Nicole Burdick recently joined Waddell & Reed as a financial advisor.
Waddell & Reed announced this week that Nicole Burdick has joined the firm as a Financial Advisor in the Bellingham area.
As a personal financial advisor, Burdick will help develop customized financial plans, recommend investment strategies and counsel clients throughout the area. She has a passion for financial planning and enjoys working closely with her clients to help them pursue their goals and feel prepared for the future.
Previously, Burdick worked for Organized at Last, Bank of the Pacific and First Interstate Bank. Burdick earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Western Washington University and currently serves on the board of Whatcom Women in Business.
Founded in 1937, Waddell & Reed has today grown to more than 160 offices nationwide. The company offers a wide array of investment products and services, as well as a variety of insurance products which are offered through insurance companies with which Waddell & Reed has sales arrangements.
For more information about Waddell & Reed, or about financial services in general, contact Nicole Burdick at 360-734-4728, ext. 132.
Staff, club members, parents, board members, volunteers, and community members all gathered at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County, Bellingham Clubhouse for the 2015 Community Impact Report. The evening began with the official swearing in of 2015 Corporate Board officers followed by the awards and honors presentation, and culminated with the Youth of the Year speeches and winner presentation.
Terri Salstrom (President of Industrial Credit Union), who served as the Corporate Board Chair in 2013 and 2014, welcomed the incoming 2015 Chair, Erik Dyrland (Farmers Insurance). Erik grew up in the Boys and Girls Clubs in Whatcom County and now runs a successful business in the community that helped to raise him. His first-hand knowledge of the club impact, history of serving on the board, and knowing the Whatcom community all add to what makes him an ideal leader for this organization.
The awards and honors given at the event recognized individuals in the organization and the community who exemplify going all-in for club members. Awards given included:
Board Member of the Year – Susan Rice for her leadership on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County Foundation Board.
Staff Member of the Year – Lynn Schreiber for her dedication to delivering needed programs to Clubs across the county.
Lou Parberry Award – Rocky Tanguay for his pivotal role in bringing the Clubs to Whatcom County by being the first Chair of the Board.
Community Impact Award – Mark and Helen Packer for their interest in being the investors to catapult the academic achievement program, iStride, in the Clubs.
CEO, Heather Powell, was excited to announce the night’s most anticipated honor: Youth of the Year. Tina La of the Bellingham Clubhouse was selected to represent the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County at the state competition in March. Tina’s story is one that goes beyond overcoming obstacles and Powell is excited to work with her on this journey. “I am proud of all of our youth who are willing to tell their personal stories to a room full of strangers. Tina’s is a story about how the club helped her become a dedicated and successful student and a giving community member who has great plans for her future. I look forward working with her on her journey to the state competition,” said Powell.
More information about this event can be found by calling the organization at 360-738-3808.
Whatcom Educational Credit Union held its annual Board of Directors and Supervisory Committee elections, returning three veteran members to their seats. Harte Bressler, Phil Isle, and Kristi Lewis Tyran were elected to the Board of Directors, and Harte Bressler was also returned to the Supervisory Committee.
Harte Bressler, a CPA/Shareholder at Metcalf, Hodges P.S. has been re-elected to the Board and Supervisory Committee. Harte was appointed to the Supervisory committee in late 1996, filling a vacant seat. Phil Isle is the retired CEO/CFO of Walton Beverage Co. and Advantage Vending & Distribution and has been a member of the board since 1985. Kristi Lewis Tyran, the current Assistant Professor of Management at WWU has served on the board since 2006.
Sustainable Connections announces that operations are well under way to expand their Food and Farming program due in part to the award of a USDA grant to collaborate with the Bellingham Farmers Market. The grant leverages additional support from the Sustainable Whatcom Fund of the Whatcom Community Foundation.
According to Agriculture Marketing Services Administrator, Anne Alonzo, “These Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program grants provide farmers and ranchers around the country with tools to reach consumers, strengthen ties between urban and rural communities, and help meet the growing demand for locally and regionally produced food.”
