Business Digest

A supplement to:

IDAHO MOUNTAIN

Express AND GUIDE

BUSINESS DIGEST A focus on people and their companies

2006

Personal service... the key to a better home loan Raz Salazar Buying a home is an exciting experience... that’s why I always do my best to make sure your loan is processed without a hitch.

Call me today, or visit my web site to find out how I can get you home with less stress!!!

Erasmo “Raz” Salazar, Mortgage Loan Officer Office: (208) 735-6542 Cell: (208) 293-2785 Toll Free: (866) 656-2604

www.HomeLoansByRaz.com

Business Digest 2006

3

BUSINESS DIGEST A focus on people and their companies

2006

Index

Aqua Pro Spa & Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Art Quest West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Avventura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Sonya Black, Riverside Mortgage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Blaine County Housing Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Blip Color Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Bothwell Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Bozzuto’s Furniture & Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 The Brown Magnolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Building Material Thrift Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 CIRO Restaurant & Wine Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Colortyme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Contour Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Cornelia Russo Design & Decorating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Sherry Daech, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Bart Davis, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 di Vine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Dunbar Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 EEdaho Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Elle Rose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Environmental Resource Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 The Fabric Granary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Hawley Graphics, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Help-U-Sell Real Estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Lisa Henak, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 High Country Resort Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Teena Hill, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 The Home Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Iconoclast Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 KB’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Larry Miller Subaru/Mitsubishi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Mona Linehan, Mortgage Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Bonnie Ann Moore, Nationwide Mortgage, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Mortgage Associates, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 North & Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Notes Music Store & Music n’ Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 The Open Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 The Packrat Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Paradise Paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 PH Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Premier Garage of Southern Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Rare Finds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 RSVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Rue de Shoe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Raz Salazar, First Horizon Home Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Scott Miley Roofing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 The Ski Co. & bobbie burns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Gary Slette, Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Levie Smith, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 The Sound Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Sturtevants Mountain Outfitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Summit Auto Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Sun Valley Auto Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Sun Valley Eyeworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Sun Valley Insurance, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 T-graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Towne & Parke Fine Jewelry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Trail Creek Pub & Brewing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Tune-Up Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Vintage Gypsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Sherri Vollmer, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Cindy Ward, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Warner & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Washington Mutual Home Loans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Joanne Wetherell, Realtor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Business Digest 2006

5

BUSINESS DIGEST

Publisher Pam Morris

A focus on people and their companies

2006

Editor Jennifer Tuohy

Copy Editor Barbara Perkins

Credits Writers Michael Ames, Betsy Andrews, Dick Dorworth, Angela Erickson, Tony Evans, David Harrison, Mia James, Patti Murphy, Julie Pence, Crystal Thurston, Jennifer Tuohy

Photographers Chris Pilaro, David N. Seelig

Production Manager Tony Barriatua

Graphic Artists Erik Elison, Joscelyne Hallock, Richard Trevillian, Heather Van Houten

Business Manager Connie Johnson

Marketing/Sales Director James Mitchell

Advertising Executives Miranda BeVier, Randy Carroll, Gayle Kerr, Rita Marie, William Pattnosh, Jerry Seiffert

Cover Photos Clockwise from top left: Anne McLean of Sun Valley Eyeworks, Gary Hunt of Iconoclast Books, Jennifer Davis of North & Co. and Gary Slette of Robertson, Hepworth, Slette, Worst & Stover.

Index Page Photos From top: Cornelia Russo of Cornelia Russo Design & Decorating, Stephanie Giacobbi of di Vine, Dave Stone of Sun Valley Auto Club and Kim Garvin and Emily Andrews of Vintage Gypsy.

This page from top: Tinka Raymond of T-graphics, Brian Kriesien of KB’s, Liz Brown of Rue de Shoe and Bill Nichols of Blip Color Resources.

The Business Digest is published annually as a supplement to the Idaho Mountain Express

by Express Publishing Inc., P.O. Box 1013, Ketchum, ID 83340.

For advertising and content information, call (208) 726-8060.

Find us on the Internet at www.sunvalleycentral.com. Š2006 Express Publishing Inc.

Fabric Granary CALLING ALL

QUILTERS! A “Granary” stores grain for Idaho’s abundant harvest, come to the FABRIC GRANARY for an abundant harvest of all your sewing needs!

We’ve moved to a larger location on MAIN STREET! On-site classes Tons of new Fabrics Kaffe, Moda and plenty of marbles, dimples and dots!

788-1331

122 Main Street, Suite B Hailey Business Digest 2006

7

Aqua Pro Spa & Pool

Art Quest West Jeff & Chrissy Smith 15 A E. Bullion, Hailey (208) 788-5665 www.aquaprospas.com

Maureen Schwendener 360 East Avenue, The Courtyard, Ketchum (208) 727-9700 www.artquestgallery.com

H

aving recently opened a new showroom in downtown Hailey, Jeff and Chrissy Smith, owners of Aqua Pro Spa & Pool, are enjoying the benefits of better visibility and easier access. “It has been a smashing success,” Chrissy said of their recent move. “We have experienced a huge increase in sales.”

The Smiths are also expanding their business by offering custom pools and spas, in addition to their installation of portable spas, weekly full-service maintenance and repair division. When designing custom spas and pools, they now use computer software to show, with 3D imaging, the home and proposed spa or pool.

“It really is great—something that sets us apart from our competition locally and outside of the valley—our customers can see what their spa will look like before beginning construction on it. Also, the program has the capability of letting one view, in a 3D animated version, what the spa will look like from within the house,” explained Chrissy.

But even with the new location and great technology, Jeff and Chrissy feel excellent customer service is the greatest asset they have to offer current and potential customers.

Chrissy remembers “starting out in 1999 and having 65 main accounts. We knew customers individually and remembered who they were because they were important to us. Now, with more than 200 maintenance and hundreds of repair customers, each customer matters as much as they did back then.” They now have six certified employees who help maintain that great customer service.

“More than anything, we feel fortunate we are able to help people create their personal sanctuary,” said Jeff. “Time and time again we hear from our customers that their best family time is in the spa when they can relax, talk and unwind from daily life,” added Chrissy. “I know it’s true for our family too.”

— Angela Erickson

Chrissy and Jeff Smith enjoy helping clients create personal sanctuaries.

Maureen Schwendener has a taste for the eclectic at Art Quest West.

M

aureen Schwendener of Art Quest West has finally arrived in the Sun Valley area, 11 years after she and her husband purchased property in Ketchum from their home in Chicago. “Now that the kids are out of the house, we have built a home here and opened shop. So far, I can tell you it has been wonderful,” she said.

Fueled by Schwendener’s passion for quilting, Art Quest exploded into a menagerie of delightful items for the home. Opened six months ago, the store showcases an eclectic collection of home decorations and furnishings from folksy-kitsch to museum-quality contemporary. Nestled between art galleries in The Courtyard in Ketchum, Art Quest represents Schwendener’s years of networking with artists and artisans from Appalachia to central Europe.

Schwendener began retailing quilts in Hinsdale, Ill. in 1999 at Treehouse Quilts.

“I bought my first quilt in 1976 and just fell in love with them.

As a retailer, I soon learned that quilts don’t sell everyday.”

Today Schwendener’s interests include dolls cut from vintage quilts, Shaker-reproduction decorative boxes, Polish tapestries, sculptures and kilims. She also sells birdhouses, Bavarian-style decorative boxes and miniature musical instruments made by Kentucky artisans. There are woodcuts, throw rugs, copper molds, and collectible Polish handmade pottery, as well as a broad range of folk art, from kitchen items, hats and signs, to Swedish welcome lights and Cocopa furniture made from recycled barn wood.

Among the quilted wall hangings and knick-knacks that defy description, one can find a few of the unique three-dimensional fine art tapestries by Chad Allen from Washington. D.C. Allen’s studies in theater design lead to these three-dimensional tableaux made of stitched fabric and skeins of transparent gauze.

His work currently hangs in the Smithsonian Institution—and now in Ketchum at Art Quest West.

— Tony Evans

8

Business Digest 2006

91-1 East Croy Street, Hailey 788-7368 The Leader in Garage Enhancement

before

Our r

Premevolutionary floo ier r car ing can One back h with in theagvae your rage in 24 of c omp hour letio s n!

PremierGarage Coatings / Cabinets / Organizers

208.737.4657 • www.PremierGarage.com 151 Trade Street, Twin Falls ID 83301 Business Digest 2006

9

Sonya Black

Avventura Millie Wiggins 380 East Avenue N., Ketchum (208) 726-3370

Riverside Mortgage 1092 Eastland Drive N., Twin Falls (208) 733-5342

M

illie Wiggins once said, “My memoir will be based on what I wore and when. I’m obsessed with clothes.” Wiggins hasn’t written a memoir, but if she should it would certainly be more adventurous, eclectic, innovative, ahead of its time and full of wry wit and irreverent imagination than might be expected of one of Ketchum’s longest lasting, most established businesswomen.

The owner of Avventura Clothing in Ketchum, Wiggins has long been a cultural/fashion/social pioneer, innovator and intellectual of the Wood River Valley.

Though her window displays today are more queenly and subtle, in 1979—when the store was in Sun Valley—one of her displays attracted “plenty of attention and criticism and caused some men to actually start browsing through the store.”

The display was a replica of a Hotel Grande room, with static flickering across a television screen and red satin sheets on the bed. A bondage book and sexual fantasy magazines were strewn across the covers with an empty box of amyl nitrate tablets and silk pajamas.

The cardboard mannequin wore a black lace corset, bra and garter belt.

Some were not amused.

Before Avventura, Wiggins operated Leadville, the first espresso coffeehouse in Idaho, which opened in 1959. It represented everything in that era designated “bohemian,” “beatnik” and “counterculture.” She recalled, “Ketchum wasn’t quite ready for Leadville …

I didn’t mean to offend anyone, but some people just didn’t know what to make of our basic black beatnik clothes and approach to life.

Nobody even knew what espresso was.”

More than 45 years after Leadville, Wiggins was the driving force behind the Ketchum/Sun Valley Historical Society fund-raising nude calendar for 2005. Like Avventura and Leadville, the calendar was a great success for the First Lady of Ketchum clothing. After all, Wiggins designed Avventura’s famous “Eat More Lamb” T-shirt and is, fittingly enough, obsessed with clothes.

— Dick Dorworth

Millie Wiggins is the First Lady of Ketchum clothing.

10

Business Digest 2006

Sonya Black’s home schooling background set her up to become an innovative loan officer.

G

rowing up in the woods near Salmon, Idaho, as the daughter of idealistic hippies, Sonya Black, 34, is a product of the homeschooling movement.

Many home-schooling parents encourage their children to teach themselves as much as possible. In Black’s case this resulted in her maturing into an innovative, self-motivated and confident woman. It simply doesn’t occur to her that something can’t be worked out. As a loan officer for Riverside Mortgage in Twin Falls, those are valuable traits.

“I’m a little bit rebellious. I don’t always follow the rules,” she said. “Problem solving is one of my best attributes.” For example, if someone has a bad credit history, she gives him or her a formula for paying off bills as soon as possible—so that family can get that mortgage. It’s a strategy, she said, that always works.

“If you just show people how to do something, they’ll do it,” Black said. “I don’t settle for ‘no.’ Instead, I ask ‘when?’”

Black discovered the loan industry when she and her fiancé were purchasing a home a couple of years ago. Their loan officer noticed that Black was perceptive, detail-oriented, and that she was a good listener. The next thing Black knew, he was training her to work as a loan officer too. Because she was so used to working independently, she came up with leads right away.

“Marketing is my niche,” Black says. “I will call everyone in my little black book to make sure I customize a loan. I’m not your typical bank lender. I’m always out of the box, thinking. I’m very resourceful.”

“Because of the way I was educated, I treat everyone as if they could be my family. I don’t care if you have a lot of money or not very much.”

That attitude makes her a superior loan officer, she said. “Customer service is what separates lenders.”

— Julie Pence

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11

Blip Color Resources

Blaine County Housing Authority Michael David 12 E. Walnut Street, Hailey (208) 788-6102 www.bkha.org

Bill Nichols 214 Blue Lakes Boulevard, Twin Falls (208) 734-2558

A

s manager of the Valley Club, Michael David experienced firsthand the difficulties of retaining employees in the Wood River Valley, where rocketing real estate costs make it difficult for middle-class residents—including teachers, firefighters and skilled laborers—to purchase homes. In 2000, he took a seat on the fivemember board of Blaine County Housing Authority, and became executive director two years ago.

David and Assistant Director Drew Sanderford manage the sale and resale of authority properties. More than 300 applicants are vying for 34 available units. Thirty-eight more units are under construction, and construction is set to begin on 70 more. Despite these numbers, a deficit of 660 housing units remains, according to a 2002 needs assessment.

“In 2006,” said David, “I believe that number is even higher. Our goal is to try to create enough housing to eliminate that deficit. Had Sun Valley Company not had the foresight to provide housing for a great number of its employees, our situation would be much worse today,” he said.

David, who has visited the area since childhood, has lived in Blaine County since 1992. He earned a law degree from Loyola and is an avid skier, an interest he shares with his three children.

Sanderford recently graduated from the University of Virginia and has many years of experience with federal subsidized housing. “Drew is the kind of person this community needs, young, with fresh ideas,” David said.

“Our mission is to assure the long-term supply of desirable and affordable housing options for citizens of Blaine County,” said David.

The authority, created in 1997, serves the entire county, working with local officials to create ordinances that mandate or provide incentive for the creation of affordably priced housing from Sun Valley to Bellevue.

— Betsy Andrews

Michael David works to build a healthier community.

12

Business Digest 2006

Bill Nichols might just have the most inexpensive color copying charges in the nation.

T

wenty-one years ago, burned out on 20 years of canned music and redundant work assignments, Bill Nichols left the radio industry for the printing business. That was the beginning of Blip Color Resources in Twin Falls, today one of the largest commercial printing and copying businesses in Idaho.

“I started telling friends I was going to get into the printing business, but they didn’t think I really meant it,” Nichols said. He surprised even himself by purchasing an entire printing shop in Montana and shipping it to Twin Falls.

“I had never even seen a printing press before,” Nichols said. He quickly figured out how to use it.

Within two years, Nichols was hiring graphic designers and developing new facets of his fast-growing business. When desktop publishing arrived in the late 1980s, Blip surged, growing from three employees in 1985 to 27 in 2006. Blip offers a range of services from color copies to 62-inch-wide color digital printing, to offset press jobs.

Nichols’ latest offering is 29-cent color copies, which might just be the most inexpensive color copies in the nation, he said. In two years, the number of those copies made monthly soared from 1,500 to almost 60,000.

One of Nichols’ greatest blessings is that his business is a family affair. His wife joined in the second year of operation, and today his son—whose fascination with Nintendo in high school lured him to the technology end of the business—is part owner.

“We’re buds,” Nichols said fondly, recalling how the father-son duo mastered picture-taking by purchasing a used camera from a Twin Falls pawn shop and learning to duplicate the photos of a locally famous Twin Falls photographer of a century ago. Today, “We can photograph anything a customer wants,” Nichols said.

“It’s never dull around here. My philosophy is to do the best work you possibly can, and sell at a fair price.”

— Julie Pence

“From Basic to Unique”

Men’s & Women’s 101 South Main Street

::

Footwear & Clothing

Mon. – Sat., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. :: Seasonal Sundays :: Hailey :: 788-2783

"We recommend Bart to anyone without reservation."

"Bart obviously has the kind of initiative necessary to be successful over the long term in the real estate field."

Do you feel this way about "…we would highly recommend Bart as a Realtor…" your real estate agent?

My Clients Do!

"Bart went "above and beyond" for us in the recent sale of our property…"

"He has excellent people skills and keeps himself focused on the overall needs of the client." "…he was organized, sensitive, extremely competent and demonstrated outstanding rapport with people of all ages."

208-720-5947 • Bart@DiscoverIdahoRealEstate.com • www.DiscoverIdahoRealEstate.com Business Digest 2006

13

Bozzuto’s Furniture & Appliances

Bothwell Construction Brian Bothwell & Kevin Bothwell 255 Blue Lakes Boulevard, PMB 555, Twin Falls (208) 720-7282 bothwellhomes@msn.com

Tony Bozzuto 213 S. Rail West, Shoshone (208) 886-7774 bozfurn@cableone.net

T

Brian and Kevin Bothwell plan to build more starter homes in the Wood River Valley.

