomant used to cut at The Loop before he bought Sterling Barber Shop.

“One time, I came back, and he wasn’t there,” Van Wyhe said. “I didn’t know what to do next.”

The conundrum became clearer when he heard where Jomant had gone, and then he recruited a number of customers.

Jomant relies on that.

He’s old-school. The shop has no web presence – no website, no Facebook page, nada.

“If you’re good enough at what you do, your work speaks for itself,” Jomant said.

His services also scream old-school pride. In addition to a variety of designs, he offers hot shaves and uses a straight razor – not exactly commonplace in a 21st century barbershop.

The fact that customers can expect to see the same three barbers is crucial in the industry, Jomant said, adding that people get freaked out easily if there’s a lot of turnover in a barbershop.

Jomant attended barber school in the Quad Cities after cutting Easi’s hair repeatedly and realizing just how much he enjoyed it.

“You’re actually sculpting someone’s hair,” Jomant said. “It’s a kind of art.”

A barber needs to log 1,500 state hours and pass a state board test. When Jomant took it, it featured 60 questions – on topics ranging from hair color to how hair grows.

Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

Richie Jomant said Sterling Barber Shop brings in about 300 customers per week. Tht includes a handful of transplants like Ron Van Wyhe, whose hair Jomant used to cut at The Loop before he bought Sterling Barber Shop. “One time I came back, and he wasn’t there,” Van Wyhe said. “I didn’t know what to do next.”

“Nothing really practical,” Jomant said.

What the job offers in terms of variety of personalities that come through the door is offset by the narrow range of duties. Each haircut takes 12 to 15 minutes, Jomant said. If he cuts 40 customers’ hair per day, that’s a 9-hour day, bang-bang. The crew cleans up so the shop isn’t a mess when they return in the morning, and another locomotive of a day leaves the station.

Jomant has learned to get away, though, to make sure his passion doesn’t wane, and as has been customary in the shop’s history, it’s closed

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other more than we see our wives,” Josh said.

“And for some reason, we golf together on Sundays.

But I’m easy-going, and that’s why it flows.”

“That’s a matter of opinion,” Richie responded.

They’re a testament to conflict resolution, Josh having cut hair there for 7 years, his dad having been there part-time for about 5 years.

Working in the Twin Cities is personal for the family. Mark and his wife leased and ran a Dairy Queen in Rock Falls, where their kids grew up. They later leased DQ Brazier in Amboy in 2002 and ran it until it burned down in 2007.

So when Richie Jomant sees customers lined up 10 minutes before the shop opens, when he braces for the “hurricane” that Saturdays tend to be, what with the day’s first-come, first-served, no-appointments-allowed policy, he braces for a labor of love.

“I don’t ever see myself changing occupations,” he said. “I’ve thought about it. Anytime you have a bad day, of course you think about it.

“You’ve got to be good at reading people, and dealing with a lot of circumstances, but buying this place is the best move I ever made.”

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Speaking of the Sabbath, Jomant said folks call his shop a “temple of truth,” and leave happier than when they walked in. But if he can help it, he avoids talking about religion and politics. If someone asks him what he thinks about President Barack Obama, they’re likely to get a canned, deflective response.

“Well, what do you think of Obama?” he said.

Working with family? Issues don’t deflect as easily. The Jomant brothers, naturally, have butted heads.

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D8 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS

Dixon resident Roger Willey is the assistant director of technology for the Eastland School District. He’s based at the elementary school in Shannon. Even though Willey is only 32 years old, the technological landscape in schools is vastly different than when he was a student. There were two computer labs, each with about 30 hardwired computers, when he graduated from Sterling High School in 2002. Today’s Eastland students are exposed to bookmarking techniques, digital storytelling, video creation, and more. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com)

A new world in the classroom Assistant technology director, and former Marine, a problem-solver in Eastland schools

T

BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra

echnology is changing the way children learn, but until robots replace human teachers at the front of the class, schools will continue to depend on them.

Behind those front lines are the information technology support personnel who help to maintain

the growing web of cables, computer networks, and connected devices.

Roger Willey, 32, is one of those people.

The Dixon resident has worked as the assistant director of technology for the Eastland School District since July, and is based primarily at the elementary school supporting about 300 K-6 students.

He did similar work for Amboy schools for 3 years, and before that served 6 years as a reserve Marine.

Being a radio operator in the armed services was

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less about carrying a radio and using it, he said, and more about maintenance.

Keeping everything in working order is similar to what he does today.

“I would say 90 percent of the job is figuring out what the problem is,” said Willey, who manages the tactical and help desk side of the 2-person team. His boss, Eric Haan, controls strategy and purchasing.

CLASSROOM CONTINUED ON D9

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • D9

A DAY IN THE LIFE | TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS

Half of instructional time spent on handful of websites CLASSROOM

CONTINUED FROM D8

He learned to diagnose and repair electronics along the way, but like many information technology specialists, the road began in childhood, he said.

“I was inseparable from my computer as a kid.

We had an IBM PC from [Essex Computer in Sterling] in fifth grade,” Willey said, smiling.