The community’s recognition and support of The Bellingham Farmers’ Market and Sustainable Connections’ Eat Local First Campaign demonstrates how helpful and responsive the community is in supporting local farmers. The success of these programs is encouraging to the USDA and funding for expansion in these programs will benefit local farmers and strengthen the economy.
In a USDA press release about the award, Secretary Vilsack announced, “Investing in local and regional food systems supports the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers, especially smaller operations, while strengthening economies in communities across the country.”
“There is so much momentum happening within the food and agriculture sectors that we couldn’t be more excited tosupport local farmers and reward our community for Eating Local First by expanding our programs and partnership with the Bellingham Farmers Market,” said Sara Southerland, food and farming manager at Sustainable Connections.
The expansion includes activities such as market product demonstrations and promotions; Bellingham Farmers Market season extension; Farm Tour and Eat Local Month public events; Eat Local First in schools; and promotion for ‘Fresh Bucks’, a market-matching EBT promotion that provides Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as “food stamps”) shoppers with extra buying power. The Fresh Bucks program matches SNAP dollar-for-dollar up to $10 per cardholder per market per day.
Attention high school juniors and seniors! Register now for Preparing for the SAT. This course will help you succeed with all three sections of the SAT: writing, critical reading, and math. Learn important test-taking strategies as you review common trouble areas such as word problems, ratios, geometry, statistics, probability, writing and assessing timed essays, improving and correcting sentences, and developing reading techniques.
Classes will be held 6:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays Jan. 27–March 10, in Whatcom Community College’s Cascade Hall. Textbook is included in the $189 course fee. Bring a calculator to class. Read instructor biographies, discover course details and register online at www.whatcomcommunityed.com. Or call Community & Continuing Education at 360-383-3200.
The 2014-2015 Whatcom READS! book is Daniel James Brown’s award-winning book “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.”
Whatcom READS!, the annual county-wide one-book reading program in Whatcom County, was awarded a $3,500 matching grant from Humanities Washington to support the 2015 program. The Whatcom County Library Foundation (WCLF) received the funds. The Friends of the Bellingham Public Library and WCLF are the major contributing sponsors for Whatcom READS!
Whatcom READS! encourages everyone to read and discuss the same book. Western Reads is a campus-wide reading program designed to promote intellectual engagement, community and conversation among new students. For 2014-2015, both groups selected Daniel James Brown’s award-winning book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and are jointly developing programs and events. Pick up a copy of the book from your local library or from Whatcom READS! community partner, Village Books.
There are many ways to join in the discussion and exploration of Brown’s book in January of 2015; book discussions throughout Whatcom County, events with local presenters like rowers Dale McKinnon, Curtis Smith, and Bob Diehl, explorations of how family stories become history and a chance to see and discuss L. Riefenstahl’s Olympia at the Pickford Film Center. All events are free and open to the public. Pick up a ticket at the Pickford box office to reserve your seat for the Olympia film screening.
Daniel James Brown will visit Whatcom READS! February 24-26 for five in-person events, including the keynote author event at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden on February 24, at 7:30 p.m. and repeated at the Mount Baker Theatre on Wednesday, February 25, at 7:00 p.m. All author events are free, no tickets required, and Brown will sign books following each event. More information on all events is available online at the Whatcom READS! and Western Reads websites: http://www.whatcomreads.org and http://www.wwu.edu/westernreads.
Humanities Washington is the state’s flagship non-profit for promoting and providing programs based in the humanities. Since 1973, Humanities Washington has provided program grants and a rich array of programs, exhibits, and experiences to hundreds of thousands of people across the state.
Whatcom READS! is organized by all the public and academic libraries of Whatcom County and our community partner, Village Books.
The bowling team practices at 20th Century Bowl in downtown Bellingham.
By Stacee Sledge
The combined Bellingham School District bowling team includes (from left) Janie Jones, Abby Runge, Jasmine Mendoza, Yolanda Nunez-Hernandez, and Sailor Mcintyre. Pictured standing (from left) are Shaye Fowler, Cortney Coppinger, and Bobbie Cowgill.
