Published May 2004

Shelley Herman
Not only is banking in Shelley Herman’s blood, it is the only profession she has ever known.

As the granddaughter and daughter of bankers, Herman, senior vice president and Marysville branch manager for First Heritage Bank, began filing checks, preparing statements and posting ledger cards while still in high school.

Over the years, she has “done a little bit of everything,” from working as a teller and a note clerk to holding jobs as a loan secretary and an assistant branch manager. Today, she is a loan officer specializing in lending to Native Americans — a field in which she has become an expert on a regional as well as a national level.

“My boss tells me I speak fluent ‘Tulalip,’ although recently we’ve been branching out by working with other tribes and getting to know their specialized needs based on their culture and financial situations,” said Herman, a founding board member of the North American Native Bankers Association.

In her role as loan officer, Herman works with tribal governments, individual tribal members and businesses owned by tribal members to meet their financial needs. But meshing the needs of Indian Country with mainstream lending can be difficult, she said.

“My job as liaison between the two is to reach compromises that ultimately lead to loans to Indians. First Heritage Bank has led the nation with several progressive lending programs, and the Tulalip Tribes have become very knowledgeable about lending opportunities. Bringing them together has been a huge challenge over the years, but very fulfilling,” said Herman, who joined Snohomish-based First Heritage 16 years ago.

While Herman enjoys national recognition for her banking experience — she is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Sovereign Lending Task Force and has served on a presidential subcommittee on lending in Indian Country — it is seeing the positive impact a loan has that gives her the most satisfaction.

“Knowing that I, personally, have improved someone’s quality of life is (a real rush). Sometimes this means a loan to just get running water, while sometimes it can mean funding the purchase of a franchise and changing one family’s financial destiny,” said the Stanwood resident, who also serves on the board of the Everett Community College Foundation.

“Like a lot of people who first start out in banking, I thought it was just a job. Now I look back and realize it’s been a career all along,” she said.

For more information on First Heritage Bank, go online to www.firstheritage.net. To contact Herman, call 360-659-6312 or e-mail shelleyh@firstheritage.net.

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Marilyn Jenkins
More than five years ago, Marilyn Jenkins saw electronic books, or e-books, as the answer to a dilemma that business professionals faced the world over: lugging hefty books around with them on business trips.

So the Mukilteo resident joined forces with an associate, Fene Cartlidge, to form a partnership that months later would become CyberRead Inc., a Web-based resource for the e-book experience.

“I have always been a self-sufficient person and believed I could make a difference in the electronic book industry,” said Jenkins, who owned a computer consulting business prior to starting CyberRead.

Since going online in September 1999 as an e-book information site, the company has grown its services to include sales of e-books formatted for electronic palm devices such as Palm Pilot, Jornada and Handspring. CyberRead also provides author and publisher services for electronic formatting and publishing of manuscripts, said Jenkins, company president and chief executive.

In 2003, the e-book pioneer acquired eBookstand, a full-service print-on-demand company. Now a division of CyberRead, eBookstand provides “authors a cost-effective method of self-publishing into a trade paperback format,” said Jenkins, herself a certified corporate Webmaster with a degree in computer programming.

According to company literature, CyberRead now represents authors and publishers from more than 30 countries, with e-books in six languages and an e-book inventory of well over 4,500 titles — quite a leap from its early days, when the company offered free e-books in text format to encourage e-book reading.

It’s a leap Jenkins has seen industrywide.

“The electronic-book industry has seen many changes and has taken an evolutionary trail in the publishing world. I have seen tremendous leaps of technology and some truly remarkable acceptance of this new industry,” she said. “We are continuously upgrading the Web sites to provide state-of-the-art availability to our customers.”

For more information on CyberRead, go online to www.cyberread.com or call Jenkins at 425-315-1434. To learn more about eBookstand, go online to www.ebookstand.com.

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Irene Billa
The past year has been something of a whirlwind for Irene Billa, innkeeper for The Inn at Third & Dayton in downtown Edmonds.

On Sept. 29, Billa worked her last day for the Automobile Club of Southern California in Costa Mesa, retiring after 30 years with the organization, most recently as a senior buyer specializing in IS procurement.

By Dec. 2, she was in Edmonds and living in her newly purchased home at 202 Third Ave. S., an early-1900s Craftsman home that formerly housed The Edmonds Inn Bed and Breakfast and would open just weeks later as The Inn at Third & Dayton.

