Grand Traverse PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Alpha Mail 49684 WOMAN northern michigan’s network for women ◆ Jan/feb '15 Makeover Issue Transformations in health, home & heart SEE JANE LOSE — apply now! Meet Mardi Jo Link, bestselling author Free WE MAKE REFINANCING YOUR HOME WORRY FREE! Grand Traverse Woman CREDIT UNION ONE’S MORTGAGE CONSULTANTS WILL HELP WITH THE ENTIRE REFINANCE PROCESS, GIVING YOU MORE TIME TO FOCUS ON WHAT’S IMPORTANT. Thru Feb. 28, 2015 Don’t miss your chance to save big on stylish new HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw. CONTACT BARB TO GET STARTED TODAY! (231)499-0428 [email protected] NMLS#: 916753 Hardwood Resilient Carpet HGTV HOME Flooring by t... clusively a x E Shaw is all about making your floors HGTV fabulous. And now… Enjoy 20% off select Miriam Pico’, our talented Spokesperson 1407 SOUTH DIVISION ST TRAVERSE CITY cuone.org/borrow HGTV HOME Flooring carpet, hardwood, laminate and resilient, through Feb. 28th. Plus... 0% Financing for 12-months for qualified buyers! South Airport at Barlow, Traverse City • 231.941.4700 •FloorCoveringBrokers.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 3 a lifelong passion for the Arts Be transformed by the voice of a preeminent jazz vocalist. Listen to a live performance for National Public Radio. Celebrate an unforgettable St. Patrick’s Day. Watch a debut piece from a Grammy Award winning sextet. It’s time to experience Interlochen WINTERLOCHEN Saturday, February 21 René Marie Tuesday, March 10 From The Top with Altan: St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Saturday, March 14 Chanticleer Wednesday, April 15 eighth blackbird Thursday, April 9 Interlochen Arts Academy Theatre Co. “The King and I” May 15-16 Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra and Michael Thurber Grand Traverse Woman WOMAN2woman WOMAN Diet makeover Green Fruit Smoothies. They’re all the rage and there’s a reason why: They’re fantastic. Why have we waited so long to start drinking them and using high-powered blenders to do so? We are now consuming 2 cups of spinach, a handful of kale, 2 cups of peaches, 1 cup of pineapple and two bananas a day. It’s a bona fide diet makeover. Our bodies are happy. We are happy. The guilt is gone. They are delicious. And, bonus, there are great side effects: The checkout line Do you know how good it feels to check out with four pineapples at once? You can’t help humming to yourself, waiting for the world to notice the amount of goodness on sale 2/$4 this week. Especially if you’ve spent the last five years at one store in particular buying bag after bag of chocolate. The checkout ladies try to hide their surprise; you’re dying for them to comment on it. The guy ahead of you You explode with pride when the guy ahead of you checks out with just a brown, waxy pastry bag. When the cashier asks, “How many?” he replies, “Two fat pills.” You giggle. Of course you can. Your own bag of fat pills is being smashed by four rolling gargantuan tropical fruits with thorny points sloughing off on the conveyor belt. Note: Drinking smoothies has not stopped us from eating sugar, frosting, cookies or donuts. It has, however, alleviated our guilt of doing so. The freezer section Have you seen the “Farm to Freezer” fruit at Tom’s Food Markets? Fresh sliced peaches from Smeltzer Orchard Company in Benzonia, flash frozen in The prep Line up four of those fancy SpongeBob things on your counter and you’ll finally use that Ginsu knife you got last Christmas. You feel like Barefoot Contessa. You are slicing and dicing when you hear one of the children exclaim, “You got four of them?” You almost shout in response but, when you turn, you see they are looking at something else, the 4 bags of chocolate chips you also bought. You go back to your work because it feels good and right, and those chips feel very, very wrong. Enjoy the slice of the knife as it sections the yellow fruit. The pineapple juice will flow off the cutting board and onto the counter and, eventually, down the front of it. Curse it, even as you rejoice in its existence. For you have cleaned many, many drips of ice cream and this, this is long awaited. The straw Every straw you’ve used in adulthood has been one of three: 1. A Burger King straw. You’ve just consumed a Whopper. A Double Whopper. Regret is heavy and so are you. Get out your leopard prints, kitty tracks, zebra stripes or anything wild and trot it out at the Jan. 14th Network Nite at Impres Salon and Spa from 5-7 p.m. The theme is Jungle Night and we expect you all to be a little on the wild side. Enjoy a girls night out of food, wine and laughter. Tickets are $15 or 2/$20. Visit www.grandtraversewoman.com to join us! www.grandtraversewoman.com Grand Traverse Woman P.O. Box 22 Interlochen, MI 49643 tel: 231.276.5105 fax: 231.276.5106 [email protected] www.grandtraversewoman.com Blog: www.grandtraversewoman.com Facebook: http://companies.to/grandtraversewoman Publishers Kandace Chapple Kerry Winkler Editor Kandace Chapple, [email protected] The greens You find yourself marking out a few goals. Can you eat two bins of this organic stuff before it turns into wet, lacy slop? Can you fill your blender until you regret it? Can you stomach a handful of kale drowned in fruit? How about two handfuls? (Answer: no) It’s a glorious feeling to eat triple-washed spinach by 8 a.m. seven days a week. Wednesday, Jan. 14 – JUNGLE NIGHT! www.grandtraversewoman.com Volume 12, No. 3 January/February 2015 time just for us! Buying peaches feels great. But buying local peaches with a label dated by a human hand with a Sharpie marker? You feel like you grew them yourself. Save The Date tickets.interlochen.org • 800.681.5920 Jan/Feb '15 northern michigan’s magazine for women By Kandace Chapple & Kerry winkler Friday, March 13 4 Grand Traverse Account Director Kerry Winkler, [email protected] Sarah Brown Photography Ignite Grand Traverse Woman 2. A milkshake straw. Good God, you’ve just had the world’s best chocolate shake at Don’s Drive-In. There is no regret. Life is short. We give an all-out pass to ice cream. Always. 3. A mixed drink straw. The perfect conduit and stirrer of vodka over ice. It is tiny and thin, trying to stop you. But you persist, never a quitter. This straw holds a place of honor as it is always the first step to very fun bad decisions. Finally, we have No. 4: The smoothie straw, the world’s first guilt-free straw. They come in neon yellow, bright pink and life-affirming spinach green. With these straws, you are responsible and pure. No wasted calories or surprise hangovers. And when a wedge of kale gets stuck in them, it’s satisfying. The nutrition is so huge that it can’t fit. So there it is, the biggest diet makeover ever to happen to the chocolatechip-loving twins. It’s a great start to the New Year and we wish you a smoooooth 2015! Account Executives Deb Dent, [email protected] Lisa Foley, [email protected] Sherry Galbraith, [email protected] Lori Maki, [email protected] Assistant Editor Lisa Maxbauer Price, [email protected] COPY Editor Christine Kurtz DesignerS Bethany Gulde, [email protected] Erin Waineo, www.erinwaineodesign.com cover photo Author Mardi Jo Link with dog Gretchen. See her story on page 32-33. Photo by Beth Price, Beth Price Photography www.bethpricephotography.com Photographers Sarah Brown, Sarah Brown Photography www.sarahbrown-photography.com Scarlett Piedmonte, Photography by Scarlett www.photobyscarlett.com Beth Price, Beth Price Photography www.bethpricephotography.com Andree Serra, Dre Photography www.drephotography.net Administrative Assistant Melissa Cartwright, The Beancounter Contributing Writers Susan Alexander Amy Anderson Terra Bogart Joy Frawley Christal Frost Julie Hartl Laura Holling Kandi Kent Lannen Mardi Jo Link Kari Massa June McGrath Amy Reichard Erin Simon Jamie Thompson Danya Valpey Advertising Kerry Winkler at 231.276.5105 or [email protected] The deadline is Feb. 16 for the March/April issue. Visit www.grandtraversewoman.com for rates. Subscriptions To receive GTWoman at home, mail $20 (for 6 issues) to: Grand Traverse Woman, P.O. Box 22, Interlochen, MI 49643 Thursday, Feb. 12 – From Broke to BadAss Meet Mardi Jo Link, author of the memoir Bootstrapper. She sold her memoir to the biggest publisher in New York and optioned the film rights to an Academy Award-Winning actress. If you’re in the mood for a Local Girl Makes Good story, or, Local Girl Goes Badass, this is it. Join us for a memorable lunch hour! Tickets $25 or 2/$45. Booths $185. Articles/Press Releases Letters, inquiries, press releases and GTWoman In Business submissions are welcome. GTWoman in Biz releases are due Feb. 16. See www.grandtraversewoman.com for guidelines. Mission Statement Grand Traverse Woman is a bimonthly magazine dedicated to the interests of women in the five-county region. Our mission is to provide women with a publication that is educational and inspirational. We strive to maintain a positive, well-balanced and genuine forum for women's issues. (We also like funny stuff.) © Copyright 2015 Grand Traverse Woman LLC All rights reserved. Jan/Feb '15 5 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman my 232-pound weight loss! ‘Common sense, strength, courage and determination were what it was going to take and I lacked all of it.’ By Laura Holling Then: 350 lbs Being a single parent of an adult son with disabilities has proven to be profoundly challenging over the years. I have crossed many difficult hurdles with my child’s health and our own financial wellbeing. Yet there was still one obstacle I could never seem to overcome—my weight! Topping the scale at 368 pounds, I knew things were dire. Everything in life at my size was difficult: walking to the mailbox, walking up and down stairs to do laundry, bending to tie my shoes, breathing, sleeping and playing with my son. Plus, I was already taking three different asthma medications and was borderline diabetic. Growing up, I was always average in regards to my weight, never obese and never the “skinny” girl. I can blame my drastic weight gain on various happenings or medical conditions: depression, cancer; parenting a child with cognitive impairments and epilepsy, the death of my father, and the list goes on… The truth of the matter is that I’d done this to myself. I was the one who made the conscious decision to put food into my mouth (and at times, obscene amounts of it). I was ultimately the one to blame. My family physician was very direct and did not sugar coat anything. He told me that I was on a destructive path towards death. Either I found a way to change or I would die. However, the doctor’s direct approach did not make me stop. Quite honestly, I am not sure what did. All I know is that something in me finally turned, like a switch. I needed to get healthy. I knew I would never look like a model and had no preconceived notion that one day I would. I just wanted to breathe and walk (maybe run) and be the mother I knew deep down I could be (and so desperately wanted to be). I guess I finally realized that those things were never going to happen unless something changed immediately. Joining a weight-loss program was not a possibility for me financially. I truly never wanted to belong to one. Simply put, I didn’t see how buying prepackaged meals would teach me how to eat properly. 6 Jan/Feb '15 How then was I going to change? Common sense, strength, courage and determination were what it was going to take and I lacked all of it. Self-esteem, self-worth and confidence I also lacked. What I did have was this amazing, special child who loved me unconditionally and a supportive family. At the time, I had no insurance and no extra money to spend. I was desperate and alone. So my journey began. Knowing how horrific I looked (and noticing how people looked at me), I didn’t want to start exercising in the daylight. So in the evening, I would drive to a middle school track and walk in half-moons—not all the way around as I knew I would have to save the energy needed to walk back to my car. I did this for months, adding a little distance each time. Then I moved to climbing stairs at various locations: malls, apartment complexes, school football fields, anywhere. I would walk up and down until I could finally reach the top. I also had a friend with a gym membership and she was able to bring me to her facility for free from time to time. That introduced me to weights and I used them whenever I could. Overall, I found ways to work out every chance I could and by every means I could. While I experimented with exercise, I also cut out all carbs from my diet and focused on roughage and protein. That put my body into quite a shock, as I knew it would, but it paid off. My weight dropped and I was feeling better; I was looking better; and I was finally gaining the confidence I thought I had lost forever. Then came the day I stepped on the scale at my doctor’s office and learned I weighed 136 pounds. I looked at the nurse and all I could say was, “SHUT UP! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” We both laughed. This is the least I’ve weighed since before high school. I no longer have asthma or borderline diabetes. My son recently told me I look like a toothpick. I certainly don’t, but he has seen me through it all, and he sees how hard I have worked. I still watch everything I put into my mouth and I choose water and tea instead of pop. Truth be told, my body is not as toned as it could be but that is a work in progress. My skin isn’t tight, Christy Petrini Sales & Leasing Consultant Master Certified 231-922-3377 [email protected] of Traverse City 3258 N. U.S. 31 South, Traverse City, MI 49684 www.foxmb.com Transform lives. Change your own. Earn a master’s degree in social work at Grand Valley in Traverse City. If you’ve earned a B.S.W. degree in the last five years, GVSU in Traverse City offers a unique opportunity to join an existing M.S.W. cohort as an advanced-standing student. • Build on your existing skills and develop advanced expertise in direct service, administration, or community planning. Now: 140 lbs • Program designed to fit the busy schedules of working professionals. as the elasticity is gone. I hope to have corrective surgery to repair the damage I have done to myself. I know I truly cannot afford it, but I would love to see the final results of all of my hard work. Maybe that is just a pipe dream, but it is my dream. Now when I look in the mirror it is much different. Yes, I weigh less, but for the first time in a very long time, I like myself. Even better is that my son notices the changes and he is proud of me. So am I! • Cohort format with face-to-face classes at the NMC University Center. • Accredited program, outstanding instructors, local internships, and affordable tuition. • Twenty-year track record with social work programs in Traverse City. LEARN MORE AT OUR OPEN HOUSE Thursday, February 19, 5:00–7:00 p.m., Gray Conference Room (202F) NMC University Center, 2200 Dendrinos Dr., Traverse City Laura Holling is the owner of Absolute Accuracy Bookkeeping. She can be reached at 231.360.5634 or [email protected]. www.grandtraversewoman.com gvsu.edu/traverse (231) 995-1785 www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 7 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman The Christal Frost Show with Christal Frost & Colleen Wares An inheritance from her father changed her life By Kari Massa Sarah Brown Photography The inheritance Imagine this: Your life is simple and, quite honestly, boring. You get up for work, complete the daily routine without thought or care. And each day a part of you dies a little more, just enough to make you realize how wrong it feels. My life for roughly the past nine years was just that: stagnant. I didn’t have any fun stories. There was no real drama. There I was, in a lifeless marriage (fault on both sides, no bashing here) when I decided to take a leap of faith, so to speak, and pack everything I owned including my two dogs, and leave. Literally not knowing where I was going, just knowing I NEEDED to leave. Sounds a bit frightening, doesn’t it? Let’s throw in with the “big move” and the divorce, the death of my father, plus the death of one of my beloved pups. All in a three-month period. Enduring so much loss and change in such a short period of time was exhausting, mentally and physically. Leaving my husband was tough, but freeing. Letting my father go was devastating, especially because we had no warning. Sadly, he drowned in Boardman Lake during Cherry Festival and I’m pretty sure he wasn’t quite done yet here on earth. But he left with a bang, which was kind of his style. My dad touched a large portion of the community. I didn’t grieve alone. It was a collective loss. As for the loss of my beloved pup Tess, that was the “straw that broke the camel’s back” for me. With everything that happened, I was unsure of my path in life. I always felt I was meant for something more, that there must be something waiting for me just around the corner. But what? Where? Death changes you: it either destroys a part of you or it births a new sense of self. Finding strength can be daunting. Fortunately I was born with an overabundance of inner strength. And little did I know, my dad had left a legacy of healing in his wake. 8 Jan/Feb '15 After years of searching, “my passion” finally landed in my lap during this truly hard time of my life. That’s when I inherited my father’s firearms, which had given him much happiness. I knew dad had just purchased a handgun, and hadn’t gotten much use out of it before passing. He hadn’t even used the new grips he ordered for it, so, when they arrived after his death, my uncle put them on for me. Then I went to a local shooting range. I am lucky enough to have a close friend who is a shooting instructor. He accompanied me. I was scared, yet very excited. I was horrible at first, which was tough on me being I am very competitive by nature. But that first time, the pistol felt right in my hand...it felt like home. Next, I tried dad’s rifles. That was very bittersweet for me. Dad had modified the stocks and done a few other things to make them “just right.” In a way, shooting them made me feel like he was close. My friend was patient with me and made everything seem so simple once I understood the workings of the firearm. I quickly soaked in every aspect of the process. I think the most fulfilling part of using my father’s firearms was when I began hitting the metal targets at longer distances. I kept practicing and I was able to shoot two rifles later that month at The Marksmanship Training Center (MTC) in Lake City. I was immediately hooked. Nothing could compare to the empowering feeling I got from hitting my target dead the first time. ‘I found it!’ Now that I am following in my dad’s footsteps, I want to scream, “I found it!” to the world. I found that thing I was meant to do. You will know what I mean when it happens to you, trust me. It’s euphoric and all encompassing; it becomes a part of who you are. That moment you rise out of the ashes and spread your wings to do great things. I am now a chapter leader for the Grand Traverse TWAW (The Well-Armed Woman) Women’s Shooting Chapter. It is a truly amazing company started by women for women. My passion to teach Concealed Pistol courses— training women on the proper use of firearms and personal protection—is so strong it is literally all I can think about. I have had a very positive response from women in the community about what I’m doing. I meet so many who say to me: “Oh! I really want to learn!” or “I’ve always wanted to do that!” and yet they never have. So many women have come forward and requested my help. The feeling of community you get from this industry is amazing. The response has been incredible! I have also become part of the MTC, which is veteran owned and operated. I got my first taste of precision rifles and AR-15s at the MTC’s Gunstock event this year. After meeting all of the wonderful people there, I knew I needed to join. Death changes you, it either simplify your financial life is now. destroys a part of you or it births a new sense of self. I still have much to learn in the firearm industry; three months gets you only so far. But my dream of helping people through my firearms passion is coming to fruition. I wanted to tell my story, not to whine or evoke a sense of pity, but instead to tell you just how amazing my life truly is. Following times of uncertainty or loss, things really do get better, trust me. You can rise from the ashes. I leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Haruki Murakami: “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” Kari Massa is acting deputy director at the Traverse City Housing Commission, where she has been employed for almost six years. She has lived in Traverse City for 21 years, has a pup named Gus and enjoys everything to do with outdoor life. To learn more about her shooting chapter, email [email protected] or call 231.640.0551. www.grandtraversewoman.com Weekdays 10-12 WTCM NewsTalk 580 a different kind of talk The best time to simplify your financial life is now. BECOME A PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT! Earn a master of physician assistant studies degree at Grand Valley in Traverse City. Your pathway to becoming a certified physician assistant starts here in Traverse City with our accredited master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies (M.P.A.S.). Convenient. All classes held at GVSU’s Traverse City Regional Center. Personal. Full-time faculty members in Traverse City make learning personal and relevant. Hands on. Work in clinics, emergency departments, and hospitals in Northern Michigan to complete rotations in clinical specialties. Accredited. Our program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Successful. GVSU PA graduates have achieved a 98% pass rate on the national certification exam since the program’s inception in 1995. APPLY NOW for next cohort gvsu.edu/traverse | [email protected] | (231) 995-1785 Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through NFP Advisor Services, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. NFP Advisor Services, LLC is not affiliated with Forge Financial Advisors. www.grandtraversewoman.com Marc R. Gillespie Jan/Feb '15 9 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman 3529 W Front St. Traverse City, MI 49684 (231) 346-1047 [email protected] www.johnpolleymd.com Grand Traverse WOMAN MEET DR. JOHN POLLEY From Broke to Badass Dr. John Polley is very excited to have recently relocated his plastic surgery practice from Chicago, Illinois to Traverse City, Michigan. As an internationally recognized, Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Polley has spent over the last two decades practicing plastic surgery in Chicago, where he held the position of Chairman of Plastic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Polley received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Northwestern University in Chicago, and completed his plastic surgery residency at Butterworth Hospital (Spectrum) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. To enhance his level of training and expertise, he completed three fellowships in cosmetic surgery and facial reconstruction. Dr. Polley has published over 100 scientific articles and book chapters, and has invented several medical devices and procedures. He has received numerous accolades including “America’s Top Doctor” by Castle Connolly Press Ltd. as well as, “Top Doctor” in Chicago Magazine, as well as, many other regional and national awards. Throughout his career, Dr. Polley’s commitment has been to achieve the best possible care and results for his patients by individualizing their treatment plan. Dr. Polley is excited to be in Northern Michigan, the state that he loves, and promises to continue to deliver the very best care to all of his patients. Thursday, FEB. 12, 2015 • 11am-1Pm We all know what we’re supposed to do when life gives you lemons. Add sugar & stir. But what about when life gives you divorce, debt, foreclosure notices, a broken well, a broken freezer, and a broken dream? What then? When the going gets tough, For more information we invite you to visit our website or call our office! says Traverse City author Mardi Jo Link, the tough do not add sugar. The tough add cussing, sweat, resolve, and good old Mid-western stubbornness. And, in lieu of stirring, she wrote about it instead. Then sold her memoir, Bootstrapper, to the biggest publisher in New York, garnered awards for it, and optioned the film rights to an Academy Award-Winning actress. If you’re in the mood for a Local Girl Makes Good story, or, Local Girl Goes Badass, this is it. Mardi will speak at our Feb. 12 luncheon about her experiences and how to make the best of the worst. Mardi Jo Link is an award-winning writer and journalist from Traverse City. Her work has appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Terrain, The Detroit Free Press, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune among others. She studied journalism at Michigan State University, has a MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, and lives with her husband, son and dog Gretchen (pictured!) on The Big Valley. Beth Price Photography Grand Traverse WOMAN NetworkiNg VeNdor Booths Plated luNch Located at Hagerty Conference Center Lunch tickets: $25 or 2 for $45 CREDIT UNION Locally connected. Personally invested. Vendor booths: $185 (includes 2 lunch tix) For tickets: www.grandtraversewoman.com For booth info: [email protected] 10 Jan/Feb '15 www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 11 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman I tried, he tried, it didn’t work and it wasn’t going to. His heart broke and so did mine. It was like our story went from a Taylor Swift song to a Lifetime movie. Then suddenly, in the midst of our divorce, he was gone. It was Nov. 2, 2012. Depression is a taboo topic. But it’s also a real illness. Gluing the pieces together after losing him By Jamie Thompson V.I.P Wine & Spa Weekend Our VIP Wine & Spa Weekend is a great option for couples and friends looking for a truly unique and memorable weekend getaway. Spa Grand Traverse and Bowers Harbor Vineyards have teamed up to provide this exclusive “VIP” weekend package, featuring: • • • • Two nights accommodations Two breakfast buffets One spa treatment Private wine tasting, food pairings and behind the scenes tour at Bowers Harbor Vineyards * Package available January 23 - 25, January 30 - February 1, February 27 - March 1 and April 17 - 19, 2015. 800-748-0303 grandtraverseresort.com/VIPwine | bowersharbor.com 12 Jan/Feb '15 When you’re 27, you’re not supposed to be writing an obituary for the father of your children. You’re not supposed to be buying outfits that your 3- and 1-year-old sons will wear to his funeral. You’re not supposed to feel your life was picked up like a glass and smashed against the kitchen floor into a million pieces. But that’s what happened. We were only kids when we met and played on the same soccer team together. In high school we started dating. We went off to different colleges, and despite the distance, managed to stay together. After college, we followed the path we were “supposed” to by getting jobs, moving away from home, getting married, having our first little boy, buying a house and completing our family with one more beautiful little person. Somewhere along the line, things fell apart. I’m not sure where exactly, but they did. There are only two people who truly know what unfolded: the breakdown of two best friends who ultimately grew up and grew apart. I tried, he tried, it didn’t work and it wasn’t going to. His heart broke and so did mine. It was like our story went from a Taylor Swift song to a Lifetime movie. Then suddenly, in the midst of our divorce, he was gone. It was Nov. 2, 2012. Depression is a taboo topic. But it’s also a real illness. There is a huge, gaping hole of time I barely remember. There were countless phone calls, texts, emails and messages… so many people who stepped forward to do what they could and lend their love and support. There was so much shock, sadness, anger and broken ties within our family. As much as I tried to mourn, I really couldn’t. All I could feel was guilt. I had to keep it together for our two little boys. They wanted to know where their daddy was. One of the hardest parts was when they would throw tantrums, crying to me with the same blue eyes that he had. www.grandtraversewoman.com It was months and months before I could really grasp what happened. Slowly but surely, the healing started. In a way, I felt like I shouldn’t be feeling happy at all—because he was gone, it wasn’t okay for me to feel anything. I would get through one day fine and then the next I would be a mess. But day-by-day, it got better. Instead of focusing on what I should have done differently, I focused on the present, appreciating every small blessing and victory that I could. I stopped caring so much about how outsiders looking in felt about what had happened. I know without a doubt that a higher power gifted me with some kind of super strength to get through. I realized I couldn’t think along the lines of: “I wish I would have changed this” or “Done that.” Instead I figured out that the only guarantee in life is today. My boys and I recently passed the two-year mark. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t think of him. The boys have his college photo in their room and say goodnight to him every night. While it breaks my heart, it makes me proud to know that they’ll never remember how he left, and instead they’ll remember how he lived. I see so much of him in them, from the way they laugh to their wild streaks. I hope he’d be proud of how I’m raising them. Hope is what gets me through the tough days—the ones where both kids get sick at the same time and I’m nursing fevers. Or when I come across that song on my iTunes list called “If I Ever Leave this World Alive” by Flogging Molly. The one with the lyric I used at the end of his obit: “Wherever I am you’ll always be, more than just a memory.” Or when I know how much pain his family still suffers from the loss. The days where the unrelenting guilt sneaks up on me. There’s not a blueprint on how to handle something like this. And I know I’m not alone in loss, or grief. But what I also know is, no matter how dark the days may seem, it gets better. The sun always comes out after the storm. Today, I couldn’t be luckier. My little men are superheroes, hockey players, “Army guys” and the most loving pair of brothers you could ever meet. My family has stuck by me through thick and thin, and I know they will support me through every mistake and every success ahead. Then, there are the friends who have become family. I am who I am today because none of them gave up on me. People who I thought would have disappeared after losing their best friend have stepped in, and I know will always be there as my protectors. You know that shattered glass? Sometimes I still step on shards of it that weren’t picked up. And along with my family and friends who helped me sweep up the mess and try to glue things back together, I was lucky enough to meet a wonderful man at a Bihlman Brothers concert who has helped me heal and doesn’t care about all of the cracks in my heart. He’s also made it his personal mission to be a superhero to me and my two little guys. We’re getting married in May. Unlike fairytales, my story doesn’t exactly have a “happily ever after.” That’s because the story is so far from ending. I wake up every day thankful for air in my lungs and hope in my heart. I can’t wait to see what comes next. Welcome Peggy and Linda! We’re pleased to announce that Peggy Campbell and Linda Waisanen have joined our team. If you’re looking for a professional, experienced approach to your home loan call Peggy at 218-0919 or Linda at 218-2192. They’ll take care of you! 416 E. Front Street, Traverse City Member FDIC • istatesavingsbank.com Jamie Thompson is a proud mother of two, and the Creative Services Coordinator at WWTV/WFQX, German-born, Irish-blooded and Yooper-raised, loving living life in Northern Michigan. Check out her blog at: http://jamielikestv.blogspot.com. www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 13 Grand Traverse Woman the power of radio Unemployed, going through a divorce and nearing homelessness as a single mother of 14 Jan/Feb '15 Ball Drop By Christal Frost Downtown Traverse City streets will be closed at 4 p.m. Dec. 31 for revelers to gather at the corner of Park and Front streets for the illuminated Cherry Drop at midnight to welcome in 2015. The CherryT Ball Drop began in 2009 in an effort to bring people downtown on the holiday. Organizers gave the event a charitable theme when they teamed up with local non-profits to help stock food pantries. Guests were encouraged to donate a non-perishable food item or give a suggested $3 donation. Last year’s event had an estimated 12,000 to 13,000 attendees, and collected 12,000 pounds of food. be working with another broadcasting savant, my lovely co-host, Colleen Wares McClelland. I feel blessed every day. The entire cast of Midwestern Broadcasting is top notch, which is why it’s almost impossible to get a job there. People are hired and they don’t leave until they retire! It’s that great of a place to work. Discovering self I have learned so much about myself along this journey. I’ve learned to say “Yes” to opportunity. I sometimes wonder what might have happened if I had said “No” to Cartman that January morning years ago. Where would I be? Who would I be? I think the most important lesson I’ve learned along the way is to be myself. My mom was right when she used to tell me: Nothing is more authentic than you, so always be yourself. Be real. The most difficult lesson I’ve learned is that no matter how “thick-skinned” you are, insults hurt. Let them hurt. I used to try to pretend that it didn’t crush me when someone said something disparaging about me. Colleagues in the industry would say: “You have to be tough to be in this business,” so I would choke back tears until I got home. That was wrong. Radio works because it is human, and if we try to pretend we’re anything else, we fail. The power of the human voice, wavering and breaking during a particularly difficult subject, is felt through the audio waves transmitting through your car stereo. Sighs are shared, laughter becomes contagious and disagreements happen every day. Beth Price Photography Raising awareness As a host, radio afforded me the opportunity to pair my love of community and social issues with the power of a microphone. I’ve advocated for child abuse prevention and have been able to bring these dark issues to light by way of radio. It was radio (and lack of parking) that planted the seed for the CherryT Ball Drop. I was headed to a promotional meeting, looking for a parking space in downtown Traverse City, when I saw the crane hovering above what would become 101 N. Park St. Minutes later, I walked into my meeting and said, “We should drop a ball from that crane on New Year’s Eve!” Creating community Then a new verse began in the song of my life. It was spring of 2012 when I was hired to produce for The Ron Jolly Show and The Norm Jones Show on WTCM NewsTalk 580. It was there I really saw what radio was: an extension of the community and a vehicle for conversation. People listen to radio to connect. In a world where information is readily available at the push of a button, broadcasters are here for conversations. We’re like your neighbor, discussing issues over a cup of coffee. Ron Jolly is the master of this craft. Watching Ron every morning, I felt like I was getting a paid education in broadcasting. I can honestly say that Ron was and is not only a mentor to me in radio, but also in life. He’s just a good person. In February of this year, after Norm Jones joined The Afternoon Drive, I was “called up” and given my own show. It’s been surreal. I am honored to The CherryT and how it saved me two kids back in 2006, I was, quite simply, desperate for a job. I’d been working for a non-profit that had to close due to lack of funding. I was seriously devastated. By chance, I answered an ad for a radio sales position with Modern Rock the Zone. I didn’t realize then that I was shaping an entirely new direction for my life. As a salesperson, I was terrible. However, on the morning of Jan. 1, 2007, after succumbing to the begging of my co-worker, Cartman, I begrudgingly woke up at an ungodly hour to sit in as co-host of his show. Cartman wanted someone to chat with that morning, and I had a difficult time saying no. Five hours later, our boss called and… “Mizz Christal” was born. When I was a girl growing up in Benzie County, the radio was the backdrop for my youth: windows rolled down, WTCM blasting Lee Greenwood’s “Proud To Be an American” on the Fourth of July through the speakers of my mom’s blue Pontiac. I recall getting choked up listening to the words of that song, but not understanding why, just yet. Even then I was in awe of the trade. I remember listening to Terri Ray and thinking: “How does she know what to say? Is she just talking to herself? How does she do that?” Interestingly, during the 2011 ball drop, I was experiencing deja vu: I was once again single and facing homelessness after my radio position was cut. I looked out from the stage at the crowd of 15,000 people and at that moment I realized how close we all are to experiencing loss and homelessness. We are just one job loss, one medical emergency, one step away from struggle. I was the founder of that wonderful event, but I had less than $50 in my bank account and was living with relatives. It was an incredibly humbling experience. Grand Traverse Woman Outdoor entertainment will start at 10:30 p.m. at the site. New indoor events are: A “Magic for Humans” show, featuring magician Ben Whiting at 7 p.m. at the City Opera House, followed by “Magic at Midnight” at the Top of the Park in the Park Place Hotel. Learn more about the festivities at CherryTBallDrop.com. Christal Frost lives with her two boys in Traverse City and is the host of The Christal Frost Show. The show is a variety with topics on music, local news and happenings, personal stories, arts, education, food and family, and can be heard weekdays on NewsTalk 580 from 10 a.m.