Eagle Magazine

GETTING THE WORKS

Staying healthy and looking good is an all-day project.

story Lee Harris

Today was a busy one for Annie Johnson.  She wasn’t looking forward to her dental appointment at 8AM, but she likes to take good care of her health.  After her dental appointment she would enjoy her laser therapy session for a running injury she had sustained last fall, since it makes her feel so good.  Fortunately, her nutritionist shares the same office, and Annie would stop by for some good advice on losing those last 5 pounds.  Finally, she would treat herself by having her hair done; after all, if you feel good, you should also look good.  Best of all, when her busy day was done, Annie knew that they would treat her with delicious dog biscuits.

Annie is a beautiful black and white Springer Spaniel, and her owner Jeff dotes on his canine companion so much that his wife claims to be jealous.  The dog is a genuine part of the family, playing with the kids and joining all of the Johnson’s outdoor activities.  Annie’s “medical spa day” at the All Pet Complex is richly deserved.

The range of medical and wellness services that Annie enjoys at All Pet Complex would be the envy of many human patients.  Staff veterinarian Dr. Mark Braunschmidt says that “the ability to provide a full range of services creates a consistency of care.  Even our groomers have extensive medical training, and they often notice health issues and bring them to the attention of the veterinarians.”  By working together, the team at All Pet Complex is able to address the pet’s needs efficiently and conveniently.

Good health starts in the mouth.  Dogs and cats rarely complain of a toothache, so many painful dental problems are not obvious to the pet owner.  Regular cleaning of the teeth has become routine in the past few decades, but dogs and cats are still susceptible to the catastrophic effects of abscessed teeth or advanced periodontal disease.  Dr. Braunschmidt comments that “the decrease in pain after treating dental problems makes our patients feel two years younger.  These pets are visibly more comfortable even after several extractions than they were before the procedure”.

Laser therapy sounds like something from Star Trek, but at All Pet Complex it is just a part of their arsenal of high-tech healthcare that hospital director Dr. Craig Stoenner has introduced.  This state-of-the-art hospital also features ultrasound, digital radiography, and laparoscopy for minimally invasive surgery.  Annie enjoys the feeling of the light energy from the therapy laser as it sweeps over her sore joint, reducing the pain and inflammation from an old injury.

As exciting as high-tech medicine is, the most dramatic road to good health leads through the food dish.  When it comes to nutrition, veterinarians are far ahead of their human counterparts.    Annie’s owner Jeff would have to agree; although he will admit to downing a thousand calories of burger and fries at Red Robin during lunch, he certainly wouldn’t put Annie’s health at risk with the wrong food.  Dr. Tim Warner told Jeff how excess body fat releases harmful inflammatory chemicals that fuel chronic disease, so Jeff has worked hard to get Annie to a lean, healthy weight.  Even after reducing the amount of her food Annie was still too plump for her own good, so Jeff switched her to a prescription weight-reducing diet, Hills r/d. She has lost 4 more pounds, and Jeff is having a hard time keeping up with her energy when they hike along the river.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little shampoo, blow-dry, and pedicure after your doctor visit?  Sorry, but that isn’t likely to happen—unless you are a dog! At All Pet Complex, grooming may be the simple bath to help the dog look and smell good, or it might involve removing thick mats and treating the red, raw “hotspots” that result from skin allergies and infections.  The art and science of skillful grooming includes the right shampoo, keeping water out of the ears, and gentle use of the clippers.  When you look good, you feel good.

Jeff’s wife came to pick Annie up after her day at All Pet Complex.  “Of course she was a great patient”, hospital manager Joan Moore proclaimed.  “Everyone gives her lots of attention while she is here.”    Annie’s black and while fur gleamed as she bounded out into the reception area.  She looked up at the technician who held her lead as if to say: “OK, now where is my dog biscuit?”

All Pet Complex

7660 Horseshoe Bend Rd

www.allpetcomplex.com

208.853.1000

Additional Pet Perk Services:

Fetch! Pet Care of Treasure Valley is locally owned by Brian and Cami Gross.  Whether you are going on vacation, a business trip, or just spending too much time at the office, Fetch Pet Care has your tail covered. Fetch offers a range of services that meets every need and budget, including boarding and daycare in the sitter's home, overnight sitting or daily visits in the client's home, private and group dog walks and pet taxiing. The Fetch staff is professional, reliable, and caring pet lovers who will give your pets the extra TLC and safety they deserve.