What was behind this life change? Family — and a desire to be an entrepreneur.

“I wanted to move to Washington to be closer to my only child, a daughter who lives in Everett,” Billa said. “I needed an occupation and have always been interested in having my own business, and in running a B&B in particular.”

So she purchased the inn and, with business partner Richard Carlson, formed Ribbinn LLC (short for Richard Irene B&B Inn) to run the venture.

Running the inn, with its five guest suites (each with a private bathroom), takes a high level of organization and attention to detail — character traits that “fit right in” with her personality, said Billa, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a minor in operations management.

Together, she and Carlson provide guests with a full breakfast each morning, with dinners available on request and special functions such as “Guest Chef” dinners scheduled from time to time. Billa’s 84-year-old mother also lends a hand with food preparation, table settings and the like.

“We really are running this business as a family venture, and Mom also helps shop for food and other supplies we need,” Billa said.

A marketing program is under way, with Billa distributing brochures to local businesses, joining the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce and applying for membership in the Washington Bed & Breakfast Guild and the AAA TourBook program. Also, the inn’s Web site, www.innonthird.com, recently went live.

“We hope to have a full house most of the time,” Billa said of the summer months. “... That is what makes a B&B fun, to talk to other guests and share experiences and information over a cup of tea or a nice Inn breakfast.”

For more information, call 425-775-1600 or visit the inn’s Web site.

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Nancy Johnson
When Nancy Johnson became executive director of the Children’s Museum in Snohomish County in 1998, annual attendance was running at 18,000. By 2002, that number had almost doubled to 32,000, and it had become clear that a larger building was needed to house the expanding nonprofit organization.

“As a result of that, in extremely short time we needed to build the infrastructure of the organization and prepare for a capital campaign,” said Johnson, a former small-business owner with a bachelor’s degree in management.

A goal of $4.5 million was set for the renovation of a larger space located at the southeast corner of Hoyt Avenue and Wall Street in Everett. By early 2003, more than $3 million had been contributed, including a $500,000 matching grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, $100,000 from the Tulalip Tribes and $1 million from community philanthropists John and Idamae Schack.

Today, with the goal met, the museum is preparing to move from its current location at 3013 Colby Ave. in Everett to its new home at 1502 Wall St., said Johnson, a longtime resident of Snohomish.

“The fact that we had a successful capital campaign and are now in the process of creating a premier new children’s museum is certainly one of the best parts of my job. Even better, though, is the fact that each day we are positively impacting the lives of children — including those at-risk and in need — by providing hands-on exhibits and exciting programs and activities designed to meet their social, emotional and cognitive needs,” said Johnson, a former board member for the Snohomish School District.

While her background in management and years of experience in public education have aided her in developing the skills needed to manage the Children’s Museum, Johnson is quick to credit the organization’s board of directors, capital campaign cabinet and staff, and the community the museum serves.

“Since starting my job, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many incredibly interesting and talented people. From colleagues to community members and corporate leaders, I’ve been impressed with the commitment of our countywide community to meeting the needs of children and families,” she said.

For more information on the Children’s Museum, call 425-258-1006 or go online to www.childmus.org.

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Debbie Smith-Nation
For more than 15 years, Debbie Smith-Nation has been a real estate matchmaker, helping clients find the home of their dreams in north King and south Snohomish counties.

“I always knew that someday I would do residential sales,” said Smith-Nation, who thrills at finding clients their perfect home or helping sellers move on to their “next dream.”

So, when the commercial leasing company she worked for decided to transfer her office — and lengthen her commute time — Smith-Nation decided it was time to make the leap from stable paycheck to commissioned sales.

In 1988, she joined a local residential real estate firm; six years later, she became an associate broker with RE/MAX Northwest Realtors and hasn’t looked back.

“I sell between 50 and 60 homes a year by myself — the industry average is eight a year,” said Smith-Nation, who relies heavily on repeat and referral business.

She also is a firm believer in continuing education and professional improvement. Four years ago, Smith-Nation began using a professional coach through Providence Seminars, a national leader in real estate training that focuses on building a referral network.

It takes a full-time commitment to stay on top of the ongoing changes within the industry, Smith-Nation said, from new real estate laws and forms to the effects the Internet has had on home sales.

“It has allowed our industry to grow immensely,” she said. “We no longer have to take clients to 25 houses to sell them one. We can e-mail the clients listings; they can sort through them; and we can take them to their top five.”

