Submitted by Mary Jo Buza

Geranium cinereum Ballerina

Don’t overlook geraniums – an easy care perennials! Hardy geraniums are robust and easy to grow plants that will reward you with unique foliage and lovely flowers. I consider them absolutely perfect plants for our Pacific Northwest gardens.  To set the record straight, I am referring to hardy geraniums (Geranium spp.) and not the tender annuals also called zonal geraniums (Pelargoniums spp.).

What I like about hardy geraniums is that they are not fussy about soil types. They grow well in almost any kind of soil except boggy soil with standing water. They are versatile, with varieties that thrive in sun or part shade. While most hardy geraniums do prefer to grow in sun, G. macrorrhizum and G. phaeum both thrive in the part shade.  G. macrorrhizum with the common name ‘Fragrant Cransbill’ has the added benefit of being deer resistant. Its leaves have a strong aromatic scent that deter deer. Other hardy geraniums are not so lucky – deer love them.

During the last ten years, none of my hardy geraniums have had any insect or disease problems, another reason I love these plants.  Slugs are not a problem and neither is powdery mildew.  Some varieties of hardy geranium have the habit of growing tall and leggy by midsummer, like ‘Johnson Blue’, ‘Patricia’, ‘Rozanne’, and ‘Ann Folkard.’ Gardeners who grow these taller varieties report that rather than staking them, they shear these tall plants to the ground in midsummer after they bloom. With a little extra water, the plants will grow new leaves and bloom again. To avoid this extra work, I prefer the short compact varieties such as ‘Ballerina’, ‘Purple Pillow’, and ‘John Elsley.’ This ground hugging varieties stay short and compact.

Geranium Rozanne

Hardy geraniums offer a variety of flower colors from white, pink, blue, purple, and magenta.  A typical hardy geranium blooms for a month in late spring and early summer. When in bloom, they demand your attention. These plants show off with a concentrated burst of flowers. After flowering, the seed cases look alike like the beak of a crane, hence the common name cranesbill.

The unique foliage adds to the geraniums’ appeal. Geranium leaves are diverse in color, shape, texture, and size.  The shade loving G. macrorrhizum for example, has leaves that are a deep green with a soft velvety texture that contrast nicely with the pinkish magenta flowers. G. sanguineum has a small, finely divided leaf that matches its short compact stature. Some geraniums display leaves that are mottled or streaked with different tones of green while others, like the G. phaeum ‘Sambor’, have a dark brown-variegated patch on its leaves.

Most local nurseries carry a good selection of hardy geraniums. Don’t let the intimidating and awkward names of these lovely plants discourage you. Hardy geraniums will enhance your garden no matter what you call them.

Author Mary Jo Buza, is a landscape designer she has over 20 years experience as a designer and teacher in the South Sound. For more information on a custom landscape design or consultation call 923-1733 or visit her website.

Submitted by Saint Martin’s University

LACEY, Wash. –   Louise Kaplan, Ph.D., ARNP, FAANP, director of the Saint Martin’s University RN-to-BSN nursing program, will travel to Taiwan next week to share her views on the roles and challenges of nurses and nurse practitioners, as well as the nursing profession, with faculty and students at the National Tainan Institute of Nursing.

Kaplan is also invited to share information about the Saint Martin’s RN-to-BSN program – the only such on-campus program between Tacoma and Vancouver – that she has directed since it opened to students in the fall 2012 semester.

“I want to highlight the important contributions nurses make to the health care profession,” Kaplan says. “Nurses are the heart and soul of health care, and nursing education provides the next generation of nurses with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to provide safe, quality care.”

“Being a nurse is an honor and a privilege as we share the most intimate moments of people’s lives, including birth and death.”

Part of Kaplan’s five-day visit will include her attendance as a guest speaker June 1 at the NTIN’s 60^th anniversary celebration.

Kaplan says she is honored by the invitation from NTIN, a sister school to Saint Martin’s, which has hosted summer visits made by students of the institute.