I

t’s said that all it takes to become a building contractor is a pickup truck with a dog in the back.

Busting that tired myth is Brian Bothwell. The 29-year-old, who recently moved to Hailey from Twin Falls, graduated from Boise State University with a degree in construction management.

And managing subcontractors is exactly what he does. “My cell phone is my hammer,” he said.

In order to oversee the construction of, on average, 20 homes a year in the Wood River Valley, he and his brother Kevin, his business partner, supervise a lot of people and inspect a lot of work.

“We are in charge of quality control,” he said.

Brian, originally from Hagerman, said his father was a builder, but he never pushed the trade on his sons. It wasn’t until after college that Brian and Kevin knew for sure the building trade was for them.

“My dad trained us in the field part of it, the hands-on side of it,” Brian said.

They soon took over their father’s business in the Magic Valley.

But the building boom in the Wood River Valley quickly enticed the brothers to move their business northward. Brian was so impressed with the way of life in Blaine County that he moved his family into a house he built in the valley.

Of course, a contractor would build his own home, he points out.

“Contractors always all build their own homes,” he said.

Brian considers his 2,500-square-foot ranch-style home to be modest. In the process of building it, however, he discovered a high demand for 1,500 to 2,500-square-foot homes in the Wood River Valley, a style he refers to as starter homes. That’s the wave he and his brother aim to ride in the immediate future.

“We plan to build more quality starter homes,” he said, with a strong emphasis on the word “quality.”

ony Bozzuto agrees that selling furniture in an out-of-the-way place like Shoshone is unusual. “Yes, it is,” he said, with a hearty Italian laugh.

The little railroad town wasn’t always just a place to pass through on the way to the Wood River Valley or Twin Falls. In the ’50s and ’60s, Shoshone was bustling. It was a time when Lincoln County farmers and city residents patronized their hometown stores. In 1961, Bozzuto’s dad, Victor, opened Bozzuto’s Furniture & Appliances, giving locals a place to buy their washing machines and couches.

“I started working in the store when I was 10 years old,” said Bozzuto.

Forty years later, Bozzuto still goes to work everyday in the store from which his father retired in 1983. The clientele has changed over the decades as the local farms consolidated—leaving about 10 farms where there had been more than 30. In addition, the city lost population for a couple decades and at the same time locals began driving the 23 miles to Twin Falls to shop. During that period, development in the Wood River Valley exploded, and Bozzuto prospered from it. Eventually, he succeeded in making his business so appealing that he began attracting Twin Falls shoppers.

“If we can draw people from Twin Falls and the Wood River Valley, it doesn’t just happen. The furniture business is very competitive. There has to be something special here,” he said. “We had to change, find a new niche. We don’t have what everybody has. We really are not a low-end company. We have to give better service. We have to try harder.”

“I’m pretty much hands-on with everything. I do the books, do some of the selling, do my own billings—that’s what keeps us afloat.

It keeps the overhead down,” he said.

“Working in a small town like this—I love it,” Bozzuto said.

— Julie Pence

— Julie Pence Tony Bozzuto’s family-run store has been in business since 1961.

14

Business Digest 2006

271 Sun Valley Rd. 208-622-3200

restaurant & wine bar

Newest addition to Ketchum

good food for all

Open lunch & dinner

• Wood oven cooking •

Reservations recommended Monday-Friday 11:30am-10pm / Saturday-Sunday open 5pm

230 Walnut Ave, Ketchum For reservations or carry-out – 727-1800

Tully’s Coffee

Walnut Avenue Mall

Wells Fargo Bank

Second Street

30 wines available by the glass • 85+ by the bottle

Sun Valley Road

Neapolitan style pizza • Grilled meats & fish Entrée salads • Pasta • Soups • Panini sandwiches Daily specials • Organic ingredients • Families welcome

CIRO

Walnut Avenue

**Corner of Walnut Avenue & Second Street One block South of Tully’s Coffee & Sun Valley Rd. Business Digest 2006

15

The Brown Magnolia

Building Materials Thrift Store

Esther C. Loman 1111 Blue Lakes Boulevard N., Suite C, Twin Falls (208) 735-1340

Bruce Tidwell 3990 S. Woodside Boulevard, Hailey (208) 788-0014 www.buildingmaterialthriftstore.org

T

he heartbreak of losing a son to cancer prompted former dairy owner, Esther Loman to switch to the work of her dreams. She and husband Rick, who is Dutch, moved to the Netherlands soon after the tragedy. “While we were there, I started collecting antiques,” Lowman said. “We began going to open-air markets and buying antiques.”

Fine furniture and home decorating have always fascinated Loman, who had long dreamt of owning some type of retail store.

First, she considered a dress shop and then, a store for infants. As her passion for antique collecting blossomed in Europe, she realized that there was an antique store in her future.

A friend from North Carolina suggested the name, The Brown Magnolia.

Loman, whose ancestors moved to the U.S. from Mexico four generations ago, said, “I have brown skin,” however, she acquired the manners of a southern belle when her mother made her attend charm school. “My friend said, in a very thick southern accent, ‘Why, Esther, you ain’t nothin’ but a brown magnolia.’”

When she opened her first store, just off Blue Lakes Boulevard in Twin Falls, she imported antiques from Europe. “People would walk in and the first thing they would say is ‘wow,’” she said. She closed the store for a year and reopened recently on Blue Lakes.

“Now people walk in, and the first thing they say is, ‘I’m so glad you’re back.’”

Recently she has added several notable lines in gifts from around the world. But, just because her wares are unusual doesn’t mean they’re expensive.

“Every time I get a tourist in, they ask me if I am missing a digit on my prices,” she said. “Then they ask me why don’t I set up shop in Atlanta or New York, but I tell them this is my home.”

— Julie Pence

Esther Loman’s Twin Falls antique store harbors treasures from across the globe.

16

Business Digest 2006

Real Men Recycle; Bruce Tidwell wants your business.

R

ecycling and environmental conservation are priorities for most valley residents. The Building Materials Thrift Store, under the direction of Wood River Land Trust founding board member Bruce Tidwell, has combined these two activities in ways that benefit many area residents, from vacation homeowners to struggling first-time home buyers looking for bargains.

Doors, windows, refrigerators, toilets, tubs and even the kitchen sink are for sale at the Thrift Store showroom in Hailey. Sales of donated household items benefit the Wood River Land Trust, which has preserved more than 4,000 acres of natural splendor and wildlife habitat in and around Blaine County since it was founded 10 years ago.

Tidwell arrived 25 years ago from Meridian, Idaho, as a custom homebuilder. His experience in the building trades, coupled with a devotion to wilderness preservation led to his work with the Land Trust. “In the back of my mind it always bothered me how much was wasted and wound up in the landfill,” he recalls. “Entire sets of new windows would be demolished.”

The transfer station at Ohio Gulch removes construction debris from the valley at a cost of $55 a ton. Thanks to the Thrift Store, 3,000 tons of reusable materials have been diverted and sold to bargain shoppers since 1999, saving Blaine County $100,000 in shipping costs. Tidwell and his employees provide free removal and pick-up of donations. “As a nonprofit, we give tax donations for anything from doors and refrigerators, to entire houses. There are great deals here for creative home builders.”

In 2004, the Thrift Store was voted the non-profit of the year by the Ketchum/Sun Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The Thrift Store gets five to seven houses a year now, which are picked up and shipped south, rather than being demolished. “I think of this as the ultimate recycling activity,” said Tidwell, who hopes to expand his operation to a larger facility in the near future.

— Tony Evans

EEDAHO Real Estate Ray McClure 510 S. Main, Bellevue Cell 208-481-0176 Blaine Co. 208-788-9776 Twin Falls 208-595-4167 Toll Free 1-866-611-2888 www.eedaho.com

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Business Digest 2006

17

CIRO restaurant & wine bar Mark & Tracey Caraluzzi 230 Walnut Avenue, Ketchum (208) 727-1800

Colortyme Payday Loans and Rent to Own Jennifer Corrao 91 E. Croy Street, Alturas Plaza, Hailey (208) 788-7368 svjen@aol.com

J

It’s all in the family for Mark and Tracey Caraluzzi of CIRO.

M

ark and Tracey Caraluzzi’s CIRO restaurant is new to the Wood River Valley, but the husband and wife team are no strangers to the restaurant business. Each with a previous background in the industry, the Caraluzzis have worked together since they married.

Tracey met Mark, a restaurateur since the age of 18, while completing culinary school. The pair quickly joined forces in gastronomic pursuits, opening their first restaurant, Bistro Bistro, near Washington, D.C., three months after their wedding.

The concept behind Bistro Bistro, much like CIRO, was to serve progressive, imaginative cuisine in a family and neighborhood-friendly setting. The restaurant proved a success with patrons and critics, and Tracey and Mark moved quickly toward additional Bistro Bistro locations, as well as consulting and partial ownership in other restaurants.

Mark remembers the whirlwind of his early days in business with Tracey. “We were lucky we worked together, because that’s the only way we got to see each other.”

Although they enjoyed the successes and challenges of their ventures, Mark and Tracey knew it was time, with their five children, to explore a different pace of life. A 30-year Ketchum visitor, Tracey knew the area offered the type of supportive and safe community she wanted for her family.

Reflecting this, CIRO is a family establishment on many levels, from the crayons, paper and kids’ menus to the Caraluzzi family operation going on behind the scenes. All five kids have worked in the restaurant, and the interior is designed by Tracey’s sister, Kelley Allen.

Mark and Tracey remain steadfast in their commitment to superb ingredients (foods that are organic, seasonal or local are a priority), unique dishes and a dynamic wine selection.

However, the biggest reward is the terrific people—customers and staff—the Caraluzzis have come to know. “Of all our restaurants, this is definitely the most fun.”

— Mia James

18

Business Digest 2006

ennifer Corrao visited Ketchum in 1989 from Seattle, Washington, on a college ski trip, and knew she would one day live here.

Her dream came true when, after a stint in the home mortgage business, she opened Colortyme Payday Loans and Rent to Own in Bellevue, just as her oldest daughter entered kindergarten. That same determination ensured Colortyme’s success and, shortly, its need to relocate to larger quarters in Alturas Plaza in Hailey.

“My uncle Gary helped me get started and he still provides advice,” said Corrao. Colortyme Corporation, founded in Plano, Texas, in 1979 provides home furnishings and trust-me loans to those with steady paychecks. The corporation has 300 franchises nationwide, providing free delivery and installation of everything from bedroom sets to foosball tables. Corrao’s uncle Gary Hughes owned 27 until recently, when he sold to another rent-to-own firm, explained Corrao.

Since opening locally in 1998, Colortyme has provided high-quality furnishings and ready cash to valley residents who may or may not qualify elsewhere. Colortyme also has the valley’s only Western Union money transfer service.

Colortyme also specializes in corporate rentals and temporary rentals to those with visiting relatives who need an extra bed or TV during their stay.

Colortyme requires no credit check or social security number from customers wanting to borrow. They can borrow against future paychecks, and rent or purchase major home appliances, including the latest high definition TVs and a full range of Whirlpool appliances.

“We cater to those with non-traditional income sources, those who are either credit-constrained or cash-constrained,” said Corrao, who recently opened a Colortyme franchise in Blackfoot, Idaho. She also has plans for a store in Mountain Home next year.

“We have the most affordable living room, kitchen and dining room furnishings in the Wood River Valley,” she said. “Our prices are as good as any in Twin Falls.”

— Tony Evans

Jennifer Corrao provides ready cash and the opportunity to own high-quality home furnishings.

Cindy Ward

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More than 17 full-time years in the local real estate business

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Business Digest 2006

19

Cornelia Russo Design & Decorating

Contour Spa Denise Walters 260 Northwood Way, Ketchum (208) 726-1740

Hailey (208) 788-2194 corneliarusso@aol.com

S

an Francisco and New York, step aside. Denise Walters is introducing the newest technology in skin care treatment to the Wood River Valley: ultrasound.

Inside her cozy persimmon-colored spa, the latest in ultrasound cellulite treatments melt away fat and ultrasound facials rejuvenate skin. Or, have an infrared sauna.

Walters, who previously worked in jewelry design and still has beautiful beaded necklaces decorating the walls of her spa, was ready to start a new chapter in life.

A midlife crisis left her wanting to discover a way to age gracefully without the harsh effects of chemicals or surgery. And she found it.

While visiting San Francisco, she experienced new ultrasound treatments that use non-invasive sound vibrations to rejuvenate skin and remove cellulite. She couldn’t believe the results and was inspired enough to train and start her own business, Contour Spa. For an ultrasound facial, relax on the massage table with soft music and a mountain view. Walters begins with a deep pore cleanser, hydrating mask, and then the vibrating ultrasound treatment tingles and hydrates your skin at a cellular level. It exfoliates, reduces lines and discolorations, deep moisturizes, firms, and increases blood circulation to the skin to create a youthful, radiant glow. Like microdermabrasion, but without the possible invasive side effects. Each treatment is designed for the particular client’s needs.

The FDA-approved ultrasound cellulite machine is also non-invasive and reduces cellulite through a series of treatments. The infrared sauna detoxifies while warming inside and out to soothe aching joints.

Another discovery of Walters is the Oxygen Botanical line of products—the latest way to stay young by literally infusing skin with oxygen to restore its natural tone.

Walters’ goal is to “embrace aging by attaining beauty without surgery.” She wants everyone to walk out “looking and feeling beautiful.”

— Crystal Thurston

Denise Walters begins a new chapter in her life with Contour Spa. 20

Business Digest 2006

Cornelia Russo visualizes how a room can be, then makes it a reality.

I

’m the mother of invention,” laughs Cornelia Russo, pointing out a beautiful headboard she designed using an unusual salvaged door, and an eye-catching end table whose sleek, textured tabletop is a silver tread plate borrowed from an industrial environment.

Her designs display visual surprises, such as whimsical or inspirational sayings stenciled playfully along the tops of walls. “And I love color. Especially unexpected color,” she said, pointing out doors painted in complementary colors, and a painted canvas hiding recessed audio-visual components above the mantle.

Originally from the East Coast, Russo studied french and education in college, became a french teacher, and then put herself through design school. She has been a designer and decorator since 1988, focusing on homes and small offices, and her gift for translation of languages is not wasted in her chosen field. When she meets a client, she asks her (or him) to name some adjectives that describe what she wants a room to be. Then Russo translates those words into a design.

She enjoys explaining to clients why the design works.

“There’s so much opportunity in my business to teach,” she said.

“Clients get excited when they understand.”

Her specialties include reworking rooms using the clients’ original furnishings, space planning, color advice and project management. Her mantra is “friendly, practical, affordable.”

Russo came to the Wood River Valley in 1996, and stayed for five years; last summer, she returned. Her love of the out-of-doors comes through in her use of willow branches and other organic materials as design elements. She hikes and plays tennis, and takes classes wherever she’s lived: a criminal law class in Boise, an economics class at Princeton, a computer class at CSI. She believes in learning constantly, and constantly teaching.

“

— Betsy Andrews

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Business Digest 2006

21

Bart Davis, Realtor

Sherry Daech, Realtor McCann-Daech-Fenton Realtors LLC. Sherry Daech, Broker/Principal 271 Leadville Avenue, Ketchum (208) 726-3317, (208) 726-3009 www.sherrydaech.com

Real Estate on Higher Ground Sotheby’s International Realty (208) 720-5947 www.DiscoverIdahoRealEstate.com

B

Sherry Daech was the first person ever to own a red Hummer.

I

n the middle of Sherry Daech’s desk is a crystal ball. Stuck to it is a little yellow post-it note that reads, “What will my property be worth in five years time?” Throughout her 28-year career as the valley’s best-known Realtor, this is a question she has been asked a few times.

“I’ve had a really wonderful, fabulous career,” said Daech. “I’ve met people from all over the world, fascinating people.” Her office walls testify to this. Photos of celebrity residents of the Wood River Valley cover almost every inch of available space. “My office is like a little memoir. Sometimes I look at these things … and I’m in awe.