–12 p.m. Christal is also the CFO of the CherryT Ball Drop, which has raised more than $60,000 in cash and food for charities in recent years (see sidebar). Just like life. If I’m honest about how things affect me, people will relate. In radio, we can have human connections without ever meeting. And, that’s pretty special. This job with WTCM has truly changed my life. My children have grown up in the midst of struggle at times, but they have witnessed their mother overcoming these challenges. Stable employment has become our cornerstone for building a stable life. This thought brings tears to my eyes. I hope, over anything else, I am teaching my boys the same lessons my mom taught me. Now, when Lee Greenwood’s song comes on the radio, and the emotions flow, I know why… Only in America! I grew up poor, seriously poor, but my mom taught me that in America you can become anything you want. I think people forget that sometimes. We spend so much time calling attention to what isn’t working in our country. But, I hear that song, and I remember everything that is right in this nation. We all get an opportunity. It’s up to us to employ our ambition! www.grandtraversewoman.com (231) 946-5191 | TCCENTRALUMC.ORG | 222 Cass, Downtown TC YOUare welcome HERE. Sunday Mornings Chapel Worship at 8:15 am | Casual Worship at 9 am Sunday School at 10 am | Traditional Worship at 11 am Emily Leuenberger PHOTOGRAPHY Call Emily for great wedding pictures at a great price! 9838 Martin Rd., Honor, MI 49640 231.632.4193 [email protected] Facebook: Emily Leuenberger Photography The Milkman Doesn’t Deliver Anymore, But ALPHA MAIL INC DOES!!! PUSHING THE ENVELOPE SINCE 1999 231.263.4620 • www.alphamailinc.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 15 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman I had not thought of myself as making excuses, I learned that my lack of joy was driven by that very thing! Never quit striving Somewhere along the line I had decided that by achieving my initial goals—a good career, home and new car—I was somehow done with life. That I had run my course. I even told myself that I couldn’t do better. Was I ever wrong! I had stunted my development by not making new goals and climbing new mountains. I learned life was not a one-time achievement, but a glorious long-term ride filled with growth. I was ready to dream big again. The Journey Program Cancer Exercise Wellness TM The Journey Program: Cancer Exercise Wellness is a free exercise program offered to cancer patients who are newly diagnosed, undergoing treatment, in remission and cancer survivors 2 years post treatment. We believe that exercise can and should be used to improve and enhance the recovery of cancer patients. The class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at Anytime Fitness in Traverse City or Tuesdays and Thursdays at Betsie Hosick Health and Fitness Center in Frankfort. Administrative Director Jean Mahoney, BS, MS, CPT-ACE Cancer Exercise Specialist Clinical Director Annemarie Wigton, BS, CPT-NSCA, CMT Call for more information Register now to hold your spot for the next class Contact us: [email protected] thejourneyprogramtc.com 231-383-0153 New Year, New You! What’s Your Health Potential in 2015? Healthy by Choice... Not by Chance! Dr. Lea Piché, Chiropractor Chiropractic Care for Women, Pregnant Women, Infants, and Children. Whole Food Nutrition Counseling. Nutrition Response Testing. CALL 231-995-0990 1832 Oak Hollow Dr., Suite B, Traverse City, MI 49686 www.pichefamilychiropractic.com, 231.995.0990 16 Jan/Feb '15 The Revamp No one else could change the direction of my life but me By Joy Frawley “Am I a doer or a dreamer?” I found myself contemplating in my living room one day as the tears rolled down my face. What happened to the woman who laughed all the time? The woman who was engaged in life? Whose smile could light up a room? In that moment I saw the truth. I had become complacent. I had spent years choosing the easy way and choosing “comfortable” instead of the exciting unknown. I remained in a career and a community I had outgrown, where I no longer reaped any joy. I wanted to feel passion running through my veins once again instead of drudgery. The verb “missing” is defined as: “unable to find something.” That kept occurring to me in regards to reinventing my life and livelihood. I kept thinking I was trying to change my situation, but I remained stuck in the same place. I grew tired and discouraged as the years kept going onward. I wanted more and I was determined to get it. I knew I could get it. So why wasn’t I? It was time to be brave and find the spark again. Easier said than done. But, you know what? I finally figured out some of the key steps I had been “missing” and they made all the difference. Stop pointing fingers First and foremost, I had to take responsibility and own up to the fact I was the only person able to get my life back on track and find happiness again. There could be no finger pointing. No one else could change the direction of my life but me. Facing my shortcomings was not the easiest thing to do. Still, I realized my lack of contentment stemmed from allowing the status quo—not my passion—to rule my perspective. How did I do it? I found the old adage, “Fake it till you make it,” really was true for me in the beginning of my journey. And the bolder I became, the braver I got. Look for patterns I began reading about people who were successful and appeared to be happy so that I could begin to copy their behavior. During my studies, I noticed every single one of them had a similar characteristic: no excuses. Few successful people allow their thoughts to drift to “poor me.” Though www.grandtraversewoman.com Set new goals After much prayer, reflection and study, I knew it was time to take action and revamp my life. I made fresh goals: I was going to become a published writer. I was going to relocate to a new city. I was going to be the adventurous fun-loving woman I had been before I suffocated her with complacency and the status quo. For starters, I began writing. I went into the entire book-publishing process with the mindset I had something fun and positive for the reader. Once I completed my manuscript for a romance novel I sent it to publishers. Simply setting those wheels in motion led to great things. I got two offers for my first book: Two Worlds, Two Men! I also relocated from downstate to Traverse City. Switching gears was exactly the thing I needed. Traverse City offered me the spirit of adventure I sought to ignite in my life again. In addition to the natural beauty of the region, I fell in love with the people of the area. Their “can do” attitude was contagious. Within months, I started seeing the cloud of despair lift. To rekindle my “fun” side, I stopped talking myself out of new experiences. Whether it was submitting my book to publishers, or trying other daring activities, I opened my mindset to the uncharted waters around me. Instead of talking myself out of success, I engaged my thoughts in enjoying the ride toward achieving each of my goals. As I relocated and started a brand new life, I felt more certain of my ability with each new day. I realized the fear of failure was not as terrifying as remaining complacent. Sure, failure often is a fast fall, but complacency is a slow drain of one’s spirit and far more damaging. All these changes weren’t just lip service. I took specific steps and put my plans into motion. I was no longer going to live life as a “dreamer,” but rather as a “doer.” Silence unhealthy self-talk I also no longer allowed negative thoughts to draw my attention. All my old self-defeating talk was limiting. It was mental slavery. So I decided to kick it to the curb where it belonged. I erased “I can’t do this” from my vocabulary. As a result, I had to change my inner self-talk to manifest the exterior changes I craved. It could have been easier to stay with what I knew. It was comfortable. Instead, for every self-defeating thought that appeared, I had to reprogram my mind by replacing that thought with a confident one. By changing my thoughts, I broke through to new territory. Accept the gift of happiness I constantly reminded myself that I could not only be happy again, I deserved to be happy. And everyone else deserved to be too. I had let my previous thoughts atrophy my demeanor to such a low level of mediocrity it was no wonder I was unhappy. It took discipline to transform my life. I can’t stress that enough. But all my hard work paid off. Today, I am not only contented, but I have also accomplished the goals I set out to achieve. Life is good. Very good. Doers take action. Dreamers just dream about it. Which one are you? Joy Frawley is a writer living in Traverse City. Her romance novella; Two Worlds, Two Men, was released in October and can be purchased on Amazon or Resplendence Publishing. You can reach her at [email protected]. www.grandtraversewoman.com The 5th Annual Spay-Ghetti Dinner Sunday, February 8th from 4 to 7 pm Alden Bar & Grille in Alden Proceeds promote community spay neuter effort $12 Donation (kids five and under eat free) HOSTED BY ALDEN BAR & GRILLE, AC PAW AND NORTHWOODS ANIMAL COALITION Menu: SalaD, “Spayghetti”, garlic BreaD, DeSSert – chilDren 5 anD unDer free entertainMent – Silent auction – faMily fun www.acpaw.org • 231-587-0738 Dress your kids for the day ahead Weekday Mornings 4:30–7am Joe CHARLEVOIX Meteorologist Download the UpNorthLive Mobile App Fair, honest and professional, the guys go the extra mile to explain repairs and arrange for free rentals. Plus, they guarantee collision work for as long as I own my vehicle. I wouldn't go anywhere else. ~Amy Reichard (231) 941-1137 • 1824 Cass Hartman Court • Traverse City Jan/Feb '15 17 Lose Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman Northern Michigan’s Northern Michigan’s Specialist Apple Macbook Air Apple Specialist Wake up Macbook Air Up to 12 hours of battery life Power through whole day Up to 12 hoursyour of battery life Northern Michigan’s Power through your whole day Apple Specialist Northern Michigan’s Apple Specialist k Air Northern Northern Michigan’s Michigan’s Apple Apple Specialist Specialist urs of battery life Macbook gh your whole day •Air Free Training • Discounted Services • Macbook Up to 12 hours ofAir battery life repeat congratulations! Upthrough to 12 hours of battery Power your wholelife day Congratulations to this season’s charities who • Full• Free line ofTraining Apple products and accessories •• • Discounted Services Power through your whole day together will benefit from a total of $287,090* raised during their involvement in SwingShift and Keep your local dollars local and experience our superior service! the Stars Dance Off for Charity’s 7th Season. Another RECORD-BREAKING YEAR! • Full line of Apple products and accessories • See Jane Lose ee Training •Training Discounted Services • operated CityMac is locally owned and • Free Training Discounted Services • • • Free •• Discounted Services 3480 S. Airport Rd, Traverse City MI 49684 (by Buffalo Wild Wings) Keep your local dollars localand and experience our superior service! • Full line of Apple products accessories Mon. - Sat. products 9 am - 7 pm accessories | www.citymac.net | 231-946-1045 line products of Apple and accessories ne of• Full Apple and •• • * Total was not yet bank-verified at the time of this publication. CityMac is locally owned and operated Keep your local dollars local and experience our superior service! Charities interested in learning more about this game-changing Keep your local dollars and 3480 S.local Airport Rd,experience Traverse Cityour MI superior 49684 (by service! Buffalo Wild Wings) opportunity in 2015 should send an email to: cal dollars local CityMac and experience our is locally owned andsuperior operated service! - Sat. 9 am - 7 pm | www.citymac.net | 231-946-1045 CityMacMon. is locally owned and operated 3480 3480 S. S.Airport Airport Rd, Rd,Traverse Traverse City City MI MI 49684 49684 (by (by Buffalo Buffalo Wild Wild Wings) Wings) Mon. Sat. 9 am 7 pm | www.citymac.net | 231-946-1045 Mon. Sat. 9 am 7 pm | www.citymac.net | 231-946-1045 3480 S. Airport Rd, Traverse City MI 49684 (by Buffalo Wild Wings) CityMac is locally owned and operated Mon. -City Sat. 9MI am49684 - 7 pm (by | www.citymac.net | 231-946-1045 80 S. Airport Rd, Traverse Buffalo Wild Wings) Mon. - Sat. 9 am - 7 pm | www.citymac.net | 231-946-1045 TruNorth Financial Group [email protected] Like us on Facebook @swingshiftstars or visit us at www.swingshiftandthestars.com Are you confident about your retirement? GTwoman's 2015 see Jane Lose proGram is underway! 3 We Will select of our GtWoman readers to participate in a free 8-Week WeiGht-loss proGram from march 14 to may 9. See Jane Lose A financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. TNFGRP.COM Grand Traverse See WOMAN Jane Robert Revett, CRPC® Financial Advisor Heather Griffith Administrative Assistant Thomas Roop Financial Advisor Cassie Revett Office Administrator MAKEOVER have lost over 450 lbs. total! can you handle the spotlight? the sweat? the success? if so, visit us online at www.grandtraversewoman.com and put your name in the hat for this opportunity to make a big change with GtWoman! The Sweat The Perks The Start Our 3 Janes will take part in an 8-week program at our sponsor, Fit For You Health Club in Traverse City. The program includes: Our additional sponsors will offer: Applicants must fill out a 1-page application and send us that “before” picture you want to say goodbye to! • 16 fat-blasting body transformation coaching sessions with the Jane team • 8 confidence-building group challenges • 4 educational seminars • 8 week Fit For You membership • Done-for-you-meal plan • A Fit For You towel & water bottle MAKEOVER • Ongoing nutritional counseling • Unlimited email coaching Lose Derek Dall’Olmo, CFP®, APMA® Financial Advisor that’s right, gals, it’s time to make that change you’ve been wanting for so long. if you’ve got at least 20 lbs. to lose, are able to commit to an intense 8-week program and have the allimportant “sass” factor, apply today! this will be our 7th year and our Janes GTOC: Skin care for the Janes, plus eyewear Impres Salon Spa: Hair color & cut, manicure, make-up and blow out Photography by Scarlett: Before & After Photos of each Jane Werthmann Life Coaching: • One life-coaching journal/ workbook per Jane • A 45-minute one-on-one discovery session • Bi-Monthly 1-hour group sessions (every other week starting the week they are chosen until program ends) At Your Service Cleaning 1 house cleaning for each Jane The program runs March 14 - May 9, 2015. Janes will be featured in three issues of GTWoman as their progress unfolds, as well as be celebrated at a Jane Finale party at the May 13 GTWoman Network Nite. Download the application at: www.grandtraversewoman.com Deadline: Jan. 23, 2015 Come on, let's do this! Plus Janes get free tickets to GTWoman Network Nites during the program! Bill Lee, LUTCF®, CRPC® Financial Advisor tnfgrp.com | 3337 S Airport Rd. W, Ste. 4, Traverse City, MI 49684 | 231.947.6700 Investment advisory services and products are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. ©2014 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. 911613ACMR0514 18 Jan/Feb '15 www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com At Your Service Cleaning Jan/Feb '15 19 Grand Traverse Woman In Touch HEALING & CHIROPRACTIC BETHANY DESIGN Gentle Chiropractic CranioSacral Therapy • Massage Therapy Participates with most major insurances BETHANY DESIGN logos • stationary • brochures posters • graduation cards wedding invitations • ad layout 231.645.1072 www.bethanydesigntc.com [email protected] Hot Beauty Tip: Make Vibrant Health Your #1 Makeover Priority D R . S U Z E T T E C O R B I T, D . C . 3310 Veterans Drive, Suite 215 Traverse City, MI 49684 231-933-9388 Posture Makeover: 231.935.1715 Office 231.357.1123 Cell [email protected] www.photobyscarlett.com HOME & BUSINESS MOVES Did you know? is a Michigan-based company? It started in the early 1980s in Okemos, Mich. moving-related services that can Mara Crofoot, President • Packing and unpacking services • Senior facility moves • Boxes and packing supplies • Fully insured and bonded www.TwoMenNorthernMichigan.com 1348 S. West Silver Lake Rd., Traverse City, MI 49685 (231) 947-8880 Start with your purse! By Amy Anderson Grand Traverse Woman How exactly? Well, we all know we should sit up straight. We know that good posture is somewhere in the realm of eating more vegetables— it’s good for us. But did you know that your favorite handbag could be throwing you off? Your body actually leans away from the handbag to offset the weight. Most of us are in the habit of only carrying our handbag on one side of the body so we are always leaning in the opposite direction. ABC news featured a segment a while back about carrying handbags. Amy Robach reported on an NYU study that looked at how carrying a bag or purse affects posture. The findings were more surprising than some of the sticky “treasures” buried in our bags. A heavy handbag worn on the shoulder can cause a woman to lean up to 6 degrees. Holding that same bag in the crook of the elbow had a 9.3-degree lean, and holding it down at the side with one hand registered 12.7 degrees. That’s dramatic for busy women and moms trying to keep their balance. What happens when we become the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Our bodies are designed to be upright and symmetric. Even a few degrees can put a lot of uneven forces through your body. This can create tension, muscle imbalances and uneven wear and tear. What’s more: Leaning can make the muscles on one side work harder, leading to spasms and pain, as well as potentially compressing discs in the spine. Leaning while carrying a handbag also causes decreased arm swing on one side, which affects rotation of the spine and pelvis, leading to stiffness and other problems. Picture the frame of a door in your house. If it is uneven it will make opening and closing much harder and the wood will start to wear from friction where it is too high. Not a pretty picture. If you are having pain, find out if your handbag is part of the problem. (This is a message from the physical therapy purse police!) It only takes five minutes to do this handbag check and begin to make over your posture. Step one: Put your purse on the bathroom scale. A handbag should only weigh 5 percent of your body weight. So if you weigh 150 pounds, your purse should be no more than 7 pounds. Step two: Sit at a table and dump your bag out. Is there anything that doesn’t really need to be there? You may not be able to live without your favorite shade of lipstick or your cell phone, but perhaps the three little bottles of hand sanitizer could be culled. Your body will thank you. Jan/Feb '15 STORMY KROMER WE HAVE YOU COVERED: HATS, COATS, SHIRTS & VESTS Step three: I