While bowling with friends last summer, Sehome High School teacher Erin Furda joked that her dream job would be to coach a bowling team. Little did she know that within just a few months, she’d be doing exactly that.
Only one student from BHS expressed interest, but 10 girls from both Sehome and Squalicum – enough for two full rosters – jumped at the chance. And when Furda heard about the coaching opportunity, she did too.
“I applied more out of a personal interest in coaching,” Furda says. “I was really involved in athletics when I was in high school and I’ve always wanted to coach.” But the demands that can come with many coaching positions kept her away.
“Most coaching positions have a really serious time commitment – five, six, seven days a week,” Furda says. “I have young kids at home and it’s just not something I was ready to commit to yet.”
With a shorter season, she expected coaching bowling to have a lighter time commitment, giving Furda the opportunity to interact with students in that capacity and be involved in sports again.
The bowling team practices at 20th Century Bowl in downtown Bellingham.
“I threw my hat in the ring,” she says, smiling, “and they hired me!”
The season began in early November and will run through the District Tournament on January 30. If they qualify, the teams will head to the State Tournament in early February.
Turns out, Furda dedicates a lot of her time to coaching – but she doesn’t regret it for a moment.
“It does take a lot,” she says with a laugh. “We practice or have a match four days a week.”
Many of those matches are held outside of Bellingham, as most of the teams are in Marysville, Lynnwood, Everett, and the Seattle area.
“We do a lot of traveling,” Furda says. “We often leave the school at 1:00 p.m. and get back at 8:00, 8:30 at night.”
Furda is quick to say she’s having a lot of fun. “I hope I get to keep doing it.”
Coach Erin Furda is also a teacher at Sehome High School.
“The girls have to pay their athletic fee like they would for any sport,” Furda explains. “And then it’s up to the team to fundraise for balls and shoes and those types of things.”
Bowling equipment, much like golf, is very personalized; the balls are drilled to fit each girl’s hand.
And thanks to successful fundraising, Furda and the group were heading out the following weekend to get more of the girls their own balls.
“It makes a huge difference,” Furda says of the customized bowling balls. “The house balls are plastic and don’t fit your fingers and hand size. You get a really different result. Professional bowlers will have three or four different balls, almost like a golfer with different clubs.”
Furda admits she’s learned a lot right alongside her girls this season.
“I didn’t try to pretend that I had a lot of bowling knowledge coming into this,” she says, laughing. “I’ve tried to model that you can always learn new things – and once you commit to a team, you can learn and get better.”
She’s grateful for the volunteer help of Carl Nichols, a USBC Silver Level Coach with 45 years of experience who also owns Birch Bay’s Bowlers Pro Shop.
“That’s been a really important partnership for us,” says Furda. “He approached us simply out of love for the game.”
The team’s seniors were recognized during the final match. Back row (from left): Dory Linneman, Simone Hall, Morgan Henry, Mallory Kruzich. Front row (from left): Jessica Vaught, Gabby Gorosare
She also credits the local bowling community with helping the teams feel supported.
“A lot of people are just really happy to see young people bowling, and for the sport to be revitalizing,” she says.
Furda’s favorite thing about this first year of coaching has been watching the two high schools train together and form friendships – and she hopes Bellingham High School will join in next season.
“These schools don’t typically get the opportunity to form friendships and to train with people across district, and that has been really awesome to watch,” she says.
The two schools have, in essence, formed one large team – even though they compete against each other.
“That’s honestly been my favorite part,” Furda says. “Mixing girls from different schools and getting to play together and getting to know each other – there’s just such great camaraderie.”
Human interactions take place around light – be it daylight, candles, or LEDs. While the role of light in life on Earth is widely acknowledged, light-based science and technology have revolutionized our world through applications in medicine, communications, entertainment, and culture.
A program sponsored by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, the Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC) at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the International Astronomical Union provides stunning, free images to groups and individuals everywhere that want to help tell the story of light.