From a little girl that started working so young … to now have wonderful partners and a wonderful business, I’m very grateful.”

Without the aid of any psychic tools, the Californian spotted Ketchum’s potential from the moment she arrived in town in 1969.

Through working numerous jobs, from sweeping floors to delivering newspapers, she saved up enough money to buy a small lot in Warm Springs, for the princely sum of $3,000.

Her foresight caught the attention of one of the local Realtors, Mike McCann (now Daech’s partner in the firm McCann Daech Fenton Realtors). “He said to me, ‘Sherry you seem to be good at this … you ought to get into real estate.’ And I said, ‘You know what, maybe I should,’ and I did and it changed my life.”

In a valley full of Realtors, Daech stands out not only due to her unrivaled knowledge of the area, but also because of her car. Daech scoots around town in a striking red Hummer that has become her trademark (she was the first woman to own a Hummer, and the first person to own a red one). “I just love it, it’s so fun because everybody waves and I wave back!” she said. “In Hawaii once, someone came up to me on the beach and said, ‘Do you drive a red Hummer?

Are you from Sun Valley?’ Now I mean, that’s something!”

art Davis admits to skiing Bald Mountain with his phone plugged into his helmet. “I love that I can do part of my job outside,” he said, thanks to the latest wireless technology.

Davis, an Idaho native with family roots going back five generations, has called the Wood River Valley home for 14 years. For many of those he combined his passion for the outdoors and his enjoyment of customer service at Backwoods Mountain Sports in Ketchum, where he was a partner for the last five years of his tenure.

Now, he’s “out and about, helping others fulfill their dreams” through real estate.

Recognizing that his clients are also turning to the latest connectivity and wireless technologies, Davis pursued his e-Pro certification, a real estate course dedicated to optimizing Internet options and electronic technology for better customer service and information. Like Davis, many of his clients enjoy the flexibility new technology affords for shopping for real estate, mortgage information and community services via the Internet and e-mail.

His Web site is a fine example of his Internet savvy, with pages for Idaho ski conditions, weather forecasts, avalanche updates, road reports and world news, in addition to his listings and mortgage rates and other home-buying tips.

Davis and his wife, Jennifer, also own North & Co., a Hailey clothier voted Business of the Year in 2004 by Hailey Chamber of Commerce.

In his spare hours, he is, of course, outside. “Every chance I get,” reads his Web site, “I’m either on Baldy, backcountry skiing, Nordic skiing on the incredible system of groomed trails in the area, biking or hiking with my family, or running on the beautiful back roads and single-track trails of the Wood River Valley.”

Davis is joined in his recreational pursuits by his wife and their six-year old daughter, Adia, who’s learning to ski and bike with her dad.

— Betsy Andrews

— Jennifer Tuohy Bart Davis’s goals include “exceeding the expectations of clients.”

22

Business Digest 2006

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Business Digest 2006

23

di Vine

Dunbar Interiors A Place for Wine Stephanie Giacobbi 400 S. Main Street, Hailey (208) 788-4422

Janet Dunbar 440 East Avenue N., Ketchum (208) 726-8573

W

hen asked what she enjoys most about running her business, Stephanie Giacobbi, proprietor of di Vine, smiles.

“Everything!”

Her enthusiasm and warmth infuse the intimate restaurant/retail wine shop with the atmosphere of a centuries-old, family-run European bistro. The 33-year-old dynamo—who has a culinary degree from Western Culinary Institute in Portland and has been a chef for seven years—considers her customers an extended family. “I just want everyone to be happy, comfortable, to feel at home. To relax and enjoy themselves,” she said, “including my wonderful employees.”

Settling into di Vine’s comfy sofas or around a cozy table for lunch or dinner feels like being in your living room with private caterers— without having to clean up. Meals are quiet, unhurried affairs, featuring grilled panini sandwiches, thin-crust gruyere pizzas, and a variety of salads (“Our salads are huge!” said Giacobbi).

Offering 20 wines by the glass, hundreds by the bottle, and 20 kinds of beer, Giacobbi also caters, prepares to-go platters, sells wines by the case and hosts private parties.

Giacobbi, born and raised in the Wood River Valley, didn’t plan to settle in the area. “But no matter how often I left, I always came back. So I gave up,” she said with a laugh.

A professional chef and caterer, she started working at di Vine for high school friend Kristin and her husband Chip Mayle in 2003, became manager a year later, and bought the business in 2005. “My goal is to carry out what they started. I’m constantly studying and reading about wines. If someone has a question, we pull out our encyclopedias and say, ‘Let’s figure it out.’”

When she’s not working, you’ll find Giacobbi skiing, mountain biking with family or friends, or hiking with her dogs. You won’t find her on the Internet. “I’m old school,” she admits unapologetically.

“I’ve got to touch it, smell it, eat it or drink it.”

— Betsy Andrews

Stephanie Giacobbi’s warmth permeates the delightful di Vine.

24

Business Digest 2006

Janet Dunbar has worked as an interior designer for 36 years.

I

feel like, even though I’ve worked very hard, I haven’t worked a day in my life,” said Janet Dunbar.

Dunbar, an interior designer and member of American Society of Interior Designers, “works” designing buildings (the 400 Building and The Galleria in Ketchum for example), doing home and commercial remodels, and running a retail outlet.

“Remodels are my favorite,” she said of her designing. “It’s such a challenge to take a home with no charm and give it back some life.”

When she takes on such a project, Dunbar resolves structural issues, plans interior spaces and selects all finishes and exterior treatments so design elements continue throughout the home or office.

A designer for 36 years, 29 of them in Sun Valley, Dunbar didn’t start out in that field. She earned a degree in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, got her teaching credentials, and then went to work for an architect. During that time, she also went to design school.

With designs always comes a need for accents, and Dunbar balances her design offerings with a retail outlet to fulfill this need.

When she first came to Sun Valley, Dunbar opened a lighting store called A Bright Idea, and shortly afterward expanded it to include antiques and furniture. Today, design consumes the majority of her time, but she continues to open Dunbar Interior’s retail store from June through September.

Her home furnishings, accessories, clothing and jewelry are oneof-a-kind items, such as vests exquisitely tailored of silks and velvets, and mohair throws fringed with long silk ribbons.

She believes in supporting local artists’ work in her shop, and started the Ketchum Arts and Crafts Festival seven years ago, as a venue for emerging local artists to display their works to a wider audience.

It has grown into a major annual event, following the trail of successes Dunbar has forged throughout her career.

Dunbar has two daughters, Elise and Elisabeth. (Elisabeth is wellknown locally and nationally for Elisabeth Pohle Ceramics.) She also enjoys singing in the local choir, Caritas Chorale. “I’m just a good back up voice,” she laughed. “But it’s a very joyous thing to do.”

“

— Betsy Andrews

Residential & Development Services Commercial Sales and Leasing www. MomentumRealEstate.com

400 S. Main Street #303

578-9292

Sherri@MomentumRealEstate.com

We Offer Top Notch Market Knowledge and Unbeatable Service

Promoting an ecologically sustainable and livable community through education, awareness campaigns, environmental action and nature appreciation programs.

Visit us at our new office or online at www.ercsv.org to learn more about how you can participate in and support our many programs such as: Armchair Adventures ∏ Beaver Walks ∏ Birding Circle of Environmental Excellence & Leadership ∏ Star Gazing ∏ Clean Sweep ∏ Valley Clean Up ∏ Composting ∏ EcoCamp ∏ MountainFilm Festival Sun Valley Sustainability Conference ∏ Orienteering Recycling Awarness ∏ Winter Tracking ∏ and more.

471 N. Washington Ave. P O Box 819 Ketchum, Idaho 83340 208.726.4333 tel • 208.726.1531 fax

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Business Digest 2006

25

EEdaho Real Estate

Elle Rose

Ray McClure 510 S. Main Street, Bellevue (208) 481-0176, (208) 788-9776 www.eedaho.com

Rochelle Runge 647 Sun Valley Road, Ketchum 351 Leadville Avenue, Ketchum (208) 726-8871

T

here’s constant change in fashion. That’s what’s so fun about it,” said Rochelle Runge, whose store, Elle Rose, has been bringing fine European fashions to Ketchum since 1993.

“I go to Milan and Paris twice a year, and go to all the runway shows.” And then she returns to Sun Valley and dresses clients in the best.

She feels fortunate to represent Dolce & Gabanna, Loro Piana, Roberto Cavalli, Etro, Botega Veneta, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent and other fine designers.

“I get a joy out of putting together outfits that are attractive on people, and I think people can tell it’s my passion. You don’t stay in business for 12 years unless you love it!”

Runge arrived from Orange County 12 years ago for the skiing, and took a risk as a small-businesswoman introducing luxury-wear brands to Sun Valley. But she admired her products, and hoped that others would too. They have; she opened a second store in 2000.

Her clothing for men includes cashmere sweaters, fine shirts, khakis and jeans. For women, she carries everything from jeans to evening dresses. “Women are lucky,” she said with a conspiratorial smile. “We get to do all kinds of looks.”

In addition to skiing, Runge plays tennis, runs and road bikes.

She loves the long summer days when she can head into the hills after a day at work. But she also appreciates dressing like a girl after stepping out of ski boots or cycling shoes.

“It’s so great to be able to be athletic, and also be able to wear beautiful, feminine clothes.” And even better when you’ve got an expert to help you choose just the right thing, right on Sun Valley Road.

“

Ray McClure’s real estate business is based on his love for the valley in which he was raised.

W

alking into Ray McClure’s EEdaho Real Estate office is like walking into someone’s living room: the comfortable furnishing and his easy-going friendliness are warm and welcoming. The Bellevue Bulldogs sweater hanging across the room is among the first things to catch the eye. “This really dates me,” he admits, “but I grew up here in Bellevue and graduated from Bellevue High School, which closed its doors in 1963.”

McClure is a local who moved away, “had about 11 careers,” and came home because he felt this was a special place where life was good.

“I would often tell people about my hometown, where kids could go down to the river to swim, and you wouldn’t have to worry about rape, pillage or plunder,” he said half-joking. In reality, he wanted to give back to the community that raised him by sharing his local knowledge and fulfilling his desire to help others.

He decided the best way to do this was through real estate, where he noticed a niche he felt wasn’t being filled. “I wanted to serve everybody from the Wood River Valley to the Treasure Valley. I wanted to help people who were renting when they could own—there’s no reason to pay someone else’s mortgage payment when you can be paying your own.”

With that philosophy, McClure chose to call his real estate business “EEdaho,” the Indian word for Idaho, because it suited his aim to provide services more all encompassing than a resort town realty office.

Not long after hanging his shingle on Main Street in Bellevue, he became involved in the Bellevue City Council and city planning and zoning “to facilitate the lifestyle we have available to us.” His goal is to preserve that wonderful Wood River Valley lifestyle, the same great lifestyle that lured him back to Bellevue.

— Angela Erickson

26

Business Digest 2006

— Betsy Andrews

Rochelle Runge combines her two passions: skiing and fashion.

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Business Digest 2006

27

The Fabric Granary

ERC Environmental Resource Center 471 N. Washington Avenue, Ketchum (208) 726-4333 www.ercsv.org

Rebecca Mitchell 122 Main Street, Suite B, Hailey (208) 788-1331

R

Craig Barry is fully invested in the betterment of the valley’s environment.

C

onsidering how vital and visible a role the Environmental Resource Center plays in the Wood River Valley, it’s remarkable the organization staffs only two full-time employees. Yet, as the director since 2001, Craig Barry has never been deterred by the Herculean tasks that are his charge.

Beyond the myriad activities that the ERC sponsors in the valley—from snowshoe bird watching outings in Silver Creek to movie nights at the Community Library in Ketchum—the ERC sets out on a staggering task of educating, mobilizing and enacting change for the betterment of the environment and society’s relationship to the natural world.

“In the last five years, we have really ramped up our programs and outreach,” Barry said, referring not only to the countless recreational offerings sponsored by the ERC, but mainly to behind-the-scenes environmental work.

A prime example of a grass-roots campaign for environmental awareness is the Circle of Environmental Excellence and Leadership. The program awards area businesses that “green up their business” through actions ranging from energy conservation to employee transportation solutions.

“We like to recognize (the businesses) and tout them and encourage locals and tourists to patronize them,” Barry said of the proactive measures.

In the near future, Barry hopes to increase the ERC’s presence and vitality in the community with an on-site nature center including a dark-sky observatory and a classroom. Also in 2006, the ERC plans a series of workshops and seminars for small businesses looking to go green.

“Let’s identify common problems and find common solutions,” he said.

Most exciting for 2006 is the ERC’s new home, a refurbished house on Washington Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets in Ketchum. Among various renovations are the carpets, made entirely from recycled plastic.

With a very modest annual budget, Barry stresses that the ERC’s most important revenues come from membership. Joining online at www.ercsv.org is simple.

— Michael Ames

28

Business Digest 2006

ebecca Mitchell has always loved fabrics, sewing and the Wood River Valley. Luckily, she has managed to combine all three in her business, The Fabric Granary.

The Wood River Valley’s only purveyor of fine quilting fabrics, The Fabric Granary’s new Main Street location includes a classroom for sewing clubs, such as Sew-What if it’s Monday and Finish it Friday, as well as classes for all abilities. Her staff, and local experts, help students realize their visions.

“This is a town filled with creative people who love beauty,” said Rebecca. “I want to provide an atmosphere where questions can be answered, and help is given.”

Rebecca calls her four employees her biggest treasure, marveling at their skills, especially those of MaryAnne LaBlanc, her right-hand woman.

A cardiovascular operating room nurse by trade, Rebecca is thriving in her new enterprise and new hometown. A visitor from the Bay Area since the ’80s with her husband and their six children, Rebecca only recently moved here full time.

In 2005, she purchased Sun Valley Quilt and Fabric Company, which had flourished as Quilts This’n’That under the ownership of Lita Sullivan. Rebecca has expanded the inventory, offering more than 2,000 bolts of designer prints, batiks, flannels and chenilles in addition to notions, books, patterns and sewing machine tune-up services. She keeps up with the latest products and techniques by attending national quilt shows. Her passion inspires her to find just the right fabrics for customers’ projects.

In her limited spare time, Rebecca runs half-marathons, hikes Wood River Valley trails and enjoys snowshoeing. These days, though, she most frequently can be found at The Fabric Granary, the Wood River Valley’s storehouse for beautiful fabric.

— Betsy Andrews

Rebecca Mitchell offers a place for people to come together and SEWcialize!

213 S. S. Rail Rail •• SHOSHONE, SHOSHONE, IDAHO IDAHO 213 208-886-7774 •• www.homeappliances.com/Bozzuto www.homeappliances.com/Bozzuto 208-886-7774

RESIDENTIAL • RANCH • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY • DEVELOPMENT

“THE KEY TO YOUR HOME” “I am totally focused on my client’s needs, and I work to realize their dreams as if they were my own”

Lisa Henak Licensed Realtor ®

Cell: (208) 720-1839 Office: (208) 788-2777 Fax: (208) 726-1266 Email: Lisahenak@cox.net P.O. Box 1737 Ketchm, ID 83340 Business Digest 2006

29

Help-U-Sell Real Estate

Hawley Graphics, Inc. Andrew Hawley & Jennifer Hoffmann 300 N. Main Street, Suite B, Hailey (208) 788-2296 www.hawleygraphics.com

Curtis Galvez & Lynda Smith 14 E. Bullion, Alturas Plaza, Hailey (208) 788-5600 www.helpusell.com/AlpineRealty

L

Jennifer Hoffmann and Andrew Hawley are a full-service graphic design team.

I

n addition to designing some of the most distinctive logos, catalogs, brochures and posters in town, Andy Hawley is training for the Boulder Mountain Tour and planning a wedding (his own, to business partner Jennifer Hoffmann). “We fill up our spare time nicely,” said Hoffmann with a happy laugh.

Hawley and Hoffmann share an office on Main Street in Hailey with state-of-the art equipment for small- and large-format printing and their two hounds, Gus and Gracie.

Hawley grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and began a career in mining but quickly decided to pursue it only to pay for an education in graphic arts. He arrived in the Wood River Valley via Portland in 1996, and opened his own business three years later.

Hoffmann arrived in 2005, a veteran of many western ski towns.