am not one of those women with a purse fetish. I just have one I use all the time and two that sit in the closet, waiting to be taken out for a fancy event. My everyday purse is medium in size and yet I am amazed at how much I can cram in there. It might carry an extra diaper and wipes or child’s toy. I am often entertained at work when I reach in the end pocket for Chap stick and come out with a small wooden monkey, a rock from a distant beach outing or a package of fruit snacks. My purse can seem like a bottomless pit at times. Grocery lists, to-do lists and receipts all add to the paper stash. I know I’m not alone in this. In fact, many of you may be carrying around everything but the kitchen sink in your purse, too. We all know the line from the television commercial: “Capital One… What’s in your wallet?” So fess up, what’s in your purse? Do you really need everything in there? It’s a legitimate question because, as a physical therapist, I can tell you that it can affect our health. Consider your purse style. Straps that go across the body like a messenger-bag style will transfer the forces a little better. And backpack styles are even better; however, avoid the temptation to load them up. Recommendations for backpacks are still only 10 percent of your body weight. (I’m quite sure my backpack in college was more than that!) I’ve been known to tote a loaded diaper bag over the years, but lately I’ve been trying to travel more lightly. And my body is responding. I even discovered that waiting in the carpool line to pick up my son from school is a great time to go through my purse and remove unnecessary weight like those old grocery lists or whatever else ends up in there. Yes, even the wooden monkey toy! Amy Anderson is a physical therapist at FAST Physical Therapy. She helps people move better without pain, which often includes education about posture and how it affects the body. She specializes in working with women who are pregnant or in post-partum pain. She is married to a man who makes sure his wallet is not too thick. (Men, you are not off the hook. Sitting on a big wallet can also cause problems). She has three young children and hopefully will be done with diaper bags in the near future. Visit http://fastphysicaltherapy.com. Each franchise independently owned and operated. • USDOT 1469296 MPSC 32908 20 MADE IN MICHIGAN www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com DIVERSIONS 104 E. Front St, TC 231-946-6500 Jan/Feb '15 21 Grand Traverse Woman Self-esteem is earned. I remind myself of that every day as I embark on the second chapter of my life after 18 years of marriage. Divorce takes a toll on every aspect of a woman, leaving broken and missing pieces to recover and remake into a new life. As the realization set in that my life was not a fairy tale, I was forced to come to terms with some hard truths. I had dedicated much of my marriage to raising my two children, as most mothers do. Determined to meet the demands of my family, I had lost any sense of independence and often felt like a failure, just spinning my wheels day-to-day. My son also has some special needs requiring additional interventions and supports. I was overwhelmed and felt isolated. I became submerged in loneliness, depression and confusion for many years. So, when my divorce ensued and my ex-husband decided to return to his home state of Massachusetts, I had to accept the fact that I was neither physically nor emotionally ready to care for both of my children alone. My heart broke the day my son moved 1,100 miles away to live with his father and new stepmother. A year later, I have not recovered and likely never will, but I have found peace in knowing my son is well cared for and loved. At the time, my daughter needed me and we needed to find our way together. We did. Here’s what helped me. G etting my hands dirty Th e S eco n d C h a p te r Health, friends & business after divorce My recovery started on a farm owned by my daughter’s friend, a family I had met only once. But the draw and need to get my hands dirty, to get dirt under my fingernails, led me to their door. A big barn door on Old Mission Peninsula. For me, the best recovery was with work. Dirty, physical, hard work with a great reward— feeding families locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables. There were days when I just washed hundreds of potatoes, getting them ready for CSA baskets. It was a heavy, emotional time for introspection where I could process my situation. I had to completely give myself up to something hard to heal. I'm certain working on the farm set the stage for my new beginning. S weat it out By Susan Alexander A healthy diet, fresh air, sunshine and hard work built a strong body. I was also cycling, running and competing in local 5Ks for the first time. I had even lost that extra 20 pounds. However, I Congratulations Terry Terry L. Congratulations L. Knott Knottfor for recentlyachieving achieving the recently the 2014 2014 Premier Premier Advisordesignation designation Advisor It is with great pleasure that I announce Itthat is with great pleasure that I announce Terry L. Knott, Financial Advisor, that L. Knott, Financial Advisor, FirstTerry Vice President – Investment Officer, First Viceagain President – Investment Officer, has once earned the distinction of has once Advisor again earned the distinction of Premier with Wells Fargo Premier Advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors. Advisors. Terry is among a select group of Financial Advisors Terry is among a select group of Financial Advisors who meet or exceed Wells Fargo Advisors’ high standards asexceed measured by Fargo one or Advisors’ more of the firms’ who meet or Wells high criteria forasrevenue generation, educational standards measured by one or more of the firms’ attainment and client-service best practices. criteria for revenue generation, educational attainment and client-service best practices. Matt W. Russell Branch Manager Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC Matt W. Russell 10850Manager East Traverse Hwy, Suite 5575 Branch Traverse MI 49684 Wells FargoCity, Advisors, LLC Tel: 231-946-1630 Relationships change after divorce. They just do. Creating my new community of friends became a priority last summer. In doing so, I established a weekly Harvest Dinner throughout the farming season. Eight single moms and 15 children were C hase dreams Then in September another door opened. It was a chance meeting with Nancy Perry. While volunteering for a fund-raising event, I met Nancy. She introduced me to the idea of fulfilling a dream. So far, my journey after divorce was all about health and healing, about balance and relationships, about security for my daughter and me. Now, I get to chase a dream? The friendship flourished. One day, Nancy and I were taking a stand-up paddleboard excursion on West Bay. We were discussing our strengths and struggles, passions and talents when we discovered that we are both artists. I had an original idea for a business: drawing a keepsake- quality coloring book journal for children of all ages to enjoy. She had a brilliant marketing brand and logo design, Colorwave Studio TC. By the time we reached shore, we were business partners! For Nancy and me, it is the opportunity to overcome the past and build a strong and stable future for ourselves and our families. We are two single moms raising our teenaged children and fulfilling a dream by doing what we love. We are currently illustrating the intrinsic beauty of Traverse City and compiling our drawings into Treasures of Traverse City Color Book. For me, the book will be the result of hours spent farming, running, doing yoga, caring for my daughter and building relationships—because by doing so I earned the self-esteem necessary to fulfill this dream. I’ve learned, when you’re given a second chance to live your life, you do what you love with passion and conviction. Wellness and purpose are top on my list now. With those two things in place, I am a better role model for my children, a more compassionate friend and a stronger and a more purposeful woman. Susan Alexander is a Michigan native and has been a resident of Traverse City for 15 years. Follow her story on Facebook at Colorwave Studio TC where the progress of Treasures of Traverse City Color Book is being posted with expected availability in May 2015. All are welcome to attend this fun-filled event showcasing an array of area preschools and services. HOSTED BY Holy Angels Preschool & Elementary School 130 E Tenth St, Traverse City, MI 49684 (231) 946-5961 The best variety for your workday. Listen on the radio at 96.3 FM. Online at lite96.com. Or download the TuneIn Radio App and listen on the go! MAY Lose Value Investment and Insurance Products: FDIC Insured and NO Bank Guarantee Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is aNOT registered broker-dealer a separate non-bank affiliate MAY of Wells Lose Fargo Value & Company. ©2013 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved. 0114-05148 Jan/Feb '15 E x pand your world all sitting down for a meal together, supporting each other, networking and cooking together. We shared our homes, wine and laughter. Other relationships were taking shape too. By aligning myself with honest, driven, compassionate businesswomen, I was learning and connecting with the community. Whether I was harvesting vegetables for the CSA with Missy Russell at Nicholas Farm and Vineyards or making soap with Lynn Rodenroth at Great Lakes Bath and Body, these hardworking businesswomen and owners became my role models. They gave me opportunities to grow personally and professionally. After being a stay-at-home mom for nearly 16 years, my world was becoming a lot bigger. Saturday, February 7, 2015 9 am - 12 pm Fax: 231-946-1240 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. ©2013 Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. All rights reserved. 0114-05148 still lacked focus and personal healing. Then last spring, I discovered yoga thanks to my sister-inlaw. She had given me a gift card to Yen Yoga. The card was shuffled between wallets and was misplaced for nearly a year. It turned up when I was ready. The thought of trying yoga was intimidating to me, but I pushed myself to overcome that fear. I took the plunge into the hot room. I found hot yoga is the ultimate challenge, both physically and mentally. After several months, I am gaining strength, flexibility and becoming more centered with personal intentions and forgiveness. Yoga consistently provides a stable, nurturing, reliable environment for wellness for me. The clarity of setting expectations for myself and others is becoming a reality. You see, there is a direct correlation among health, discipline, focus and self-esteem. I was beginning to realize the benefits of hard work, determination and a lot of sweat. Finally, feeling well in a whole sense led to the ability to discover and maintain healthy relationships with confidence. Preschool & Child Resource Fair 10850 East Traverse Hwy, Suite 5575 Investment Insurance Products: FDIC Insured Fax: NO Bank Guarantee Traverseand City, MI 49684 Tel:NOT 231-946-1630 231-946-1240 22 Grand Traverse Woman www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 23 Grand Traverse Woman From the ground up My (new) dream job of farming, food & fundraising Grand Traverse Woman of our communities and harnessing that power to create change. It is that kind of interrelated, holistic change that I believe we need to make a real impact in this world. FarmRaiser is part of a movement that is happening all over the country, a movement that is empowering young people, supporting communities and building a stronger, more resilient food system for all people. Looking back to that early seed of an idea from my great-grandmother, I know this is just the kind of movement I can get behind. Terra Bogart was born and raised in Traverse City, has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Michigan and a Master’s Degree from Michigan State University’s Department of Community Sustainability. She enjoys gardening, spending time with her family and enjoying the beautiful Lake Michigan throughout all four seasons. "High Concept Comedy that is Provocative and Smart"; "A Razor-sharp Comedian" - The Denver Post TICKETS: $20, $35 SATURDAY, JANUARY 17 AT 8 PM & SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 AT 2 PM Gregory Alan Isakov Music ★★ ★★t★Americantoane ★★ By Terra Bogart A seed is planted My great-grandmother came to the United States from Italy, bringing a tradition of strong women and self-reliance that has stretched several generations. She once told me that she survived the Great Depression simply by knowing how to grow and preserve her own food. This seed of an idea was planted in me at a very young age. Some of my earliest memories from childhood take place in my grandmother’s garden. I remember sitting next to her, my knees pressed into the ground as I dug holes and scanned the soil for earthworms. I can hear my grandmother saying, “Terra, remember, your food doesn’t come from a supermarket. It comes from the earth, in the dirt, like this!” At the time, I wasn’t aware of the true depth and meaning of those words. While I was in college, my parents bought an old farmhouse with 40 acres of land and began spending time practicing the art of self-reliance. They planted a large garden, a fruit orchard and more garlic than you could ever imagine. They even tried beekeeping. Each time I came home to visit, I became more intrigued by this new lifestyle they had taken on. The more I showed interest, the more the women in my family shared their memories with me. My mother, for example, shared how she learned to can tomatoes from her grandmother. I realized that the way we all related to the generations of women who came before us was through the process of learning to grow our own food. Recognizing the importance of this shared knowledge made me want to pursue self-reliance even more in my own life. Tending the soil After college, I spent several months traveling, volunteering on two organic farms, before finally 24 Jan/Feb '15 landing an internship teaching middle-schoolaged youth about gardening and nutrition. I will never forget how I left that school on my first day feeling more satisfied than I had ever been in my entire life. It was as if something had sprung to life inside of me as I watched those kids plant seeds in their school garden and then glance back up at me, their eyes full of wonder. As I worked alongside these students, I realized the immense privilege it was to have grown up with the knowledge to grow food. I wondered why every child did not have access to the skills needed to prepare their own fresh, nutritious meals. I came to truly understand that the lessons passed on to me by my great-grandmother were still deeply relevant. Years later I moved to Lansing for graduate school, where I also worked at a local nonprofit managing a school garden-based nutrition program. There, I facilitated nutrition lessons in more than 50 classrooms each month and saw over 1,000 students each year, many of whom had absolutely no experience gardening with their families at home. With a school garden as the staging ground, we learned together, explored together and grew together, while developing a positive connecting to food. I loved each and every one of those kids for how they taught me about myself and about human nature. No matter what kind of day I was having outside of school, my spirits always lifted when I heard the excited shrieks of “Garden Club!” and “Miss Terra!” as I walked into a classroom. Their sincere excitement grounded me. A generation in bloom Eventually, I decided it was time to move back home to Traverse City. I wanted to continue working for a better food system in the very place that had formed me. As luck would have it, I discovered a job opportunity with an exciting new company called FarmRaiser right around that same time. FarmRaiser coordinates healthy school fundraisers by connecting schools to local farms and food producers so students can sell high quality, locally made products in place of traditional junk food or wrapping paper. FarmRaiser was a perfect blend of all the things I had become most passionate about in my life. The job description was like a dream come true. Promoting a strong local food system, teaching students about eating healthy and providing schools with an alternative to processed food fundraising, all the while creating a healthier school environment and a stronger community for all. Yes, please! This year, since joining FarmRaiser, I have witnessed some pretty incredible things. We have such kind, genuine people in Northern Michigan, with so many farmers and food producers working hard day after day. I have seen teachers, parents and principals ecstatic to be able to raise some much needed funds for their school, while also educating their students about the importance of eating local foods. I continue to be deeply proud of my community. Perhaps most importantly, I have seen young students become the ambassadors of change. I have watched them—deeply motivated, energetic, critical thinkers, questioning the state of our food system in a way that my generation never did. These are the leaders of tomorrow. These kids, they really get it. I loved hearing one kid say, “Everybody should be able to eat healthy food no matter what because people deserve to be happy and healthy.” I believe that is what FarmRaiser is really all about. It is about embracing the bounty and spirit www.grandtraversewoman.com What is FarmR aiser? FarmRaiser connects farmers & food artisans to student-led fundraisers, turning energetic students into healthy-eating advocates selling locally grown and locally made products (such as Champion Hill honey, Higher Grounds coffee and Friske Orchards fruits, just to name a few). • In a FarmRaiser campaign students sell a variety of wholesome, locally grown and made products. • FarmRaiser guarantees a return of at least 45 percent of the profit back to the school. • 90 percent of all funds raised stay in the community. • Vendors often report that customers who purchase their products in a FarmRaiser campaign will visit them at local farmers markets to purchase more of the products they were introduced to through the fundraiser. • FarmRaiser allows students to become champions of good food by educating their families, friends and communities about their local food system. • FarmRaiser is currently active throughout the state of Michigan, the city of Seattle and plans to be active in the Washington D.C. area in the near future. If you’re interested in learning more about this organization or want to bring a FarmRaiser campaign to your school, visit www.farmraiser.com or contact Terra Bogart, FarmRaiser’s Michigan Campaign Coordinator, at [email protected] or 231.486.5322. www.grandtraversewoman.com Ta ng S 0 BES -Rolli Top 2Fest 2014 “Consistently electrifying live.” - Popmatters “Stellar shtick. Highly skilled sketch comedy artists.” -Chicago Tribune TICKETS MAKE A FUN NIGHT OUT. More unique