“Mostly I learned by breaking things. I tinkered until I fixed it.”

As schools move to 1-to-1 computer initiatives, having that technical aptitude is essential.

Every student from second to sixth grade in the district has a Google Chromebook, and every student in kindergarten and first grade has an Android tablet, Willey said. Fourth-graders and above are permitted to take the equipment home.

“The demands of the world are changing,” Director Haan reported in a 2014 district presentation.

“What students experience outside the classroom walls are very different from what you and I experienced. ... If they want an answer to something, they turn to Google or ask Siri,” Haan wrote. “But we have traditionally taken those tools out of their hands when they walk into the school.”

Information is everywhere and easily accessible, he said.

Instead of forcing students to memorize information, “we need to teach our students how to find the information, analyze and process the information, and apply the information.”

The integration of the computer initiatives encourages critical thinking.

“Is it important that our students know the exact date of the Battle of Gettysburg, or is it more important that they understand the significance of the battle?”

Haan asked.

The school environment is worlds apart from when Willey attended St. Mary School in Sterling in the 1990s.

None of the students had mobile computers; that ubiquity did not yet exist.

Two computers were kept inside a classroom at the school, he said, which likely were Apple II series machines, built in the 1970s and ‘80s that touted a groundbreaking feature – the ability to display and type lowercase characters.

When Willey graduated from Sterling High in 2002, there were two computer labs, each with about 30 hardwired computers. That year, he bought his first cellphone, and a derivative of the 1976 game “Worm” (also known as “Snake”) was preloaded.

The goal was to control a dot or square, Willey said with a chuckle.

“From back then to today, it’s radically different,” he said, and a recent Pew Research study agreed.

Ninety-two percent of 2,462 surveyed teachers said that the Internet has a “major impact” on a teacher’s ability to acquire content, materials, and resources for teaching, according to the 2013 study.

In addition, 69 percent said the Internet has a “major impact” on sharing ideas with other

teachers; 67 percent said there is a “major impact” on parent interaction; 57 percent said there is a “major impact” on student interaction.

At the Eastland School District, half of the instructional time is used on a handful of websites where the lessons largely are digital, said Willey, who also helps to support an array of Web learning tools.

Students are exposed to bookmarking techniques, digital storytelling, video creation, presentations and slideshows, and how to build timelines, infographics, and websites.

A district resource page links to file sharing sites, audio recording tools, drawing and painting programs.

Among the paid programs administered by Willey is Schoology, an enterprise-level learning management system for the school district, similar to Facebook in its collaborative processes, which gives teachers unprecedented access to a treasure chest of digital gadgets.

Schoology makes it easy for teachers to build lesson plans in advance or on-the-fly, personalize and match lessons to individual needs, and monitor progress. Classwork can be assigned and graded, and feedback provided to an entire class, entirely online.

“It’s intuitive, too,” said Willey, who finds it rewarding to see teachers and students succeed.

There is a deep commitment to technology in the district, he said, which is his favorite thing about working in education.

“It’s like living in a play-

e v i e c e R s r e b Mem N O I L L I M 8 ! s $1 k c e h C e g a n o r t a In P

ground for me, having all this cool technology out there,” he said, “[and] the teachers are awesome.”

The students’ drive to learn is the most inspirational part of the job.

“We’ve got a student here that’s a secondgrader, and he really

wanted to learn how to make videogames,” Willey said.

The boy was set up on Tynker, an interactive computer programming suite that makes building games and applications easy. It provides students with frustration-free

tutorials and visual learning to help solve complex concepts.

“He’s completed all of the free aspects of the website – a decent amount – and he’s only in second grade,” Willey said. “He’s like 7 years old.”

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D10 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | RESTORING ANTIQUES

Giving antiques a new look

Terri Villa-Engelkins of Morrison is the artist behind Terri’s An-tweaks.

(Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com)

Morrison woman brings out something unique in each piece

BY LONNIE C. MILLER Special to Sauk Valley Media erri Villa-Engelkens has always had a knack for decorating. Now, she is putting her creativity to use by revamping and restoring antique items.

Terri is a Sterling High School alumnus and has been married to her husband, David Engelkens, for 22 years. Together they have raised two sons while residing in Morrison: Brian, 22, and Jason, 18. She is a credit specialist at D M Services in Clinton, Iowa. Prior to this, she was a decorating consultant for 22 years, which may have influenced her current hobby/business venture.

T

LOOK CONTINUED ON D11

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Sauk Valley Media • D11

A DAY IN THE LIFE | RESTORING ANTIQUES

‘Each piece has a story and I’m just giving it a new chapter’ LOOK

CONTINUED FROM D10

“I’ve always had a quirky way of expressing my style creatively,” she said. “My motto is: ‘things done a little different.’ I never want to see something made just like mine and try very hard not to make the same exact thing twice.”

Villa-Engelkens restores antiques of all sorts, giving each piece its own unique appeal.