A trained fine artist, she loves the creative aspect of her work, naming brainstorming sessions as her favorite part. Hawley agrees.

“I like to see people respond positively to what I’m designing for them,” said Hawley. He often visits clients’ offices to get as much information as he can about their needs, whether it’s a whimsical brochure for the nexStage Theatre, a corporate identity package, or an entire catalog, brochure and product manual on CD for Sun Valley Bronze. They pride themselves in offering full-service printing, from design to production.

The partners make a concerted effort to use environmentally friendly paper and local or regionally based printers for large jobs, foregoing less expensive printing in China due to the destruction of forests and waterways caused by the industry.

Hawley has served for many years as an ambassador for the Ketchum/Sun Valley Chamber and Visitors Bureau, helping other small businesses take advantage of chamber memberships. In addition to Nordic skiing, the couple telemark skis, mountain bikes, road rides and hikes—“everything but fly-fish,” said Hoffmann with a laugh. “And we’d like to do that.”

— Betsy Andrews

30

Business Digest 2006

ynda Smith and Curtis Galvez didn’t intend to become real estate agents. But when Curtis, a Forest Service visitors’ services education program supervisor, and Lynda, a floor manager at Backwoods Mountain Sports, decided to sell their home in Woodside, Hailey, they felt stymied by the limited options.

They could have sold it on their own—an intimidating task to the average homeowner—or contacted a traditional real estate office.

“We felt a traditional commission (between five and six percent of the selling price) was a lot of our money, so we began talking to a friend in California who owns a Help-U-Sell Real Estate office,” Smith explained.

“It’s all about options. We wanted to provide another option for homeowners and buyers in this community,” added Galvez. The couple opened Help-U-Sell less than a year ago and sold more than $4.5 million in real estate in 2005, saving clients $96,516 when compared to a six-percent commission.

There is a set fee of $5,950 for Help-U-Sell to assist in selling a home. Yet, as licensed real estate professionals, Smith and Galvez handle the same things other real estate companies offer, though Help-U-Sell recommends the seller show the property.

“We believe no one can show your house better than you. After all no one knows your house like you do,” said Smith.

On the buyer’s side, Smith and Galvez also save clients money.

“We take part of our commission and roll it into closing costs,” explained Smith.

Smith and Galvez openly share their business philosophy. “We are here to provide options and help people get into homes affordably,” Galvez explained; to which Smith added, “We are not here to grow rich off our clients—just pay the bills and enjoy life in this community.”

— Angela Erickson

Lynda Smith and Curtis Galvez have saved their clients over $96,000 in the year they have been operating.

Scott Miley Roofing Established 1992

ACS/Associated Construction Services Inc. The Re-Roofing Professional Full Service • All Roofing Types

• Re-Roofs • Seamless & Copper Custom Gutters • Roof Repair • New Construction • Siding • Sheetmetal • Fully Insured • Guaranteed Work • Snow Removal • Waterproofing Call for Estimates Contract License #RCE-725 Public Works License #15021-C4(35’47)

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130 Gulf Stream Lane Airport West Hailey, ID 83333

Business Digest 2006

31

Lisa Henak, Realtor

High Country Resort Properties Sun Land Investments, Inc. P.O. Box 1737, Ketchum (208) 720-1839, lisahenak@cox.net

Pam Colesworthy & Mike Riviello 141 Northwood Way, Ketchum (208) 726-1256, (208) 726-5888 www.highcountryrentals.com, www.highcountryrealtors.com

F

resh off the slopes, Lisa Henak glows when she talks about living in Sun Valley.

At 15, she heard about the area while skiing in Washington state, and decided on the spot that she would live here some day.

After college, she moved to the valley in 1982 and has never looked back. “My passion for skiing is what brought me here, but the beauty, the surroundings and the community have kept me here.”

Her other passion is homes. Henak, who works for Sun Land Investments, Inc., has worked in interior design and property management, but interestingly it’s her background as a massage therapist that she believes gives her an ability to really understand people and find homes that fit their dreams. One family trusted her intuition so much they made an offer on a house she recommended, site unseen.

And she was right.

In her spare time, Henak likes to volunteer for things she feels compassionate about, like the recent visit of the Dalai Lama and the Special Olympics. The children involved in the Special Olympics move her with their shining faces and positive attitudes, despite their challenges.

Henak’s playful creative side recently led her to put on one of the most original events ever—the wedding of her pug Juliet to her pugboyfriend, Winston. Thirty dogs and 60 people came to the wedding, complete with tuxedos and gowns for every canine. There were invitations, a guest book and bartenders—the whole shebang. It was a howling success. Since then, a new career has blossomed for Henak along with real estate—canine wedding planner.

Henak is excited about expanding her real estate career to include commercial and development properties, but residential is still her first love: helping people live out their dreams by finding that special home.

— Crystal Thurston

Lisa Henak is passionate about Sun Valley and her pug, Juliet.

32

Business Digest 2006

Pam Colesworthy and Mike Riviello set their sights on the real estate market.

I

t took Pam Colesworthy three tries to relocate from Manhattan Beach, Calif. to Ketchum to raise her kids in a small town and live in the mountains.

“I had plans when I moved here to be a stay-at-home mom and enjoy my kids,” she said. Plans changed, and instead of staying home, she began an entrepreneurial career that has spawned a growing business within the local real estate market.

After working in the marketing department at Power Engineers in Hailey, she owned and operated Video West in Ketchum before purchasing a small property management company five years ago.

High Country Resort Properties began as a rental agency and grew to include the many services required of tenants and property owners, from security to housekeeping and landscaping. She now employs six full-time staff on management and maintenance teams, as well as three housekeepers. The agency recently moved into spacious new offices on Northwood Way in Ketchum, which command an inspiring view of the surrounding mountains and will enable Colesworthy to oversee numerous properties in the north Wood River Valley.

Last spring, Colesworthy expanded her business yet again, teaming with former McCann, Daech, Fenton real estate broker Mike Riviello to create a one-stop shop for clients looking to purchase real estate, find renters and manage properties while they are out of town.

Future High Country plans include online bookings to facilitate rentals, as well as an exploration of commercial real estate possibilities in the area. Due to the growing opportunities in the south valley, Colesworthy and Riviello may soon expand to Hailey.

“It’s not what I expected when I moved here,” said Colesworthy.

“But it sure has been a lot of fun!”

— Tony Evans

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33

Teena Hill

The Home Store

Wells Fargo - Private Mortgage Banking 411 N. Main Street, Second Floor, Ketchum (208) 725-0875 teena.hill@wellsfargo.com

Marcia and Jim Houston 3210 E. Chinden Boulevard, Eagle (208) 938-3884 www.neststyle.com

M

any people believe that, if you work with a large banking institution, you get lost in the shuffle.

“This is not necessarily true,” explained Teena Hill, private mortgage banker for Wells Fargo. “It is because Wells Fargo is such a large lending institution that we are able to offer so many options custom tailored to fit our individual client’s goals.

“My specialty, private mortgage banking, specializes in working with professional and affluent clients with lending in all 50 states.

There are many services offered through this division that people may not know about. For example, I have underwriting authority, which speeds up the local process. Of primary interest to our clients are, firstly, Builder Best Product, which protects our clients against rising interest rates up to 24 months during the construction period.

Secondly, Relationship Pricing, which will reduce current interest rates by a maximum of 50 percent. And thirdly, the ability to portfolio real estate loans because they do not fit FNMA/FHLMC guidelines.”

Hill feels strongly about providing personalized customer service. “Dick Kovacevich, our chairman and CEO, stresses what he calls ‘consumer-centric’ business practice—our customers come first,” said Hill.

Barron’s ranked Wells Fargo No. 1 among the world’s most-respected financial-services companies. Kovacevich attributes this ranking to “the efforts of local team members who have the ability to make decisions that best help their neighbors.”

With 20 years lending experience, Hill is one of these team members. Having had ties to the Wood River Valley for many years, she moved here in 1997 to “enjoy the friendly atmosphere and live in a place where there is fresh air and clean water.”

“What else could you want? We love it here!” said Hill, who fills her spare time by volunteering with the Crisis Hotline, showing her dog Duchess, a wirehaired pointing griffon, and participating in community events.

— Angela Erickson

Teena Hill loves working for Wells Fargo almost as much as she loves her wirehaired pointing griffon.

34

Business Digest 2006

In 2004 Marcia and Jim Houston launched The Home Store in Eagle, Idaho.

W

hen you walk into The Home Store, you won’t see row upon row of merchandise reflecting a similar style. Instead, you’ll find a mind-boggling, delightful smorgasbord of furnishings and accessories from around the world, which cross all lines of style, price and origin.

“My philosophy,” said owner Marcia Houston, “is that today’s design is a reflection of our lives and travels and the memories we have.

It goes beyond the matching furnishings of our mothers and grandmothers. It’s an expression of who we are.”

From cut-glass Italian perfume bottles, bejeweled lamps, and hand-painted furniture, to an impressive collection of clocks, mirrors and aromatic candles and soaps, Houston fills her shop with the unusual and the beautiful, as well as the affordable. Even the quirky, black sparkled high heel Christmas ornament speaks to Houston’s sense of whimsy and adventure.

“I buy pieces for the piece, not for the price,” she said. She generally buys only a few of anything and rarely reorders items to maintain uniqueness.

Born in Ontario, Ore., Houston met her husband Jim, an Idaho native, more than 25 years ago when they both worked for JC Penney. They bought and sold a half dozen coffee and espresso bars before launching The Home Store in Eagle, Idaho, in April 2004.

She counts among her clients at least 39 professional designers from Sun Valley to Boise who shop for their customers. Finding merchandise to please such a diverse clientele has Houston seeking the wares of more than 500 vendors from around the world.

A spirited, gracious woman of French and Japanese heritage, Houston laughs easily and often stops to wave and greet customers by name. Her staff describes Houston’s distinctive decorating style as “unbelievably creative.”

“Our homes are our sanctuaries, and I believe every home should have something whimsical, something with memories attached,” she said. “And, it all doesn’t have to match anymore!”

— Patti Murphy

K ETCHUM 211 N. M AIN S TREET 208.726.1564 9 A.M. – 11 P.M. DAILY

S UN V ALLEY S UN V ALLEY M ALL 208.622.8174 9 A.M. – DUSK DAILY

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618 S. M AIN S TREET 208.788.1583 9 A.M. – 6 P.M. DAILY

Business Digest 2006

35

Iconoclast Books Gary Hunt 211 N. Main Street, Ketchum, (208) 726-1564 618 S. Main Street, Hailey, (208) 788-1583 Sun Valley Mall, (208) 622-8174 www.iconoclastbooks.com

KB’s Brian Kriesien Ketchum: 6th & Washington Hailey: 121 N. Main Street Boise: Capital & Broad (Winter, 2006) www.kbburritos.com

O

n Main Street, clad in bricks, the Griffith Brothers Building is one of downtown Ketchum’s iconic historic buildings. Built in 1884, it served a vital role in the community for decades as a grocery.

Since 2001, Gary Hunt’s Iconoclast Books has served another community necessity from this historic site, replacing food with the mentally digestible stuff of intellectual trade.

Hunt started Iconoclast Books in a Ketchum basement in 1994, and today, with three stores in the Wood River Valley, Iconoclast Books is southern Idaho’s premier independent bookstore. Housing an estimated 100,000 bound copies between his Ketchum, Hailey and Sun Valley locations, Hunt has established one of the most extensive collections in the region.

“As a devoted bookstore-goer my entire life, I understand that if you go into a book shop and they have tons and tons of selections, you feel like a kid in a candy shop,” Hunt said.

He can’t help but collect books. “It’s a certifiable disease—the book acquisition thing,” he said.

Iconoclast’s strength is not merely quantitative, though. The qualitative strength of the inventory is apparent in the Ketchum store’s extensive used-book collection.

Hunt’s bibliophilic (book loving) ways benefit the entire community. Iconoclast actively supports the arts and cultural events in the valley, playing a visible role in events such as the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. At this illustrious gathering, Hunt’s staff, led by manager Darren Sutherland, rolls in a mobile store complete with hundreds of copies of books by conference-attending authors.

A visit to any store illustrates yet another Iconoclast standard: a knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff. “Our people are passionate about books, well-read and highly intelligent. They can talk about books and make recommendations.”

From children’s book reading sessions to visiting author events and even the occasional folk singer, Iconoclast Books is the knowledge hub of the Wood River Valley.

“Intellectual curiosity—that sums us up and is what we try to adhere to and promote in the community, our customers and ourselves.”

— Michael Ames

Gary Hunt’s Iconoclast Books feed the valley’s intellectual needs.

36

Business Digest 2006

Brian Kriesien’s KB’s is expanding even further south, to Boise.

F

ollowing the successful lead of Java, Smoky’s and daVinci’s, KB’s, the Wood River Valley’s burrito joint, is opening a location outside of the valley. “Boise’s showing up on the national radar, and we’re excited to be there. We’ve got a great spot in downtown Boise,” said Brian Kriesien, owner and operator.

This is great news for all KB’s fans, because soon they will have three places to choose from when craving those awesome fish tacos.

This most recent expansion comes a couple years after opening a second location in Hailey, which has been a great success. “Thanks to awesome community support, Hailey has really taken off—we love being in Hailey,” said Kriesien of the business that began in Ketchum.

He shares the success in Hailey and the expansion to Boise with his business partner, Michael Cortese, a local entrepreneur. “It’s been great working with someone who’s excited about seeing KB’s grow—it’s been great to share it,” Kriesien said.

Alongside the new locations, KB’s is expanding by offering premade burritos throughout the valley in convenience and grocery stores. From Guffy’s in Bellevue to Gerry’s in Ketchum, customers can find a fresh and healthy alternative to conventional convenience store fare.

“The awareness of our brand in the valley has made these basic burritos extremely popular,” explained Kriesien. “There’s the breakfast burrito, with eggs and chorizo, a chicken burrito and a bean burrito—we have everyone covered, from vegetarians needing a quick lunch to construction workers looking for a healthy, hearty breakfast.”

“The guys make these burritos each night, and they are delivered first thing in the morning,” said Kriesien. “People are very receptive to having this option in grocery and convenience stores. So far, we only have the three products, but maybe we’ll have to introduce another one soon,” added Kriesien with a smile. It’s obvious he’s learned to keep his customers happy. Boise is lucky that KB’s is moving in.

— Angela Erickson

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Business Digest 2006

37

Larry Miller Subaru/Mitsubishi Rod West, General Manager 9380 Fairview Avenue, Boise (208) 947-6300 www.larrymillermitsu.com/www.larrymiller.subaru.com

Mona Linehan Mortgage Associates 208 Spruce Avenue N., Ketchum (208) 726-8007 x14 monalinehandiaz@cox-internet.com

M

Rod West prides himself on his family and his reputation for excellent customer service.

R

od West is a soft-spoken man with a perpetual smile. General manager of the Larry Miller Subaru/Mitsubishi dealership in Boise, West says customer service permeates the entire Larry Miller corporation, from Larry Miller himself to the service technicians and everyone in between.

“Larry Miller is huge on serving the customer,” he said. “Our goal is to make it easy for our customers, shower them with customer care, so to speak.”

West joined the Boise dealership almost five years ago, and said it’s the best thing that ever happened in his career. “I was always a good car man, but Larry Miller has taught me to be a better business man,” he said, noting that he has worked in the automobile industry since high school.

He came to Boise in 1993 with his wife, Sharon, initially working for another dealership. When the opportunity to join the Larry Miller group arose, he gladly took a step down in position to get into the company.

West truly believes in his product and calls Subaru “the ideal vehicle for Idaho.” But, while business is important “family always comes first.” That’s clear as he talks about his wife and 13-year-old son. “Sharon is the reason I’m successful,” he said. “She’s the rock behind the family.” West met Sharon while he was—what else?— selling cars. “The guy who was originally selling her a car couldn’t close the deal, so I took over,” he chuckled.

West nearly pops his buttons talking about his son Patrick, who recently took third place in the Northwest Regional Karate tournament. The two spend a lot of time together fishing, golfing and gocarting.