“NTIN ranks number one among all 16 junior colleges in Taiwan. In addition, 95 percent of its graduates pass the registered nurse examination, which some schools in the United States would envy.”

Still, says Kaplan, “There is a huge issue with retention of nurses in Taiwan. Nurses there are overworked and underpaid.”

On May 31, Kaplan will make a presentation to students and faculty of the institute about the challenges hospitals in Taiwan and the U.S. face in retaining nurses, as well as potential solutions to the problem. In addition, she will meet with staff from a local hospital to talk about the role of the nurse practitioner in the United States.

“In Taiwan, there are nurses who are nurse practitioners but it is a very different role from what we have here,” she explains. “The nurse practitioner’s role in the U.S. varies from state to state. In Washington, nurse practitioners have completely independent practices, where they can provide comprehensive care in clinics, private offices and hospitals. Many nurse practitioners are primary care providers. They can practice and prescribe medication without any physician involvement in their practice. In Taiwan, they cannot prescribe medication and they still are required to have a doctor’s involvement.”

Kaplan will additionally share recommendations made in the Institute of Medicine’s 2010 report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The report called for the education of nurses to respond to the needs of an evolving health care system and the changing needs of patients, and to meet the increased demand for health care as access improves. Washington’s Nursing Action Coalition, formed in response to the IOM report, is working to meet the report’s recommendation to increase the proportion of registered nurses (RN) with bachelor of science degrees to 80 percent by 2020.

Before joining Saint Martin’s, Kaplan served as a senior policy fellow at the American Nurses Association (ANA) in Silver Spring, Maryland. Prior to her role at the ANA, she was a tenured associate professor at Washington State University (WSU) Vancouver, and also taught at the University of Washington, Pacific Lutheran University and George Washington University.

Kaplan maintains an active clinical practice as a family nurse practitioner and has served in leadership positions for numerous local, state and national associations, committees, health task forces and advisory councils.

A published scholar, Kaplan is a fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, a member of the Washington State Nurses Association Hall of Fame and a winner of the Outstanding Policy Award from the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. She has received two Excellence in Teaching Awards from the WSU College of Nursing.

Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, coeducational university located on a wooded campus of more than 300 acres in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 14 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 23 majors and seven graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education, nursing and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes more than 1,100 undergraduate students and 400 graduate students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its Lacey campus, and 300 more undergraduate students to its extension campuses located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Centralia College. Visit the Saint Martin’s University website at www.stmartin.edu.

Submitted by Marcie Meisenheimer of South Sound Ductless

Recently we spoke with a customer who was quite surprised to learn that ductless heat pumps filter the air. With the great benefits of comfort and energy efficiency, air filtration is often overlooked.  Many ductless heat pumps come standard with not only dust filters, but also anti-allergen and deodorizing filters. The prospect of keeping harmful allergens and food and pet odors out of your indoor air can make a ductless heat pump system a great option for your home or business.

Each brand of ductless heat pump has its own unique filter, but they are similar in a couple of ways. First, they are really easy to clean. Simply washing or vacuuming them once a month is usually all it takes. You simply lift the cover up on the indoor unit and slide the filters out. Either vacuum, or wash and dry the filters. Reinstall them and you are good to go for another month.

The second nice thing about ductless heat pump filters is that they are not only inexpensive but also reusable. Some manufacturers suggest you replace them once a year and others say the filters should last for years. Following the manufacturer’s guidelines is the best recommendation, but a visual inspection during cleaning is also a good indicator of when to replace them. When it does come time to replace them, most filters are inexpensive and easily ordered directly from the manufacturer either by calling or ordering on line.

With the variable speed inverter technology, which is built into all ductless heat pumps, these units are made to run continuously and rarely stop moving air throughout your home. This means that high tech filtration is taking place all the time, helping keep the air in your home clean and odor free.

