Financial series to be offered
The Durango Chamber of Commerce and Wells Fargo Bank will offer a financial series from 8 to 10 a.m. May 6 and 13 in the La Plata Electric Association multi-purpose room, 45 Stewart St.
Leading the class will be Durango CPA’s Sidny Zink, partner in the accounting firm FredrickZink & Associates, and Casey Lynch, owner of Casey D. Lynch CPA. Topics addressed will be: understanding balance sheet, income statement and cash-flow statement; how to protect business from fraud; how to talk to a banker without being intimidated; understanding industry ratios and more. The cost is $40 for members and $50 for nonmembers. Reservations are required. Light refreshments will be served.
To register, visit www.durangobusiness.org or call 247-0312.
First National Bank announces new hire
First National Bank of Durango announces that Isaac Blacksten is a new teller at the main branch.
Blacksten is from Bayfield and graduated from Penn Foster High School in Scranton, Penn. He was previously working in Ignacio at Shur Valu Market.
For more information, visit www.fnbdurango.com.
Physical therapy firm adds worker to team
Rakita Tomsic Physical Therapy announces the addition of Beth Austin to its physical therapy team.
Having earned her bachelor’s in physical therapy from the University of South Alabama in 1988, Austin is an osteopathically trained manual physical therapist with 20 years of experience. She has additional training in craniosacral therapy, which addresses limited fascial relationships in the body, as well as visceral manipulation, a therapeutic modality that identifies and treats restrictions in the organs’ fascial relationships within the greater musculoskeletal system. Among other areas of training and interest, Austin trained under Dave Berceli in the trauma/tension release exercise technique for improved trauma recovery. She also has studied and practiced ballet, African dance, yoga, Zen meditation, Continuum Movement and Moshé Feldenkrais’ Awareness Through Movement classes.
For more information, visit www.rakitatomsicpt.com or call 259-0574.
SNAP-Ed announces new educator
La Plata County and Colorado State University Extension Office recently hired Gail Swinderman as a peer educator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education, or SNAP-Ed.
She recently received training at Colorado State University and will be responsible for conducting community classes in nutrition, food safety, stretching food dollars and the importance of physical activity. SNAP-Ed classes are free to people who qualify. In the lessons, participants will receive food thermometers, water bottles, measuring cups and spoons, grocery lists, and a cookbook filled with low-cost, easy-to-prepare, nutritious recipes.
For more information or to register, call Michelle Wilson at 560-4904 or visit the La Plata County Extension Office, 2500 Main Ave.
Graduate school announces new hire
The Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver has hired Sarah A. Hunt as its new assistant program director for its Four Corners Master of Social Work program in Durango.
She replaces Patti Ellisor who recently retired. Hunt, who is Navajo, Choctaw and Taos, grew up on the Navajo Reservation in Fort Defiance, Ariz. She has lived and worked in Durango since 1992. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience, including a bachelor’s in psychology from Fort Lewis College and a master’s of social work from GSSW’s Four Corners program. Hunt has worked in a variety of settings including mental-health, health departments and in the behavioral health and adolescent and adult drug-court programs.
Operated in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services, Fort Lewis College, Southwest Colorado Community College and Four Corners community agencies, the program enables students to earn a master’s in social work in or near their home. The program is offered at a reduced tuition rate, and a Friday evening and Saturday class schedule is available.
For more information, visit www.du.edu/socialwork.
Local writer receives certification
Malia Durbano, owner of Writing Matters, received certification from the state of Colorado as an Emerging Small Business.
This certification qualifies the business to bid on government contracts awarded by the Colorado Department of Transportation. State agencies are required by law to contract a certain percentage of their business with Emerging Small Businesses. This qualification enables Durbano to earn government contracts while helping the agencies fulfill their quota. Writing Matters provides freelance writing services including: Web page copy, targeted sales letters, marketing materials, newsletter articles, résumés, editing and proofreading and cause-marketing projects.
For more information, visit www.writingmatterscolorado.com or call 403-3081.
Halker Consulting opens Durango office
Halker Consulting announces the opening of its new office at 752 Main Ave., Suite 201.
As a full-service gas-and-oil engineering firm, Halker is positioned to help San Juan Basin operators transition to new products and processing needs as the region develops. The office is dedicated to helping clients with environmental compliance, worker safety and cost-management concerns across the full spectrum of San Juan Basin production. It offers engineering and design services, automation, project management, geographic information systems and field services.
Michael Obleski brings more than 35 years of experience to his role as Durango-based senior facilities designer, alongside regional manager Jack Hamlin, longtime facilities designer David Silveira and project manager Heather Geiger.
For more information, call 422-8279.
Enjoy morning coffee and talk shop with BID
The monthly BID Coffee & Conversation, hosted by the Durango Business Improvement District will take place from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Friday at Durango City Hall, 949 East Second Ave.
The main topic will be an introduction to the proposed riverfront-redevelopment project adjacent to the Durango Discovery Museum. Called “STEAM Park,” the proposed development is a joint effort of the Discovery Museum, Durango Arts Center, Music in the Mountains, Durango Film and the San Juan Symphony. Project director Sheri Rochford Figgs will present an overview of the project and discuss next steps.
For more information, call 375-5068.
Real estate investment program offered
The Accredited Investor Alliance will present its commercial real estate investment program to Accredited Investors from 6 to 7:30 p.m. April 17 at Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave. in Program Room 2.
The alliance handles the details involved in the acquisition and management of income-producing properties. It brings together small groups of four to eight accredited investors, including individuals, partnerships and trusts, to acquire targeted properties in the greater Durango area. The alliance provides the means for investors to diversify a prudent portion of investable wealth into qualifying office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.
To RSVP, call Dick Franklin at 764-4588, email richardsfranklin1@gmail.com, call Christine Serwe at 375-3360 or email serwe@frontier.net, by Monday.
Durango Mall hires general manager
Durango Mall, 800 S. Camino del Rio, announces the addition of new general manager Justin Otto.
From 2005-11, Otto was the operations and events manager for Cincinnati’s Newport on the Levee. Otto managed housekeeping services, events, security and parking services. While at the Levee, Otto graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a master’s of public administration. Otto left Newport on the Levee to attend Miami University of Ohio’s master of business administration program, and spent the summer of 2012 in Venlo, Netherlands, fulfilling his global consultancy for fortune 500 company Stryker Corporation before graduating.
After graduation, Otto began working for Simon Property Group.
For more information, call 259-3603, email Justin@DurangoMall.net or visit www.durangomall.net.
Business Connections to host visitor day
Business Connections BNI Chapter will host a visitor day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 16 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, 21636 U.S. Highway 160.
The cost is $18.
For more information, call Joe Clair with Kellar Williams at 903-9417.
Business After Hours to take place April 17
Durango Chamber of Commerce will host Business After Hours from 5 to 7 p.m. April 17 at the Elks Lodge, 901 East Second Ave.
The cost is $7 for chamber members and guests.
Herald Staff