According to West, he sees many clients from the Wood River Valley area and, while the dealership strives to treat all of its customers as special, it’s the out-of-town customers who get a little extra attention. “Since they’ve made the trip, we’ll get them into a loaner while we’re servicing their car,” he explained.

To West, when all is said and done, it is the way you’ve treated people that really counts. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have or how big a house you live in. You’ll be remembered by how you’ve treated others.”

— Patti Murphy

38

Business Digest 2006

ona Linehan’s start in the mortgage business wasn’t exactly conventional. She took her first job as a receptionist at a mortgage company in Aspen, Colo., with a goal of saving enough money to move to Hermosa Beach, Calif. Once at the beach, she planned to work on the boardwalk, handing out advertising materials for local businesses.

While the beach and sun were appealing enough, Linehan added, with a laugh, that the job would have also required her to work on roller skates.

Hermosa Beach would have to wait. Linehan advanced to become a partner in the Aspen mortgage company and was quickly building a solid career. Today, she has 20 years experience in the mortgage business, learning the ins and outs, as she explains, “from the bottom up.” And there has been much to learn, as technology—including computers and fax machines—has revolutionized the business.

While such advances have accelerated communications and the general pace of doing business, for Linehan the mortgage industry remains about the people. She particularly enjoys the enthusiasm of first-time homebuyers and strives to be a trustworthy resource for all her clients. She encourages people she works with to seek as much information as possible, explaining, “There are never too many questions.”

After four-and-a-half years working and living in Ketchum, Linehan shares how lucky she feels to be a part of such a solid, energetic community. She does confess, with a smile, that she prefers the summers to the long winter months, but is resolved to learn to love winter as well since, as she says, “There’s so much of it!” In the meantime, she’ll have her Hermosa Beach roller-skating daydreams to keep her warm.

— Mia James

Though once bound for the beach, Mona Linehan feels lucky to be in Ketchum.

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SUN VALLEY VILLAGE 622-3522 Business Digest 2006

39

Mortgage Associates, LLC

Bonnie Ann Moore Nationwide Mortgage, Inc. 160 Second Street E., Suite 112, Ketchum (208) 726-4757 natmortgage@aol.com

Wally Rothgeb, Lila Wagner, Ronald Geuin, Chris Thompson 208 Spruce Avenue, Ketchum (208) 726-8007 www.MA-idaho.com

I

n a business that relies almost entirely on referrals, longtime personal relationships and reputation, Bonnie Ann Moore, founder, proprietor and the principal energy behind Nationwide Mortgage Inc., stands out.

A 26-year Ketchum resident, Moore benefits from client relationships dating back to her early banking days at Mountain States Savings Bank (now enfolded in the Bank of America behemoth), where she was a personal banker.

Moore’s mission today is much the same as it was then: “Deliver the best service and the best products for her customer’s needs with honesty and integrity.”

In addition to a busy career, Moore is active and visible in community affairs. She is a sponsor of Sun Valley Center for the Arts, a Guardian and sponsor of the Company of Fools, and has many years of involvement with the Sun Valley Wine Auction. Beyond the valley, she a lobbyist on behalf of the Idaho Mortgage Brokers Association, and was named Broker of the Year for 2005 by the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

In a community where multi-million-dollar homes seem to be the norm, Moore is most proud of her efforts with the Hispanic community and helping first-timers get into homes.

Mega-home or bungalow, what’s important to Moore is her near100 percent rate of successful closings, which is a measure of her localmarket experience at matching customer’s creditworthiness with rates and terms in a national financial market.

Locally, Nationwide is essentially two full-time employees and eight loan originators. But Moore’s mortgage brokerage business definitely has reach, in the financial sense, with access to hundreds of investors and a long history of making the right match between homebuyers and lenders. That’s a distinction Moore likes to emphasize, a mortgage “brokerage,” that is responsible for 60 to 70 percent of all mortgage financings nationally, and “bankers” who are typically a single-source lender.

— David Harrison

Bonnie Ann Moore’s mission is to deliver the best service and the best products, with honesty and integrity.

40

Business Digest 2006

Wally Rothgeb is one of four partners at Mortgage Associates, LLC.

O

ver the past 30 years, the four partners at Mortgage Associates, LLC, have watched Ketchum transform from funky ski-town to swanky second-home community. They remember working two jobs, and trying to keep a business open during slack.

Wally Rothgeb worked in the ski industry, Chris Thompson operated the drive-thru Burger Haus, Lila Wagner worked in real estate and Bob Geuin owned the Yacht Club, which later became the Sawtooth Club.

“We had a football team called the Ketchum Pink Flamingoes in 1978,” recalled Geuin. “We challenged Notre Dame to a football game that year, but when they didn’t show we had a homecoming party anyway.”

The four locals worked their way into the home-lending industry during the building boom. “Ketchum has changed, of course, but in many ways it has changed for the better,” said Wagner. “It may have been easier to live around here in the old days, but it was harder to make a living.” She and Geuin wonder about the recent raising of interest rates. “I remember when we were proud to get 12 percent back during the Carter administration.”

By acting as liaisons between borrowers and many lending institutions, Mortgage Associates custom tailors loans for a homebuyer’s individual requirements. The result is a simplification of the loan application process. Perhaps the kids are off to college or you need to reconsolidate debt. These are two popular reasons to refinance an existing mortgage and acquire lower monthly payments.

“We speak ‘Bankese,’” said Geuin, who likens his office to a think tank, where everyone shops among one another to locate the right program for the right client. “Everybody has a distinct financial fingerprint. It’s all about finding the right spot for the right person.

There is a lot of satisfaction in helping people. I think they find it comforting to sit down face to face with someone and discuss the possibilities.”

— Tony Evans

Cornelia Russo Design / Decorating Residential / Commercial Customer / Value-Oriented Project Management “Rework What You Have� Service Space Planning, Color Advice Consultation Only Below Retail Pricing Advice / Free Quotes

(208) 788-2194 (919) 649-9848 (c) corneliarusso@aol.com Business Digest 2006

41

Notes Music Store & Music n’ Me

North & Co. Jennifer H. Davis 101 S. Main Street, Hailey (208) 788-2783 northco@cox-internet.com

Mitzi Mecham & Bob Hall 221 S. River Street, Hailey, (208) 788-2496 301 First Avenue S., Hailey, (208) 788-3348 notesmusic@msn.com

W

ith its red brick edifice, creaky hardwood floors and friendly, helpful staff, North & Co. has an ambiance that harkens to an earlier era. Perhaps it’s because owner Jennifer Davis believes in running the store by the same standards it was founded upon: “I feel like the way we do business ties back to the old days of honesty, value and quality.”

In 1987, two semi-retired gentlemen, Roger Fleenor and Karl Doman, former owner and manager of The Merc—a store that only Wood River Valley old-timers will remember—opened a store they called North & Co. and focused on serving the community by providing quality clothing and bedding.

When they decided to move even closer to retirement and learned that none of their children were interested in taking over, Jennifer Davis, a friend of Roger’s kids and a recent graduate in retail and business management, seemed like a perfect fit. Fifteen years later, Davis and her team are still concentrating on selling high-quality merchandise at a good price.

But believing in old-fashioned values doesn’t make North & Co. old fashioned at all. With neatly folded stacks of premium denim and racks full of the latest styles, North & Co., whose motto is “from basic to unique,” offers an excellent collection ranging from hip and contemporary brands—Quiksilver, Billabong—to more traditional favorites such as Woolrich and Carhartt.

Yet selling fashionable, quality clothing and shoes is not all Davis and her staff at North & Co. are about. They believe in being active in the community by supporting the YMCA project, participating in Rotary, and holding ladies’ nights to donate proceeds to a worthy local cause. Based on such community involvement, when Davis says, “I love Hailey and its people,” it’s easy to see that she means it.

— Angela Erickson

With the motto “from basic to unique,” Jennifer Davis’ clothing store keeps the whole valley looking chic.

42

Business Digest 2006

Mitzi Mecham, Bob Hall and their 17-year-old daughter Denver Hall are all involved in the family run business.

T

eaching the deaf may seem an unusual background for someone opening a music store, but for Mitzi Mecham it fits. At age four, her mother sat her down at the piano, and she hasn’t stopped playing. Being good with her hands and having an excellent rapport with children are both attributes that have helped her in her career with the deaf and in teaching the piano. In both jobs, she helped people to express themselves.

When Mecham moved here seven years ago with her husband Bob Hall and their nine kids, they had a dream: “to have a business that we could do together.”

Both their former spouses had died, so they knew that “every minute counts,” and began the successful Music n’ Me Wood River Music Academy. The academy offers group and private lessons for students ranging from infant to elderly.

Another dream grew out of the academy. “Anyone who wants to play an instrument should be able to,” said Mecham. To that end, their new Notes Music Store sells a wide variety of instruments from guitars to African claves, all at reasonable prices.

The store, like the academy, inspires people who want to play music with the latest in technology, including digital pianos where students compose and print out their own music, and a stage where locals perform and make their own CDs and music videos. Open mike Saturdays and battle-of-the-bands competitions are fun and raise money for local school arts programs. A wide range of sheet music from Broadway to jazz to rock fills the store’s shelves.

Mecham and her husband have definitely achieved their dream of working together while creating a friendly place for locals to gather, express their talents and share the joys of music.

— Crystal Thurston

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43

The Packrat Collection

The Open Room Claudia Aulum 370 Walnut Avenue, The Colonnade, Ketchum (208) 622-0222 www.openroomfurniture.com

Debra Hall, Windermere Real Estate Hallmark Builders & Custom Finish 112 S. Main Street, Bellevue (208) 578-9455 debrahall@sunvalley.net

L

iving in Switzerland gave Claudia Aulum an appreciation for the effortless way that Europeans combine furniture styles— such as an antique farm table with modern Italian leather chairs. She brings that sensibility to Ketchum. “We try to get clean lines that fit into the mountain environment and can be mixed with different styles,” she said of The Open Room, which specializes in contemporary European furnishings in winter, and blossoms into the valley’s only specialty outdoor furniture store in the spring.

Aulum and her staff work with craftsmen from across the U.S. Tables from Urban Hardwoods, based in Seattle, partner thick slabs of rustic salvaged wood with steel for a sleek, modern look. Floor canvases and other work by local artists enhance the furniture. “It helps clients imagine how furniture will work in their homes when they see it with artwork, and vice-versa,” she explained.

Aulum arrived in the Wood River Valley nine years ago, seeking a way of life in which she could spend more time with her daughter, Alexandra. In 2000 she and architect Susan Scovell bought The Open Room, which was then Patio Pleasers. They changed the name and expanded to include interior furniture and accessories.

When Scovell returned to architecture full-time, Aulum carried on with a team of employees to whom she credits the success and growth of the business. While they’re all involved in sales, Andrea Bradley is her design guru and Diana Hewett oversees the Web site that brings in year-round business. Aulum calls Julie Wiethorn, who coordinates logistics, “our secret weapon.”

Aulum shows her gratitude for the community by donating generously to local charities. Her team prides itself on customer service, which sometimes includes making deliveries in Wiethorn’s horse trailer. She laughed, remembering a nervous client who asked his wife, as they pulled up, “Honey, did you order a horse?”

— Betsy Andrews

When Claudia Aulum’s not working, she’s cooking or hiking with her daughter, Alexandra.

44

Business Digest 2006

Bob and Debra Hall invite you to search for treasures at The Packrat Collection.

T

reasure hunting has been a lifelong avocation for Debra Hall.

Now it has become her occupation. Hall has always enjoyed collecting beautiful and unique things from auctions and estate sales for her home. In fact, some even called her a packrat, which inspired the name of her new store, The Packrat Collection, situated in the center of Bellevue. When her home overflowed with treasures, she began storing them. Now, she is ready to share her collection with the world.

Since growing up in the valley, Hall has worked in real estate and is assistant manager of Windermere Real Estate. But her secret dream has long been to open a store, post retirement. When a beautiful cedar-wood building opened up where both she and her husband could have a place to work, it was too good to resist.

Now she enjoys real estate and her new shop, while her husband Bob has an office right next door for his contracting business, Hallmark Builders & Custom Finish. Bob builds and remodels homes, specializing in handcrafted interior woodworking. “My eight employees are not carpenters, they’re craftsmen,” said Bob. “I have some of the best employees in the valley.”

Exploring The Packrat Collection is like searching for treasure in grandmother’s attic, where the attic is open and sunny, and each item is placed beautifully rather than just crammed together. There are vintage as well as secondhand pieces. The eclectic collection features antique or used glassware, ceramics, furniture, rugs, sculptures, new artwork and more.

“Everyone should find something they like here.” Hall’s goal is to have reasonable prices. In fact, if customers are lucky, they might even find a surprise in this treasure trove: an item marked “free.”

So keep searching, “You never know what you will find here!”

— Crystal Thurston

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45

Paradise Paint Toni Balis 713 N. Main Street, Bellevue (208) 578-9637

PH Construction,Inc. Pete Heaphy P.O. Box 849, Hailey (208) 720-4349

J

ager, a big black lab, greets customers at the door of Paradise Paint in Bellevue. She has excellent manners, and owner Toni Balis feels lucky to have her.

Balis feels fortunate about a lot of things. When her husband Boe died in the spring of 2005, she closed the store they’d started together in 2001. Later that year, she found the strength to carry on.

“I woke up one morning, and knew it was time to open the shop again,” she recalls.

“It is a service the community needs, that they’ve helped create, and a service I can provide,” said Balis. “That’s important to me. All my hard work, all of Boe’s hard work, would mean nothing if it weren’t for the community.”

Balis not only reopened the store; she also expanded its offerings.

Now, in addition to carrying high-quality paint for interior and exterior, she offers other home-decorating products, such as rub-on appliqués and one-step faux finishes homeowners can apply themselves.

Balis enjoys visiting her customers’ homes to help them choose just the right paints and colors, a service for which she does not charge. When customers ask for her input, “I want to see the room,” she explained. “I want to see what kind of lighting there is. I love to do my job and leave customers smiling.”

Although she had experience from other jobs, Balis learned most about the business from Boe. When she isn’t working, Balis is “chasing my three-year-old, Sarah, around! All my extra time goes to her.”

Balis’s store manager, Krista Kulhanek, is on maternity leave, but when she returns, both women will continue to demonstrate how to run a thriving business, provide excellent customer service, and be moms, too.

There’s a preschool right next door to Paradise Paint so Balis,with the help of Jager, can also keep a close eye on her daughter.

— Betsy Andrews

Toni Balis is continuing her husband Boe’s hard work.

46

Business Digest 2006

Pete Heaphy maintains a respect for the environment, both in his construction business and in his life.

W

hen Pete Heaphy moved to the Wood River Valley in 1989, his was the classic ski town move.

“I moved here to ski,” he said, looking back with a smile.

With a background in construction, Heaphy then endeavored to help others literally build their lives in the valley.

“I was involved right from the beginning with homes and building,” he recalled. Little did he know that 17 years later, he would have built a life and career in the snowy valley that attracted him in the first place.

After working for various larger contractors, Heaphy established PH Construction in 2001 to gain more control and involvement with his projects.

“We offer a very personal relationship with our clients,” he said, noting high rates of satisfaction and repeat customers.

Despite the small scale, Heaphy manages to complete large projects, staying close to all aspects of the job, from start to finish.

“Even now (as owner of my own company), I’m very involved,” he said. “I really enjoy building.”

Heaphy takes particular pride in his environmental consciousness; he is always looking for ways to reduce waste, increase energy efficiency and reuse old materials. A prime example of green building is pre-fabricated, insulated panels. Such panels arrive at a building site complete with exterior weatherproofing and interior heat retention. The amount of time, labor and materials saved is immense.

“A home can be framed in a matter of weeks with these panels,” he said. Such innovation saves Heaphy and his clients time and money.

Heaphy tries to live green, not just in his business, but in his life as well. When not building, he enjoys getting into the backcountry, ideally on a pair of telemark skis.

“There’s a connection to the natural world,” he said. “We need to respect what we have.”

— Michael Ames

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47

Premier Garage of Southern Idaho Keith Carroll & Calvin Connell 151 Trade Street, Twin Falls (208) 737-4567 www.premiergarage.com

Rare Finds Darlene Ogilvie, Jana Arnold, Kathy Ogilvie 111 W. Myrtle, Hailey (208) 788-1715

A

ntiques are a sharing experience,” explains Kathy Ogilvie of Rare Finds in Hailey. “They speak of a different time and life.”

