Chamber Welcomes Sandpoint Dental Cosmetics

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce welcomes Sandpoint Dental Cosmetics (SDC) Family Dentistry to the Chamber. Dr. Joe Johnson has taken over a more than 30 year old business that was founded by Dr. Osmunson and carried on by Dr. Tom Helvey. After Dr. Helvey decided to go back to school, Dr. Johnson realized a dream could come true.

After joining the US Army at 17 years of age, making the ranks of Special Forces Training and serving as a Special Forces Medic, Dr. Johnson was wounded in combat and released to attend college. His tours took him to Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti. He then attended BYU-Idaho for his undergrad, UNC-Chapel Hill for a Masters in Public Health, Still University of Health Sciences for his Doctorates of Dental Medicine (DMD) and the Uniform Service’s University for Forensic Odontology.

Dr. Johnson practices under the same motto as his alma mater “Mind, Body, and Spirit.” This is a Holistic Medicine approach which means the patient cannot be healthy until the mind, body, and spirit are healthy and in harmony. Adopted by Still University of Health and Sciences in 1888 by the creator of Osteopathic Medicine and it is the first and only dental school in the nation to teach this approach.

“Here at SDC Family Dentistry we are as concerned with your emotional and spiritual health as we are in your oral health,” explained, Dr. Johnson. He then commented, “We frequently have patients stop in just to relax in the waiting room and enjoy some complementary coffee and a place to unwind. This accurately describes why I have chosen the motto of ‘Body, Mind, and Spirit.’”

Do not let the word cosmetics in their name turn you away because they perform all aspects of dentistry and simply added cosmetics to their name to signify that everything they do is designed to be undetectable to the eye. They perform regular exams, cleanings and radio graphs and even offer free whitening when you pay for those services. Also, if you get any referral outside of your immediate family to come in for an exam, they will give you a $50 gift card. For the first three months of the New Year, they will be giving free denture stabilization examinations.

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce wishes Dr. Johnson and Sandpoint Dental Cosmetics Family Dentistry success in our community and thanks Dr. Johnson for his service to our country. Visit them at their office at 30336 Hwy 200, Suite A. For more information or to book, give Dr. Johnson a call at 208-255-1255 or visit www.sandpointdentalcosmetics.com.

In Photo: Dr. Joe Johnson and the Sandpoint Dental Cosmetics Family Dentistry family Cut the Ribbon with the Chamber Ambassadors.

Chamber Welcomes Home Depot

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce welcomes Home Depot, Ponderay branch, to the Chamber. After opening its doors on January 20th, 2005, they have filled a 103,000 square foot building with more than 35,000 different types of items and they open all but two days a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Like many local businesses, they see a surge of business after the 4th of July that runs up until Labor Day.

On average, Ponderay Home Depot employs 100 associates, half of which are part time employees. Also, half of their employees have been with the company for 3 years or longer. With customers commuting from Montana, Washington, and Canada they service approximately 7,500 customers a week.

Home Depot promotes career growth. Every manager began as a regular associate and through hard work developed into middle management, department supervisor, and then into management. Even at the top, each manager proudly wears the Orange Home Depot Apron and walks the sales floor several times a day working with associates and serving customers.

There are seven core values of Home Depot and the two held closely to their hearts are Building Relationships and Giving Back to Our Communities. The Ponderay Home Depot lives these values by donating to dozens of nonprofit organizations as well as more substantial grants and Team Depot Projects where the local Home Depot associates volunteer their time and services to work on qualifying projects such as homeless shelters, food banks, Bonner County Fairgrounds, or even local Elementary Schools.

In addition to growing a career, there are many benefits to working at The Home Depot: several types of health insurances, financial benefits such as 401(k) Plan with match and Employee Stock Purchase Plan, paid time off, group benefits, tuition reimbursement plan, and associate discounts to name a few. Currently the Ponderay Home Depot has 13 job openings. These are not temporary positions. They range from cashiers to sales associates and operations associates. If interested, local Home Depot jobs must be applied for online at: www.careers.homedepot.com.

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce wishes the Ponderay Home Depot continued success and thanks them for their contribution to our community. For more information, visit Ponderay Home Depot at 500 Kootenai Cut-Off Rd in Ponderay or contact them at 208-263-2373.

In Photo: Home Depot Associates and Manager Nickie Wernecke cut the Ribbon with the Chamber Ambassadors at the Ponderay Home Depot.

Chamber Recognizes Chris Thompson as November’s Volunteer of the Month

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce honors Chris Thompson as Volunteer of the Month for November. Chris has been actively involved in several local nonprofit organizations since he’ retired’ and moved back home to Sandpoint. As a long time ski instructor and coach he sits on the board of the Schweitzer Alpine Racing School program, assists Kinderhaven to put on their Festival of Trees, is instrumental in the success of Pend Oreille Arts Council (POAC) Arts and Crafts Fair and Performance Series, and is an active volunteer for the Chamber, throughout the year.

Chris is a positive attribute in all that he does. He assists in setting up (and taking down) the beer garden for the Summer Sampler and is in charge of course logistics for the Chamber’s successful Scenic Half Marathon; every year he puts in hours and miles insuring the distance is accurate and the trail itself is clean, safe and well maintained. In addition, he directs the set-up of tents in the finish area and the signage on the course itself. The really amazing thing about his efforts on behalf of the race, he leaves elk camp for 2 days to help during race weekend, now that is dedication!

Kim Queen, POAC Executive Director, says that, “Chris Thompson has been the go-to guy for POAC, for more years and more events than we can even count. Every year, he handles the logistics of POAC’s annual fundraiser, the Arts & Crafts Fair. For almost every show we host at the Panida, he is there to help with load in, operates spotlights, assists as stagehand or anything else needed to be sure our performances go off without a hitch – and then helps with load out when it’s over. We trust him completely in whatever role he takes on – he will be there, on time and with a plan of action in place – his attention to detail and leadership is evident in all he does. No job is too big or too small for Chris – and we cannot thank him enough!”

“He is one of those people that are always behind the scenes, a stealth volunteer, and everything always seems to get done when he is around,” said Chamber’s Executive Director, Kate McAlister. She added, “We really appreciate his efforts and the difference he makes in our organization.”

Please join the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in congratulating Chris Thompson in being honored as November’s Volunteer of the Month and thanking him for all of his wonderful qualities as a citizen of our community. He’s a wonderful model of what a leader in our community looks like and it is our pleasure to honor him with this award.

In Photo: From left to right Chamber CEO Kate McAlister honors Chris Thompson with the November Volunteer of the Month award.