South Sound Ductless is a locally owned and operated heating and cooling system company.  Ductless heat pumps are all we do because we believe in the technology.  To learn more about ductless heat pumps and how you can save money and get big rebates contact South Sound Ductless.

www.southsoundductless.com
360.529.7567

As a community based food-growing organization, GRuB works throughout Thurston and Mason counties partnering with youth and low-income individuals to create “community food solutions.” In 2007, an AmeriCorps Backyard Garden Coordinator with GRuB’s Kitchen Garden Project, Stephanie Snyder, was inspired to build ten backyard gardens in one day.  Volunteers and funds were raised and ‘Day of the Bed’ began.  In the years since, the event is held each spring to build new backyard and community gardens and celebrate another successful Kitchen Garden Project Season.

For this year’s gardens, local businesses were approached to sponsor the event, with GRuB friends and allies coming together to build the gardens.  Locations of the gardens vary.  This year features an expansion of Shelton’s HOPE garden and a learning garden at Olympia’s Avanti High School.  The new Avanti garden is a companion to the Madison Elementary Giving Garden, which GRuB helped to build in 2010.  Previous gardens have been built for low-income apartment complexes and medical clinics, group homes, and low-income families.

Avanti High School teacher Rachel DeStefano participated in the event and summarized: “At the end of our work party on Saturday, volunteers were asked to wrap-up the day in one word.  Some examples were ‘hot, fun, dirt, growth,’ but I chose to describe the day with ‘potential.’  There is so much that can be done with the new garden, and it will continue to grow and thrive along with our students.”

“I really enjoyed participating in this wonderful community-building event and helping to bring awareness to the importance of healthy eating,” shared Jenna Arkin of Earth Friendly Products, one of the event sponsors.  Olympia High School teacher Marion Sheridan asked her family to help with the Avanti build as “my best Mother’s Day gift ever, volunteering with my daughter, son and husband for a cause we all believe in!”

The full Kitchen Garden Project build season runs from March through early June (weather permitting!) to be ready for spring plantings.  Plot maintenance is up to the owners of the garden. Unlike GRuB’s typical backyard gardens, HOPE and Avanti gardens are facilitated by community groups, volunteers, or school parents.  What is grown, however, varies immensely.  While the majority of seedlings and plant starts are donations, plantings with cultural or familial significance are always welcome additions.

GRuB makes their expertise available via phone support as well as providing garden “mentors”, staff and volunteers from previous years who are available for the first year of a new site.  Seasonal gardening workshops, an initial orientation, and basic ‘Growing Guide’ are available as needed.

2013 celebrates 20 years of GRuB’s ‘Kitchen Garden Project’ or KGP.  The project has built 2500+ free backyard and community gardens since 1993.  To celebrate this anniversary, GRuB is beginning a ’20 for 20’ campaign to fund their work for the decades to come.  They are seeking sponsorship both via one-time $20 donations or a recurring $20/month for the upcoming year, looking to raise at least $20,000.  To give to the campaign, visit goodgrub.org/donate and note that your donation is for “20 For 20”.

Should donors wish a more tangible statement, GRuB’s Giving Garden program benefits two families at once.  For a one-time, sliding scale fee, GRuB will build a 4×8 foot garden at your home PLUS donate a 3-bed garden to a family in need! Normally these gardens cost $1,000, but to celebrate the 20^th year of KGP, GRuB is rolling back the prices to $800, a portion of which is tax-deductible. goodgrub.org/kitchen-garden-project/giving-gardens

To sample the other bounty GRuB provides, their veggies, fruit, flowers, and herbs can be found at the West Olympia Farmers’ Market, the GRuB Neighborhood Market Stand, or through shares in their vegetable or bouquet CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).  Details on CSA produce or pick-up/drop-off locations are available on their website – goodgrub.org.

80′s Day at Xerox is just one example of the fun loving culture.

The door continues to open.  People flow through the small lobby space.  I wait for just a few minutes before I’m collected by General Manager, Jessica Coen.  During that time, employees keep coming in the door, lunch sacks and car keys in hand and bright smiles on their faces.

As Coen begins the tour of Xerox Commercial Services in Lacey, I soon realize why there was so much activity at the front door.