Since the beginning of her “tweaking” enterprise, she’s wanted to have her own shop but said she’s, lucky to have two shops currently selling her products: Uniquely Made in the Morrison Specialty Shop on Main Street and Savanna Marketplace on state Route 84. Soon, she will also be adding some

of her creations to a new shop in Rock Falls called Minor Treasures.

“One of the best parts of working with antiques is knowing that each piece has a story and I’m just giving it a new chapter instead of it being thrown away or forgotten,” she said.

Villa-Engelkens said her hobby began when she received some of her grandmother’s old costume jewelry and silverware. She quickly realized the potential of these antique pieces to become refurbished, one-of-a-kind creations.

“Looking for just the right object to start or finish a piece is half the fun,” she said. “Finding just the right rusty skeleton key, old lady’s watch, or silverware pattern I have never seen before is very exciting to me!”

“My favorite projects

are when someone brings me a family treasure to re-vamp into something they can cherish and pass down to the next generation,” she said.

Prices tend to range between $15 to $55, based on the pieces being used.

“I don’t have what you’d call a studio,” she said. “I work on a table or a TV tray at home and do my cutting, drilling, stamping, and other such things at my family’s race car garage in Garden Plain, Illinois.”

She said her ideal afternoon involves her polishing silver pieces for hours while indulging herself with a good horror movie.

Terri said feels extremely happy whenever she sees someone wearing something that she knows she created.

Terri has two Facebook

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

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D12 • Sauk Valley Media

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Sauk Valley Media • D13

A DAY IN THE LIFE | ORGANIZING FESTIVALS

Charlie Crider, Bob Whitten and Kendra Swanson are the instructors for Awesometown Music in Fulton. But they also are event organizers, currently working on planning the fourth annual Fulton Bluegrass Festival and the second annual Venusfest. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com)

Good folk: Festival organizers put volunteers, musicians first H

BY CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN cheimerman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5523 @CHeimerman_SVM

ere’s the thing about a day in the life of a festival planner: It’s more like 364 days that lead up to one day that will pass by without joy, if you let it.

Well, maybe more like 357 days.

“You’re pretty much licking your wounds for a week after,” said Bob Whitten who, along with business partners Charlie Crider and Kendra Swanson, is planning the fourth annual Fulton Bluegrass Festival and the second annual Venusfest, May 21 and June 18, respectively, and both at Heritage Canyon, 515 N. Fourth St. “You don’t want to see people, and don’t even want to be around your family. You just hole yourself up for a week. At least that’s my experience.”

Ladies L Night OU T

That was his experience. Springboarding off the trio’s success with the nonprofit Awesometown Music/Video Production, the gang is bringing upand-coming Christian musician Jordan Feliz to Heritage Canyon on June 21.

“OK, so we won’t have time to lick our wounds until after Tuesday,” Whitten said.

FOLK CONTINUED ON D15

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D14 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | ORGANIZING FESTIVALS

Photos submitted

Pictured are scenes from the 2014 Fulton Bluegrass Festival. Nearly 800 people attended the 2014 fest, the event’s second year. Stormy weather kept attendance down in 2015. This festival is held at Heritage Canyon, 515 N. Fourth St.

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Sauk Valley Media • D15

A DAY IN THE LIFE | ORGANIZING FESTIVALS

Nonprofit group adding more events, concerts to docket FOLK

CONTINUED FROM D13

Check out Feliz’s tune “The River” on YouTube.

You’ve likely heard it.

Tickets for his show will be sold through local churches, and fans will be bused from those churches to the concert.

Back to the subject of meteoric rises, the bluegrass festival jumped from about 480 attendees in 2013 to nearly 800 in 2014. Last year’s numbers? Thanks to Mother Nature’s violent meddling, neither festival did particularly well. Venus Fest, however, at least was a beaut down in the canyon.

“It was a storm everywhere else, but it was beautiful in the canyon,” Crider said. “Outside the canyon, it was nasty. You didn’t want to go outside the door.”

Back then, Swanson was strictly a musician performing at Venusfest. She didn’t officially join the Awesometown posse until she moved into the apartment above the studio in November.

“I could barely keep my car on the road,” Swanson said.

She called Whitten, who assured her the show must go on.

“That beautiful weather in the canyon?” she said.

“I’m pretty sure he had a hand in that.”

“Bob takes responsibility for everything that’s been done,” Crider said, laughing.

Whitten and Crider have learned what not to overlook. Like porta-potties. And sponsorships.

“Sponsorships, sponsorships, sponsorships,” Crider said. “That’s one

More online To learn more about Awesometown Music/ Video Production, visit awesometownmvp. com, or search for Awesometown Music/ Video Production on Facebook.

For more on the bluegrass festival, search for Fulton’s Fourth Annual Bluegrass Festival on Facebook. For Venus Fest, search Fulton’s 2nd Annual Venusfest.

Email kendrabethswanson@gmail.com if you’re interested in volunteering. of the things we weren’t focused on when we started out.”

Some of the proceeds from both festivals go toward keeping Heritage Canyon alive. The proceeds from the bluegrass festival go to Awesometown, whose missions include putting musical instruments into the hands of kids who otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity. Proceeds from Venusfest go toward offsetting 3-D technology used in Medical Associates’ mammograms – an additional $25 or so.

