Junction Center Hosts 10th Anniversary Celebration

• Junction Center founder Kathy Navis will host a 10th anniversary celebration Oct. 23 at 4 pm. The public is invited to walk the labyrinth, sit around a bonfire and enjoy food from Greens N Grains Deli.

From 7 – 9 pm, Dennis Hawk will lead a shared musical experience known as Kirtan, featuring Sanskrit mantras set to fresh melodies and sounds. Kirtan is intended as a holistic healing experience designed to bring participants into a more organic form of meditation, either in stillness or in motion. Hawk, a Cherokee of Mesquaki descent, is also a well-known singer, songwriter and story-teller who plays guitar and Native American flute.

It was more than 10 years ago that Navis was practicing yoga with a group that met in a basement. When the instructor left, the group asked if Kathy would take on the role, so she proceeded to get her yoga teacher certification.

Much has transpired over the past 10 years and, now, Junction Center Yoga Studio is a mainstay with regular classes for all levels of practitioners. Navis will be teaching a new beginner’s six-class session starting Oct. 17 from 9:30 – 11 am.

Junction Center Yoga Studio is located at 7821 Junction Road, (just off County Road A, north of Jacksonport). For more information visit http://www.junctioncenteryoga.com.

• The Door County Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors elected Cheryl Tieman, Regional Coordinator for NWTC, to fill the ex-officio position formerly held by Robert Loss at its October meeting. Additionally, the DCEDC Board will have at least one vacancy at the end of the year. To nominate a potential board member, including yourself, contact Bill Chaudoir at 920.743.3113.

• In recognition of national “Get Smart About Credit Day” on Oct. 20, Baylake Bank is urging customers to educate themselves on responsible credit habits. Mastering the fundamentals of credit provides a foundation that will prove invaluable throughout one’s life.

Baylake Bank encourages customers to follow these dos and don’ts of credit: do pay at least the minimum amount due; do be wary of anyone who claims they can “fix” your credit report; do read the fine print on the credit application; don’t feel pressure to get a credit card; don’t ignore the warning signs of credit trouble; and don’t share your credit card number.

For more information visit http://www.baylake.com or call 920.743.5551 or 1.800.267.3610.

• The Brown County Home Builders Association (BCHBA) announced the winners of its 2011 Fall Showcase of New Homes Awards Program, and Van’s Lumber & Custom Builders was named as the winner of the Best Kitchen category.

Van’s put inspired details and extras in the winning kitchen, making a standout workspace for efficient and pleasant meal preparation. Features include Azul Aran granite countertops, three-piece custom crown molding, soft-close drawers, under-cabinet lighting and electrical outlets, and decorative panels that blend with the cabinetry to camouflage the dishwashers and refrigerator-freezer.

Builders participating in the showcase were able to compete in up to two of the following categories: Best Floorplan, Best Kitchen, Best Curb Appeal and Best Interior Design/Staging. Best in Show was also a category with attendees choosing from 39 homes. More than 200 event attendees participated in voting for the winners.

Van’s is a local builder with a longstanding tradition of quality and has earned the trust, respect and recommendation of three generations of customers. For more information visit http://www.vanslumber.com.

• The Door County Economic Development Corporation and the Door County Visitor Bureau will bring Steve Robinson, Illinois Regional Development Director for Constant Contact, back to Door County for a half-day of email marketing and social media training for local businesses Oct. 25.

The program, “7 Keys to Email Marketing” and “Social Media Marketing Made Simple,” will be held from 8 am – noon at the Sturgeon Bay City Hall community meeting room. In these two 1.5-hour sessions, attendees will learn the best practices and knowhow needed to use them to generate new revenue and increase engagement. To attend either or both sessions, RSVP to [email protected].

• Local manufacturing company HTF, Inc. (Heat Treat Furnaces) is expanding their Door County location, doubling the size of their plant from 12,000 to 25,000 square feet after purchasing a one-acre lot from the City of Sturgeon Bay. The new building will accommodate the company’s sales growth, which is anticipated to create three to five new jobs. For over 30 years HTF’s innovative products have been among the industry leaders in heat-treating and other stationary or portable specialized thermal process equipment.

• The third and fourth buildings of the proposed six-duplex Stony Ridge condominium development in Sister Bay are under construction. The first two condo buildings are sold out, while the second two eight-unit buildings are almost sold out, with an anticipated construction completion date of October. In most cases, the units are being sold to year-round members of the Northern Door workforce, including employees of Al Johnson’s, Wilson’s, Koepsel’s, the AC Tap and others.

Construction is also underway on two eight-unit rental buildings along Country Walk Drive. Those units would lease for $650 per month including heat and water. Green Bay Developer Keith Garot owns an additional 35 acres in the area and has long term plans to build more housing, including three-bedroom single-family homes in the $150,000 range.