Along with her professional commitments, Smith-Nation is committed to the community she considers home, having served on the board of directors for the Monroe Chamber of Commerce since 2000. For 2002 and 2003, she was chamber president, and this year, she is immediate past president.

“I just like community involvement — I’m a doer, not a ‘sit back and watch it happen’ type of person,” she said.

For more information on Smith-Nation’s real estate practice, call 425-487-6268 or 360-794-7355, or go online to www.homes4salebydebbie.com.

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Deb Bundy
Clothing designer and manufacturer Deb Bundy has been through the “overachiever mode.” She has worked with national clothing representatives, wholesaling her designs to specialty boutiques across the United States.

She has seen her creations on the racks at Nordstrom. And she has run her own retail outlet featuring her Worldly Designs collection.

But she prefers where she is now: selling her women’s and girls’ jumpers, dress-and-vest sets and garden jackets at arts-and-crafts fairs; building a loyal client base one customer at a time; and having the flexibility to plan a day that might include a school field trip or afternoon prep basketball game.

“I’ve been through that — where my business was three times as large as it is now — but it’s important to strike a balance between family time and business,” said Bundy, a mother of three and grandmother of one.

Bundy’s career in the fashion industry began more than a decade ago, when she started to make matching jumpers for her and her daughters, Katie and Jessica. Using all-natural fibers, custom-crafted buttons and a large selection of fabrics, her dresses soon caught the eye of family and friends — and grew into a business that took her to national clothing shows and had her subcontracting to meet demand.

But then came “the wake-up call,” in the form of two serious automobile accidents in 1996 and 1997 that left the Lake Stevens resident with a new outlook on life. She gave up her wholesale endeavors and focused on the arts-and-crafts market, which would enable her to develop personal relationships with her customers and still have time to attend family functions during the week.

“I travel to about 25 crafts fairs in a year, primarily in Washington, but I do attend a large one in Boise, (Idaho). I try not to stray too far from home,” said Bundy, who worked in marketing and public relations before venturing into fashion design 12 years ago.

Upcoming local events include the University District Street Fair on May 15 and 16 in Seattle, the Tacoma Farmer’s Market June 3 and the Edmonds Arts Festival from June 18 to 20.

While her customer base has grown across the state, business has always been somewhat of a roller coaster, Bundy said.

“Sales can be very unpredictable. It’s a lot of hard work without a paycheck sometimes. I once told a friend that I don’t gamble because I do this,” she said, noting that summer and fall are her busiest seasons.

What makes that roller coaster ride bearable is the creative satisfaction she gets from selecting fabrics for all seasons, holidays and special orders.

“It helps when you really love what you do,” she said.

For more information on Worldly Designs, call 425-334-3415 or go online to www.worldly-designs.com.

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Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna
When longtime friends Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna opened Dream Dinners Inc. two years ago, it was with the hope of helping families eat dinner together — no easy task in this age of two-income families and growing commute times.

Their plan: offer a place where people could come for a couple of hours and prepare a month’s worth of dinner entrees, with 14 pre-selected recipes to choose from and ingredients pre-cut, laid out and ready to go. Customers would freeze those entrees at home until they were ready to be cooked, saving them time later in grocery shopping, food preparation and cleanup.

And the cost: about $178 for 12 entrees, with each of those entrees serving between four to six people, Allen and Kuna said.

“It was started just to help our friends, to help people have dinner and to make it themselves — and this is something you prepare yourself,” said Allen, a former caterer and a mother of two.

She noted that while the recipe is there to follow, customers decide how much of each ingredient they need or want depending on their family’s taste.

“It empowers customers to make it their own,” added Kuna, a mother of three and former owner of a bookkeeping service.

And customers have been doing just that. At Dream Dinners’ debut location in south Everett, business grew to 600 customers per month before Allen and Kuna opened another store in January 2003 in Kirkland.

Today, the company is in the midst of expanding to a total of 31 locations across the country, with 29 of those franchises, said Allen, who, with Kuna, heads up Dream Dinners’ corporate office in Snohomish. That office plus Dream Dinners’ Everett and Kirkland locations and delivery service employ 35 people.

“It was a very long and expensive process,” Kuna said of the initial franchising paperwork. “But with the type of feedback we were getting from customers, we knew that it was an avenue we wanted to (pursue).”