Last year’s event also sent $250 to Gilda’s Club in the Quad Cities.

“We would’ve liked to have given more, but nothing came together like it should,” Crider said. “That’s the nature of an outdoor event.

Mother Nature can really get you.”

He sees no point in sustaining a sour note.

“Just stay positive,” Crider said. “I stay positive in anything I do.

You’ve got to look for the good in everything you

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com Vivian Baker, 5, of Fulton is learning to play the ukulele at Awesometown Music in Fulton.

do.

“Be a rock, and let everything else be water.”

Equally optimistic, Whitten said he could “easily” see 1,000 people at either festival, as long as it takes place under blue skies. With that sort of turnout comes good problems – like parking, and making sure businesses brace for extra business, and promote specials to make sure they take full advantage.

Working with the city is vital, Whitten said.

“They’ve already had one emergency meeting this year,” he said.

“We’re treading in new water, so this city, while it embraces what we’re trying to do, they’re also

running fast trying to get regulations in place for us.”

“It’s not like, hey, Awesometown is putting on a festival,” Swanson said.

“Fulton is putting on a festival.”

The group’s volunteer base has grown from about 12 to 40, and it covers a radius of about 40 miles. The organizers will need to enlist a brand new crew for the Feliz show. Wearing out people who aren’t being paid isn’t an option – especially when the volunteer corps began with close friends.

“It’s about taking care of your volunteers more than anything, we found out, and making sure they have an enjoyable experience,” Whitten

said. “Those are special people.”

Amid the running and the double- and triplechecking, it’s important to Whitten that all parties involved enjoy the festival on the day it takes place. With his and his crew’s mellow disposition, that’s usually possible.

Once they’ve properly healed from the barrage of festivals, Whitten and Co. will throw an event for the volunteers.

Another prong of Awesometown’s mission is to use music to unify the community.

“How can we use music to bring people together, and to have those conversations,” Swanson said. “Music is a platform for positive changes in

the community. It’s not just a big party. It’s so much more than that.”

“The music circle is really a pretty small circle, considering how many people are in it,” Whitten said.

Including wives.

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“Charlie and I have been through this enough that gotten to the point where we don’t get overwhelmed,” Whitten said. ”Our wives are another situation. They get totally bent out of shape about 2 weeks before the concert, and we usually don’t get them back until about a week after the concert.”

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D16 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | TATTOO ARTIST

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Ink Storm Tattoo owner Dan Covell, 50, of Sterling, is an artist who has shared his love of tattooing over a span of 33 years. Richie Collins, 22, of Rockford, drove to Covell’s shop to get a “coverup” piece done. It was Collins’ first visit.

Tattoo taboo? Not anymore Local artists adjust to changing times

A

BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra

s the hi-hat and bass guitar in the Beatles’ groovy 1969 hit “Come Together” pipes in and fills the lounge at Ink Storm Tattoo, the initial soft talk between tattoo artists and clients grows louder.

“Right!” singer John Lennon belts in the song, the rhythm takes over, and the floor vibrates McCartney, Harrison, and Starr.

The atmosphere is buzzing at the corner of Second Avenue and Second Street in Sterling – in more ways than one.

Proprietor Dan Covell, 50, is among the most experienced in the Sauk Valley and northern Illinois

at etching stories onto human canvas.

“I’m kind of the old guy, yeah, I’ve been here forever,” Covell said, smiling.

The Sterling native opened shop in 2010, but has tattooed longer than most of his clients have been alive – more than 33 years.

TATTOO CONTINUED ON D17

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Sauk Valley Media • D17

A DAY IN THE LIFE | TATTOO ARTIST

Nearly 40 percent of millennials have at least 1 tattoo TATTOO

Get inked

CONTINUED FROM D16

“I was a hellion of a kid,” he said. “[Tattooing] is something that I’ve always liked, ... I’ve always had a good development and love for art.”

The inside of the shop looks more like the belly of a traveling circus than a tattoo parlor, but it is that personality that sets it apart.

A blend of eclectic collectibles hangs throughout. Voodoo-esque, African-style wooden masks.

Snakeskin pinned to a wall. Pennzoil stickers.

What appears to be a 10-foot model of a great white shark is suspended from the ceiling, floating above Covell’s work station.

The majority of the tattooing done at the parlor is custom and drawn by hand. He is mostly selftaught.

“My dad was a motorcycle guy; he had a few Easyriders laying around,” Covell said.

“Back in those days, the only exposure a guy had to tattoos were the uncles and grandparents that were in the war, or Easyriders magazines.”

The magazines often would carry advertising for tattoo assembly kits, and while still at Sterling High, he saved up $500 to buy one.

“Needless to say, my parents weren’t real pleased,” Covell chuckled. “But that was my start.”

The industry has changed since he began.

It used to be that tattoo needles, for example, were purchased in packs of 1,000, and the better part of an 8-hour workday was spent soldering and fusing elements to a needlebar (which holds the needle group), he

Ink Storm Tattoo at 110 S. Second Ave. in Sterling is open noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

For more information, stop by the shop, or call owner Dan Covell at 815-499-9127.