• Cellcom continues to develop its network in Door County. Equipment to deploy the fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) network has been delivered to Sturgeon Bay cell sites and installation of the 4G antennas will begin soon. Testing will begin in early 2012 and the company plans to deploy 4G LTE across all of its Wisconsin markets by the end of 2012. As the 4G network is turned up, customers will simultaneously have access to a nationwide 4G network thanks to Cellcom partnerships.

“Our aggressive 4G strategy will allow us to provide the same technology that is offered in major metropolitan areas to residents of Northeast and Central Wisconsin and in our service area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula,” said Pat Riordan, president and CEO of Cellcom.

In August Cellcom began the first portion of the project, which included extending the fiber optic network from Green Bay to Sturgeon Bay. The construction of the route will be wrapped up by late October, and Cellcom will then add optics to the route by the end of 2011.

Cellcom has purchased cellular equipment for network from Ericsson, a world leader in mobile technologies. Technicians are also going through advanced training to help with the installation.

Cellcom customers can expect devices to be released as the network is prepared for launch. 3G-capable phones will continue to operate on the current network.

“We pride ourselves in being a creative, forward-thinking rural carrier,” said Riordan. “Our latest investment demonstrates this commitment to our customers.”

For more information visit http://www.cellcom.com.

• The next networking event for the Buy Local initiative is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 1 at the Centerpointe Marina, 215 Quincy Street, Sturgeon Bay at 5:30 pm. A brief program on how Wisconsin’s new concealed carry law affects businesses will be included, with a speaker from Pinkert Law Firm. Food and beverages will be available. A $5 donation is appreciated to defray costs. RSVP to DCEDC at 920.743.3113 by Oct. 26. All are welcome.

• While fall colors are peaking and snow is likely a few months away, Door County’s new 2011-12 Official Winter Guide has just arrived.

The 2011-12 winter guide, produced by the Door County Visitor Bureau (DCVB), has dramatically expanded this year and provides visitors with winter activity ideas, maps, winter hours for area businesses, events and more. The guide is now available to visitors throughout Door County, as a virtual magazine on http://www.DoorCounty.com and will soon be available at other distribution points across the state of Wisconsin.

“The newly expanded Winter Guide invites and entices our visitors to experience Door County in our quiet season,” said Mary Denis, director of marketing & sales for the DCVB. “The Winter Guide will give visitors many reasons to return and enjoy the beauty of the county, November through April.”

“This beautiful 56-page guide,” Denis continued, “was the result of a suggestion from one of our members, Vicki Wilson of Door County Coffee, who asked that we look at the feasibility of an expanded Winter Guide to feature member businesses in the county that make a commitment to be open year ‘round.”

The winter guide the DCVB produced in previous years was smaller, black and white and distributed only within the county. That will change this year and the county’s destination marketing organization hopes the expanded winter guide, in conjunction with other promotional efforts, can help grow tourism, increase occupancy and boost the economic impact of tourism during the winter season.

• Social Media Breakfast Door County (SMBDC) will resume its monthly meetings in Ellison Bay on Oct. 19 from 9 – 10 am at Brew Coffeehouse.

On the third Wednesday of each month, Stephen Kastner brings people together at various Door County locations to have a breakfast dialogue and topical discussions on social media. Many different Door County businesses have hosted SMBDC meetings, which began in October 2010.

September’s meeting was set for the day after winds whipped Door County into a state of mayhem, but the scheduled speaker and LinkedIn Guru Wayne Breitbarth still managed to show up and the meeting took place at Glas coffeehouse. Four audience members also showed up and Kastner videotaped the event. He will present the highlights in a short film screening at Brew. The public is invited to attend and learn Breitbarth’s six insider-secrets on how to use LinikedIn for business.

Jennifer Lee, barista and Brew manager will bake some specialty treats for participants. The SMBDC meetings are free and open to the public, but an RSVP is requested out of consideration for the host venue.

For more information or to make a casual reservation email [email protected] or call 920.256.9449. For additional information visit http://www.SMBDC.com.

• Unity announced the addition of Margaret (Marge) Mattice, MSN, ACNP-BC, CWON, to its clinical team, assuming the role of nurse practitioner with an adult emphasis.

Mattice will work with other members of Unity’s clinical team to oversee the clinical care and treatment of Unity patients by consulting and working with patients’ primary and attending physicians; helping patients and families achieve their care goals, managing pain and symptoms and educating and offering support. Additionally, Mattice will be providing clinical direction and guidance for Unity’s care programs and staff to ensure the maintenance of quality care for patients and their families.

Mattice has over 20 years of nursing experience. Prior to joining Unity, she worked at a local Wound Clinic and before that in emergency response as an Eagle III flight nurse. Her background is in social work and she progressively pursued educational degrees in the nursing field, achieving a Masters degree, while simultaneously working in the field.

Unity is a not-for-profit provider of hospice, palliative care and grief support. They have offices in the Green Bay area, Marinette, Shawano and Sturgeon Bay. For more information call 920.338.1111 or visit http://www.unityhospice.org.