Message from President Lincoln, December 2010

Getting to Know our Members

Eric Thanem has been a resident of North Kitsap for over 20 years.  Growing up in Port Angeles, WA he lived in Seattle 4 years before setting in North Kitsap in 1990.

After a 20+ year career in retail management with Safeway, Eric attend Port Townsend School of Massage with a plan to work with those recovering from injury and to bring massage to children and families. 

Beginning his practice in 2006 Eric has steadily built a thriving practice which is located in the Poulsbo Athletic Club.  Since starting his practice Eric has continued to educate himself in the area of massage.  A few of the modalities he has studied are Sports Massage, Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage, Myofacial Release, Ethics, Pediatric Massage and has recently become a Certified Infant Massage Teacher in which is teaches parents and caregivers how to massage their baby.

Eric is a 4-year member of the Washington Sports massage Team and travels to many events to offer massage to athletes.  A few of the events you may have seen Eric at are the Danskin Triathlon, Seattle to Portland Bike race, Seattle Marathon and the Special Olympics.

Eric is also a member of the Poulsbo Noon Lions, Lil Norway Toastmasters, North Sound Business Network, Master Mind Mondays networking good and the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce.   He volunteered at the Seattle Childrens Hospital for 2 years and is an active volunteer for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Eric was also voted "Best Massage Therapist in North Kitsap" in 2010 by the readers of The North Kitsap Herald.

For fun Eric enjoys running, competing in 1/2 marathons, racquetball, climbing building (completing a 56 floor stairclimb event 22 times), skydiving, traveling to warm climates, hiking, and snowshoeing.

Eric is passionate about infant massage and is offering free classes to groups and individuals now through January 2011.  He also offers gift certificates for massage and is currently offering $5 and $10 discounts on 1 hour or 1 1/2 hours massages.  Do you have a question about massage, gift certificates, infant or pediatric massage?  Contact Eric at 360-440-3555 or by email at eric@ericsmassageroom.com

New Member Spotlights

Waterfront Professionals is the Poulsbo Chapter of Business Networking International (BNI), the largest business referral organization in the world.  In 2009 BNI passed over 6.2 million referrals in 5,500+ Chambers with over 118,000 members in 43 countries, resulting in more than $2.6 billion in business.  We're all about developing and maintaining strategic business relationships that guarantee profitability.  We meet every Friday morning at 9 a.m. at The Loft Restaurant.  Guests are welcome to attend any time to see what we're all about.  Please check out our website at www.BNIWW.com or contact Debra Linn Allbee at 360-779-3000.

The Personal Touch, LLC isn't just our name, it's what makes us different.  Our company and staff provide The Personal Touch to all of our services.  When quality of care is your number one priority, you want The Personal Touch.

The Personal Touch employs caring, compassionate people who are committed to providing quality care.  Our highly trained, reliable professional staff consists of insured Licensed Registered Nurses that handle case management and nurse delegation and certified nurses aides.  Our staff members develop a relationship for the individuals they care for, and we think that's the best part of the wonderful work we do.  We also have 24-hour on-call emergency staff.

If you suspect your loved one needs help, The Personal Touch, LLC can make a professional assessment.  We'll visit your loved one and determine what type of assistance they may need.  Our goal is to make care-giving easier for you and your family.  Our no-cost care assessment is the first step, and we will help with the following steps.  For further information contact Lisa Floyd, Home Care Supervisor at 360-895-3980 or lisa@thepersonaltouch4u.com

North Kitsap Schools Foundation recently awarded 14 Classroom Grants to NKSD teachers and staff, representing 9 different schools. Go to www.nkschoolsfoundation.org to see the list of the 2010 grants and grants from previous years. Make a point to congratulate and encourage the recipients you know. Thanks to everyone in the community who helped make these grants possible by donating to the Foundation this year. We'd like to give even more grants next year!

Ambassador's Corner