The business is also on Facebook.

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

Dan Covell, owner and artist of Ink Storm Tattoo in Sterling, works on a client. said. Then the cleaning and sterilization would happen, all before the real work could start.

“If the people today had to do what I had to do, you wouldn’t see half the tattoos you see right now,” Covell said. “You earned it back then. It was like being a magician.”

As he talks, Richie Collins, 22, lies on his left with the right side of his ribcage exposed. A tattoo machine repeatedly fires into his skin, but there is no wincing.

Praying hands, designed by Covell, are carefully traced onto Collins’ body, in memory of his late father.

Collins, of Rockford, who has 10 tattoos, will spend at least 2 hours lying motionless. He made the trip with his girlfriend because of the prices and reputation. It

is his first visit.

“I’m that damn good,” Covell quips.

Ink Storm operates much like a barber shop or hair salon in that the tattoo artists do not directly report to him.

They have the freedom to make their own hours, and be their own boss, and that is what Michael Baker, 31, a lead artist at the parlor, loves.

The Dixon native takes pride in the custom work.

“I don’t like copying anything,” he said. “I like having the artistic freedom to manipulate it and change it ... something that’s original and unique. That’s what we like to do here.”

Baker proudly wears a lime green mohawk, cowlicked forward and down across his nose that divides his partiallyshaved head. His nose is

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pierced. So are his ears with several decorative gauges.

He has been tattooing 9 years, and also is a body piercing specialist.

Piercing and tattoos now go hand-in-hand, but that was not always the case, Covell said.

Nearly 40 percent of millennials have at least one tattoo, and about half of those with tattoos have between two and five – 18 percent have six or more, according to the latest Pew Research numbers.

About 30 percent of Gen Xers and 15 percent of baby boomers are inked.

At Ink Storm, the tattoo demographic ranges from 18 to 87, but generally it is 25- to 35-yearolds that come in, Covell said.

The Pew data show that nearly 1 in 4 millenni-

als have a piercing in a place other than an ear, which is six times greater than other adult groups.

About 1 in 10 Gen Xers, and 1 percent of baby boomers, have an alternative piercing.

Baker’s presence at the shop has been a godsend, Covell said, because almost immediately after he started, business and demand for piercings exploded.

As soon as people found out that he could do specific styles, the traffic was nonstop.

With that demand comes responsibility, and Covell, Baker, and the rest of the team take that part as serious as their art.

“There’s not a single piercing that I’ve done without taking a class on it, just because I wanted to be knowledgeable,” Baker said, who attends

conferences, and pays extra to enroll in specialized piercing courses.

“I never want to be the cause of hurting somebody,” he said.

Without the education, for instance, some artists might not know that there is a gland inside the cheek, that when punctured, can paralyze the face, Baker said.

“I’ve seen people come in here with a [dimple piercing] done elsewhere, and it’s riding right up against the gland, using the wrong kind of jewelry,” he said.

Baker also can fix or adjust piercings.

The most popular piercings are the nose and the belly button, but the latest trend is the daith, a part of the ear associated with pressure points and migraine relief, he said.

There is no clinical evidence to guarantee that it works, but that does not stop those who want relief – perceived or real.

Baker described a woman who had debilitating headaches daily for 2 years until she had the procedure done.

“She came in 4 months after I did the piercing ... she was crying and hugged me because she hadn’t had single headache,” he said. “She canceled all of her doctor’s appointments because it worked for her.”

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D18 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | PERSONAL TRAINER

Laura Maves turned her own decision to get fit into a career as a personal trainer. The Dixon woman trains clients 5 days a week at Dixon Family YMCA and Anytime Fitness.

(Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com)

Keeping fit for the job Laura Maves looks to leave an impact beyond the gym

BY BREANNE HUNTER bhunter@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5545 @breannehunter4

P

ushing past the uncertainty and fear of failure, Laura Maves stepped away from a full-time desk job and entered the gym.

“I thought I needed a big girl

job, but I was always kind of miserable and I never liked it,” Maves, 25, said. “I followed a couple of people online for fitness and was just like, ‘I don’t know why I’m not doing that?’”

Her first taste of the business came as tumbling coach for Gymnastics Divine in Dixon.

She loved working with the

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kids, and enjoyed helping them reach their goals.

Maves, who graduated from Dixon High School in 2009, stepped away from coaching to chase the “big girl job” she felt obligated to have. With a 6-year-old son, Brian, to support, it seemed like the right decision.

She had gained weight and become unhappy with herself and the way she looked. Inspired by online fitness gurus, Maves stepped back into the gym and got in shape. The journey motivated her to complete the ISSA certificate program to become a personal trainer.

Initially, she was hesitant to enter the business full time.

FIT CONTINUED ON D19

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www.saukvalley.com

Sauk Valley Media • D19

A DAY IN THE LIFE | PERSONAL TRAINER

‘It’s all about getting them to be happy about themselves’ FIT

CONTINUED FROM D18

“I was really afraid to put myself out there. I was so self conscious about it, and worried no one was going to want to hire me,” Maves said.