1-866-FETCH-ME (338-2463)
www.fetchpetcare.com

Romancing The Grape: The World Class Wines of Cinder

by Garry Scholz

It may surprise you to learn that one of the 10 hottest small brand wine labels in the United States is just a stone’s throw from Eagle. Wine Business Monthly recently gave this honor to Cinder Wines of Garden City. It’s well deserved for winemaker Melanie Krause and her husband, Joe Schnerr. “Cinder’s success is certainly the best signal to us that we are doing what we set out to do - create a world class wine from grapes grown in the Snake River Valley,” says Schnerr. For Krause, it’s all about the quality of the wines. “We’re going to keep pushing the envelop on quality,” she promises.

Krause is an exceptional winemaker who has trained with the best in the business. A native of Boise, she attended Washington State University, earning degrees in biology and Spanish. During her final year, she found romance when she met Schnerr. After graduating, she found romance of a different sort when she went to work for Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington’s highly regarded winery company. She learned viticulture management practices working with vineyards in Horse Heaven Hills, one of Columbia Valley’s highest quality regions for growing wine grapes. By 2002 she was at the winery’s main operation in Woodinville working in the production room as an assistant winemaker for red wines, a position in which she learned the art of fine winemaking. It was the start of a love affair with grapes and wine that continues to this day.

She married Schnerr and moved back to Idaho. He believed in his wife’s potential, so he encouraged Krause to write a business plan for their own winery. He sums up his feelings at the time: “I knew if we could get her (into our own winery) that sparks would fly and she could be a trailblazer in Idaho.” That’s proven to be an understatement. Krause’s wines have garnered not only local recognition, but regional accolades as well.

It started in 2008 at the Idaho Wine Competition. Cinder’s first white wine, a Viognier, not only won a gold medal, but was also voted the People’s Choice award. Suddenly, local wine enthusiasts noticed that an exceptionally talented winemaker was on the scene. Then, in 2009, Krause her Rosé in the Northwest Wine Summit competition at Mt. Hood, the Northwest’s premier wine judging event involving more than 1500 wines. Cinder Rosé won gold as Best Rosé in the Northwest and was a finalist for Best Wine Northwest honors.

Krause’s fame was solidified. Her honors resulted in sold-out vintages as local wine enthusiasts, retail shops, and restaurants all vied for her product. Production increased rapidly from 400 cases in 2008, to 1200 in 2009, to 1700 planned in 2010. Cinder wines are available throughout Idaho, being carried year-round in the Treasure Valley as well as Sun Valley, Coeur d’Alene, and Idaho Falls. As much as it’s a passion, however, winemaking is also a business that seeks to be profitable. Krause is proud that her business is growing in the midst of a down economy. “We’re doing really, really well,” she says. “We’re achieving our sales goals.”

Krause sees the keys to Cinder’s success in several critical areas. First was the decision to make wine in Idaho. “We started the winery in Idaho where there were fewer brands,” she points out. It was a time, too, when the consumer’s attitude was changing.  “People are focusing on local products and foods. That’s worked in our favor.” Another factor was agricultural. “I came to Idaho and checked out the soil and climate conditions,” she recalls. “I decided I could make world class wines here.” Finally, the pricing structure was also key to the success of the Cinder label. “$40 a bottle wine doesn’t sell,” Krause points out. “We weren’t egotistical. We priced the wines at a point where we could succeed but no more than that.”

This philosophy of frugality has served Krause and Schnerr well. “Every move we make we carefully consider what to spend our money on,” Krause emphasizes. “That usually means the product. The building and equipment are secondary.” Indeed, the winery is a basic industrial building, but adapted perfectly for making fine wines. For two years Cinder Wines shared the space with two other labels, plus Krause did consulting. “These steps helped us to keep costs down and to overcome the need for a large amount of capital early on,” Scherr remembers.

Now, the challenge is on marketing and growing sales, even to the point of entering regional markets. Bringing Schnerr into the business was a major turning in the development of the business in Krause’s mind. “One thing we did that was scary at the time was hiring Joe as a full time sales person,” she recalls. “That was critical to our success.” Schnerr makes no bones about his marketing philosophy. “My number one focus is on our customers,” he states with conviction. “I love introducing people to our beautiful wines and am so proud of the work we’ve accomplished.” He adds, “The restaurants have also been a wonderful and a huge part of our success.”