Part of the United Nations International Year of Light 2015 (IYL2015) initiative, Light Beyond the Bulb is a free-use image exhibition program that displays the incredible variety of light-based science and technology. The program offers a unique opportunity for anyone around the globe to create high-quality image-based educational displays exhibitions or displays. Materials and the images were crowd-sourced then expert curated for science content, stunning beauty and ability to engage the greater public. Exhibitions will soon be displayed at museums, planetariums, universities, libraries, airports, conferences, and festivals, in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Serbia, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Mauritius, Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil. Locations are listed in the exhibit schedule.
If any individual or organization would like to host their own version of Light Beyond the Bulb, there is a wealth of information on the Light Beyond the Bulb website. All of the images and caption materials are available free of charge. Local organizers will be responsible to identify funds for printing as well as secure locations to host the content.
Cover photo courtesy of J L Spauldling creative Commons License
In fall 2014, The Black Drop Coffeehouse expanded its ownership team with the addition of Ryan Siu, a veteran barista of the shop.
The Black Drop Coffeehouse expanded its ownership team in fall 2014 with the addition of Ryan Siu, a veteran barista of the shop.
Joining as owneroperator, Siu will work alongside Stephanie Oppelaar who was hired as a barista in 2004 and has been owner of The Black Drop Coffeehouse since December 2009. The two were coworkers for three years until 2010, when Siu left to serve in the Peace Corps in Bulgaria.
“I am excited to have Ryan back from his travels and embarking on a new facet of his time at The Black Drop as an owner,” shared Oppelaar. “His enthusiasm, attention to detail, and passion for coffee have always been an asset, and his love for Bellingham fits with our commitment to be an inclusive, communityfocused business.”
Siu began at The Black Drop after finishing his degree at Western Washington University and quickly developed a love for coffee. His passion grew as he absorbed coffee knowledge from the shop’s team, attended regional coffee events, and competed in the Northwest Regional Barista Competition.
As a Peace Corps volunteer, Siu supported small business and tourism development in the Rhodope mountains for two years. Following his service in Bulgaria, he moved to China to teach English to kindergarteners and quickly acquainted himself with a coffee shop in Beijing. It was through this shop that he reignited his love of coffee and made plans to visit San Ramon, Nicaragua, through an organization called Planting Hope.
“The draw was the educational outreach [Planting Hope] did with the coffee farming communities,” shared Siu. “Through that outreach I was able to see my first coffee plant, taste its fruit, and see the devastation leaf rust can cause. I also got to meet many different people in the coffee industry and learn about the coffee chain process.”
“These interactions helped me realize that my passion is in sharing great coffee with customers, so I contacted Stephanie about returning to The Black Drop as it had played a significant role in my life.”
Siu officially took coownership of the shop on September 29, 2014.
Located in downtown Bellingham, The Black Drop Coffeehouse strives to provide high quality coffee and personal customer service to make exceptional coffee and the experience of drinking it accessible to anyone. The Black Drop strongly believes in the value of community and service, and strives to donate resources of time, money and volunteerism to its neighborhood, local residents and customers. To learn more about The Black Drop Coffeehouse, visit their website here, or call 360-7383767.
A Barron Heating Home Performance Expert can help you pinpoint the source of excess dust.
A Barron Heating Home Performance Expert can help you pinpoint the source of excess dust.
Most of us think of a dusty house as an annoyance – yet another task to add to our already long to-do list.
But excessive dust can also be the sign of a bigger problem: a poor performing home.
While some components of household dust are relatively harmless (like human dander, animal fur, food debris, lint, and tracked-in dirt), insidious things lurk in it as well, such as lead, fire retardants, pesticides, arsenic, fiberglass insulation, and other highly toxic or allergenic substances.
Household Dust Can Trigger Asthma & Allergies
The connection between indoor air quality and health concerns is irrefutable. For the more than 26 million American who suffer from asthma, dust mites, which feed on shed skin, produce allergens that can trigger an attack.
Many people don’t realize that indoor air can often be more dangerous than the air outside. How? One culprit is off-gassing from many of the products used to build, furnish, decorate, and clean our spaces. And with today’s “tighter” construction, less fresh air finds its way into the home to help reduce these off-gassing chemicals.
