Chamber Chicks honor Lisa Ailport

The Chamber Chick Connection Committee of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce honored Lisa Ailport as May’s Chamber Chick of the Month. Lisa’s hard work and willingness to get involved in the community is one to be honored.

“My position at Ruen-Yeager & Associates (RYA) has always been to navigate public process, however the first 5 years of my 7 years at RYA was assisting private sector clients in navigating the public land use process,” explained Lisa. “Many of my private sector clients sought approval of subdivisions, conditional or special uses, variances for structures, state and federal permitting, and land use code consulting. Since moving to the municipal/public side, my duties have shifted to assisting cities in avoiding some of the pitfalls that as a private sector consultant she was able to take advantage of. ”

Through her employment with RYA, Lisa has recently been contracted to administer city planning and zoning ordinances for the cities of Kootenai, East Hope and Bonners Ferry. She also contracted to assist Bonner County with any planning services they need. More specifically, she reviews all final plats at the county.   

“The planning world, like much of the business world, is dominated mostly by men. However, what is exciting is that more women are getting into the world of professional planning and within leadership roles within the planning fields. I want to advocate and encourage younger women to take on professional and leadership roles in planning so we can continue to grow in this professional field!  I have done this through our professional organizations, the American Planning Association, taking on the Vice Chair position for 4 years and now the regional representative position on the Board of the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association.  I consistently look for opportunities to support local planners and will look to the future for opportunities to promote more women to the professional field.” 

Before she moved to Sandpoint in 2002, Lisa graduated Washington State University with a BS in Natural Resource Science. She’s been practicing land use planning since February of 2003 and attained her certification through the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) in 2010. She is also a proud mom to two young girls.

The Chamber Chick of the Month is a new award which honors members of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce by the Chamber Chick Connection Committee. The Chamber Chick of the Month is selected by their achievement in the professional realm or overcoming a personal challenge. They must give back to our community either professionally or personally, as well as regularly attend Chamber Chick Connection functions.

Please join the Chamber Chick Connection Committee and Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in congratulating Lisa Ailport for being honored as the Chamber Chick of the Month and thanking her for all of her contributions and dedication to our community. From the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, as well as the whole community, Thank You!  

  

Photo: left to right, Gina Hall and Lisa Ailport.

Chamber Honors Barb Schriber as Volunteer of the Month

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce honored Barb Schriber as August’s Volunteer of the Month. In addition to raising two young boys and running a family construction business with her husband, she commits an enormous amount of hours to the Chamber.

Click here to watch Barb accept her award>>

“Although she is not pink, our volunteer of the month bares a striking resemblance to the Energizer Bunny at times,” explained Chamber Board Member, Amy Whalen.

Barb’s role in the Chamber is large. Currently, she is the chair of the Business Development Committee, a board member and actively chairs the board’s fundraising committee. Through the Business Development Committee, she’s implemented a number of new and innovative programs that help our local business community both learn and grow so they can contribute and be strong prosperous businesses. Barb was the driving force behind the success of the Chamber’s Ultimate Raffle.

“Her force of will often time was the catalyst that kept us moving forward and to a successful conclusion,” enlightened Amy.

Barb brings a lot to any organization she involves herself with. She always has a positive attitude, never shies away from a challenge and is first to raise her hand when something needs to get done. The only flaw her peers can pin on her is the inability to say no, but no one plans to try to correct her inability to do so. Barb and Selle Valley Construction also support and contribute to Panhandle Building Contractors Association, Head Start, Kinderhaven, Angels over Sandpoint, Bonner County Rodeo and Bonner County Fair.

“She makes me want to work harder and contribute more,” commended Amy.

Upon receiving the award, Barb told the crowd at the luncheon that, “this is one of my favorite parts about Sandpoint, we’re big enough to have great events and organizations yet small enough anyone with a little time and inability to say no can be a part of our community and make a difference.” Barb then added, “I’m humbled and honored, thank you very much.”

Please join the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in congratulating Barb Schriber for being honored as the Volunteer of the Month and thanking her for all of her contributions to our community and Chamber. From the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, as well as the whole community, Thank You Barb! 

Photo: Barb Schriber accepts the award from Chamber President, Kate McAlister.

Leadership Sandpoint and CAL team up to help Kinerhaven

Kinderhaven has a new base for its play area, thanks to the Leadership Sandpoint Class of 2012-2014 and a generous grant from the Community Assistance League. Leadership Sandpoint, a program of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, has a goal to motivate leaders toward greater involvement in our community and make a direct impact through projects. Assisting Kinderhaven with a much needed upgrade was a proud moment for the current Leadership Sandpoint class.

On July 2, eleven Leadership Sandpoint class members provided over 50 hours of hard labor, on what was the hottest day of the summer. Over 10,000 pounds of rubberized mulch was moved and spread. A forklift donated by Sun Rental of Sandpoint assisted, but each bag then needed to be hoisted over a fence and another 50 feet to the 43 x 22 foot play area. After the site was cleaned of old mulch and prepped with weed-proof fabric and new edging, then the new mulch was spread.

The rubberized playground mulch provides a safe play surface, doesn't decompose and never freezes, which means it will be around for a long time.  Additionally, the 130 feet of new rubberized edging replaced the old decaying wood edging, making the play area safer and keeps the new mulch in place.

“This project is especially meaningful to Kinderhaven because our play area offers the wonderful opportunity for unstructured play, which is extremely therapeutic for the children in our care,” stated Phyllis Horvath, Kinderhaven Executive Director.   “Abuse leaves deep wounds in its aftermath, affecting areas such as brain development, self-concept, and the ability to form healthy attachments.  Play is so essential for the development of all children, and especially so for ours.  It helps them begin to heal and, at the same time, have fun — just getting to be kids!” continued Horvath.

The project was funded by a 2013 grant from the Community Assistance League, which also provided a 2012 grant for the swings, monkey bars, and rings, in the play area.  So the entire play area was funded, built, and finished by community members.  

“This project was a great opportunity for the Leadership Sandpoint Class to work with Kinderhaven to provide an important improvement to their facilities,’ stated the Class President Eric Grace.  “The programs offered by Kinderhaven are vital to our community, so it was great that we could help out in this small way.”

Leadership Sandpoint is a program which identifies leaders in the Greater Sandpoint area and provides them an interactive experience to gain an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a citizen-leader in our multi-faceted community. Each class selects one service project to be completed during the program and fundraises to benefits their project or a cause the class chooses to support. For more information, contact the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce at 263-2161 or leadership@sandpointchamber.com.

Photo: Leadership Sandpoint class and Kinderhaven employees pose for photo at Kinderhaven taken after the project was completed. In photo from left to right; Matt Diel, Daniel Moering, Stacey Darley, Crystal Gunter, Mandy Evans, Geraldine Lewis, Karen Robinson, Phyllis Horvath, Tami Stormo, Darcy Bilbo, Eric Grace and Steve Holt.