“But once I put myself out there, it all came together. You just can’t hold back.”

A year later, Maves is now fully involved in the business. She trains clients 5 days a week at the Dixon Family YMCA and Anytime Fitness, using the weekends for makeup sessions, when necessary. Her clients typically range from 20 to 40 years old, with various levels of ability. Maves’ own journey allows her to train clients with insight into their psyche.

“It’s all about getting them to be happy about themselves,” she said.

“That’s motivating for me, because I know what it’s like to not be happy about your body.”

Before they train, Maves meets with each client to discuss their goals. She prefers not to measure progress with a scale, opting to base it on how a client feels over time.

Another way she tracks progress is by asking clients to take a picture of themselves to document their starting point. They don’t have to share it with her, but she says that when you see yourself every day, it’s hard to see the change in yourself.

When they have progress photos to put side-byside with the starting point photo, the change becomes obvious.

“I had one girl who had hit a bit of a plateau and told me she was really frustrated with herself,” Maves said. “I took her beginning picture and put it side-by-side with her current progress picture and sent them to her. She was like, ‘Oh, my God, I didn’t realize.’ Then she cried, and I cried because I was so happy for her.”

Most clients meet with Maves for three sessions each week. Aside from a workout each session, Maves strives to form a bond with her clients.

She talks to them, gets to know them, and figures out what is going on in their life. This helps her determine what is hindering them from reaching their goals. Often, diet is the root of the problem.

She will provide them with guidelines for everyday food intake, and goals for daily water consumption.

Other times, Maves finds a lack of support and positivity to be interfering with a client’s progress.

“Sometimes, I’ve had where I’m the only positive person in their life who is helping them push for that goal,” she said. “They go home to

their wives or husbands and they don’t care. I’m their friend through this process. Everyone feeds off of energy, so if you are positive and happy and tell them they are doing well, they will keep going.”

Serving as a constant source of positivity can be draining. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, her day starts around 5:45 a.m., while Tuesdays and Thursdays offer a slightly later start.

She wakes up and gets Brian up and ready for school. Then it’s time to head to the Y or Anytime Fitness. She spends the day running between the two gyms for scheduled training sessions.

“It’s constantly changing your mindset for each person,” Maves said.

“What one person needs for motivation can be completely different for the next person. Someone may need me to be more aggressive, like, ‘Do it, come on, we can get through this.’ Others need me to just stand back and clap for them. It’s just changing up my mindset for each individual.

“That gets tiring sometimes. Sometimes, I get home and don’t want to talk or see anyone. It can be draining.”

Between scheduled clients, Maves does gym orientations, showing new members how to use the equipment and answering any questions they might have.

Somewhere in the midst of everything, she has to find time to fit in her own workout.

“At first, I thought this profession was great, because I was able to be in the gym all the time and thought I would be able to work out all the time,” Maves said. “But then there’s times when I realize I’m here all the

time, and by the time I’m able to work out, I just don’t want to stay here any longer.

“There’s been times when I’m at home and I feel guilty because I motivate people all day and now I can’t motivate myself. So then I’ll wait until my son goes to bed and go back to the gym to get a workout in.”

Then there’s the online aspect of Maves’ professional goals. She has a website, lauraannfitness.com, where she does online training. She also uses Facebook and Instagram to connect with people.

She posts workout tips and motivational quotes.

Her focus online is to provide people with the tools, and inspiration, to live a healthy lifestyle on their own.

“I get messages all the time from people saying, ‘I know it may not seem like a lot, and you aren’t my trainer or anything, but you post and it really helps motivate me and helps me feel good about myself.’

I’m glad I can do that for people,” Maves said.

There’s also her blog at thatfitmom.com about her fitness journey and motherhood. One of her future goals is to expand this project and reach more people who share her journey.

“That’s the hardest part,” she said. “People become moms, and they lose time for themselves and throw themselves into their family. I want to show them that you can be a mom and do this. You don’t have to live for just your family, you need me time ,too.”

Ultimately, whether in person or online, Maves hopes her positive outlook will spread.

“It’s all about having the confidence in them, even when they don’t believe in themselves.”

Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com

One of the drawbacks of spending all day in the gym working as a personal trainer? “There’s times I realize I’m here all the time, and by the time I’m able to work out, I just don’t want to stay here any longer,” said Laura Maves, who works as a personal trainer at Dixon Family YMCA and Anytime Fitness in Dixon.

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D20 • Sauk Valley Media

www.saukvalley.com

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | PERSONAL TRAINER Shelley McCarty shares a laugh with Matt Workman of Morrison as she runs him through a workout program May 19 at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com)

Special opportunities await Personal trainer potential centerpiece for paramount program at local YMCAs christopher HEIMERMAN Heimerman is the Night News Editor at Sauk Valley Media.

He can be reached at cheimerman@ saukvalley. com or 800-798-4085, ext. 5523.

I

often write about people who would prefer I didn’t. I do it because they inspire me. Because they have great stories to tell, and because we might just be better off as a society if those stories are told.