Another cause of poor indoor air quality is leaky heating ducts. Envision your duct system as the arteries of your home, pushing out about the same amount of air (from the furnace) that it pulls in (from the intake return).
In the duct system of a home designed with a modern understanding of building science, the rooms are all part of that system, as the furnace and intake work in tandem to push and pull air throughout the house.
If leaky ducts cause you to lose, say, 30 percent of air blowing from the furnace into your crawl space, the same amount coming from the heating system will still be pulled in through the intake return. Now that air, in your depressurized home, is coming in through the paths of least resistance: can lights, electrical outlets – even plumbing penetrations.
That extra air also passes through the insulation in your walls or ceilings, bringing with it tiny fiberglass insulation particles.
There’s no question that the air we breathe makes a vast difference in our health. Lessening the dust and allergens in your home is one of the most important steps you can take to increase your and your family’s health and comfort.
DIY Ideas
While there are plenty of ways to tackle dust issues yourself, calling in the expert may be just the solution.
You probably already know a few things you can do to help ease the dust in the average home:
Change your furnace filter regularly.
Wash bedding weekly.
Sweep, damp mop, and vacuum frequently (and clean the vacuum bag and HEPA filter often, so picked-up dust isn’t expelled right back into the air).
Keep closets tidy – and don’t forget to regularly vacuum these dust-magnet spaces, as well.
Do not allow smoking inside your home.
Capture dust when cleaning, rather than just spreading it around; use a damp cloth or microfiber cloth, which traps the dust and holds it.
Beat rugs and carpets with a broom or tennis racket outdoors, draped over a fence, porch railing or clothesline – don’t forget couch cushions and pillows, as well.
And remember the walls: At least every few months, wipe down walls, trim and baseboards with microfiber cloths.
These are all common sense steps for a clean, healthier home. But in a poor performing home, these good habits alone won’t be enough to tackle the dusty issue.
Calling in the Professionals:The Home and Duct Performance Assessment
There are solutions to keep that dust where it belongs – in the attic or crawl space. A Barron HeatingHome Performance Expert can pinpoint the source – and what you can do about it.
A Barron Heating Home Performance Expert has been trained above and beyond the usual HVAC expectations.
If someone has a squeaky floor, the solution is a simple nail – but the skill is in knowing where to put that nail.
“Some guy walks in and looks around, pounds a nail, and then gives you a bill for a hundred dollars,” says Chris Baisch of Barron Heating. “You’re not paying for the nail or the time: You’re paying for the breadth of understanding and knowledge of where that nail goes – rather than pounding nails all over the house.”
Barron Heating’s motto is: Test, don’t guess. So the first step to solving any issues in your home is to have a home and duct performance assessment, which will identify where the air and any accompanying contaminants are coming from, and how best to control them.
A Barron Home Performance Expert has been trained above and beyond the usual HVAC expectations and has the knowledge to pinpoint problems – and solutions – in a poor performing home.
A Home and Duct Performance Assessment is different from an energy audit. Changes suggested by one of Barron’s experts will make your home more energy efficient, but the focus is on making it healthier and more comfortable, answering the “whys” of a home’s issues. Why is the indoor air quality poor? Why is there dust? Why are you losing energy in the home?
“And rather than just throwing a bigger filter, a bigger furnace, a different version of equipment at a problem,” says Baisch, “a Barron home performance expert has access to powerful tools – blower doors, infrared cameras, all of the diagnostic tools available – to identify the issue, support their findings, and give the customer confidence in the suggested end result.”
Each home is unique, and so are the findings and recommendations by Barron’s team, but common solutions to quelling heavy dust and allergens in the home include:
Air sealing the duct system
Insulating the duct system
Air sealing attic floor and crawl space ceiling
Air sealing leaks from inside the home
Adding a fresh air duct to the heating system
Installing whole house ventilation (timer-driven exhaust fans)
Kevin Wiebe is a Ferndale native. Although he graduated from Ferndale High School, he admits he wasn't a model student. His teachers and administrators...