shows online! CityOperaHouse.org 231-941-8082 Jan/Feb '15 25 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman 1545 S DIVISION, SUITE 120 TRAVERSE CITY, MI 49684 Located in Kid’s Creek TRAVERSE CITY, MI www.paintingwithatwist.com/traverse-city w e N The ! t u O t h Nig g n i n Celebrate! e p 5 O 1 0 d 2 n , 7 1 y G ra r a u Jan Call for more info! 231.392.5716 26 Jan/Feb '15 www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Food & Dr i nks All Ages ! Jan/Feb '15 27 PHOTO by Christine Largent Grand Traverse Woman The ultimate (scrap) makeover By Dayna Valpey I’ve always been a creative person, One person’s trash is another’s treasure. ~English Proverb someone who would create something out of nothing. But I never knew a movement existed to support my creativity. Then about 10 years ago, while living in the Detroit area and attending a festival, I had an “Ah-ha!” moment that would shape my entire life. I encountered a booth that provided a hat-making station. Festival-goers were invited to create a funky, fun hat using repurposed paper grocery bags, bits of leftover ribbon and yarn and other reuse supplies. In that instant I was introduced to the official creative reuse movement. Eureka! Something that I had been doing my entire life was finally defined. Even better, I discovered there were several people in my community interested in the very same thing. Creative reuse is upcycling, repurposing or transforming materials that are no longer wanted for their original function and altering them into something new and useful. Many of these unwanted items would have ultimately ended up in our already overflowing waste steam. But instead you can creatively transform these items into works of fine art, wearable art, decoration, kids crafts or functional objects. That moment encouraged me to continue with my artistic projects, reusing countless items and crafting them into new items. I was thrilled finally to find a community that I could relate to, support and actively participate in. Grand Traverse Woman Then life happened and I relocated to Traverse City in 2009. A couple of years passed, and I was grateful when a friend introduced me to SCRAP TC, Traverse City’s only creative reuse center. I was excited to find out that our quaint, but forwardthinking, community had a center like this. It made Traverse City feel like home to me! I hit the ground running and started volunteering at SCRAP. First, I helped organize craft nights. I would research unique reuse crafts, gather the supplies and host these evenings, first at local pubs and then at the retail location in the Garfield Centre Plaza. Many times these crafts featured items found around the house like corks, bottle caps, old containers or collage materials. My involvement grew and I started to cover shifts at the SCRAP store. I loved the people who came into the center. Like the woman who closed her scrapbooking business and donated all her decorative papers. Or the local vineyard worker who dropped off a barrel of wine corks. Or the elderly woman who was downsizing and moving into an assisted living center and wanted to make sure her lifetime’s-worth of fabric scraps and sewing patterns—many with precious, handwritten notes in the margins—wouldn’t go to waste and could be appreciated by another generation. It was inspiring on a daily basis! In 2013, when SCRAP TC was looking for leadership, I increased my involvement once again and became the director, a completely volunteer position. I couldn’t let this creative reuse center disappear from our area. It’s an important outlet for our community, especially for women! It is used by so many educators looking to supply their classrooms on a budget, as well as moms either de-cluttering their homes or stocking up on craft supplies for themselves or their kids. Where else can you find wonderful arts-andcrafts items priced so cheap, while also helping the environment by keeping stuff out of the landfills? Helping to keep this area and its shoreline clean and beautiful is a wonderful bonus. It’s amazing what can be created from the items found at SCRAP TC. I’ve seen children make robots, dollhouses, greeting cards and repurposed jewelry using items they buy at SCRAP TC (usually costing less than $5!). Adults craft handmade gifts, purchase yarn and fabric for projects, reuse wallpaper sample books for gift tags or cards or gather supplies for whatever artistic project they are starting. Being involved with creative reuse has changed me in countless ways. For starters, it has made me realize how much “stuff” we all have in our homes and lives. Items that we don’t use anymore, things that we’ve collected over the years, gifts that were given to us that we’ve tucked away, or craft supplies for that project that we thought we were going to make time for, but haven’t. These things could be given new life. Through my journey, I’ve also become much more conscious of what I’m purchasing and if I really need it or if I can borrow it from a friend or create it using something I already own. I’m amazed at what people can do with a little paint, a glue gun and some creativity. If you’re like me, you’ve gotten lost in websites like Pinterest or Etsy. Where does the time go? These websites have brought this movement that I love to the mainstream. Another thing I’ve discovered: inspiration grows in numbers and is contagious. Host a makeover party. Invite your friends to bring a few items they don’t have a use for anymore and swap them, recreate them or combine them into a new repurposed useful item. Reuse fabric notions and make them into travel pillows, small bags, party garland or hair accessories. Old corks make great magnets, or slice them into pieces and create unique jewelry. Glass jars make terrific votives, or paint them for a oneof-a-kind vase. One thing is for sure: The options are endless! Dayna Valpey lives in Traverse City and is the current director of SCRAP TC, which has diverted over 11,000 pounds of items from our waste stream since 2013. SCRAP TC is 100 percent volunteer and donation run. Visit www.scraptc.org or the retail location in the Garfield Centre Plaza, 821 Garfield Ave., Traverse City (next to Honey Baked Ham). SCRAP TC also occasionally offers craft nights and workshops. Birch Tree Consulting Services, Inc. “Serving Northern Michigan since 1998” Accounting & Bookkeeping Services Payroll/Payroll Taxes/W-2’s/1099’s Financial Statement Preparation Bank Reconciliation Full Bookkeeping Services Accounting Software Services Installation/Training/Support Sage ERP 100 (MAS 90 & 200) Business Works Gold Quick Books P.O. Box 5616 Traverse City, MI 49696 Tel: (231) 935-0153 Fax: (231) 933-6156 Email: [email protected] “The Executive Choice for DJ Entertainment” Cell: (231) 218-1004 • Tim Davis • wedding receptions • school dances • holiday parties • graduation parties • reunions • business events • expos • and more! www.exsounds.com Yuan Jules Shellby, MA, LLPC, ADS The Art of Wellness PLLC AFFORDABLE EAR ACUPUNCTURE for BEHAVIORAL HEALTH and WELLBEING • Weight Control • Smoking Cessation • Immunity to Colds and Flu • Insomnia • Balance & Clarity Reconnect your body to your mind (231) 944-8200 • Garfield Ave, Traverse City [email protected] • www.artofwellnesstc.com $15.00 Off Any Service Expires 2/28/15 Use Code: BRAIN.SPA Serving Northern and Central Michigan 28 Jan/Feb '15 www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 29 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse Woman TODAY’S BEST HITS AVATA R www.AvatarMediaProductions.com Corporate Events, Networking Events, Holiday Parties, Anniversary Celebrations, Weddings, and More Call Aaron today to book your spring or summer wedding now! “Aaron did an excellent job at our wedding, we would highly recommend him. Planning with Aaron was easy and professional, he showed up early, was organized, and had awesome equipment.” – Mr. & Mrs. Kelly, Traverse City hello. i’m erin. I own Erin Waineo Design and in case you are wondering, you pronounce my last name “way-knee-oh!” Specializing in graphic design in Northern Michigan. 231.409.6697 [email protected] Aaron Wolinski Z93hits.com Owner of Avatar Media Productions Premier DJ Service for Northern Michigan Preferred vendor at elite locations such as Mission Table, Traverse City Golf & Country Club, Black Star Farms and The Homestead facebook.com/Z93Todaysbesthits erinwaineodesign.com GR APHIC DESIGN · BR ANDING · WEBSITE DESIGN · PACK AGING Grand Traverse Network Nite WOMAN Fit For You Health Club has the program for you! TickeTs are $15 or 2 for $20 Wednesday • Jan. 14 • 5-7 pm This program includes: 12 week overhaul Personal Training Program 24 Progressive Body Altering Training Sessions Computerized Metabolic test with Diagnostic Reading from a Certified Metotechnition 15 minute Nutritional Analysis and Counseling Personalized Nutrition System based off Metabolic test Unlimited Instructor led and Fitness OnDemand classes to further enhance your progress YOU! Wear: Get out your leopard prints, kitty tracks, zebra stripes or anything wild and trot it out at the Jan. 14th network nite at Impres salon and spa. The theme is Jungle Night and we expect you all to be a little on the wild side. We will enjoy a girls night out of food, wine and laughter. come ready to make new friends and catch up with everyone! Wine by: Verterra Winery food by: The flavours by sodexo LoCation SponSor speaKeR: Of course we will have an animal-themed speaker! meet June mcGrath who co-founded aC paW, a non-profit animal rescue. Meet the woman who has saved over 9,000 animals (and their people too)! BRInG: please consider donating pet food (dry or canned), and new or used items such as blankets, towels, washcloths, cleaning preSenting SponSorS 901 W Front St, traverSe City rags and pet beds. The animals & aC paW foster parents thank you! pRIZes: Impres will give away a $200 Grand prize! We will also give a prize for best dressed (meow...) attendees are also welcome to donate a prize. put a face to the name of your business! Limited to 10 women. To be on the giveaway list, email [email protected]. Supporting SponSorS Grand Traverse WOMAN 231.922.7285 :: www.fitforyou.info 1226 S Garfield Ave, Traverse City, MI 49686 More info and tickets available at www.grandtraversewoman.com 30 Jan/Feb '15 www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 31 Stubbornness is Beautiful Rebuilding life one page at a time By Mardi Jo Link “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” … “God won’t give you anything you can’t handle” … “Strong is what happens when you run out of weak.” Look around, they’re easy to find. On commercial signs, on Facebook, on Pinterest and even on good old-fashioned bumper stickers. I’m not sure when it happened, but ours is now a society that buys into the easy wisdom of an inspirational saying. We’ve all probably said those things from time to time and maybe even taken some temporary comfort from them. Heck, I like a good saying as much as the next person, and I remember mumbling similar words to myself, over and over, hoping they might actually be true. But after surviving one very tough year and writing a book about it, I’ve since altered my beliefs. Here’s what I think now: “What doesn’t kill you leaves a great big scar”… “God doesn’t need to give me challenges; I’m perfectly capable of messing things up all on my own” … “Strong is what happens when it’s January in Northern Michigan and you run out of food and firewood.” Beth Price Photography A decade ago Ten years ago this month, my circumstances felt dire. I’d filed for divorce months before. I was broke and not only trying to make a living as a writer, but trying to avoid the foreclosure tsunami that was about to sweep our country. I’m the mother of three sons. At the time they were 7, 12 and 14. More than anything else, I wanted to give them what I saw as the benefits of a rural childhood: hard work, an appreciation for nature and the satisfaction of raising some of our own food. In order to do that, we needed to figure out a way to hang on to The Big Valley, our century-old farmhouse, and the land it sat on. I didn’t want to give up—in fact, I’d once been told my stubbornness was my most unattractive personal quality—but there seemed no easy solution. As it turned out, I didn’t figure out just one way to save our home and pull myself up by my bootstraps. My boys and I figured out several. We raised chickens and pigs, grew a big garden, won a zucchini contest at Potter’s Bakery that supplied all our bread for a year and picked up firewood off the side of the road. I also edited other people’s books for money, and, once it became obvious I didn’t have any choice, I even sold off some of our land. After the wave of stock market crashes, bank closings, bankruptcies and, yes, home foreclosures passed over Michigan, we were still standing. My sons and I threw everything we had at our financial problems and prevailed. I’m not sure we solved them; it was more like we just outlasted them. Years passed, I kept writing, I fell in love and married again. My husband moved in with my sons and me on The Big Valley. His devotion to woodworking mirrored my devotion to words. My new husband was a skilled cabinetmaker. He not only built me a china cabinet, he also fixed the front steps and replaced the door to my home office. The antique one he installed boasted a big pane of beveled glass; he said he’d chosen it so I could work and see what my sons were up to at the same time. Our home didn’t just remain, it improved. 32 Jan/Feb '15 www.grandtraversewoman.com Grand Traverse Woman By 2010, I’d had two books published, both true accounts of historic unsolved murders, but I wasn’t being paid much, nor published by any of the big New York publishers. I didn’t have a literary agent and was still struggling financially. I say, anyone can write for a hobby; writing for a living is the sole providence of the hopelessly optimistic and the economically blind. I suppose I am well suited for the work though, considering my supreme stubbornness and all. Through luck, happenstance and, yes, stubbornness, I was finally signed by a New York agent later that year, seven publishers bid on the right to publish my memoir, and Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm, was released in hardcover by Alfred A. Knopf in 2013, then in paperback by Vintage in 2014. I was thrilled! My book was reviewed by The New York Times, blurbed by Garrison Keillor (“A heroic-comic saga of pure stubbornness,” was actually part of what he said), won the Bookseller’s Choice Award, the inaugural Housatonic Book Award, Elle magazine’s Reader’s Choice Prize and was named a Michigan Notable Book. The idea that the very things that really did almost, almost, kill both my optimism and my stubbornness, instead ended up in a book that has a red ax, a cupid’s heart and my name on the cover is satisfying to me in ways I’ve tried to describe, but cannot. My sons are grown now, or mostly grown, and are forging creative, worthwhile lives of their own. I guess my perseverance rubbed off on them too. Most days, I forget all about the times in my life when my stubbornness was considered ugly and undesirable. Now I think stubbornness is beautiful. And you know what? I might even get that printed on a bumper sticker. Mardi Jo Link is an award-winning writer and journalist from Traverse City. Her work has appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Terrain, The Detroit Free Press, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune among others. She studied journalism at Michigan State University, has an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, and lives with her husband, son and dog (Gretchen, pictured!) on The Big Valley. Beth Price Photography Grand Traverse Woman From Broke to Badass We all know what we’re supposed to do when life gives you lemons. Add sugar & stir. But what about when life gives you divorce, debt, foreclosure notices, a broken well, a broken freezer, and a broken dream? What then? When the going gets tough, says Traverse City author Mardi Jo Link, the tough do not add sugar. The tough add cussing, sweat, resolve, and good old Midwestern stubbornness. And, in lieu of stirring, she wrote about it instead. Mardi then sold her memoir, Bootstrapper, to the biggest publisher in New York, garnered awards for it, and optioned the film rights to an Academy AwardWinning actress. If you’re in the mood for a Local Girl Makes Good story, or, Local Girl Goes Badass, this is it. Mardi will speak at GTWoman’s Feb. 12 luncheon about her experiences and how to make the best of the worst. Mardi Jo Link is an award-winning writer and journalist from Traverse City. Her work has appeared in Creative Nonfiction, The Detroit Free Press, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune and others. Visit www.grandtraversewoman.com for information and to register. Tickets are $25 or 2 for $45. Plated lunch, vendor expo area and networking at each event. Join us for a fabulous way to spend your lunch hour! Home freshening from quick clean ups to deep cleaning At Your Service Up North Services Bonded & Insured • GENERAL CLEANING • OFFICE CLEANING • POST CONSTRUCTION Dentistry for the whole family. We are a friendly, family oriented practice. • PARTY PREPPING • MOVE IN - MOVE OUT CLEANINGS • BUDGET CLEANING • VACATION RENTALS & REAL ESTATE • HOME STAGING Accepting new patients of all ages. www.grandtraversewoman.com “We Love Making Things Beautiful!” Established in 2005, our business is a local family owned company with over 8 years of experience. We love what we do! Call us for all of your household needs and we’ll make it sparkly beautiful for you! We treat your home with individual attention and our clients love that! With many home cleaning services, we work hard to earn your trust and confidence with every visit. 