As she speaks, she pulls out a Victorian purse.

“This is something almost every woman would carry back then.

It has a mirror and just enough space for your train fare. And even though it is just a piece from Victorian pop culture, I find myself pulling it out time and again because it is so much fun to look at and share with people.”

Sharing is what the ladies at Rare Finds are all about.

In Rare Finds’ homey atmosphere, a pot of tea is nearly always on hand, and customers are welcome to have a cup and join in some good conversation.

“We want this store to be a place for people to come and feel comfortable browsing,” said Kathy, known as K.O., who owns Rare Finds with her mother, Darlene Ogilvie, and their partner, Jana Arnold.

“The people most likely to stop in are either collectors, who have a good idea what they are looking for, or a shopper wanting to find the perfect piece of jewelry for their sister or a rare clock for their dad,” said K.O. The threesome describe themselves as “buyers and sellers of the elegant, the unique and the eclectic.” Their store’s collection clearly is representative of that claim.

K.O. credits this to her mom.

“She is just so awesome, and she has the gift—the collector’s gift—and is knowledgeable on so many different things. That is why we don’t stick to one genre.”

And while this tactic, under other circumstances, might lead to a chaotic hodge-podge, Rare Finds is an orderly and aesthetically pleasing place, where one can leisurely browse away and discuss antiques for an entire afternoon.

“

Keith Carroll and Calvin Connell put their organizational skills to good use in their new business venture.

K

eith Carroll admits he’s the kind of guy who likes a place for everything and everything in its place. “Yeah, I guess you’d call me a very organized ‘neatnik’,” Carroll said.

He organizes his time by running a garage-door business during the day, and, for the past 30 years, managing a musical career. Carroll, who plays banjo and base guitar in the well-known-around-Idaho band Sweet Country Air, is also in the first two recordings of the nowfamous Braun Brothers.

At age 52, however, Carroll says his late-night gigs will soon end.

It’s hard to work all day and play all night.

As someone who likes to be productive, Carroll already has something to replace his gig income.

The contractor, who has been in the garage-door business for 13 years, recently added a facet to his enterprise that includes fixing up garages for better organization or into finished rooms. He and partner Calvin Connell show up with a laptop computer to custom design cabinetry and other organizers to fit clients’ needs. By the time they finish, your garage floor even has a special finish on it, and “all your stuff is behind closed doors,” he said.

Both Twin Falls natives, Carroll and Connell’s new business is a Phoenix, Arizona-based franchise, called Premier Garage. The business is so hot in the Phoenix area that at least half the new homes there are outfitted with the systems, Carroll said. Carroll and Connell’s own garage-enhancing business covers Idaho from McCall southward.

Fixing up the garage helps organize a client’s life and adds value to a home, he said. “We like to tell people, if you put $6,000 into your garage, you should be able to ask another $10,000 for your house,” he said. “If you’re going to put money into real property, fixing up your garage is one of the most valuable improvements you can make.”

— Julie Pence

48

Business Digest 2006

— Angela Erickson

The Rare Finds threesome describe themselves as “buyers and sellers of the elegant, the unique and the eclectic.”

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Business Digest 2006

49

Rue de Shoe

RSVP Robin Brown 400 Leadville Avenue N., Giacobbi Square, Ketchum (208) 726-3474 x25

Liz Brown 360 Walnut Avenue, The Colonnade, Ketchum (208) 622-5566 ruedeshoe@qwest.net

L

Robin Brown has found her niche with her exquisite fine paper store.

R

SVP started with a wallpaper sample and a lifelong passion for paper stationery.

“In my travels, whether I am in San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York City or Paris, I have always looked for unique and beautiful paper and stationery,” explained Robin Brown, owner of RSVP. “I wanted to bring this passion to Ketchum by creating a lovely, intimate environment where we could work one on one with customers.”

The result is a fabulous shop with tasteful gifts and exquisite stationery from England, Italy and France, that suits any price range, and has an ambiance all its own.

“Instead of music, we chose to have a flat screen television showing old Italian movies,” said Brown.

Her shop has quickly gained a reputation for personalized customer service and exquisite attention to detail.

“I think the secret to that is a great staff; the women who work here are wonderful,” Brown explained, referring to Judy Wells, Gail Dwyer and Diane Cooper. “I think it also helps to have my mom, Gwen Feggestad, here at the table helping with stationery orders— she is a delight.”

Although many of the shop’s customers may be women, it is important to Brown to create a space where men also feel comfortable ordering pens and personal cards. As a result, the shop’s design and merchandise feels balanced and looks handsome.

And there is much to look forward to at RSVP. Brown and her design partner, Leslie Hackett, have released their first custom-designed stationery exclusively for the store.

“There will be two unique and wonderful series each year,” Brown said. “This first one is a set of Thank You cards.”

In addition to her unique products, Brown plans to hold trunk shows with pen companies and bring in a silhouette artist to continue in the great tradition of framed silhouettes. By continuing tradition and sharing her love of fine paper and stationery, Brown has found her niche.

— Angela Erickson

50

Business Digest 2006

ooking in the window of Rue de Shoe, one could be forgiven for thinking they had been transported out of Walnut Avenue, Ketchum, and on to Fifth Avenue, New York. The treats displayed there could stop Carrie Bradshaw in her tracks.

Stepping inside, temptation becomes overwhelming. Donald J. Pliner, Stuart Weitzman, Salpy, Donna Karan, Cole Haan, Calvin Kline, Cordani and Lucchese all stand prettily, enticing the intrepid shopper to indulge herself in the veritable candy store for grown women that is Rue de Shoe.

The mastermind behind this dizzying array of delights is charming southern belle Liz Brown. A New Orleans transplant, she and her husband Rufus moved here 10 years ago, lured away from the flats of Louisiana for the mountains of the West.

The cosmopolitan Brown soon identified a distinct void in the shopping landscape of Ketchum. “Women could do some fantastic shopping here, but things were really lacking in the shoe department,” said Brown, in a still-strong southern accent.

Fate presented her with Jill West who, it turned out, had been having the exact same thoughts. West had a background in retail and had grown up in the valley, so she knew the market well. One thing led to another and six years ago, Rue de Shoe was born.

The real focus of the store, says Brown, is fashion function, but with a fashionable flair. “We are, after all, a resort town. Of course having the seasons is so fun, and that dictates as well. In the winter you need to be so functional, but come summer we’re able to have a good time and get more fashion orientated.”

Season to season, Brown ensures she has her staples, but also loves to mix it up and surprise her regular clientele. “I always have fresh things to look at and sometimes some unexpected things. I’m always bringing in new lines, whether it’s shoes, handbags or any sort of accessory.”

Brown credits her team for keeping the store so successful over the years, especially now that West has moved on. “We’ve got Jamie, Sydney, Julia and Kaylee. They’re all really fun girls—I’m blessed.

We have a lot of fun in here—it’s shoes—shoes are so fun! People are always happy when they’re buying shoes.”

— Jennifer Tuohy

Liz Brown has injected some cosmopolitan glamour into Ketchum’s shopping scene.

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51

Scott Miley Roofing

Raz Salazar First Horizon Home Loans 1411 Falls Avenue E., Suite 115, Twin Falls (208) 735-6542 www.homeloansbyraz.com

Scott Miley Roofing & Hailey Sheet Metal 130 Gulf Stream Lane, Airport West, Hailey (208) 788-5362

S

Magic Valley home loan officer Raz Salazar is headed north.

I

n overdrive with the pedal to the metal, this Magic Valley loan officer sees all kinds of niches in the Wood River Valley where he can help prospective buyers finance homes.

Whether a buyer is looking for a loan on a starter home or seeking to refinance an existing mortgage on one of Blaine County’s large showcase homes, Raz Salazar has the training and tools—through First Horizon Home Loans—to give his clients the best deal around.

“I see all kinds of opportunities in the Wood River Valley,” he said.

This bilingual graduate of Minico High School near Rupert, Idaho, worked in a processing plant as the leader of a maintenance crew during his first decade out of school. But, though he loved the hands-on aspect of the work, he always knew that he wasn’t working to his full potential.

“People kept saying to me, ‘You ought to sell,’” he said.

So, he did.

Salazar moved into selling real estate. It was not easy for a man supporting a wife and five kids to leave the security of a regular paycheck.

“It was a huge change, a huge decision,” Salazar said. “But my life just wasn’t satisfying any more.”

The decision and tough start proved to be worth the sacrifice. It wasn’t long before Salazar was outselling other beginners in the field.

And, because he was so motivated, the manager of First Horizon quickly saw Salazar’s potential and recruited him into the home loan industry.

“First Horizon definitely wants go-getters,” Salazar said.

His company’s excellent training program, coupled with Salazar’s naturally gregarious personality, has him once again heading north ahead of the pack, he said.

“I’ve got something for everybody,” he said. “Call me for a free loan analysis.”

— Julie Pence

52

Business Digest 2006

cott Miley recently found himself at the International Builders Show in Tampa, Florida, with 15 Carey high school students.

“Their eyes were just huge,” he says of the students who attended the show along with 92,000 others. Students in the school’s Residential Construction Academy have already built two homes, “from the footing/foundation/excavation up to the point of selling the house,” Miley explains.

Students in Wood River High School’s academy are now preparing to build duplexes for teacher housing. Miley believes in the value of such programs. A Wood River Valley native, he attended a similar academy as part of junior college in Newport Beach, Calif. Soon afterwards, he returned to Idaho and started a roofing company.

That was in 1992, and since then Miley has also started a family with wife Jane Rosen, an environmental engineering consultant.

They and their daughters, Cassidy, 9, and Sienna, 6, love to spend as much time as possible at their cabin near Alturas Lake, north of Ketchum. They also travel together, and the girls have been able to use the skills they’re developing in Bellevue Elementary’s dual immersion program on trips to South America.

Closer to home, Miley has served as a volunteer firefighter for 13 years, and as president of the local chapter of the national Building Contractors Association.

Scott Miley Roofing does all types of roofing. Hailey Sheet Metal, his newest enterprise, grew out of the roofing business. Master craftsmen from Germany trained his sheet metal journeymen in the craft of zinc work.

The Mileys have a long tradition in the valley. Scott’s grandfather arrived in the 1930s to help build the Sun Valley Lodge.

“There are not many better places,” Miley said about his home.

“It’s nice to go where it’s warm, but it sure is nice to get back here.”

— Betsy Andrews

Scott Miley specializes in roofing, sheet metal, and helping kids learn construction skills.

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53

Gary Slette, Attorney

The Ski Co./ bobbie burns 271 Sun Valley Road E., Ketchum (208) 622-3200

Robertson, Hepworth, Slette, Worst & Stover 161 5th Avenue S., Suite 100, Twin Falls (208) 734-0700 gslette@idalawyer.com

M

Bobbie Burns designs clothes and skis at his two Ketchum-based businesses.

U

nmistakable around town in his 1954 Woodie, blonde locks and gold earring, Bobbie Burns is a true legend of skiing.

Born in tiny Oakley, Idaho, he first worked in Sun Valley as a dishwasher in 1954. His love of skiing quickly moved him from indoors to outdoors, as a ski instructor. Never one for the mundane, Burns took up ski racing, traveling around the country, and around the world, competing, and teaching skiing in the U.S., New Zealand and South America.

Precision skiing requires cutting-edge equipment, and nobody knew this better than Burns. In 1968, he co-founded K2 Ski Company. He was also coaching the Olympic alpine women’s ski team.

In his own niche, Burns was known as the godfather of freestyle skiing (that’s moguls, aerials, jumps and ski ballet all in one run), dominating competitions through the 1970s.

In 1976, Burns founded the Ski Co., custom-designing boards festooned with geometric logos, rather than a brand name—a mystique that continues today at a custom ski workshop north of Ketchum.

“Outside race rooms of competition teams, there really are very few people who custom design skis, tinkering with rigidity, flexion and shapes for an individual. We are working with nanotechnology these days to lighten and strengthen materials.”

In the arena of his passion, freestyle skiing, “It’s amazing what kids are doing today,” he said while answering phones at his clothing store on Sun Valley Road. “Four somersaults, and four twists in one jump!”

Yes, clothing is also a passion for Burns. From 1986 to 1995, Burns worked in the New York fashion industry. “I’ve always been a frustrated artist, and luckily I can draw and make patterns.” His store, bobbie burns, on Sun Valley Road features his creations.

But even New York was unable to consume Burns’ passion for skiing. While there, he designed the Fat Albert wide ski for annual heliski trips to the Monoshees in British Columbia.

“They all laughed at me back then, but look at the sales of wide skis today!”

— Tony Evans

54

Business Digest 2006

eeting the Dalai Lama during His Holiness’ visit to the Wood River Valley in 2005 has improved his life and his business, says Twin Falls attorney Gary Slette.

“I began to understand the message of compassion,” Slette said.

“The whole experience made me more introspective. I’ve tried to weave it into my business. It amounts to nothing more than the golden rule.”

Slette now focuses first on solutions. “If you deal with people on a friendly, caring basis, you’re likely to feel better about it when you get something done,” he said. “Even as a lawyer, you can do this. You can figure out how to make things work together despite the existence of a polarized situation.”

That is quite a challenge in the majority of Slette’s cases, which involve complicated Blaine County real estate and land-use issues. A partner in Twin Falls’ Robertson, Hepworth, Slette, Worst and Stover, Slette was Blaine County’s planning and zoning administrator in the late 1970s.

He left to go to law school when, “I wasn’t believing in everything the county was doing. It seemed to me private property rights were being eroded.”

So in 1981, at age 31, the University of Minnesota graduate went to study law at the University of Idaho. After clerking in a law firm in the Sun Valley area, he began practicing law in the Wood River and Magic valleys, specializing in real estate and land-use issues.

Slette married his wife, Kathleen in 1988, and they have two teenage children, Christopher and Caitlin. The family settled in the Twin Falls area, but often stay at their vacation home in Blaine County.

Staying in touch with people he met during his Blaine County planning and zoning days is a plus in Slette’s work. In addition, embarking on some building and subdivision development himself, provides him with an even better understanding of both sides of landuse issues and therefore broader knowledge for achieving win-win solutions for his clients.

— Julie Pence

Lawyer Gary Slette aims to introduce more compassion to his industry.

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55

The Sound Company

Levie Smith, Realtor RE/MAX of Sun Valley 360 Sun Valley Road, Ketchum (208) 720-4093 levies@cox-internet.com

Ron Victor 1246 Blue Lakes Boulevard N., Twin Falls (208) 733-2123

L

ife and business in a mountain town were nowhere on Levie Smith’s projected path in the early days of mapping her career.

She moved to Washington, D.C., after college to work for Chicago-based development company LaSalle.

During her four-year stint in the city, Smith’s projects included the renovation of historic Union Station, which was such a success it earned her team the winning bid for renovation of New York’s Grand Central Station. Smith’s career was taking off with high-profile projects; her path, however, took an unexpected turn.

Acknowledging the pressure of her supercharged professional life, Smith took advantage of a month she had between completing work in D.C. and moving to New York to travel out West, specifically to Sun Valley. The vacation was the turning point. Smith quickly became attached to the valley—she never did make it to New York.

Eighteen years later, Smith has forged a solid place in this community. The first three years, she worked as a teacher, a time she remembers fondly. “Working with kids was a great highlight of my early time here,” she said. Teaching and carefree days on Bald Mountain inspired Smith to make the valley her home, but it was soon time to get back on the career path. Having consulted for a couple of years for a commercial real estate company back East, Smith chose to continue work in the same industry here, because, as she explains, “It just seemed like a natural fit.”

A natural fit indeed—Smith continues to focus largely on the development side of the market. In particular, she said, “I really enjoy working with the locals.” As mountain villages continue to become more desirable places to live, Smith believes it’s the locals and longtime second homeowners who create and preserve the sense of community and emphasis on family that make areas like Sun Valley so attractive.

And Smith knows the importance of family in this community first-hand. As a single mom, she’s enjoyed safety and terrific support, characteristics of this area that she is confident will thrive for years to come.