The inbound customer service center, partnered with a major wireless company, is staffed with over 800 employees working every day to answer telephone inquiries and solve customer issues.  Seven days a week from 6:00 am – 11:00 pm, the call center is bustling with people chatting on the phone.

But, certainly you are not just “Employee #752” at Xerox.  The frequent celebrations and personal interaction makes this a great workplace.

Inside the building, teams group together helping each other give the best customer service possible.  Colorful signs announce each team name.  Bright colors signify the larger organization.

In total, Coen manages a team of over 1100 individuals, making Xerox the largest private employer in Thurston County.  What’s even more impressive is that as we tour the facility, she is greeting people by name, displaying her true nature of creating an outstanding place to work.

Beginning as a customer service agent eleven years ago, Coen has held eleven different positions within Xerox.  In August, she will celebrate her two year anniversary as General Manager of the facility.

The workforce is quite diverse.  For example, employees have a variety of customer service experience prior to working at Xerox – ranging from retail to food service and volunteer efforts.  A coworker may be 18 or 70 or any age in between.  “We have employees where this is their first job, stay-at-home parents returning to the workforce, and others that are selecting to work in a call center later in life,” describes Coen.

“But what really stands out when we are recruiting new employees is people that really want to work and care about doing a good job.  The person may be fresh out of high school or recent military veterans.  A prospective recruit needs to have great ethics and display empathy,” adds Coen.

“When we are talking to prospective employees, we ask for examples of how they have shown care to a customer in the past,” shares Taryn Loftness, a Xerox recruiter with almost three years of experience with the company.

Since it can sometimes be tough to listen to customer’s complaints each day, Coen makes sure that there are crazy, fun events happening frequently with great employee incentives on top.

Xerox employees pulled together for a toy drive during the holidays.

For example, I was visiting on a Friday and she sent a Xerox employee off to Costco to buy over $500 in fresh fruit.  “Fresh Fruit Friday has become so popular.  We throw a load of fruit in the lunchroom for everyone to snack on during a break. It’s a great way to promote healthier eating too,” she explains.

Feeding employees is a popular motivator.  Once a week, Coen and her management team host employee appreciation meals varying from pizza to salad bar or a BBQ where she is roasting hot dogs for the team.  “We are buying food for 500 – 700 people once a week,” she recounts with a smile.

Throughout the week, managers hold drawings.  Employees may win a coffee card, Wild Waves tickets, seats at an upcoming Tacoma Rainiers game, or even an iPod.

Spirit Days, Team Color Day, Crazy Hat Day – these are all on the calendar and the Xerox team looks forward to the fun excitement of seeing different costumes, helping lighten the mood.  Whether it’s Where’s Waldo or Hawaiian shirt day, the events promote unity within the worksite.

“I enjoy scheduling crazy things, just for fun,” says Coen.

As job applicants look for their next position, Xerox is recruiting individuals that are ready to work hard but have fun during the process.  To find out more, click here.

By Jake Luplow

Memorial Day is a special occasion for me, providing me the chance to honor my grandfather. It is a day offering a torrent of memories from when he was still alive and we would fish and camp and live life through a magnifying glass searing curiosity with flame.

Memorial Day is not about agreeing with the military, or even the government, it is about honoring those who fought and died for something they believed in. It is about acknowledging the one thing most primal in our nature: fighting for a cause.

All across Thurston County, many people, businesses, and organizations have begun displaying flags and other items in tribute to this upcoming holiday. One such example of this is Mills and Mills Funeral Home and Memorial Park where they have roughly 300 flags displayed at the cemetery.

When I went there earlier, it was quiet, just as all cemeteries are. I saw the flags blowing in the wind. I saw flowers displayed on nearly every grave–many of which were for service members. And I saw an old man whispering hushed tones of emotion to his passed wife.

As you go about your lives this Memorial Day weekend, stop, pause what you’re doing, and look around. See the flags! And remember someone who died fighting for what they believed in.

Mills and Mills (5725 Littlerock Rd SW in Tumwater) will be hosting their 32nd Annual March of Flags on Monday, May 27th beginning at 2:00 p.m.  Additional Memorial Day events can be found on our event calendar.