876 E. 8th Street Traverse City, MI 49686 231.947.6483 Tuesday-Friday 9am-5pm • COMMERCIAL CLEANING www.drtracydds.com Proudly serving the communities of: Traverse City, Glen Arbor, Cedar, Frankfort, Suttons Bay, Kalkaska, Kingsley and the counties of: Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Benzie & Antrim www.aysupnorth.com 231-735-1094 Jan/Feb '15 33 Grand Traverse Woman GTWoman’s Annual chicago Road Trip Are you or your child in pain and worried chiropractic treatment will hurt? The Best Friday - Sunday, October 2-4, 2015 Dr. Donaldson uses KST (Koren Specific Technique) – a low force adjustment to resolve your pain issues gently and quickly. No snap, crackle or pop – just gentle taps and pain free adjustments. Hotel Hotel rusH Four Points by Sheraton is now HOTEL RUSH CHICAGO DOWNTOWN. They are completely renovated in a new European style and are a block off the Magnificent Mile! www.hotelonrush.com Holly Donaldson, D.C. Grand Traverse Woman KST can help with: • Back Pain • Migraines • Hip Issues • Sport Related Injuries • Children’s Posture Issues • And more! CAREER ISSUE You’ll Ever Call Dr. Holly Donaldson today at 231-929-1335 www.traversecitychiropractic.com READ sHow Blue Man Group We’ve booked the first 6 rows of the theathre for the GTWoman group... and the first 4 come with splash guards. BMG is hilarious and unpredictable! Even their website made us laugh. www.blueman.com cost Quad: $349 each, Triple: $399 each, Double: $449 each (Includes 2 nights lodging in downtown Chicago, motorcoach transportation, 1 Blue Man Group ticket and other goodies!) Connect with our Readers: reGister Articles, advertorials and advertisements available. Buses 1 & 2 are full. We are now booking the last bus - Bus 3! email [email protected] to register! Grand Traverse Woman’s Mar/April 2015 Career Issue Brought to you by: Grand Traverse WOMAN 34 Jan/Feb '15 Sister Sponsors: Specials on ¼ Page Ads and More! Email [email protected] or call 231.276.5105 East Bay Calvary Church 2225 Hammond Rd. Traverse City, MI 231.946.4479 www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 35 Grand Traverse Woman More than a career: Helping elders age at home Grand Traverse Woman which mimics that of a dementia client. It was very emotional for many of them. Even if dementia isn’t a frequent topic around your water cooler, know that supports and services right here in Northern Michigan can help you or a loved one should the topic present itself in a more personal way. Knowledge can be incredibly powerful with a diagnosis of dementia and can make an immense difference in the quality of care you provide or that a loved one receives. Erin Simon is the owner of Senior Helpers of Northern Michigan. She lives on Old Mission Peninsula with her husband, Aaron, and two children, Sam and Sophie. To learn more about Senior Helper’s dementia program, call 231.933.6600, visit www.seniorhelpers.com/northernmichigan or email [email protected]. A MAKEOVER WITH STAYING POWER It’s time for a change. You’re ready. Whether you are thinking about returning to finish a degree, or pursuing one for the first time, Ferris State University in Traverse City is here for you. Our faculty and staff are here to make your scheduling and financial aid processes go smoothly. Change your journey without changing your community. Earn both Ferris and Northwestern Michigan College credit without leaving campus. Save time and money by earning your bachelor’s degree at NMC. You’re ready. We’re here. Let’s get started. Apply today at ferris.edu/traversecity. By Erin Simon Senior Helpers office staff (L to R) Connie Rottman, Erin Simon and Missy Smith Growing old, losing independence or developing dementia may seem unlikely topics of interest for a 38-year-old mother of two. They certainly are not “sexy” topics and not something most people think about without a close family experience. But for years, these topics have been my focus and my passion as owner of Senior Helpers of Northern Michigan. S enior appeal ? Anyone who spends time with our clients can see why one would choose this as a career path. While some may simply see as wrinkled skin, slower response times, conversational repetition and living excessively in the past, my team and I at Senior Helpers see warmth, wisdom, wit, determination and humor with compassion. Senior Helpers is a national franchise with a close connection to home for me. Founded in 2001 by my mother’s cousin, Peter Ross, Senior Helpers was started because of a simple problem: He lived far away from his aging and increasingly dependent parents. For Peter’s loved ones, basic household duties, medication reminders, meal preparation and transportation soon required an extra set of eyes and hands. Peter knew his parents wanted to spend their final years in the comfort of their own home. He wanted to make a difference. So he started Senior Helpers in the Baltimore area to provide non-medical, in-home care and companionship for elders. It struck a chord with the community and Peter quickly grew the company to more than 300 franchises so that people all over the country could live at home 36 Jan/Feb '15 longer with consistent, quality care. While Senior Helpers had always been on my radar, it was not my first thought as far as a livelihood. Until one day... F orever changed by… an insurance pitch ? I was living in Kalamazoo with my husband, Aaron (yes, my name is Erin and his name is Aaron!). At the time, I wasn’t thinking of opening my own business. I was in the trenches at home with my two little ones. Aaron had been in the insurance industry for the past 16 years and worked with a lot of families needing Long Term Care insurance. I watched one of Aaron’s promotional videos urging clients to purchase LTC insurance because it was a way to allow people to remain independent. The video was filled with testimonials from people who wished to age in their home. Many of them were being forced out because of lack of assistance—whether financial or family support. Aging wasn’t something I thought a lot about at the time. All four of my grandparents were alive and my parents were active and still working. But after watching that video, I realized what my future would most likely hold. I wasn’t thinking of my own aging process, rather what I would be witnessing with my older family members. I didn’t want my grandparents to end up like those people in the video— wishing they could stay in their home but being forced to leave because they had no other option. I’m sure my husband was hoping the video would entice me into purchasing Long Term Care insurance (which it did), but my overall reaction was how could I help those people in the video! So when the opportunity finally presented itself for us to make a move to Traverse City, I knew what I wanted to do for a living. And the local branch of Senior Helpers was born! O ur community With 10,000 people turning 65 every single day in our country, everyone will most likely be affected by dementia at some point—whether it be a parent, spouse or friend. Recognizing this need in our community triggered a powerful education process for my business. We worked to develop meaningful relationships with our care partners and we earned a the designation as a “Senior Gems” certified office. This means that over 75 percent of our caregivers are trained in Positive Approach to Alzheimer’s and dementia care and we have two certified employees who are Senior Gems trainers. This also means our focus is on what our clients still can do (instead of what they can’t do). Our community educator, Missy Smith, provides complimentary training to facilities and groups who would like to learn more about this positive approach to working with patients. The training helps our Senior Helpers caregivers experience a dementia simulation to better empathize with many of our clients. It’s an amazing experience where our caregivers are asked to complete a series of tasks in a state www.grandtraversewoman.com Ferris state University / TRAVERSE CITY I get a lot of questions when I first talk to new caregivers, clients, families or the community. Most commonly, people wonder about the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Many hear these words used more or less interchangeably and realize that they both have to do with memory loss. But there is a difference. Just as an apple is a type of fruit, Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia. (Other forms of dementia include Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia and frontotemporal disorders.) Furthermore, not all memory issues in an older person are indicative of dementia. Some forms of dementia are temporary and should not necessarily be seen as degenerative. If you or a loved one is concerned about memory loss, please consult a physician to learn more. There are wonderful organizations, like the Alzheimer’s Association, which raise money for research and fight for a cure. And of course, Senior Helpers is proud to provide Alzheimer’s and dementia care to local elders. www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 37 Grand Traverse Woman I never thought it would happen to my family, but sadly reality hit when my dad died of heart disease four years ago. My dad, Richard Kent, suffered a fatal heart attack at the young age of 57. I was at home when I received the call from my mom. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It didn’t seem real. My last conversation with my dad was the Fourth of July. Dad called to let me know that he and Mom were going to their cabin in Grayling. We said that we loved each other and would talk again before the next weekend…but suddenly he was gone. Though heart disease ran in my family, my dad had been managing his cholesterol levels for more than 20 years. Not only did he exercise and eat well, he also took daily cholesterol medication. My dad was very athletic. I grew up watching him train and compete in karate, canoe racing, you name it. He liked to focus on setting goals, not just for achieving physical health, but nutritional, emotional and intellectual well-being, too. My mom helped by providing healthy, balanced meals, staying active and continually supporting a healthy lifestyle. I noticed being healthy made Dad feel good in many ways. That impacted how he encouraged my brother, Jason; my sister, Vicki; and me to be active, set goals and manage our time. I was inspired to pursue a career in dietetics out of my passion for running and the competitive spirit I inherited from my dad. I recognized the advantages in eating healthy, knowing my body and digging deeper into the research of disease prevention. Given everything I knew, I couldn’t help but wonder: What went wrong? The heart of our family The health info that could have saved my dad When my dad passed away he was in the best shape of his life, or so we thought. He looked great, was eating healthy and training for the AuSable Canoe Marathon with my brother. My dad’s dream was to finish the marathon with my brother or me. He was only two weeks from realizing that dream when he passed away. My dad wanted to live a long, healthy and fulfilling life. He was committed to getting preventive care. His lipid panel was the best it had been in years. It was so suspiciously good he swiftly went back to his physician and requested to have his labs re-drawn, just to make sure they were accurate. Sure enough, all was great. Dad’s total cholesterol, LDL (low density lipoprotein), HDL (high density lipoprotein), triglycerides and blood glucose were all in the healthy range. So, what happened? Unfortunately, a standard lipid panel does not test for indicators of inflammation or blockage. ThisThisummer waswasallallabout them… s summer about them… s fall, summer was all about them… ThiThisThi I ’ m focusi n g on me! s fall, I’m focusing on me! By Kandi Kent Lannen This fall, I’m focusing on me! Grand Traverse Woman I later learned, my dad’s heart attack was the result of advanced blockage in two of the heart’s main arteries. You would have never guessed it by looking at him. If only there were stronger preventative care guidelines in place for people with heart disease or at risk for heart disease. I often think to myself, what if there would have been recommendations for further testing for people like my dad who have been on cholesterol lowering medications for 10 years, 15 years and so on. I’m here to tell you what my family wishes we would have advocated for. There are so many tests that could have helped Dad’s physician detect blockage. For example, there are blood tests such as C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is a protein the liver makes in response to injury or infection (inflammatory response). CRP is a sign of inflammation somewhere in your body. Though a CRP test can’t pinpoint exactly where the inflammation is, it can be a good indicator of atherosclerosis (fat deposits clogging your arteries). There are also lab tests for Homocysteine and Lipoprotein A levels. Other tests include cardiac computerized tomography (CT scan), cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cardiac catheterization. A CT scan can be used to check for heart problems by collecting images of your heart and chest. An MRI provides pictures of The 15-Day clean is performed with the use of local anesthesia and intravenous sedation, and is generally not very uncomfortable. This is an invasive test; however the benefit is that the test accurately reveals images of the extent and severity of all coronary arterial blockages. I encourage everyone to make the time to talk with their physician and loved ones about heart disease prevention and the best approach for helping them manage their disease. Though I wake each morning to a new day there is forever an emptiness left by my dad’s physical absence. That pain has motivated me. In the spring of 2014, I began advocating strongly for the prevention and awareness of heart disease. I’m now on the Executive Leadership Team of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign as well as a member of the Circle of Red. I participated in the October Heart Walk in Grand Rapids and I’m working with the American Heart Association to build greater visibility in Northern Michigan. I’m trying to make a difference. That’s another thing dad taught me: He always said if I was dedicated I could succeed in whatever I set my mind to. Kandi Kent Lannen is a graduate of Traverse City Central High School. She is a Registered Dietitian with 16 years of wellness, health promotion and chronic disease prevention experience. The Power of Being Local eaTing winTer DeTox: winter detox your heart that can help your physician evaluate your heart health. And, cardiac catheterization helps physicians see the blood flow through your heart, blood vessels and valves to check for abnormalities. If only... It’s tough to know which one test to recommend to people who want to know more about their heart health. For people who have never had a lipid panel, that is a good starting point. For people who have a history of heart disease and have been on medications for years, I recommend they speak with their physician at least annually about their heart health and advocate for testing beyond a lipid panel every couple of years depending on their medical and family history. There are also two tests that should be considered and discussed with a physician, again depending on your family history and disease state. The first is an echocardiogram (“echo”), which is an ultrasound of the heart. A small probe like a microphone, called a transducer, is placed on the chest in various places. The ultrasound waves sent by the transducer bounce off the various parts of the heart. A computer in the machine determines the time it takes for the sound wave to return to the transducer and generates a picture with the data. During the test, you lie on your back or left side on a stretcher for about 45 minutes while the pictures are being recorded. The other test is a coronary angiography, which sTarTing At mBank, we support business growth by combining big bank lending skillsPower and products with community The of Being Localbank sensibilities. We look for ways tomBank, help ourwe clients improve and we appreciate our role in create a At support business growth by combining bighelping bank lending dynamic business environment. Economic growth means a lot for Northern skills and products with community bank sensibilities. 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Dr. | 231.929.5600 www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com bankmbank.com Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. In your corner. Around the corner. Jan/Feb '15 39 Grand Traverse Woman A nurse finds a risk, a reward happiness in new business By Julie Hartl For years I had wanted to own my business. I knew I would be happier in the role of business owner than employee. I think my stubborn personality was the biggest hint! I had a strong drive to take care of people. I worked my way to become a Licensed Nurse Practitioner. Little did I know that my two goals would someday combine. That day came about six months ago. After spending 13 years with my last employer—caring for patients with chronic and life-limiting illness in their homes—my job description changed and I suddenly found myself searching for a job. I found a few interview opportunities, but nothing struck me as exciting. I really loved my previous position. I would make frequent home visits to discuss the patient’s goals, treat their persistent and distressing symptoms, and help their caregivers and families understand the diseases. Although it sounded like depressing work to some, I felt immense satisfaction when patients looked and felt calmer after my visits. (I admit that when I was asked: “What do Grand Traverse Woman you do for work?” not a lot of conversation would follow my answer.) Still, I truly felt a calling to care for others in their homes. When a friend challenged me finally to “go out on a limb and do it yourself,” I listened. As I researched the possibility of owning my own home-care business, things began to fall into place. My family encouraged me. My mentor gave me confidence to move forward. And the medical community offered endless support. Thus began Chronic Care Management, LLC. My patients are the elderly, the disabled, the chronically ill or those diagnosed with cancer or another challenging disease that redirects their lives and makes independence difficult. These individuals are truly inspirational because they work so hard to live productive, meaningful lives, despite their limitations. Without violating privacy issues, I can reveal that patients are often left with minimal resources and no one to check on their medical care following their diagnoses. It may be difficult for them to travel or sit in a waiting room, sometimes for an hour or more. The more I spend time with my patients in their home environments, the more I learn about them. They are human and emotional; they have crushes on the EMS drivers who frequent their homes; they have stories about the tattoos they received in the military and the “one that got away”; and they have hidden worries and frustrations. My goals are to improve these patients’ quality of life, control their symptoms, diagnose complications and prevent hospital readmissions. Not everything fell into place perfectly. It took more than three months of seeing patients on my own before I began to receive consistent reimbursement from the insurance companies. Not an ideal situation for a single mother of two children. Unlike retail or food service, the return on investment in healthcare is immensely delayed and, at times, a battle. But I refused to give up. I view Chronic Care Management, LLC as a new wave of healthcare, for the better. I am seeing other returns on my investment pour in. My patients are getting the convenient care they need. Their family members are complimenting me on the improvements they’ve seen. And my children, who had previously experienced an emotionally exhausted mother at night, now experience one who is more fulfilled. Sure, I’ve become a penny-pincher. And there is still work stress, but it is oddly different and seemingly better now that I’m the boss, doing what I love. I enjoy the control I have in my life, the freedom of time and the security of knowing I’ve created a career, not just a job, for myself and those who join me. I am thankful for the opportunity to care for others, to be welcomed into their homes and families and to be present for their life-changing and emotional moments. There’s genuine happiness there. The experience has changed me. In the past my drive was money, with a goal of working less and making more. But with this, perhaps with my pushing 40, I want other things. Experts who deal with the human mind often describe the stages of growth as “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.” This career move allowed me to move up that hierarchy toward the top tier of “self-actualization.” I want to be purposeful, to make use of my talents and inspire others to do the same. Leaving my old job wasn’t ideal at the time. But now I know life has a way of falling into place for everyone. For my patients and me, everything became easier with a little support and a listening ear. My advice to women: Take your intuition and run with it. Be smart, do your research, find willing investors who share your goals and experienced mentors who are inspirational. At the risk of sounding cliché... Do something you love and the rest will fall into place. Julie Hartl, MSN, FNP-C, is president and owner of Chronic Care Management, LLC, a new local business providing home-visiting nurse practitioners, nurses and counselors to those with chronic illness. If you have a chronically ill family member or friend in need of a better quality of life, call 231.421.6921. P E DI AT R IC DE N T I ST S Because We Specialize In Children, We Treat Children Special! 