They don’t like being written about because they’ve got a mean case of selflessness, the biggest symptom of which is refusal of praise. They do what they do not because they want credit, but because it makes them feel good

Editor’s Note This story was initially published in the May 30, 2015, edition of SV Weekend. to help others. Taking credit, in fact, would be counter-intuitive in their minds.

My latest reluctant subject is Shelley McCarty, the spearhead of the personal training program shared by the Dixon and Sterling-Rock Falls YMCAs.

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She arrived at the Sterling location about 10 years ago. Since then, the latest chapters of quite a life story unfolded, and with my time-tested reporter sense tingling, I predict it won’t be long until she builds something pretty incredible: a personal training program for people with special needs.

But there I go, getting ahead of myself.

Let’s turn back the clock a bit.

SPECIAL CONTINUED ON D21

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Sauk Valley Media • D21

A DAY IN THE LIFE | PERSONAL TRAINER

‘You have to go through challenges’ SPECIAL

her new clients complete a form that tells her what she can and can’t talk to them about.

Which key phrases she should avoid.

“That can be a makeor-break moment in your relationship with them,” Shelley said. “This might be the only workout they’re getting.”

It might be their only opportunity, the way she sees it.

CONTINUED FROM D20

On-the-job training Whether they were clearing clutter from the ditches at the family’s Rock Falls business, Williams Auto Body, or he was crushing cans nearby, Shelley and her uncle, Ferris, worked close by a lot.

He’d wear the same thing every day: overalls, boots that didn’t quite fit, their laces perpetually untied. And in the front of his overalls were pens and a pad of paper: the way Ferris, a nonverbal autistic, communicated with the world.

He taught Shelley how to read people.

“You had to learn a lot about his reactions, because he couldn’t tell you,” Shelley said.

That’s why she’d have one-sided conversations about his favorite sodas and other random topics.

But if she wanted to get his full attention, she’d talk about his favorite topic: Mickey Mouse. She learned which buttons to push and when, and which ones to avoid.

So it had to be emotional the first time Matt Workman ground his teeth and got into her personal space at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA. The nonverbal autistic 28-year-old from Morrison is her favorite client, but early in their time together, he let her know when he wasn’t happy with her, and it took her by surprise.

But it also reminded her of Ferris. A lot of things about Matt remind her of her late uncle – except for the fact that Matt has assistance Ferris wasn’t afforded. He grew up in a time when anyone with special needs was a mongoloid. There was no autism. No Asperger syndrome. Just one category, and even fewer opportunities, in many cases.

“Back then, they didn’t really do anything,” Shelley said. “There was no basic help. He was put into society, and we made sure he was as much a part of anything as he could be. We tried to give him every opportunity he could have.”

Bend your knees Shelley knows about opportunities being taken away. Her grandmother passed away during finals week of her last semester in college.

Let’s just say her professors were less than accommodating. She was failed and saddled with incompletes.

She was heartbroken.

“That was my taste of schooling,” she said. “It’s horrible. But sometimes these things can’t be taught. You have to go through challenges. We all work differently at it.”

So when that domino tipped, she became a travel agent for 9 years.

It led to her marrying the love of her life, Ryan McCarty, moving to Wisconsin, having three children and, in a manner of speaking, joining the YMCA. But that was after an 8-year hiatus from the workforce – well, technically. Her title was stay-at-home mom, but she worked for the family business, too. That’s where her first-born, Noah, grew up.

But the family endured some hardships when two of Ryan’s companies downsized. It got to the point that Shelley and Ryan had to ask the community for help.

And Shelley worried that no one would hire her after 8 years without filing a W-2.

“For 8 years, that was a

She took hers

Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

Workman works with McCarty, his personal trainer, to determine how many sets he has left during his workout. scare of ours, for when I went back to work,” Shelley said. “Then I got here, and I realized that the Y gives back. So, how can I prove that I’m worth value? And how can I help somebody who’s been in my shoes?”

She answers that question daily.

How can I help you?

Such a fundamental question we should probably ask each other a little more often, don’t you think? It’s also the question new members are asked when they first

walk up to the front desk at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA. That’s where Shelley’s career with the Y began about 10 years ago. Her infectious exuberance led to roles in memberships, fundraising and, eventually, the Wellness Center as a resource for members.

“Once I saw her in that role, it developed from there,” CEO Andy Thornton said. “She developed a passion for it, and she found her groove. You’ve seen her in there. She’s phenomenal.”

She became the insti-

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tution’s sole personal trainer about 5 years ago and has built a program that sees her breezing back and forth between Sterling and Dixon, with a client base at both YMCAs. Since finding her niche as a fitness guru, she has amassed a pile of training certifications. And during her training, she tries to ignore a credo that just doesn’t translate at the YMCA: Don’t form relationships.

And emotional sensitivity? Forget it.

“They don’t even teach it,” Shelley said. “That’s

what sets the Y apart. It’s the connections we make here.”

“In the for-profit world, they don’t want you to get to know people too well: ‘Don’t get too close to them,’” Thornton said.

