by Pamela Kleibrink Thompson
The New Year is a time to set goals for improvement, whether it is to establish a new fitness regimen, improve our skills or increase our knowledge, get a check up on finances, find ways to save money or time, or to reevaluate our health, including what we eat and the health of our teeth. These businesses are ready to help you achieve your dreams in 2017.
FOOTHILLS PHYSICAL THERAPY
Foothills Physical Therapy provides expert, one-on-one, quality care and is dedicated to creating an empowering environment with individualized care to achieve optimal healing and functional recovery. Foothills Physical Therapy treats a full range of outpatient diagnoses, from joint replacements and shoulder reconstructions to chronic back pain, overuse injuries and sports injuries. As an independent private practice, Foothills Physical Therapy began serving patients in 2003 with a unique model of care that involves only licensed practitioners working with patients. 
At their three Treasure Valley locations (Eagle, Boise, Meridian), they are ready to serve your needs and help you achieve your goals. Foothills Physical Therapy offers a full spectrum of outpatient care for patients of all ages and abilities. They also offer Pilates-based physical therapy and individual or group classes at their Eagle location. Aquatic physical therapy is even featured. Their licensed massage therapists are skilled in a variety of manual therapy techniques and work under the guidance of your PT or can be seen independently. The therapists at Foothills prioritize educating their patients to continue their therapeutic gains on their own, believing in the concept of knowledge as a vital instrument toward long-term success with therapy. With our outstanding staff, experienced clinicians, athletic trainers, and more Board-Certified Clinical Specialists than any other group in the Treasure Valley, Foothills Physical Therapy can help you meet your goals! foothillspt.com
AXIOM FITNESS
Axiom Fitness’ mission is to educate, empower, and lead the community to experience their true potential through health and fitness. Locally owned and operated, Axiom Fitness provides their members with the resources to get in the best shape of their lives. With four state-of-the-art health clubs in the Treasure Valley fully equipped with strength and cardio equipment and staffed by professional personal trainers, Axiom Fitness can help you live healthier. Their newest location at Meridian Village has a swimming pool and features the Aqua Workout, an invigorating class held in the pool that improves cardiovascular conditioning, muscular strength, and endurance using the buoyancy and resistance of the water to give you a safe, effective, fun workout without pounding your joints, ligaments, and tendons. Select locations also have recreation facilities including racquetball courts and basketball courts. Meet someone new at a group exercise class. Axiomfitness.com
IDAHO POTATO COMMISSION
Working out builds up an appetite. Idaho is known for potatoes but many Idahoans don’t know about the work of the Idaho Potato Commission, which is based in Eagle. Many license plates in Idaho promote the healthful vegetable. A state agency, The Idaho Potato Commission was established 80 years ago to promote and protect the famous “Grown in Idaho®” seal, a federally registered trademark that assures consumers they are purchasing potatoes grown in Idaho’s rich, volcanic soil and moderate climate.