With success come challenges. Krause is adamant that quality is, as they say, job one. “My goal as a winemaker is to preserve the character of the fruit by achieving the delicate balance of letting the fruit come through without introducing any elements that detract from that.” She sums it up succinctly: “Let the fruit shine through.”              And, if you succeed in that as a winemaker, you will discover, as Krause has, an elemental truth: “There will always be a market for well made wines.”

What of the future? Both Krause and Schnerr agree that a new winery building might be a goal in the next three to five years. Or, they may plant a new vineyard. Both are capital-intensive projects. The reputation and success that Cinder Wines is establishing, however, may make it possible to attract the type of investment partners who would fit with their goals and business philosophy. In any event, the future seems bright for Cinder Wines, a label that has come to stand for the very best wines made in the Pacific Northwest.

For most of the Treasure Valley, August 13th was like any ordinary day, with workers clocking in and children enjoying the last breath of summer. But for one lucky woman, it would be a day that would remain etched in her mind forever.
Stephanie Gornichec never imagined she would win a million dollars. Since being laid off in July 2008, she had submitted over a hundred resumes to businesses all over the valley, but had not found a job over a year later. Though Stephanie’s husband Shaun was still employed, the loss of even one income was enough to put them in financial straits. Unable to pay their bills, the Gornichec’s vehicle was repossessed. The couple decided it was time to file for bankruptcy.

But one knock at the door on a summer morning changed all that. Publishers Clearing House had come to reward Stephanie for participating in its Search and Win program, an online search engine she had used for over a year. Only three days earlier, a letter from the iconic sweepstakes organization notified her of her winnings: a thousand dollars. The same letter mentioned a 1-in-211 chance of winning even more money—a million dollars more. Shaun was optimistic. Stephanie clearly remembers his words: “We are going to win!” Sure enough, three days later, a giant check, a bundle of balloons and a bottle of champagne appeared and the Gornichecs were millionaires.

“Did I ever think that someone would knock on my door and give me a check for a million dollars? Not really,” Stephanie says. She was hopeful, but realistic enough to make time to apply a fresh coat of nail polish that very morning. “Everyone in their right mind will tell you they’re skeptical right up until the end where someone’s screaming at the door, and even at that point, I continued to paint the two toenails I had left.” And when the man of the house begins to scream, it’s time to take notice. “I know my husband’s voice enough to know that when it hit that octave, he is serious,” jokes Stephanie.

So what’s it like to win a million dollars? “It was the most overwhelming, best experience I’ve ever had—besides having my children,” says Stephanie. She calls the experience “surreal,” adding, “the emotion was so high…you’ve got people talking to you a mile a minute about what you should do, what you shouldn’t do—and that’s before the checks arrive!” On the flipside, the Gornichecs received a lot of “strange phone calls…people sending you letters saying, ‘I’m broke, give me money.’” Stephanie’s e-mail account was stolen by a hacker, claiming she was stuck in Europe and needed her friends and family to send money to an overseas moneygram. “There’s a lot of buzz that comes around you that you’re not expecting but we have a well grounded family,” says Stephanie.

Surprisingly, the Gornichecs’ standard of living has not changed since winning the million dollars. “We were pretty much middle class before, and we’re now continuing that type of lifestyle,” says Stephanie. In fact, their biggest expense has been the landscaping of their backyard, which incidentally has employed a handful of local, struggling families. Explains Stephanie, “We’ve done a little bit more in the valley to make sure that people have money, because if you spend, you help.” In fact, “Everybody that we deal with is in a local capacity,” she says.

Possibly most inspiring is what winning has done for the Gornichecs’ own start-up company, Golf Addicts. When the couple first met, they were together by a mutual interest in golf, so the idea to sell golf equipment and travel specials sprouted over five years ago. However, they never had the time and resources to promote the endeavor. Now they were able to. “I quit collecting unemployment immediately and decided to do nothing but work on our own business,” she says. “Winning the money has given us the ability to rebuild the Web site so it looks more professional,” says Stephanie.
Initially, the travel business had been more of Shaun’s idea, with Stephanie insisting that she had to find a “traditional job” and work sixty to seventy hours a week. Now she has a different perspective: “I firmly believe that if you don’t get your own business or find a niche outside of the traditional workplace, you will not succeed as well as in the past.” The Gornichecs seem to be doing well. The business is growing every day and they are more optimistic than ever. “We’re here to promote travel and golf and that’s really the future we want,” says Stephanie.