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Not valid for previous purchases or in conjunction with any other offer. 956 South Airport Road West, Suite A, Traverse City, MI 49686 231.932.0688 1241 E 8th Street | Traverse City | MI 49686 231 . 947 . 4566 Traverse City 231-929-3200 Charlevoix 231-237-0955 www.schulzortho.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Both Doctors are Diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 41 Grand Traverse Woman The Best CAREER ISSUE You’ll Ever Grand Traverse Woman better looking hair? hey girls! Just text “New Hair” to 90210 for a free sample READ GET OUT AND PLAY! Connect with our Readers: Articles, advertorials and advertisements available. Grand Traverse Woman’s Mar/April 2015 Career Issue Specials on ¼ Page Ads and More! Email [email protected] or call 231.276.5105 WE ’RE EXP AN DIN G! Our new buildings feature studio, loft, 1, 2, 3 & 4 bedroom luxury apartments. Enjoy a peaceful setting within minutes of all the beaches, services and recreation of the beautiful Grand Traverse region. Our friendly on-site management team can help you discover a relaxing resort-style rental community. NEW Upgrade Features Community Amenities • Lofts with attached garages • Clubhouse with Wi-Fi, fireplace, & kitchen • Granite countertops • Outdoor heated pool & jacuzzi • Stainless appliances • Pet-friendly Bark Park • Views of nature reserve • 24/7 fitness center Contact us today to reserve your new home! 231.932.9200 arborsoftraverse.com 42 Jan/Feb '15 For more information contact: Jodi Mesrobian Soper • 231.631.3903 • jodi.mymonat.com Email your hair challages to [email protected] Watch Home Comfort Tips Wednesday Mornings at 6:55 am on TV 7&4 News just before the TODAY Show CROSS COUNTRY SKI • SNOWSHOE • SNOW BIKE We’ve got your toys to make winter FUN! Clothing and accessories too! 231.947.4274 736 E. 8th Street Traverse City www.brickwheels.com • 24/7 emergency maintenance service 866-BOB-HEAT www.teambobs.com WE CARRY: Patagonia, Smartwool, NorthFace, SKHoop Tubbs and Atlas Snowshoes Fischer, Salomon, Rossi and Swix - Skis, Boots, Poles and Bindings, And more! 24 Hour Emergency Service www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 43 Grand Traverse Woman Over 9,000 (cute & cuddly) rescues The story behind the start of AC PAW June with her 6-year-old dog Daisy. In July of 1995, I cofounded AC PAW with Brian Manley, my best friend and partner for the past 35 years. Brian is blind, a special man who sees with his ears and hears with his heart. The goal of our rescue organization was to give animals in Northern Michigan a second chance at life. It was a labor of love. We didn’t know it at the time, but it would become a life’s mission. It all began from the question “why?” Twenty-some years ago I read to Brian an editorial written by a local doctor. The doctor had found a stray puppy and was hoping an owner would come forward. He said he would never take an animal to animal control; it was a dreadful place. The subject kept coming up in conversations between Brian and me. We wondered why the man had felt strongly enough about it to write to the editor of the paper. We had never put much thought into what actually happens at a dog pound. Could it really be that bad? The very next day we took a trip to the Animal Control facility. It was dark, cold and filled with many sad animals. As we were leaving the building, I noticed what I believed to be several hundred collars hanging on the wall. They were not pretty, but dirty and ragged. Some had name tags, some had licenses on them and some had none. Once in the car I described the wall and asked Brian his thoughts. The pained look on his face spoke volumes and confirmed that the doctor had been correct and most likely all of those collars belonged to what had once been a family pet. This was a life-changing moment for both of us. The thought made us sick at heart. We couldn’t sleep. Our next step was to go to the shelter and photograph the animals. But I realized by the time I developed the photos in my dark room at home and printed and posted them around town, those animals were beyond saving. They were already in the freezer waiting to be taken to the dump. We did our research. I learned that animals with no collars had five days. Wearing a collar gave them seven days. If no one claimed or wanted them by the deadline, they were put to death to make room for the How to help! AC PAW hosts adoption hours at PetSmart in Traverse City. Feline adoption hours are Tuesday and Thursday: 3-5 p.m., Saturday: 12-4 p.m. and Sunday: 1-4 p.m. Cats are tested for Feline Leukemia and FIV, vaccinated, and sterilized prior to adoption. Adoption Fee: $100. Canine adoption hours are Saturdays and Sundays as announced. Canines are vaccinated for Parvo/ Distemper and Rabies, and sterilized prior to adoption. Adoption Fee: $200. AC PAW has an interview and application process for adoptees. Check out www.acpaw.org to see the animals looking for homes and their stories. You can also find out how to become a foster parent or other ways to become involved. 44 Jan/Feb '15 By June McGrath new arrivals. I believe that time limit still stands today. An animal turned in by its owner is at risk of being euthanized within hours. If your dog or cat goes missing, please search your local pound and humane society right away and keep going back to see for yourself. The situation pulled at my heartstrings, being an animal lover. We soon realized we had to rethink this thing that was haunting us. It was only a matter of time before we started bringing animals home when their time was up. Our first dog was Keil, a Doberman with a litter of puppies. Her former family had left her at the pound when they went away on vacation. There, she had her pups. Brian and I were very naïve to think it would be easy to get people involved. The local paper agreed to publish a story on our mission. We invited people to join us in a meeting. Three people showed up, two of whom just came to eat. But we kept plodding along, redirecting our efforts. We eventually found like-minded people to help with our mission: people to spread the word, rescue, adopt or foster pets. Of course, I kept some of the animals along the way. Like Daisy. This dog was what I would call a “foster failure” and I just couldn’t part with her. Looking back, I was always bringing animals home as a little girl. I see AC PAW as that little girl’s dream. Now a grown woman, I have as many animals in my life as a girl could want. Of course, not all the dogs that come through AC PAW are mine, but they are all connected to my heart. Brian would frequently pass me in the hallway at 3 or 4 a.m., just as I was finishing a bottle-feeding session with 3 or 4 orphaned kittens, followed by administering medications for several cats with respiratory conditions and putting salve on a dog with a burn. With our first donation of puppies from one of the dogs we had adopted out, we also learned: along with rescue comes responsibility. We knew the cycle of overpopulation must be stopped. So our spay/neuter policy was promptly put into place. It has been a wild roller coaster ride with its ups and downs, lots of sweat and many tears along the Grand Traverse Woman way. (Some of us have even given up a little blood once in a while when challenging a cat or dog that preferred not to be challenged at the moment!) I’ve been involved in every aspect of the organization from grant writing, management, long-range planning and coordinating events, but also cleaning litter pans. Whatever needed to be done. AC PAW will celebrate its 20th birthday this year, having rescued and placed nearly 9,000 dogs and cats in new homes. To this day, I’m proud to say that all our animals are health screened, vaccinated and spayed or neutered before being adopted. In stopping the cycle, AC PAW has prevented thousands of dogs and cats from being born into an already overcrowded world. The reality is harsh. Many animals are being born to die, facing much pain and suffering along the way. As a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization, we have been fortunate enough to build a strong core of volunteers. They are the absolute best people, going above and beyond the call of duty to help an animal in need and to support each other. Rescue work is much more difficult than some would think, but they gladly do it. Through this, I see the best of people, but I also deal with the worst of people and that sometimes takes a toll on the belief in all that is good. But we don’t quit. The media have been kind to us over the years and we have managed to keep our heads just above water financially. It is not easy, but nothing worth doing is easy. Brian points out that I have “never made a penny for the more than 30,000 hours of work for AC PAW, which leaves me with little precious time for myself.” But I wouldn’t change anything. My hope for the future is to remain true to our mission and become a giant bright spot in our community where the support of the people will be consistent enough to take the daily struggle out of being able to rescue just that one more special-needs cat or dog that deserves a second chance at life. I think some people search their entire lives to find what they were meant to do and never get there. I am blessed to have found what I am meant to do. June McGrath is the co-founder of AC PAW. She earned the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association Community Service award in 2003 as well as a Doris Day Foundation “Kindred Spirit” award in 2004. To learn more, visit www.acpaw.org. Meet Smudge! WEIGHT LOSS SEMINAR Make your New Year’s Resolution to lose weight once and for all! Ideal Protein of America Presented by Dr. Ann Kuenker Dr. Ann Kuenker Medically supervised weight loss system using Ideal Protein. Lose with a proven program that promotes fat loss, naturally suppresses appetite, and provides nutrition education and support to maintain weight loss. Seminars are being held monthly at our following locations: Elk Rapids Skin and Laser Clinic 516 Bridge Street, Elk Rapids Reservations: 231-264-0700 The Vein Center Munson Professional Bldg. 1221 Sixth Street, Suite 312, Traverse City Reservations: 231-935-2844 Petoskey Weight Loss Clinic Northview Centre (entrance to Bay Harbor) 3890 Charlevoix Road (US-31 North) Suite 180 Petoskey, MI Reservations: 231-935-2844 This gorgeous girl has had a long journey. She first came to AC PAW in July of 2013. She had been hit by a car and a nice lady picked her up and took her to Banfield Pet Hospital. Smudge was very frightened, unfriendly, and part of her tail had to be amputated due to the accident. She was also pregnant! Smudge had four lovely kittens who all found wonderful homes. She is about two years old, and still very much a playful kitten. She is very active and loves to play with her foster brother. It would be best for Smudge to have a home with another loving and easygoing kitten to play with. She sleeps on her foster mom's feet every night and snuggles right up in her legs to watch TV. She is still a little cautious of hands. With love and patience, she will trust you and she will become a very sweet loving cat that deserves the best forever home. Visit www.acpaw.org to see Smudge and others looking for a home. Keil, the first dog June brought home from animal control www.grandtraversewoman.com YOUR LAST DIET www.grandtraversewoman.com Elk Rapids SKIN & LASER CLINIC Seating is limited for all seminars. Please call to reserve your seat. Dr. Ann Kuenker Medical & Aesthetic Skin Procedures Wrinkle Fillers ( Juvederm/Restylane) / Microdermabrasion / Chemical Peels Botox / Skin Problems / Moles / Warts / Acne Treatments / Sun Spot Removal Cancer Checks / IPL Photorejuvenation / Laser Hair Removal / Electrolysis Jan/Feb '15 45 Grand Traverse Woman Grand Traverse WOMAN i n b u s i n e ss Grand Traverse Ophthalmology Clinic (GTOC) has launched a new website: www. gtoc.net. The new site provides a comprehensive overview of all medical and surgical eye care services offered at GTOC and features a patient portal for easy access to appointment scheduling and prescription refills. Grand Traverse Ophthalmology Clinics are located at 929 Business Park Dr. in Traverse City, 2061 M-119 in Petoskey and at 511 Ashmun St., Sault Saint Marie. 231.947.6246, www. gtoc.net Traverse City State Bank announces the promotion of Cindy Godmer to the downtown Traverse City branch as branch manager and bank officer. A Traverse City native and graduate of Grand Valley State University, Godmer has more than 16 years banking experience. She’s an avid runner and downhill skier, enjoys biking and practicing yoga. She recently completed the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Grand Traverse Program. Traverse City State Bank, the only bank headquartered in Traverse City, provides a full range of commercial, consumer and residential mortgage services in the five-county Grand Traverse Region. 333 W. Grandview Parkway, Traverse City, 231.995.5500, www.tcsb.com. Century 21 Northland announces that Jane Darling has joined its team of agents. Darling’s career ties to the real estate industry spans several decades. A resident of Suttons Bay, Darling moved to Leelanau County in 1986. Darling will serve the Leelanau County community from Century 21 Northland’s Northport office. Century 21 Northland is Northern Michigan’s fastest growing real estate brokerage, serving customers from offices in Traverse City, Suttons Bay, Frankfort, Glen r r Arbor, Beulah, Elk Rapids and Old Mission Peninsula. 231.929.7900, [email protected], www.c21northland.com TBA Credit Union announced the promotion of several employees at their Front Street branch. Andrea Stagg was promoted from member service representative to member service specialist. She will be responsible for opening business and personal accounts, preparing loan documents and evaluating loan requests. Stagg has been with the credit union for over two years. Mae Zimmerman has been promoted to member service supervisor, having previously served as a member service representative and later as a receptionist. Zimmerman will now supervise frontline staff and oversee cash handling and balancing. She has been with the credit union for almost two years. Tonia Rogers will now serve as receptionist, greeting members, answering member questions and scheduling appointments. She has been with TBACU for six years and most recently worked at the South Airport branch in Traverse City. 231.946.7090, tbacu.com Katy Lauren Marois is the newest hair stylist at Salon Verve. She is a Traverse City Beauty College Alumna and has been in the beauty business just over a year. Access her professional Facebook page for specials and announcements. https://www.facebook.com/ KatyLaurenStylist Crystal Mountain announces that Joan O’Neill has returned to join Crystal Mountain Realty as a licensed real estate agent. O’Neill will represent residential, vacation and recreational properties both at Crystal Mountain and the surrounding area. She will work alongside managing broker Karyn Thorr and associate broker Nancy Mullen Call. Together, the three represent nearly 70 years of combined experience serving the resort. From 1998 – 2008 O’Neill was part of the Crystal Mountain marketing team, serving first as the resort’s public relations manager and later as its communications director. Since 2008, she worked four years as an account executive at Greenlight Marketing in Traverse City and most recently two years as the communications manager for The Father Fred Grand Traverse Woman Foundation. O’Neill, her husband, Scott, and their two sons live in Lake Ann. www. crystalmountain.com The Center for Plastic Surgery at Copper Ridge has added licensed and certified physician assistant Breena Johnson to its team of plastic surgery professionals. Johnson comes to the Center with experience as a surgical physician assistant, most recently with the general surgery department from McLaren Northern Michigan. Prior to her return to Michigan she was at University Hospital in Indianapolis with the hepto-biliary pancreatic surgical specialty group. She completed her masters program in Physician Assistant studies at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant. The Center for Plastic Surgery at Copper Ridge serves Northern Michigan with cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, and aesthetic skin care services from their practices in Traverse City, Charlevoix and Petoskey. 