She and Allen also knew that with the media coverage Dream Dinners had generated — it was the February 2003 cover story for Working Mother magazine and appeared on the Food Network’s “Roker on the Road” series — the “exposure would be huge.”

It was, generating more than 6,300 franchisee applicants across the United States, Allen said.

But the Dream Dinners team is very particular when it comes to choosing franchisees, who pay a franchise fee of $30,000 up front, a monthly franchise royalty and a monthly marketing royalty, Kuna said.

First, they have to make it past the application.

“We have a ‘magic wand’ application, where the first question is: ‘If you had a magic wand, how would you serve others?’” Allen said, noting that the desire to serve is an important component in any Dream Dinners operation.

“Our entire goal is to help relationships that are built at the dinner table. ... If we can foster that across the United States — I get goose bumps” thinking about it, Allen said.

For more information on Dream Dinners Inc., call 425-876-8987 or go online to www.dreamdinners.com.

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Kim Bedier
With its 200-foot-high masts reaching skyward, the Everett Events Center certainly brings to mind a seagoing vessel. And in describing her responsibilities as its general manager, Kim Bedier delves into the maritime lexicon.

“The role of GM in a sports and entertainment facility is similar to the captain of a ship,” said Bedier, who has more than 15 years of leadership experience in the industry. “It is my responsibility to chart the direction for the facility and ensure that the team is rowing together toward the common goal of keeping the Everett Events Center busy and full of happy guests.”

Since taking the helm of the center in January 2003 — nine months before it opened to the public — Bedier and her staff have lured Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rod Stewart and Big Boi to perform at the $71.5 million venue, which includes a community ice rink, a conference center and an arena that can seat up to 10,000 for concerts.

Along with musical entertainment, the Events Center has played host to the Harlem Globetrotters, Disney’s “Princess Classics” and the Bullriders Challenge, not to mention the Everett Silvertips hockey team and the first-ever Everett Boat Show in March.

“What I’m most pleased with is the variety of events we’ve been able to bring in, the variety and the quality,” said Bedier, who works for Global Spectrum, a Philadelphia-based management firm that oversees more than 30 public assembly facilities across the United States and Canada.

Bedier, who relocated to the area from her native Canada, has a history of developing successful event venues, including Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie, Alberta, which she took from the planning stages through its establishment as one of western Canada’s premier small-market facilities.

Working in the venue management industry means long hours — in the evenings and on the weekends, too. And when Bedier speaks at high school and college career seminars, she warns students that if they are considering the sports and entertainment industry, they should remember that they will be working when everyone else is having fun.

“However, when you love what you do, the hours become irrelevant,” said Bedier.

For more information on the Everett Events Center, visit on the Web at www.everetteventscenter.com.

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Shannon Holbrook
Shannon Holbrook started her business, Lavender Hill Floral, to give brides an alternative to standardized flower arrangements.

Instead of pre-set wedding packages found at retail florists, her clients would receive a customized ensemble reflective of their personality and style, said Holbrook, who grew up watching her mother create custom gowns for brides-to-be.

“There are a lot of ways to personalize flowers,” said Holbrook, a graduate of Seattle’s Floral Design Institute. “...The most important thing is the color, it picks up on (the bride’s) personality. If they’re romantic, we can go with a romantic look. If they want to get funky, we can do that, too.”

Since starting in December 1999, Holbrook’s business has grown to become a full-service wedding and event floral design company, specializing in entire event decor — from the linens and lighting to tent rentals and flower arrangements.

Working out of her Lynnwood home, Holbrook employs one person full-time, as well as temporary staff to help with set-up and delivery, especially during the busy days of summer, when the business averages 30 to 35 weddings during the season.

“The first year I focused mainly on smaller, intimate weddings. As I started to build up business and gain more recognition, I was able to take on bigger weddings, elaborate special events and galas,” said Holbrook. “Last year, we did events for the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, where Miss America’s Katie Harmon was a guest speaker.”

Lavender Hill Floral’s reputation has grown with its events, winning the People’s Choice Award for best floral arrangement at the 2003 Northwest Flower & Garden Show. But the company’s best form of marketing comes from happy clients, Holbrook said.

“I love it when my clients are awestruck when they first see what I have created for them. I always get a big hug and lots of wonderful compliments,” she said. “It’s so rewarding to know that I’ve helped to make their day extra special.”

For more information about Lavender Hill Floral, call Holbrook at 425-778-5112 or go online to www.lavenderhillfloral.com.

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