The Gornichecs’ site is a great option for jetsetters who want to save a little green. Pre-purchased blocks of getaways are made available at a discount on golfaddicts.com. The site offers discounts and cash back for internet shopping as well. The benefit of using such a site rather than booking a vacation independently? “You can call me,” says Stephanie. “You can talk to a live person who actually studies travel and makes it their job to know what’s current [and] what the prices are. We spend a lot of time studying.” Clients can also sign up for newsletters that highlight travel deals that can’t be missed.

A year ago, Stephanie Gornichec’s spirits had been as low as the stock market. She experienced the gamut of emotions that come with losing a job: anger, guilt, depression and anxiety. But she found those feelings to be self-defeating. “When I get to be in those really negative ‘I’m going to feel sorry for myself’ days, it really hasn’t ever worked out,” she says. “I’ve never bought into a victim mentality. I’m just not that type of person.” So with the birth of spring—and several months before winning the sweepstakes—came Gornichec’s new lease on life. She changed her perspective from one of doom to an outlook of hope that better days were just ahead. “The funny thing is, even though I had lost my job, I never truly believed we were going to lose anything,” Stephanie says.

Being handed a check for a million dollars certainly didn’t solve all the Gornichec’s problems. “Actually since we won the money, it’s been more stressful than when we didn’t have any,” says Stephanie. But it has helped them in other ways. “It has made us very appreciative. We don’t take it for granted.”

The “Green Industry”, you hear the term used all over the place. But how do you define the “Green Industry” and how does one start a career in the “Green Industry”? If you check the Internet or newspaper it is easier said than done. That is because the “Green Industry” can be applied to any industry in the world, not to mention it is growing by the minute with new inventions, start up companies and scientific discoveries making it almost impossible to stay caught up and get your foot in the door. When sitting down with Kevin Pile and Dayne Johnson founders of Ecotrain Media Group LLC there is a sense of excitement and passion that surrounds them. But make no mistake they are shroud businessmen. Pile has more than 12 years of experience in the green industry from cruise lines to corporate sustainability consulting. Johnson has over 8 years of experience in design, radio, print, and television. When the two teamed up they wondered why they hadn’t collaborated sooner; especially being cousins. With Pile’s business and eco experience and Johnson’s creative design talents the duo created the Idaho based company: EcoTrain Media Group LLC. Their mission is to educate, entertain and inspire humanity.

The first creation to come out of EcoTrain camp was based on a one of Piles first visions. The vision was a useful career guidebook that transitions people into the “Green Industry”. Both Johnson and Pile saw a need to educate the public on the “Green Industry” to help stimulate job growth, personal development and protect the very planet we all call home. In order to bridge the gap between job seekers and the Green Industry, the two created the EcoTrain Green Career Guide.

The Green Career Guide is a annual publication that is broken down by sections that includes green career pathways, Green Industry projections, green education, a contact list for networking and a directory of over 1000 seminars world wide listed by region.  With over 100 pages, the EcoTrain Green Career Guide is the only resource tool people need to learn about or land a career in the Green Industry. Not to mention the EcoTrain Green Career Guide is the only book of it’s kind in the world. The guide itself is printed on recycled paper and has ample note for appointments, leads and anything else that may be note worthy.  The book itself sells for $45.00 but students and educational institutions can purchase the book for $27.00. Five percent of every purchase goes towards the EcoTrain College Scholarship Fund helping students who are interested in the “Green Industry” get the training they need to be successful in the Green Industry.

Currently Johnson and Pile have been on a book tour promoting the Ecotrain Green Career Guide, visiting most of the major academic institutions in the Northwest. They have plans to visit almost every state in the lower 48 by the summer of 2010. The EcoTrain Green Career Guide is perfect for students, job seekers, business owners, diplomats and anyone interested in the “Green Industry”.  Contact EcoTrain Media Group and get on track for your next career destination.”