231.929.7700, www.tc-plasticsurgery.com Thanks to community support and a new partnership with the nonprofit Utopia Foundation, Paperworks, a nonprofit specialty paper products company that employs disadvantaged adults, has reopened in its first retail location: inside Great Lakes Bath & Body, 110 E. Front St. in downtown Traverse City. “By keeping Paperworks Studio alive, we can continue offering these jobs and this lifestyle to people who might not otherwise have those opportunities,” says Mimi Spaulding, Paperworks Studio’s interim executive director. A new website with the company’s full product line, is expected in early 2015. The former Premier Health & Fitness has been sold to Tim and Holly Rudolph of Traverse City. With the sale complete, the South Garfield Avenue fitness center, renamed Club One, is undergoing a transformation. A longtime Premier member, Holly, and her husband saw an opportunity when the dated fitness center was put on the market. “We saw the need for a high-quality health club in Traverse City. At Club One, we are looking to cater to health-conscious people who want a clean, first-class gym experience,” she said. Existing memberships will be honored while they expand membership through corporate wellness programs, new classes and other incentives. For information, contact the Rudolphs at 231.645.5001, or Club One at 231.995.0920. KUDOS TBA Credit Union has donated $5,000 to six area educators as part of their Classroom Improvement Grant program. The program allows educators within Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties to apply online for grants for up to $1,000. Applicants can seek funds for text- books, technology, curriculum and special programs. Recent recipients of Classroom Improvement Grants include TC East Middle School, Forest Area Middle School, TC West Senior High School and Long Lake Elementary School. Teacher Wendy Patton of Forest Area Middle School is able to offer an additional resource to her students through the Classroom Improvement Grant funds she received: “I am very excited and honored to have been chosen to receive this grant from TBA Credit Union. The money granted will be used to purchase an online science program that will enrich the FAMS student’s science knowledge.” A $160 million (assets) credit union, TBACU provides financial services to over 13,000 members in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Leelanau counties. In addition to two branch offices located in Traverse City, service is available at 1,800 shared-branching offices and 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs made accessible across the nation through an affiliates program. 231.946.7090, tbacu.com Northwestern Michigan College nominated Holly Jansen to the newly developed Business Administration Advisory Committee. Assisting members at TBA Credit Union’s Front Street branch, Jansen has served as a credit union branch manager for four years. The NMC committee’s focus will be to share ideas, opportunities, and marketplace trends with NMC graduates and interns to prepare them for the global community they will face upon graduation. As a committee member, Jansen will have the opportunity to share job experiences, assist with classroom projects and even provide job training and internship opportunities. Lisa Rossi of RE/MAX Bayshore Properties has earned the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation, placing her among 2,300 elite real estate professionals worldwide. To date, she is the only member of the Northern Great Lakes Realtors/ Traverse Area Association of Realtors (TAAR) to have earned the designation. Rossi is a resident of Maple City and works out of the brokerage’s 500 Union St. office in Traverse City. 231.499.9198, [email protected], www.remaxbayshore.com Please join us in welcoming Traverse City’s newest Pediatrician… Come see our new DIGS! Spice up your Valentine’s Day www.pureromance.com/Jenellederusha [email protected] 231.883.6983 Dr. Megan Stilwill D.O. Weekday Mornings Dr. Stilwill is accepting new patients and has a special interest in children with developmental delays and neurologic conditions 4:30–7am Brendan Melissa KINNEY 46 Jan/Feb '15 SMITH Traverse Area Pediatric & Adolescent Clinic Joe CHARLEVOIX Meteorologist (231) 421-8099 ● 4020 W. Royal Drive, TC www.tapactc.com ● Like us on Facebook www.grandtraversewoman.com www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 47 Grand Traverse Woman The Traverse City chapter of SCORE marks its 25th year serving small business clients in the five-county region. The all-volunteer non-profit organization provided mentoring to over 600 local clients and more than 500 workshop participants last year. SCORE Traverse City is one of 320 SCORE chapters throughout the U.S. and ranks in the Top 10 nationally in client service and satisfaction. Traverse City SCORE was named Michigan Chapter of the Year in 2013 and has grown to a team of 40 local volunteer business professionals. SCORE provides free and confidential mentoring services and educational workshops as well as online resources, tools and webinars. SCORE’s office is located in the Traverse City Chamber of Commerce building at 202 East Grandview Parkway. 888.796.4913, www.upnorthscore.com Members of the Blaine Christian Church gathered Nov. 7 with the goal to make hundreds of pies before the day was done. Production and sale of the pies is an annual fundraiser organized by Blaine Christian Church located near the famous Mystery Spot at the corner of Putney and Joyfield Roads. The final number of pies produced this year…886! Cash proceeds from pie sales will be directed to a number of mission projects including camper scholarships, Love INC, and Benzie Area Christian Neighbors. Bonnie Putney, co-chair this year with Sonja Reitan said, “Pie Day helps us celebrate the rural nature of our township and that many are involved in the orchard industry. Thank you to all the businesses and individuals who purchase pies. A very special thank you goes to Smeltzer Orchard Company for donating, peeling, slicing and delivering the apples for us.” Grand Traverse Woman events Grand Traverse Woman GTWoman Luncheon Thursday, Feb. 12 – “From Broke to Bad Ass” - Speaker Mardi Jo Link We all know what we’re supposed to do when life gives you lemons. Add sugar & stir. But what about when life gives you divorce, debt, foreclosure notices, a broken well, a broken freezer, and a broken dream? Grand Traverse Ophthalmology Clinic’s Annual Fall Trunk Show raised $3,000, which will benefit local nonprofits: Traverse Health Clinic, Special Olympics and the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA. “We are delighted to be able to give back to the community by supporting these wonderful charities and to bring to the forefront the services of these organizations who help those in need in our area,” said GTOC’s Kenneth Musson, M.D. Each of the organizations received $1,000. 929 Business Park Dr., Traverse City, 231.947.6246 or 800.968.6612, www. gtoc.net EVENTS The 2015 Home EXPO, featuring home trends is presented by the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme on Jan. 31- Feb. 1. Hours are Saturday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The largest Home EXPO north of Grand Rapids features more than 120 exhibitors– including builders, remodelers, renovators and landscapers, the latest in home technologies, waterfront amenities, home spas and pools, custom painting techniques, design and style experts. For information contact Caroline Kennedy, Executive Officer at 231.946.2305 or [email protected], www.hbagta.com. Show: Blue Man Group, www.blueman.com We booked the front 6 rows in the theater. The first 4 rows come with splash guards. Everyone who has seen BMG says they are hilarious and unpredictable! We will head there together in all of our (washable) finery. What then? When the going gets tough, says Traverse City author Mardi Jo Link, the tough do not add sugar. The tough add cussing, sweat, resolve, and good old Mid-western stubbornness. And, in lieu of stirring, she wrote about it instead. Then sold her memoir to the biggest publisher in New York, won awards, and optioned the film rights to an Academy Award-Winning actress. If you’re in the mood for a Local Girl Makes Good story, or, Local Girl Goes Badass, this is it. Mardi will speak at our Feb. 12 luncheon about her experiences and how to make the best of the worst. Mardi Jo Link is an award-winning writer and journalist from Traverse City. Her work has appeared in Creative Nonfiction, Terrain, The Detroit Free Press, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune among others. The luncheon is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hagerty Center in Traverse City. We also have vendor booths available at the event for $185 (includes 2 lunch tix). Thank you to our series sponsors TBA Credit Union and GTOC and our supporting sponsors TV 7&4, Lite 96, Fox Grand Traverse, Northwood Animal Hospital, Sarah Brown Photography and SCORE. Lunch tickets are $25 or 2 for $45. More info and tickets at www.grandtraversewoman.com. Classes begin in January! + PERSONAL Comprehensive Dental Care for the Whole Family Let me help you buy a house near the beautiful new YMCA! 8 7 6 E . F r o n t S t r e e t | Tr a v e r s e C i t y, M I 4 9 6 8 6 231.947.6880 | www.RoseStreetDental.com 48 Jan/Feb '14 Call LOU ANNE for help with all the details. DEVELOPMENT (14 years of experience & many happy clients) Lou Anne Ford NMC Extended Education nmc.edu/ees 231.995.1700 www.grandtraversewoman.com cost: Quad: $349 each, Triple: $399 each, Double: $449 each. (Includes 2 nights lodging in downtown Chicago, motorcoach transportation, 1 Blue Man Group ticket and other goodies!) Thank you to our presenting sponsor GTOC, our supporting sponsor Traverse City State Bank and sister sponsors EmbroidMe, Black Star Farms and TV 9&10. Email [email protected] to register ASAP! 2015 IS TIME TO New Year, New You! PROFESSIONAL We are already loading for Chicago 2015. At print, buses 1 & 2 were full. We are now booking the last bus - Bus 3 with 38 seats remaining. Email [email protected] to register! Hotel: Hotel Rush Four Points by Sheraton is now Hotel Rush Chicago Downtown. They are completely renovated in a new European style and are a block off the Magnificent Mile! www.hotelonrush.com GTW Network Nite Wednesday, Jan. 14 – JUNGLE NIGHT! WEAR: Get out your leopard prints, kitty tracks, zebra stripes or anything wild and trot it out at the Jan. 14th Network Nite at Impres Salon and Spa. The theme is Jungle Night and we expect you all to be a little on the wild side. We will enjoy a girls night out of food, wine and laughter. Come ready to make new friends and catch up with everyone! Wine by Verterra Winery and food by The Flavours by Sodexo. SPEAKER: Of course we will have an animal-themed speaker! Meet June McGrath who co-founded AC PAW, a non-profit animal rescue. Meet the woman who has saved over 9,000 animals (and their people too)! BRING: Please consider donating pet food (dry or canned), and new or used items such as blankets, towels, washcloths, cleaning rags and pet beds. The animals & AC PAW foster parents thank you! PRIZES: Impres will give away a $200 Grand Prize! We will also give a prize for best dressed (meow...) Attendees are also welcome to donate a prize. Put a face to the name of your business! Limited to 10 women. To be on the giveaway list, email [email protected]. A thank you goes to our presenting sponsor Credit Union One, our supporting sponsors Northwood Animal Hospital, Image360 and Precision Plumbing and Heating Systems, and our media sponsors TV 7&4 and Z93. More info available at www.grandtraversewoman.com. Tickets are $15 or 2 for $20. GTWoman Chicago Trip Oct. 2-4, 2015 Associate Broker 231-645-3643 [email protected] 241 E. State Street, Traverse City www.grandtraversewoman.com Live Your Joy Psychic Medium, Life Coach and Healer Brandaleen Spiritual Connections & Energy Healing 134 State Street • 231-313-1601 Jan/Feb '15 49 Grand Traverse Woman momma 1210 Grand Traverse Woman Is freshwater in your future? By Kandace chapple www.kandacechapple.com Basketball Love My son, Kendall, played his first basketball tournament last Saturday. It was thrilling, crushing, exciting and exhausting. And he’s only in 6th grade. And I’m talking about me. It’s my first year of school events where they actually keep score. And it was a tiny sweat-filled drama that stretched out the length of a Saturday. Foul! I was a fine, calm, courteous spectator at the start of each game. However, when we got down by 2 points and someone on the other team double dribbled, I was gripping the seat of the metal folding chair, wedged into the small gym at West Middle School, and shouting out the call. In my head, very loudly, without saying a word, leaning forward, looking at Tim, “Did you see that?” Only when the ref called it, did I lean back in relief. God forbid a 12-year-old boy get away with a double dribble in a 24-minute basketball game, playing for nothing, in a borrowed jersey. However, I was just as sure to call our team’s double dribbles. I was a fair critic, coach and ref, for all. I was able to sink the ball a dozen or more times in a single game in a dozen different scenarios, all with the will of my mind and my grip on a metal chair. Again and again, I saw what should be done, envisioned it, willed it, telepathy-ed it, played it, but in the end, usually cursed it. At no point did anyone ask me actually to touch a ball. Which was good. I would have been outed as a dumb-luck player, one with nothing more than my own sixthgrade experience, molded nearly three decades ago, a basketball career that ended almost before it began due to considerable ineptitude and lack of trying. Free throws Not the free throw. Anything but the free throw. It’s a gimmie that almost never takes at this age. What’s worse than an entire gym hanging on your every move as you toe the line, launch the ball, bounce it slightly to the left of the basket and back into the hands of your opponent? When your team is down by the same number of free throws you’re allotted, that’s what. These boys turned into men before our very eyes. One angst-ridden free throw at a time, forced into the limelight, their inadequacies and their successes on display for parents and grandparents alike to see. But I marveled at how they took their misses and their points in stride, every inch a man on the court. And each time I held my breath, reliving my Interlochen Lakers days in a similar gym of similar outcome. The Glory In our first game, one of our players made an unbelievable full-court shot in the final seconds of the first quarter. trouble (in the) hood 1309 Full-court, swish, nothing but net. The crowd was on its feet, our team, their team, the refs, the lady selling tickets two hallways down, everyone, and I mean everyone, was shouting. I cheered, part 12-year-old girl again, part proud imaginary coach. In our second game, we faced battle in a sudden-death shoot-out. There I sat on my metal chair, hoping the dudes wouldn’t blow it when, out of nowhere, one of our littlest guys sank it, swish, nothing but net, once more. I was shouting again, my wildest (sixth-grade) dreams coming true. I’d never been on a winning team before (technically still not; benched forever in my metal chair) and the victory was sweet. In the end, we took second in the basketball tournament. While the loss of the championship was a (hefty) blow, we figured second place was a decent (amazing, butt-kicking) showing. I’d survived the sweat and the tears and the drama. (Oh, and the boys did too.) Freshwater Science and Sustainability Bachelor’s Degree Western Michigan University offers the Freshwater Science and Sustainability bachelor’s degree in Traverse City. More than just Science. More than just Policy. This interdisciplinary degree helps you see the big picture so you can make a big difference. By Kerry winkler Hold the fork Have you ever completed a full, messy meal….. and turn around to notice one of your kid’s fork and knife are perfectly clean? Untouched? As in a caveman just ate at your table and you didn’t even notice. That is my Brook. We had prepared a nice, juicy pot roast, potatoes, carrots, gravy and hot croissants. The table was laid out with a pretty red tablecloth and napkins with silverware positioned perfectly, with delicate goblets to hold our drinks. It is a rare treat at our house to slow down and enjoy the ambience. Rarer yet for Brook to use her fork. As the table was cleared, there sat her silverware, sparkling clean on her napkin. Nary a mark. How did she manage a whole, messy meal without using a fork? Or a napkin? Simple: That’s what her fingers and the front of her shirt were for. I admit it started because of me. As the baby of the family, if Brook wanted her pancake cut, I cut it. I didn’t care that she was old enough to throw a basketball, do triple digit math and pinch her brother when no one was looking. I was certain I was needed to cut her food just so. 50 Jan/Feb '15 But I went too far. The food was always nice and bite size. Perfect for a toddler….not a 7, then 8, then 9 year old. Nice, bite size, easy food. No need for a fork or a knife. Then the voice of reason started…not mine, Jeff’s. “It must stop,” he said. “It must not,” I insisted. “She is going to be driving soon with her mother in the backseat waiting to cut up her McDonald’s,” he said. “Teenagers need close supervision anyway,” I insisted. “You will be cutting her food while she is cutting yours at the old folk’s home,” Jeff said. “Sounds like a bonus to me; you are only sealing the deal,” I beamed. But alas, I caved and started to reluctantly make Brook cut her own food. Brook was a bit perplexed. She had to slow down and focus on her food preparation. Not gabbing and eating finger food while dribbling it down the front of her shirt. Jeff took the reins and patiently showed her. (When his back was turned, I’d reach in for a good cut-up on a tough piece of meat.) Picture taken minutes before she pinched her brother and then spilled her milk. She actually took to it just fine for the most part…. Now when I play guard, she’s full on, uses cutlery and best manners. Especially in public, as she’s been forewarned of dire consequences if the other moms see her eating with her hands. But if I relax and enjoy the meal and forget for a millisecond, she reverts back to finger food, gabbing and pure enjoyment of the situation. And the dinner that night, I ate with relish as did she. I turned a blind eye when she tumbled her goblet, smeared gravy on the table and gnawed her food like a mini monster. Jeff did too. We were determined to enjoy. After all, we figured there would be one less set of silverware to wash at the end of the night! www.grandtraversewoman.com Where science, business and policy meet to help you make a difference. wmich.edu/traversecity/freshwater WMU-Traverse City – 2200 Dendrinos Drive #201 Traverse City, MI 49684 – (231) 995-1846 www.grandtraversewoman.com Jan/Feb '15 51 Grand Traverse Woman Karndean Designflooring On Sale Now Best Prices of the Year On Every Karndean Floor Luxury vinyl tile—Karndean Designflooring brings us the very best in a dazzling array of styles. Choose between hundreds of incredible wood grain, stone, and tile treatments—even metal and mosaic. Wood looks range from beautiful textured handscraped styles to parquet, natural stone looks from slate to marble—even a terrific terra cotta. Best of all these incredible floors are soft, warm, and quiet. Value You Can Believe In Purchase the beauty of Karndean and get more than a pretty floor. Restaurants, hotels, salons & spas have all turned to Karndean for natural looking beauty, low cost of maintenance, and long-term durability. Enjoy the same benefits in your home. 20% to 40% Savings The entire Karndean collection is on sale now—a great opportunity to bring these beautiful floors to your home. But hurry, this event ends on March 31st, 2015. 52 Jan/Feb '15 1035 S. Garfield Ave, Traverse City www.grandtraversewoman.com 231-947-4808 • carpetgalleria.com
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