— Mia James

Ron Victor left behind water treatment for his real passion, electronics.

I

f you saw Ron Victor compulsively toying with his computer collection of 500 gigabytes of music, you would know he is as excited today about gadgets as he was 40 years ago when he started in the electronics business.

In the beginning it was the sounds—the Rolling Stones captured on the vinyl records he played on stereo equipment. These days, he provides customers with the visual as well as the audio experience of a Stones concert.

“And there aren’t any skips, no scratches to worry about,” he said.

Victor tinkered with electronics during his college days at Idaho State University. A business major, he took a job in water purification working for a large corporation after graduation.

“I was not happy in the corporate world,” he said.

He left that world behind but continued selling water treatment systems in Twin Falls. Then one day the business owner next door took Victor for a cup of coffee. Victor confided he still wasn’t happy, but that he was really passionate about electronics. The neighbor convinced him to try the electronics business.

Victor started a stereo shop in the basement of a downtown music store. Before long, he bought a building on the now-bustling Blue Lakes Boulevard, “in the middle of a bunch of fields. That was what was out here in those days,” he said.

Today he sells anything from custom car stereo systems to complete audio-visual systems for multi-million-dollar homes. Though business is brisk, he still makes sure customers get one-on-one instruction on how to use their new equipment that they can’t get from a big-box store.

“Sometimes it seems like the instructions are written in reformed Egyptian or early Hebrew,” he said, “so we teach you how to use the equipment.”

— Julie Pence

Like so many valley residents, Levie Smith came here on vacation and never left.

56

Business Digest 2006

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57

Summit Auto Sales

Sturtevants Mountain Outfitters Rob Santa 340 N. Main Street, Ketchum (208) 726-4501 www.sturtos.com

Ryan Jones 960 S. Main Street, Hailey (208) 788-5779 summit@sunvalleyonline.com

W

hen Fred Sturtevant purchased the ski shop “Helm’s of Sun Valley,” in the 1950s, he had no idea how far his name would go.

Though he sold Sturtevants in 1972, successive owners continued to use the name that has become an icon of outdoor gear and service. In 1982, current owner Rob Santa and then-business partner Alex Orb bought the store, firmly planting themselves as the seeds of Sturtevants destiny.

In 1987, Santa expanded with Sturtevants Greyhawk in Warm Springs, the first new location outside downtown Ketchum.

Ten years later, opportunity knocked again as space opened next door to the Ketchum store, when Main Street’s Burger Haus restaurant closed. The ventilation in the former greasy spoon was ideal for a tune-shop, and Sturtos was born as a complement to its parent store.

The same year, Hailey’s Hearthstone restaurant closed, paving the way for Sturtevants Hailey.

With a laugh, Santa recalls being accused of driving local eateries out of business.

In May 2005, Santa proved his business still had legs when he acquired the fishing supply store Headwaters in Ketchum and the guide services of Wood River Outfitters.

“We had been in the fishing business in Hailey since the store’s inception, so it was a natural expansion—the addition of guide services—to underscore the summer business in Ketchum,” he said.

For Sturtevants, the recent expansion has solidified a trifecta of outdoor offerings.

“I always felt that ideally we would represent the three world-class activities this area lays claim to: skiing, fly-fishing and mountain biking,” said Santa.

“As locals, we all become keepers of the lifestyle. If we aren’t getting out there, why are we in the business?” he said, noting the enthusiasm he and his staff share for the outdoors.

“It’s important to me personally to be a business that is responsible to the social and environmental community that makes this a pretty special place.”

— Michael Ames

Ryan Jones opened Summit Auto Sales in 2005.

R

yan Jones left Jerome, Idaho, for the Wood River Valley 10 years ago, and founded Environmental Resources, LLC, a successful seasonal horticultural spraying service.

“I also came to realize I needed something to do with myself in the winter,” said Jones who, with his wife Jamie, lives in Slaughterhouse Canyon in Bellevue with their two-and-a-half-year-old son, Jackson. The couple is expecting a new addition to the family this summer.

To keep up with his growing family’s needs and winter downtime, Jones began buying and selling used automobiles. That sideline evolved into another success: Summit Auto Sales.

“Jamie is a stay-at-home mom, and we’d like to keep it that way if possible. This is an important focus for us,” said Jones. The couple decided to experiment with their savings to indulge Jones’ sideline occupation by opening a used car business operated during the long winter months when the tree spraying business was closed.

In November 2005, they invested in a high-profile car lot rental next to the Ford dealership on Main Street in Hailey. Jones began taking weekly trips to wholesale dealer auctions in Boise, looking for reliable and affordable automobiles. The cars and trucks he selects at auction are from Boise, Salt Lake City or Nevada, are free of rust and are dependable. They are also quite inexpensive.

“I mostly sell good used SUVs in the $2,000 to $5,000 range,” said Jones, who provides the financing himself for prospective clients, without credit checks.

The experiment has worked. Summit Auto Sales sold 100 cars in the first two months of business, and provided financing to more than half its clients.

“It’s really great to be able to help people this way. They come to us with financial problems or with bad credit. I am the bank, and I haven’t turned a customer down yet.”

— Tony Evans

Rob Santa’s Sturtevants’ stores are caterers for the outdoor lifestyle.

58

Business Digest 2006

The

Packrat Collection A Fun Place to Shop

Antiques Slightly Used New Consignments Welcome ª

ª

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112 S. Main Street ª Bellevue ª 578-9455 Open Wed - Sat ª 10 - 5

H

ALLMARK BUILDERS &

CUSTOM FINISH

Quality Custom Craftmanship

Bob Hall 208.720.4335 Bellevue, Idaho

WANTED Professional Realtor You Can Trust Accurate Market Information Reliable Recommendations Honest and Ethical Deals Free Market Analysis

Debra Hall 788-1700 Ext. 18 Cell: 720-4181

Business Digest 2006

59

Sun Valley Auto Club

Sun Valley Eyeworks

Dave Stone 1930 Electra Lane, Airport West Industrial Park, Hailey (208) 578-2323 www.svautoclub.com

Anne McLean The Galleria, Fourth Street and Leadville Avenue, Ketchum (208) 726-8749 svannie@aol.com

H

ave you hugged your Maserati today?

Call it babysitting for your chariot if you want, but Dave Stone, self-confessed car nut and founder of Sun Valley Auto Club, figures he and other car lovers ought to have a place where their special vehicles are comfortable and cared for.

So, why not a 13,000-square-foot, climate-controlled building, within walking distance of Sun Valley’s airport, with a showroom, detailing facilities, lifts, storage and “CARcierge,” services? Your baby can be waiting for you, warm, tanked up and gleaming when you fly in from Cabo or Newark.

Not going anywhere? According to Stone, “Ninety percent of the dings and damage inflicted on beloved wheels take place in the (home) garage.” Falling ladders, the kid’s bike, those marauding mice. That Harley V-rod or ’57 Chevy (two of the beauties lounging amongst a million-dollar collection in the Auto Club’s showroom/storage area) deserve better.

Club members drop in regularly; to hug their ’54 Mercury Sun Valley, share a libation in the lounge (complete with bar and media center), swap gas-fuelled stories and admire the other guy’s buffedout Mustang, or Stone’s own restored WWII Jeep (rescued from the scrap heap for the princely sum of $500).

Professional help, detailing and a full range of maintenance and repair services are among the offerings from the Auto Club’s network of mechanics and craftsmen. Bob, Stone’s father, has more than 40 years of high-end auto detailing on his resume, and is the detailingbay-meister.

The demographics of the valley and proximity to a regional airport are the ingredients for this unique business idea. Stone, who grew up here and enjoyed a successful career as a technology recruiter, has combined his love of cool cars with business. Less than a year after opening the club’s giant doors, he’s paying the rent and expecting word-of-mouth to keep bringing customers (and their babies).

— David Harrison

Dave Stone devotes his time to caring for other people’s babies (their cars).

60

Business Digest 2006

Anne McLean has the right specs for locals and celebrities.

A

nne McLean hails from Salt Lake City, Utah, but as a military brat she traveled quite a bit during her youth. Twenty years ago, her travels brought her to Sun Valley to ski. She promptly fell in love with the town and decided to start a new life, and a new business here.

Her business, Sun Valley Eyeworks, has supplied Ketchum locals and visitors with the latest styles in eyewear for over 15 years. Her showroom in The Galleria mall is a hub of activity, watched over by her two dogs that greet customers with a friendly bark or two.

A visit to Sun Valley Eyeworks does more than correct myopia. It may also add personality.

“Glasses are the most important accessory you can buy; they make an immediate impression as soon as someone looks at you,” said McLean, who also sits on the board of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony.

McLean capitalizes on those first impressions in her advertisements, where portraits of local celebrities taken by local photographer Kevin Syms entice clients to her business. Sun Valley Eyeworks has fitted movie stars, politicians and sports figures over the years, along with much of the population of the Wood River Valley.

“I really enjoy the diverse clientele here,” said McLean, whose collections range from high fashion to the latest sport optics. Sun Valley Eyeworks can fit corrective lenses into many of the latest frame styles.

Local Smith sunglasses and Panoptix are offered for the sports enthusiast, and the latest art frames are available for children with a sense of style. For grown-ups with an eye for high fashion, Sun Valley Eyeworks carries the latest Prada, Chanel and Robert Mark lines.

“People buy glasses like they do purses or shoes these days,” said McLean.

If the eyes are the windows of the soul, one might consider McLean’s eyewear the ultimate fashion accessory.

— Tony Evans

Photography: Kirk Anderson

O F F I C E S L O C AT E D AT: 1 6 1 5 T H AV E . S O U T H , S U I T E 1 0 0 , T W I N FA L L S 2 0 8 - 7 3 4 - 0 7 0 0 g s l e t t e @ i d a l a w y e r. c o m

DUNBAR INTERIORS Architectural and Interior Design

Janet Dunbar American Society of Interior Designers— Allied

in Dunbar Courtyard 440 East Avenue North Ketchum • Sun Valley 208.726.8573

415.652.2743 Business Digest 2006

61

Sun Valley Insurance, Inc. Jack Dies 780 N. Main Street, Ketchum (208) 725-0977 jdies@svins.net

T-graphics Tinka Raymond 810 S. Main Street, #12, Hailey (208) 788-0033 www.tgraphics-sv.com

T

Jack Dies’ two young children keep him in contact with the community’s character.

G

iven the Wood River Valley’s mix of full-time residents and second homeowners, along with countless other distinguishing factors, offering insurance services to match this diversity is a challenge that Jack Dies takes particular pride in meeting.

Dies established Sun Valley Insurance eight years ago to serve this diverse population by providing a well-rounded range of services. Now he has two full-time assistants and one licensed producer rounding out the Sun Valley Insurance team.

After 15 years in the insurance industry in Idaho and 19 years in the business (Dies got his start in New York), he has developed a keen eye for recognizing the valley’s unique needs.

Close ties to the community and a genuine understanding of what draws people to this area furthers Dies’ insight into local residents’ insurance needs.

Dies explains that markets “uniquely suited to the Wood River Valley” are offered by his full-service insurance agency. “We can provide service to any and all with an insurance need,” said Dies. These services include home, auto, life, health and commercial insurance.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986, Dies joined the executive training program at Cigna insurance in New York.

The insurance business was a natural choice for Dies—his father worked in the industry for more than 30 years. Family influence continues to have a role in Dies’ business—he and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Jackson and Hannah Pearl, and he credits their many activities with keeping him in close touch with the core and character of the community.

inka Raymond moved to the Wood River Valley in 1979 to join her sister, Evelyn Phillips. Twenty-seven years later, she is still here, working with her sister.

Today, Raymond owns T-graphics, the valley’s largest design firm and ad agency. The group specializes in creating the visuals companies need to achieve marketing objectives and develop a brand identity that captivates their target audience. T-graphics designs national and international ads, logos, brochures, books, posters, maps, product catalogs and other print-related materials. The team also designs signage, stages and convention booths for such clients as the National Dog Show Presented by Purina and Bally Gaming.

“I enjoy my staff,” said Raymond, “and am proud of the fact we have been together for many years.”

Though many hours go into her business, it’s not all work for Raymond, an avid snowboarder for the past nine years who enjoys Sun Valley’s vast terrain opportunities. In the summer, she works in her garden—a lot. “My husband thinks I’m boring because that’s all I do,” she said with a laugh.

She met her husband Roger while working for the Idaho Mountain Express in Ketchum with her sister, and remembers her time there as bookkeeper/typesetter/designer, “back in the days of border tape and X-Acto knives!” Those were also the days when typography was an art, she reminisced.

“We still shoot for that high standard.”

Raymond and her husband purchased Express Printing in the early 1980s from the Mountain Express.

In the mid-’80s, Raymond established T-graphics to fill a muchneeded niche in the valley.

Today, Roger runs Express Printing downstairs in their modern plant in the industrial park behind the Hailey Post Office, while T-graphics operates upstairs in spacious quarters.

“One of the benefits we offer is being able to run downstairs for a press check, saving our clients time and, therefore, money.” explained Raymond.

And customer satisfaction is what T-graphics is all about.

—Betsy Andrews

— Mia James

Tinka Raymond: designer, company owner, snowboarder and gardener.

62

Business Digest 2006

now two locations to serve you better LONG TIME VALLEY TECHNICIANS Lanny Wahlgren and Juan Rodriguez have joined our team.

Dave Ovard (owner) • Chad Crane • Juan Rodriguez

Lanny Wahlgren • Dave Ovard (owner) • Alex Dunn

HAILEY—3690 Woodside Blvd.

KETCHUM—500 Bell Dr., #10

(across from Power Engineers)

(in the Ketchum industrial area)

788-9711

727-9711

We do everything from oil changes to major engine overhauls.

View the Valley with Joanne Wetherell THE VALLEY CLUB • Fabulous single level home situated on over 3 acres • 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath + den, over 3,600 sq. ft. plus 1BD/1BA guest “Casita” • Kitchen features granite countertops and state-of-the-art appliances • Gorgeous stone fireplace, hardwood flooring and 8 foot interior doors

$2,249,000

of Sun Valley & Hailey 208-726-4901 www.SunValleyResortProperties.com

Joanne Wetherell Broker/Owner Sun Valley 360 Sun Valley Road Ketchum, ID 83340 Hailey 831 N. Main Street Hailey, ID 83333 toll 800-576-1823 phone 208-726-4901 cell 208-720-0916 joanne@sunvalley.net Business Digest 2006

63

Towne & Parke Fine Jewelry Tom and Laury Keenan The Sun Valley Village, Sun Valley (208) 622-3522

Trail Creek Pub & Brewing Company Scott Featherstone 310 S. Main Street, Ketchum, (208) 726-3773 516 Hansen Street S., Twin Falls, (208) 726-0330 www.trailcreekbrewing.com

W

e’re one of the few couples who came to Sun Valley to buy a business, instead of for the skiing,” said Laury Keenan, who owns Towne & Parke Fine Jewelry with husband Tom. The couple does ski. Laury enjoys cross-country while Tom prefers Bald Mountain’s acres of alpine vertical—when they’re not busy in their shop in Sun Valley Village. Spare time is hard to find for the owners of one of the oldest businesses still operating in the area. Ben Goldberg founded the store in 1956.

The Keenans continue Goldberg’s tradition, specializing in fine jewelry and custom jewelry design with longtime local goldsmith Bruce West.

“We inherited him with the store,” chuckled Tom. Tom is well known in the valley for his watch and clock repair, which he does on the premises.

The couple enjoys the clientele they’ve come to know over the past two decades. “We’ve developed a really nice customer base,” said Laury, “and made a lot of friends over the years.” Their long hours and weeks during busy seasons have resulted in many return clients, and it’s easy to see why.

“We treat everyone very fairly,” said Laury. “If they spend $10 or thousands, we believe everyone should be treated with respect.”

Originally from Montana, the Keenans raised their two daughters in the Wood River Valley; both are studying in Italy this year, and the Keenans look forward to visiting them this spring.

When he’s not behind the counter or making precision repairs to heirloom jewelry, Tom fly-fishes.

“Summer and winter!” exclaims his wife. “I’ve seen him get up and ready to go, and it’s still dark.” Laury prefers to read for her book club. She may take up fly-fishing in retirement, but for now she continues to help customers fish for treasures at their shop in Sun Valley Village.