“Well, that’s not what the Y’s about. We need to know who you are. We want you to know who we are. She’s really good at that. And she’s very genuine.”

Every new client gets Shelley’s cellphone number, and she gets calls and texts before the sun rises and long after it sets.

During the paperwork process, she has all of

Shelley has her own fitness story, too.

Last August, Ryan had a minor medical scare.

When tests came back negative, the couple decided to be proactive and went on a strictly paleo diet. By December, she had dropped 40-some pounds, and he had shed 60.

Their daughters both lost about 15 pounds, too. The irony? After being a vegetarian for 14 years, Shelley is now an omnivore (hence the paleo diet), but her daughter is a vegetarian – despite Mom trying to talk her out of it.

Struggling to find foods that truly satisfied her, Shelley loaded up on carbs, causing a rollercoaster of weight gain and, conversely, extreme weight loss – equally unhealthy.

She likes seafood, but is particular about where her food hangs out. No thanks, tilapia. You’re a bottom-feeder.

She has always been a conscience- and logicdriven eater.

CHALLENGES CONTINUED ON D22

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D22 • Sauk Valley Media

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

A DAY IN THE LIFE | PERSONAL TRAINER

McCarty has a constant craving for knowledge CHALLENGES

CONTINUED FROM D21

She became a vegetarian when her father educated his little girl at the dinner table, letting her know where her meat came from.

And that was enough to – albeit temporarily – put meat on her banned list.

“But they didn’t know; I’d give my meat to the dog,” she said, cracking up.

Her clients often ask her about diet, so she’s excited to get her next certification in nutrition.

After all, there’s one thing Shelley is constantly craving: knowledge.

‘Like everybody else’ Shelley is familiar with disappointment. She folds her right ear forward to show me scar tissue from her four surgeries.

She has flat-lined hearing in that ear because she was born without part of the handle, an unfortunate hereditary trait. She learned sign language as a child, and the doctor’s office was like a second home because of resulting colds and ear infections.

She finally thought that 5.5 hours of surgery about 6 years ago might fix the issue.

It didn’t.

“It was so heartbreaking,” Shelley said. “I truly thought I might be able to hear like everyone else does.”

Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

Matt Workman of Morrison gets a high five from his personal trainer, Shelley McCarty of Rock Falls, between core-strengthening sets at the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA. Workman works with McCarty on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and his mom, Sandy Kophamer, is thinking about adding a Monday session into the mix.

But she copes by reading lips when background noise overtakes conversations. She makes a point of deliberately looking away from people during conversations, so they don’t think she’s staring.

I can relate, in a weird way. I’ve always had a hard time maintaining eye contact with people, so I made a conscious effort to maintain it, and I found that I was creeping people out.

I share that with Shel-

ley, and we laugh. We laugh a lot throughout our interview, and she admits she’s revealing a lot more personal information than most people know. It makes her uncomfortable. She doesn’t want it to be about her; that’s not how she rolls. Quite the opposite, actually. She was mortified by the thought of Workman’s mom, Sandy Kophamer, telling the YMCA board about how Shelley had changed her son’s life.

“I don’t like a pat on the back. … It’s very hard for me to take,” Shelley said, then paused for 5 full seconds. “It’s really hard for me to talk about myself. But I’m glad that everyone knows the story that’s there, and that there’s more than just somebody coming to get healthy.

“There’s obstacles we have to climb through in order to tailor his experience to who he is. It’s amazing in itself, and I’m proud that we can do that.”

G•

MIN E TRIM

TRE

So here’s the thing.

Now you have a mere glimpse of why Shelley is a special person. And this is where my job becomes super-neat.

See, for the YMCA to build a personal training program for clients with special needs, it would take a village. Well, more like a region.

No two clients would be the same. A training program for a high-functioning autistic girl would be tremendously different from that for a nonver-

bal client confined to a wheelchair.

But with the arrival of the wheelchair-accessible gear in Dixon, and with the treasure trove of paraprofessionals in the area, we, the Sauk Valley, would be remiss to not work together to help the Y help those who would not otherwise get the opportunities Workman gets.

I’ve seen the benefits, folks, and I can’t help but notice the glow that radiates off Kophamer when she picks up Matty after his session.

Best of all, the Y is interested. But they’d need help.

“I hadn’t thought about a dedicated program in that area, from a personal training standpoint, until you just brought it up,” Thornton said. “We certainly wouldn’t run from it. If the opportunity presented itself, and it made sense for us to get involved, we’d get involved.

“We might not have the capacity or the expertise, but we know where the expertise is.”

Maybe that’s you. If it is, you should make a phone call. Write a letter. However you can best express your excitement.

If you have doubts, just pop in and visit Shelley for 5 minutes.

Trust me. That will do.

She reluctantly shared her story. Let’s work to make it even better.

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A DAY IN THE LIFE | PERSONAL TRAINER

Photos by Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com

LEFT: Shelley McCarty, a personal trainer with the Sterling-Rock Falls YMCA, works with Matt Workman. RIGHT: Workman of Morrison high-fives McCarty, while they race on the elliptical machines at the YMCA.

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