“I call the Idaho potato the world’s largest multivitamin!” says Frank W. Muir, President/CEO, Idaho Potato Commission. “A medium Idaho potato has no fat, sodium or cholesterol. It has nearly twice the potassium as a banana. It has 45% of our daily needs of vitamin C. It has fiber and protein and many micronutrients such as folate, vitamin B6, Copper, zinc, etc. Importantly, Idaho potatoes are the only potato certified by the American Heart Association as heart healthy. The complex carbs of an Idaho potato provide the energy for active bodies as well as brain fuel for active minds. The commission has over 1000 recipes on its website, idahopotato.com, for folks to select healthy choices. Also, potatoes are the one vegetable your children will actually eat without complaining!” Muir is partial to the Russet Burbank variety which is truly the potato that made Idaho famous. “However, I also enjoy the wide range of potato varieties Idaho is now growing. Chefs across the nation are creating unique ways to serve our wide range of potatoes. I love taking a large Idaho baked potato, topping it with grilled chicken, black beans, jalapenos, salsa, ground black pepper and a dollop of low fat sour cream. My wife Cindy also makes a killer au gratin dish as well as perfect mashed potatoes.” Muir invites everyone to visit his beautiful office located right on the north fork of the Boise River in Eagle. “ I invite everyone to come visit our office where every Idahoan is able to receive 50 free famous Idaho potato pins every year to share with their friends around the world! Nearly 10,000 pins are donated annually.” idahopotato.com
IDAHO BEEF COUNCIL
Potatoes go well with steak and the Idaho Beef Council can give you a recipe for success with your next dinner party featuring prime cuts of Idaho beef. Beef is the second largest revenue generating agricultural product in Idaho after milk. Healthy for Idaho’s economy (there are over 9,700 cattle operations and cattle are raised in every Idaho county and mostly by private ranchers), beef is also healthy for Idahoans. A recent study called BOLD (Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet) demonstrated that when adding lean beef to the most recommended heart-healthy diet it reduced levels of total and LDL “bad” cholesterol. The improvements in heart-health risk factors seen from the BOLD diets are as effective as those from the DASH and other heart-healthy diets. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and leading health organizations recognize lean meat as a nutrient-rich food and recommend lean meat as part of a healthy diet. Idbeef.org
U
NITED DAIRYMEN OF IDAHO
A variant on the steak and potatoes theme is a cheeseburger with fries. Providing quality cheese is the business of the United Dairymen of Idaho. “Many Americans don’t get enough calcium or protein as part of their daily diet,” states Karianne Fallow, CEO, United Dairymen of Idaho, says “Eating well and being active is the key to a healthy lifestyle, and three servings of dairy provides nine essential nutrients.” Fallow’s favorite dairy product is cheese. An Eagle resident, Fallow loves her community and loves her job. She’s worked for Idaho’s dairy farm families for about 3 ½ years. “I was fortunate to be chosen by the Idaho Dairy Products Commission board of directors, who are all dairy farmers. The United Dairymen of Idaho represents the 500 family-owned dairy farms throughout the state. Our team works hard every day to support Idaho’s dairy farm families who are committed to providing safe and nutritious milk which is made into a variety of dairy products. Those dairy products not only feed Idahoans, but populations around the world.” You can find dairy recipes on their website at idahodairy.com/recipes
PES WEIS
If your dream is to expand your business, save time and employee costs, then outsource the headache of payroll to pes-wies, “Payroll. The easy way!” Established in 2001 by twin sisters Marcy Brown and Darcy Proctor, pes-wies specializes in payroll support to small and medium sized Idaho businesses. Besides help with preparing payroll, government reporting and automatic deposits, they also help with tax deposits – (SUTA, FUTA, FICA), employee withholdings, and issuing annual W-2 forms. Kenny Pittman, Vice President of Marketing notes that “pes-wies now offers a web-based portal for businesses and client company employees.”Located in Eagle, pes-wies has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the Eagle Chamber of Commerce, and chambers in Boise, Meridian, Caldwell and Nampa and is affiliated with Buy Idaho. Hours Mon-Thurs 7-3, Friday 9-3. pes-wies.com For more information: contact Kenny Pittman at kennyp@pes-wies.com. Pes Wies: proempservice@aol.com | phone – 208.854.1900
MASS MUTUAL
