The Durango Chamber of Commerce will host an Eggs & Issues breakfast on the “State of Education” at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 21, at DoubleTree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio.
The cost is $17 for chamber members, $25 for nonmembers. Durango School District 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger, Fort Lewis College President Dene Kay Thomas and Regional Academic Director for Southwest Colorado Community College Colton Bjerke will give an update on education. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation. Reservations are required.
To register, visit www.durangobusiness.org or call 247-0312.
The Senior Community Service Employment Program is a federally funded job-training program for unemployed seniors age 55 and older.
The program is seeking employers in La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, Rio Grande, Conejos and Saguache counties to partner with and host a participant in the SCSEP program. The employer receives free help in exchange for a commitment to help the senior participant gain job skills.
SCSEP is an organization committed to improving the quality of life for low-income, financially eligible seniors by assigning them to temporary subsidized paid training and assisting them in their search for unsubsidized jobs in their community.
SCSEP is the steward of federal funds, appropriated to recruit, train and place eligible seniors in subsidized employment. The participant will be paid to train through funding from the U.S. Department of Labor.
The program is also seeking low-income seniors, who are 55 years or older, wanting to receive paid job training through the SCSEP program.
For more information, or to find out the qualifications to be able to host a participant from the program, call 385-3995.
Tomsic Physical Therapy announces the addition of Scott “Grizz” Kelley as physical therapist assistant to its PT team.
A longtime resident of Durango and recent graduate from San Juan College as a physical therapist assistant, Kelley has had extensive experience assisting individuals dealing with rehabilitation and disabilities, first as a volunteer and then as program director with Durango’s Adaptive Sports Association since 1994.
In addition, he has been an EMT since 1994 and a wilderness medicine instructor for NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute since 1999, teaching wilderness first responder and wilderness first-aid courses to outdoor enthusiasts, educators and other outdoor professionals.
While completing his master’s degree in education in upstate New York, Kelley began working at a Durango summer camp more than 20 years ago. This experience sparked his love for the wild outdoors of Colorado and the Southwest, which prompted his move to Durango in 1994.
For more information, visit Tomsicpt.com or call 259-0574.
Stylist Jamie Marshall has opened her new salon, BeautyMARK, at 555 Rivergate Lane, Suite B1-108, located near the Animas Surgical Hospital off Colorado Highway 3.
Marshall worked at Hair Fusion for the past eight years where she became a Deva Curl-inspired stylist, received Paul Mitchell training and attended several continuing-educational industry events.
BeautyMARK has a down-to-earth feel while offering elite skill and exceptional service to its diverse clientele.
For more information, call 422-8565.
The Durango Adult Education Center is considering offering a Customer Service Institute, specifically for the Durango business, hospitality and retail sectors.
The center has put together a short survey to help make an accurate assessment of Durango’s customer service training needs. The survey should take about two minutes. All responses will be anonymous.
To complete the survey, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/2CPVFMQ or click on the link located on the center’s homepage at www.durangoadulted.org.
For more information, visit the website above or call 385-4354.
Ballots for the election of three directors on the La Plata Electric Association board will be mailed by Friday.
LPEA directors represent their geographic districts and help determine current and future policy at the electric cooperative. Election results will be announced during the LPEA annual meeting on May 7.
Ballots must be received by 4 p.m. May 6 at the La Plata County Clerk’s Office. Ballots may also be dropped off at LPEA’s offices in Durango or Pagosa Springs, the La Plata County Administration office in downtown Durango and Bayfield Town Hall, or mailed by May 4 to the County Clerk’s office.
If not voting prior to the meeting, members can bring their ballots to the annual meeting at Sky Ute Casino and Resort in Ignacio on May 7. Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the business meeting starting at 10:30 a.m. Any member voting at the annual meeting must do so prior to 10:30 a.m.
For more information, visit www.lpea.coop.
Academy Mortgage announces that Mark Bowman and Veniece Fagerlin have joined the local team in Durango.
Bowman brings with him more than 16 years of lending experience. A native of Michigan, Bowman moved to Colorado in 1990 after completing his degree in geology.
Beginning her mortgage career in 2001, Fagerlin brings dedication and follow-through to clients and their mortgage needs. As a mortgage loan officer, she will guide clients through the loan processes of purchasing, refinancing or renovating a home.
Academy is located on the fourth floor of the West Building, 835 East Second Ave., Suite 400.
For more information, call 382-2905, email mark.bowman@academymymortgage.com or visit www.academymortgage.com/markbowman.
Stylist Kelly Vlass has joined Hair Fusion Salon and Spa, 969 Main Ave.
An advanced stylist hailing from Texas, Vlass previously owned Shade Tree Studio Salon in Austin before moving to Durango with her family in November. She exclusively works with women, as her husband, Brendan, is the resident barber at Hair Fusion.
With 14 years of experience, Vlass is an expert in textured hair cutting; pixies; bobs of all lengths; long, blended layers; corrective/creative color; gray coverage and transitioning; natural looking highlights; as well as education on hair health and styling.
For more information, visit www.hairfusiondurango.com.
Nasdaq and EverFi, an education technology company focused on teaching, assessing and certifying students, honored Alpine Bank at the second annual Innovation in Financial Education Awards.
The presenters selected honorees based on a set of criteria that included the scale and reach of their financial education initiatives, the duration of their commitment and the unique employee volunteering activities that supplement their programs.
Alpine Bank partnered with Youth Entity, a Colorado-based nonprofit that promotes life skills and career development for youth ages 8 to 18, and EverFi to bring the Banking on Your Future program to nearly 1,000 high school students at nine schools this year so far at no cost to schools or taxpayers.
The web-based program uses the latest in simulation and gaming technologies to bring the complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation.
For more information, visit alpinebank.com.
Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center and First National Bank of Durango will sponsor an Introduction to QuickBooks workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 21 at the Community Room at First National Bank, 259 W. 9th St.
A lunch break will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Participants are asked to bring their own brown bag lunch.
This workshop, taught by CPA, certified QuickBooks pro-adviser and Fort Lewis College Accounting Professor Laura E. Hokanson, will help small business owners understand how much money they are bringing in and how they are spending it.
Hokanson will explain how the software works and how it can help manage the finances of a business and save time.
Topics will include: How to get through the set-up process; creating an effective chart of accounts; lists; the key to invoices and cash receipts; basic sales and payment processing; vendors and easy bill paying; banking and credit card transactions; and the power of a good profit and loss report.
The cost is $70, or $65 for chamber members. To register, visit http://bit.ly/1qmOtMx, email shepherd_m@fortlewis.edu or call 247-7009.
A free Iron Horse training talk will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave.
Cindy Schmidt and Marisa Asplund will present the free talk geared for women riders of all ages. Topics will include: injury prevention, recovery tips and mindful training strategies.
For more information, visit www.pathwaysdurango.com or www.marisaasplund.com.
After 32 years of practicing dentistry, Dr. Jeff Nelson has transitioned his practice to Dr. Nathan Robison.
Robison received his doctor of dental surgery from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he performed graduate research on dentures. After practicing for two years, Robison engaged in a three-year prosthodontics residency at the University of Tennessee, where he obtained additional training in crowns, implants and dentures.
Robison will pursue general dentistry and provide specialized services in prosthodontics. He is the only specifically trained prosthodontist in Southwest Colorado. The practice is now named Twin Buttes Dental.
For more information, call 247-0682.
Herald Staff