For more photos from the Washington State track meet, click here.

Photo highlights include:

• Capital High School sophomore Ryan Chase jumping in the preliminaries of the 2A long jump.  Chase finished ninth in State and was one of three Thurston County athletes participating in the event.
• Black Hills High School sophomore Danielle Won makes a move during the 2A girls 1600-meter finals at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.  Won, one of three Thurston County athletes competing in the face, finished 16th with a time of 5:41.59.
• Capital sophomore, Lauren Pierson, fends off her competition during the 2A girls 1600-meter final.  Pierson was the top Thurston County finisher with a time of 5:17.72.
• Ashli, Ayers, River Ridge High School freshman, competed in the 2A girls 1600-meter final, finishing ninth with a time of 5:21.29.  She was one of only two freshman in the event.
• 0.75 feet is all that separated Lane Russell from a state championship in the 2A boys long jump.  Russell, a junior at Tumwater High School, posted a jump of 22-00.25 while Terrynce Duke of West Valley-Spokane notched a jump of 22-01.00 to take home the state title.
• Sofia Kane, the talented junior distance runner form Olympia High School, finished fifth in the 4A girls 1600-meter race.
• Capital’s Andy Miller wins the 2A shot put contest.

Photos by Tom Rohrer and intern Eliza Ramsey

Submitted by Washington State Auto Dealer Association

Ed McCarroll, Capitol City Honda and South Tacoma Honda, received the “Robert P. Mallon Dealer of the Year” award on May 11 at the Washington State Auto Dealers Association (WSADA) annual convention.  Selected by a committee of his peers, the award recognizes Ed’s contributions to the auto industry, quality dealership operations and outstanding community service.

Ed was born in Canada and served in the Royal Navy during World War II at the age of 17.  Upon discharge from the Navy in 1945, Ed moved to the United States with his parents, where his first job was as a lot attendant at a Spokane dealership.  His family later settled in Riverside, California, where Ed worked for a Chevrolet dealership.  He became a United States citizen in 1953.

Ed partnered in several California dealerships before moving in 1962 to Seattle to become General Manager of a Chevrolet dealership.  Ed relocated again in 1965 to Olympia, where he purchased Capitol Chevrolet.  Over the years, he owned various dealerships in Washington and Nevada representing Nissan, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, and Acura.  In the mid 1980s, Ed became involved with the development of the Olympia Auto Mall, building four separate dealerships.   In May of 2012, Ed received a 40 year award from American Honda.

Currently, Ed is the principal of Capitol City Honda in Olympia, and South Tacoma Honda and enjoys his involvement with the dealerships, together with partners Ron Loper in Tacoma, and daughter Kelly in Olympia, and son-in-law Chris as General Manager in Olympia; and most importantly with his wife Patti of 41 years.

One of Ed’s employees who has worked for him since the mid-1970s, recalls, “I remember these great words from Ed:  ‘If there is one thing you want to do in life; pick that one thing.  Be absolutely the best at it, and the rest will take care of itself.’”

Like most car dealers, Ed and Patti are very active in their community and believe in giving back.  Among the many organizations they support are:  Hands On Children’s Museum; Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County; South Sound YMCA; Junior League of Olympia; University of Washington – Presidents Donor Club; and Children’s Hospital in Seattle.  In recognition of Ed’s receipt of the Association’s most prestigious award, WSADA made a contribution in his name to Olympia’s Hands On Children’s Museum.

The award is named for former Tacoma dealer Robert P. Mallon who was WSADA President in 1966/67, is a past President of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), served 30 years as Washington State’s NADA Director, and is founder and Chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation.

Founded in 1920, the Association’s 300 dealer members serve 75 communities in Washington and are responsible for annual sales volume totaling over $10 billion.  Together, they employ over 18,000 people with a combined payroll of more than $921 million.  Their dealership sales total 10.1% of the state’s retail sales, generating hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue for state and local governments through sales, corporate, and payroll tax revenue.

For a complete article about the 2013 Day of Champions in Tumwater, click here.