After you’ve taken care of your physical fitness, take care of your fiscal fitness with a check up from MassMutual Idaho, a full-service financial services company that provides solutions to protect their client’s futures. “We help individuals, families and businesses of all sizes,” states Tracey Stone, Director of Recruitment and Marketing, MassMutual Idaho, who’s worked with the company for 7 years. MassMutual Idaho recently relocated to the Village at Meridian. “We have a collaborative team to fully serve our clients. We invest in our community and think fun should be part of the process. With our emphasis on a needs-based process, we assess what our clients have in their current situation and LISTEN to what they want for the future before we offer the solutions they need. We have a vast portfolio of products to meet those needs. We’ll help them get where they want to go. If I could say what we do in one sentence, it would be that we provide peace of mind and hope for the future. We had a case of a stay-at-home parent who lost her spouse. She was devastated. Through our death benefit from life insurance she was able to stay in her home and provide an economic buffer for her to get back on her feet and plan for the future. Her child now has a fund set aside for college even though he lost his dad. We all know that life happens but we can plan and prepare for it. You are never too young or too old to start.” Stone moved to Eagle in 2004. “I chose Eagle because of the small town feel and quality of the homes and community. I knew it would be a great place for my kids to attend school and participate in their favorite sports. I love the opportunity for running and access to the greenbelt and foothills.” massmutual.com/idaho
IDAHO POWER
Feel the energy of Idaho Power as you boot up your computer, recharge your cell phone, or do a load of laundry. Eagle residents can save on their energy bill this winter with some tips from Idaho Power. “The first step to saving at home is to understand how and when you use electricity,” said Blake Watson, Idaho Power Community Relations Representative, who has lived in Eagle since 1992 and worked for Idaho Power for 33 years. “Registering for myAccount at idahopower.com and checking your use regularly is an easy way to begin.” According to Watson, the next step might be a professional in-home energy audit (available for a reduced fee). An audit will provide recommendations for increasing energy savings, and suggestions for various energy efficiency improvements, such as energy saving light bulbs provided at no additional cost. The items installed during the audit can reduce an average home’s energy use by up to 5 percent. A typical residential customer uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month on average. You may be able to save up to 600 kWh per year depending on the condition of your home and the number of improvements installed.
Idaho Power has a few tips for energy efficiency during the winter months. Open the curtains and blinds on sunny days to let the sun warm your home. Close curtains and blinds at night to trap heat inside. Look for air leaks around windows and doors. Caulk windows and add weather stripping to doors and seal other leaks to reduce drafts and keep the warm air inside your home. You may want to check your duct system and all joints for air leaks—or have a professional do it. If you choose to repair duct leaks yourself, use duct mastic, not duct tape. Vacuum registers, baseboard heaters and furnace air returns to remove any dust that might be blocking airflow and reducing the effectiveness of your system. Clean or replace your furnace filter. Have a professional service your heating equipment.
Set your thermostat at 68 degrees when you are home and 55 degrees when you go to sleep or leave the house for extended periods. Remember, though, that it’s best to choose a moderate setting and limit setbacks to 2-3 degrees if you have a heat pump. For each degree you turn down the thermostat in the winter, you’ll save approximately three to five percent on your heating costs. idahopower.com
COLLEGE OF WESTERN IDAHO
They say that knowledge is power and what better place to expand your skills than at the College of Western Idaho. CWI is a public, open access, and comprehensive community college committed to providing affordable access to quality teaching and learning opportunities to residents in western Idaho. Boise was the last metropolitan area in the U.S. to have a community college. In March 2007, the Idaho Legislature appropriated funds for the college and in May voters in Canyon and Ada counties voted to form a community college district. Programs available include business, liberal arts, law enforcement, welding, electrical apprentice, nursing and paramedic training, web development, and much more. CWI also offers college credit for high school students, GED preparation courses, and basic skills education. cwidaho.cc
PROJECT FILTER
Quitting smoking is an excellent way to protect your health as well as those you come into contact with. Project Filter works to educate the public about the resources available to help individuals quit using tobacco. Project Filter’s website notes that smoking kills more people in Idaho than alcohol, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined. About 4 people die from smoking-related diseases every day. About 10% of Idaho high school students smoke, 61,000 children are exposed to secondhand smoke at home and 30,200 youth are projected to ultimately die from smoking. Those you love and work with are affected by smoking. People who live with a smoker have a 20% greater risk of developing lung cancer than those who live with a nonsmoker. Employees exposed to secondhand smoke on the job have a 30% greater risk of getting lung cancer than employees who work in a non-smoking environment. Project Filter’s website states that “Infants and children of parents who smoke are more likely to have ear infections and asthma and have more frequent lower respiratory problems such as coughs, pneumonia, bronchitis, and croup. Smoking can contribute to tooth decay and gum disease, both of which are also linked to heart disease.” If your goal is to stop smoking, Project Filter can help. Projectfilter.org