“

— Betsy Andrews

Tom and Laury Keenan sell fine jewels at “The Hardware Store for Women.”

64

Business Digest 2006

Scott Featherstone is thrilled at how quickly locals have taken to his new brew pubs.

F

rom big city dentist to Rocky Mountain brewer, Scott Featherstone is living the dream. A home brewer for more than a decade, Utah-born Featherstone sold his dental practice last year, and is now the proud owner of Trail Creek Pub and Brewing Company.

Featherstone’s new empire consists of a seven-barrel brew house and two brew pubs in Twin Falls and Ketchum. It is the Ketchum pub’s location that gives the operation its name, situated as it is, on Trail Creek in the old ’40s Ketchum Korral motel office on Main Street.

Featherstone moved to the Wood River Valley from Park City, Utah, in 2001, having discovered Ketchum a few years earlier while passing through on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

So far his brewing venture is a huge success.

“Response has been very good,” said Featherstone. “We’re doing good business with the local trade. It means a lot to us to have that kind of support.”

Fresh beers on tap at the two pubs include Trail Creek’s Lace Wing Lager, India Pale Ale, Trail Creek Pale Ale and Dry Irish Stout.

Alongside the grainy-stuff, the food is also garnering attention.

“Our main emphasis is kebabs, and we make our own sauces. We also have paninis; we grill a lot of sandwiches!”

As for the future, Featherstone has grand plans.

“Of course I’d love to see our pubs in other small resort communities. But our main hope is that we’ve created a place that’s suitable for the history of this area and is comfortable to everyone. The feeling is good here. We have some nice amenities—an outdoor fire pit, pool table and TVs—and we’ve got great plans for summertime when we’ll have deck space, outdoor music and a barbeque,” added Featherstone.

“We’ve put a lot into this, and there’s certainly some risk, but we’ve used local talent for the most part in the remodel, and we’ve been very loyal to the town. We think it’s going to come back to us.”

— Jennifer Tuohy

Art Quest West 360 East Avenue (in the Courtyard) Ketchum 208-727-9700

New to the Valley...

Home Accessories & Furniture with a Touch of Whimsy Visit our sister store in Hinsdale, Illinois

Levie Smith puts the right people in the right places.

Levie Smith Cell: (208) 720-4093 Home: (208) 578-2228 levies@cox-internet.com

Ketchum

Warm Springs

Hailey

After living in my house in Ketchum for twenty years, Levie approached me with an offer I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t refuse.

Levie Smith is an extraordinary realtor. She handled the details of the sale with outstanding professionalism. I would recommend her to anyone.

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Levie found my mom and dad the best house with a big yard. Right by my school.

I love it.

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Scarlett Sophia Hewett

FINDING THE RIGHT PLACE TO BE Business Digest 2006

65

Tune-Up Express Dave Ovard 3960 Woodside Boulevard, Hailey, (208) 788-9711 500 Bell Drive, #10, Ketchum (208) 727-9711

Vintage Gypsy Kimberly Garvin 101 E. Bullion, Suite B, Hailey / 6 Carbonate Street, Hailey (208) 788-7070 kasgarvin@aol.com

O

pening the door of Tune-Up Express’ new Ketchum location reveals immediately that this is not an everyday mechanic shop. Absent are the grimy fingerprints and the oil-splattered floors. In their place, owner Dave Ovard has set up a shop that glows with the sheen of proud professionalism. For starters, Ovard and his crew are outfitted in NASCAR pit crew uniforms, complete with rubber gloves.

“They’re expensive, but it’s fun,” Ovard says of the one-piece suits. The front office at Tune-Up Express is festooned with NASCAR paraphernalia. Complete with a glass-case shrine to racing, pit crews and just about anything mechanical, Ovard’s shop is a car lover’s (and fixer’s) dream.

In the sparkling clean shop, the gadgetry of modern car care surrounds Ovard and his crew. His diagnostic tools are compatible with imports of all makes and models. These days, the crew is most excited about the Procut 9.2 brake lathe, a time-saving device that is the only one of its kind in the valley, and possibly singular in all of southern Idaho, said Ovard.

As the only mechanic in the Wood River Valley with two shop locations, Ovard employs a sizable staff of experienced mechanics. Between his pit crew of five, Tune-Up Express boasts an astounding 85 years of combined car-repair experience. In Hailey, Juan Rodriguez speaks Spanish, a huge help for their Spanish-speaking clientele.

Ovard built this mini-empire from scratch. After graduating from Wood River High School in 1984, he opened a shop in 1991 and manned it alone for 10 years, a grueling stretch that paid off. He opened his second location in Ketchum on Dec. 1, 2005, but despite these dividends, he doesn’t look back fondly on those early days working alone.

“It wasn’t as much fun as working with these guys,” Ovard said with a smile.

— Michael Ames

Dave Ovard opened his first Tune-Up Express in 1991.

66

Business Digest 2006

Gypsy queen Kim Garvin and gypsy princess Emily Andrews will soon have a new castle to play in.

V

intage Gypsy’s location, tucked behind the Bungalow furniture store on East Bullion, hasn’t hampered its owners in developing a loyal customer base.

On the contrary, they are doing so well that when customers can’t find Kim Garvin, owner and “gypsy queen,” or Emily Andrews, “gypsy princess,” behind Bungalow in the near future, they can rest assured Vintage Gypsy has not gone out of business—they have moved to larger quarters.

“We are moving to the new building being constructed across the street from Alturas Plaza—the Old Town Mercantile—to be in a larger space so we can have more pieces of vintage furniture.”

This is great news to many who love Vintage Gypsy for its sassy, eclectic and edgy collection of gifts, furniture and home décor, which Garvin rotates often.

“I like to mix it up so we don’t always offer the same items,” she explained.

“Check out our outrageous magnets,” said Garvin indicating the entranceway, which is covered in magnets displaying vintage images and cheeky quotes. For instance, a ’50s-style homemaker saying, “I prefer looking good over cooking good” or a cute, blonde, college coed holding a couple of textbooks with the accompanying explanation, “She could speak five languages, but couldn’t say ‘no’ in any of them.”

The sassy and fun side of Vintage Gypsy is obviously a reflection of Garvin’s personality. Walking into the store is like going into the attic of the hippest person you know. Garvin takes pride in this, and likes the idea of being able to offer locals the opportunity to shop locally. In fact, she and Sarah Hedrick, from Iconoclast Books are heading up the South Valley Merchant Alliance, whose mission is to make the community aware of local shopping opportunities.

“Why leave the valley if you can get what you need here and support locals?” she reasons. In support of her own philosophy, she offers many Idaho-made products—from lavender grown in Buhl to Sawtooth BBQ sauce.

— Angela Erickson

& Accessories 713 N. Main • P.O. Box 938 • Bellevue, ID 83313 208-578-9637 • Fax 208-578-9641

Business Digest 2006

67

Sherri Vollmer, Realtor Momentum Real Estate 400 S. Main Street, Suite 303, Hailey (208) 578-9292 sherri@momentumrealestate.com

Cindy Ward, Realtor Cornerstone Realty Group 19 W. Bullion, Hailey (208) 788-2646 www.findmycorner.com

C Sherri Vollmer is the broker/owner of Momentum Real Estate.

S

herri Vollmer’s career in real estate began with a poker game.

“I met Mo O’Connell at a ladies’ poker party, and after getting to know me, she said, ‘Sherri, get your real estate license and come work with me at Momentum Real Estate.’ That is just what I did.”

That snap decision completely changed Vollmer’s life. She has gone from new agent to broker/owner in two and a half years, purchasing Momentum Real Estate from O’Connell, her mentor/broker, along the way.

“I really owe thanks to Mo O’Connell, my clients and the Wood River community,” said Vollmer, who has masterfully played the hand she was dealt by offering friendly, personalized service to the south valley.

What is the secret to Vollmer’s success? She credits a continued pursuit of education and experience, tireless enthusiasm and a strong work ethic. She also recognizes the importance of giving back to the community. Vollmer explains, “I agree with Winston Churchill when he said, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’”

It is obvious her dedication and willingness to serve the community is part of her success.

“Looking for ways to improve my clients’ lives is what it is all about,” said Vollmer. “I don’t fret my clients with the small stuff or torture them with the details, yet I retain professionalism that buyers, developers and other business people truly appreciate.”

After buying Momentum Real Estate, Vollmer chose to continue the Community Matters Program as a part of the business.

“This program gives a portion of each commission to a nonprofit organization of the client’s choice in the name of the client,” said Vollmer. “I feel this donation is a way of giving back to the community.”

Her contributions have not gone unnoticed. Vollmer was recently nominated to the Hailey Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

It really is all in the cards.

— Angela Erickson

68

Business Digest 2006

indy Ward believes in teamwork. She founded Cornerstone Realty 10 years ago, after seven years in real estate, and she takes pride in the ability of her 12 agents and seven staff members to work together to provide great customer service.

“Teamwork is unusual in the real estate business,” she said. “The unique thing about my operation is that we work as a team. Just one agent can’t do everything that needs to be done for ultimate customer service.”

Ward, who has lived in the valley since 1979, arrived here in the ’60s with her parents. “This is where I learned to swim and ice skate,” she recalls with a smile. It is also where she and husband Ken chose to raise four children to do the same; all three sons have been Sun Valley junior hockey players, and her daughter coaches Nordic skiing.

“If it has anything to do with kids, we’ve either been involved or are involved,” laughed Ward.

She and her family enjoy hosting foreign exchange students, and often form strong bonds. In 2006, they’re going to visit a former student in Norway.

Perhaps because she’s so vested in the community, Ward believes in giving back. A portion of every Cornerstone transaction is contributed to the Cornerstone Community Contribution Fund, a program that allows clients to choose the local organization to which they’d like to donate. Her philosophy—in business and life—is simple: it’s the golden rule, the belief that extending kindness works both ways.

Ward enjoys seeing her customers experience the security that homeownership gives, and her planning and attention to detail have helped clients buy and sell residential or commercial properties.

“We’re dealing with most people’s biggest financial investment they’ll ever make,” said Ward. “It takes a lot of care, thought, experience and knowledge.”

— Betsy Andrews

Cindy Ward and her family enjoy the many sports the valley has to offer.

Warner & Associates

Don’t

MISS your

CHANCE

Larry Warner, General Contractor 221 Northwood Way, Unit 600 West, Ketchum (208) 726-8200, 720-5883 lwarner2@gmail.com

...to advertise in the most widely circulated magazine in the Wood River Valley.

Larry Warner builds homes throughout the Wood River Valley.

A

Fall 2006

Advertising Deadline: June 8

Call Your Ad Rep.

TODAY 726-8060

t 63, Larry Warner has no gray hair. Maybe it’s because what he does for a living doesn’t stress him out too much; he says it comes naturally.

It’s definitely not because he shuns a challenge. As a general contractor, he has been responsible for overseeing the building of many of the luxury residences in the Wood River Valley.

Warner arrived in Ketchum in 1978 from Seattle, where 10 years of carpentry after college led naturally to contract work. By 1989, he had 43 carpenters working for him on high-end projects throughout the valley.

“At one time or another, I’ve done most of the trades involved, which allows me to see when things are done correctly,” he said. “My focus is on detail.”

He attends to details by directly overseeing all aspects of his projects, and assures continuity among the various tradesmen on a job, getting the work completed to clients’ specifications, within budget and on schedule.

Warner recently returned to the contracting business after a 10year sabbatical, during which he “learned to ski and fly-fish and throw sticks for my dogs.” During his time away from the smell of sawdust, he rehabilitated several acres of land west of Bellevue that had been razed by a wildfire, replanting trees and restoring the riparian area near his home.

He values being able to escape into the surrounding hills on foot or on horseback, but appreciates the community, too. Many of his clients have become friends.

“I like that people here generally have accomplished something,” he points out, “and have something interesting to say.”

With no plans to retire or move, Warner has a long-term interest in making the valley a pleasing place to live.

“I’ve looked, seriously,” he says of other locations. “And I haven’t found a better place.”

— Betsy Andrews

Business Digest 2006

69

Washington Mutual Home Loans Larry Chariton 160 Second Street E., Suite 101, Ketchum (208) 726-1711

Joanne Wetherell, Realtor RE/MAX of Sun Valley Sun Valley & Hailey (208) 726-4901 joanne@sunvalley.net www.SunValleyResortProperties.com

H

ailing from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Larry Chariton and his wife Sylvia lived and worked in Boise for 20 years before beginning a new life in Ketchum.

Larry enjoyed a career as a lending associate at Idaho First National Bank and Ben Franklin Savings and Loan before earning a master’s degree in business and economics in 2001 at Boise State University. Sylvia worked in corporate development at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center.

Then, with two grown children busy with three grandchildren, the couple decided it was the perfect time for a fresh start, and the perfect place was the Wood River Valley. The friendly small town atmosphere of Ketchum reminded the Charitons of the good old days in Coeur d’Alene.

“About five years ago we started spending time in Ketchum, and I began to explore the possibilities of opening a Washington Mutual about a year ago,” said Chariton.

In January 2005, Chariton unveiled a full service, residential home lending service offering 50 different programs to suit every need. His office has already assisted in multiple purchases of Board Ranch properties during recent transitions from lease holdings to fee-simple ownership. And Chariton already has other significant targets in his sights.

“I have to say I am most excited about the relationship I have made with the (Blaine County) Housing Authority,” said Chariton. “Washington Mutual already has programs in place, such as layered loans, that can be used in coordination with nonprofit organizations to purchase deed-restricted and other affordable housing opportunities.”

Purchasing a home is often a daunting prospect. In an effort to educate first-time homebuyers about their options, Chariton, a certified instructor, offers classes throughout the winter and spring that may actually increase a purchaser’s qualification ranking for a loan.

So, whether one is a nervous first-time homebuyer striving to make sense of all the options or a seasoned residential properties investor, Chariton feels he is the right choice to guide the process to successful funding. Chariton’s office may lend up to $2.5 million without secondary approval, saving valuable time locking in that once-in-a-lifetime deal.

— Tony Evans

Coeur d’Alene native Larry Chariton brings his lending knowledge to Ketchum.

70

Business Digest 2006

Joanne Wetherell is the No. 1 RE/MAX agent in Idaho.

J

oanne Wetherell, the Wood River Valley’s only RE/MAX owner/broker, compares selling real estate to owning an airline.

“I want all my clients to feel like they are first-class passengers on my airline, so I strive to stay in contact and provide the best service possible,” she explains.

This outlook has certainly made for a smooth career flight for Wetherell. She has been ranked the No. 1 RE/MAX agent in Idaho for three years now and in the top 100 RE/MAX agents, of more than 100,000 real estate agents, in the United States.

But Wetherell doesn’t really care about this sort of distinction.

She is more proud of the fact that 89 percent of her clients are either referrals or repeat clients. This shows just how seriously she takes her job.

“People respect the professionalism, responsiveness and experience I bring to my job; real estate is my profession, not my hobby,” she said.

Having lived and raised her family in the Wood River Valley since 1980, Wetherell’s clients also benefit from her vast local knowledge as well as her commitment to continued advancement of Realtor education.

“As committee chair for the Sawtooth Board of Realtors education committee, I believe in staying at the educational forefront by learning and knowing what is best for the consumer, by understanding and using the best technology at our disposal and keeping abreast of the laws that pertain to the industry.”

Moreover, she remains in touch with her clients long after the buying or selling transaction is completed.

“It’s important to me; I think it matters to take the time necessary to keep in touch.”

Communications include monthly mailings to her clients.

“This last month, the mailing was about the postage increase. I enclosed 10 2-cent stamps so my customers would not have to scramble. It’s all about providing good service.”

It seems Wetherell’s airline is the one to book when it comes to real estate.

— Angela Erickson

“Keep It Simple...”

Sonya E. Black, Lending Specialist 208.733.5342 208.720.9924 208.316.1300 cell 208.733.5387 fax www.homeloans4idaho.com sonya@buywithriverside.com ■

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1092 Eastland Dr. N.

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Twin Falls, Idaho 83301

ski it. bike it. ride it. hike it. wear it. fish it.

ketchum

warm springs

hailey

www.sturtos.com