Shannon Evans

Shannon Evans is a 2nd grade teacher at Friday Harbor Elementary School, where she has taught since 2006. She and her daughter Joanna, a 5th grader at FHES, moved to the island for the Mayberry-esque community and the inspiring natural beauty. Teaching second graders is Shannon’s dream job; she says, “they’re old enough to tie their own shoes and speak in complete sentences, but young enough to still have a deep sense of wonder and think their teacher walks on water”. When she’s not teaching, Shannon enjoys volunteering, gardening (though she claims to be more of a plant-killer than anything), performing in singing groups and local musical theater, reading, and spontaneous road trips with friends and family.

Melisa Pinnow

Melisa Pinnow has quite a lot going on these days. She's a Senior at Spring Street School (Graduating next month and will attend Evergreen State College), she's a certified marine naturalist who works on the Odyssey for San Juan Excursions, one of the whale watch outfits based here in Friday Harbor. She volunteers at the Whale Museum, on other boats and out at Whale Watch Park, and she's an activist working towards educating the public about the plight of both captive and wild whales from around our waters.


She can identify all of the Southern Resident orcas, as well as some Transient and Northern Resident orcas. She has just recently launched a very informative website, SanJuanOrcas.com which includes sections devoted to Orca identification help, a blog of recent encounters, and a page devoted to getting a wild caught Southern Resident orca called Lolita back to her home and family here in the islands. She also made a video about Lolita, which can be viewed on her website.

And if all that is not enough, she also maintains a Facebook page with biographies on whales that have passed, with the purpose of keeping their memory alive. With this, people will know more about them in hopes that knowing more will mean caring more.

Quite an extrordinary young woman, following her passion and doing extrordinary things. So much that she's the first person on This is Our Town to get two photos!* We are lucky to have her in our community.

*The pasta company 2nd photo doesn't count - it's a machine photo and simply a close-up detail shot of what the machine does.

Kerry and BooBoo

Kerry Andrews and BooBoo James are the two women who got Run Ladies Run going here on the island. Their friendship started about 13 years ago when they worked at the Ale House and evolved into "babes in backpacks" with walks around the island. Eventually their walks turned into runs.

They started signing up for races and traveling around the northwest hoping to beat their last Personal Record. Running has always been a social thing for them. A chance to be truly alone with their best friends, spilling their guts about all the fabulous and not so fabulous events in their lives.

Kerry says: "We started Run Ladies Run in the fall of 2008.  With the hopes to get more women off the couch, to start doing something for themselves. It evolved into putting on races, allowing local women who had started running & walking a chance to set goals and experience the excitement of crossing a finish line!"

They want you to know that they are just regular women who decided to make running and fitness a part of their lives... And that so can you!

Serendipity

Carol Jackson (left) and Dilys Goodman are business partners and the co-owners of Serendipity Bookstore. The store was originally started pretty much on a whim one evening in 1995 when Carol and the late Betty Stewart said: "We're both former teachers and librarians - Let's open a book store!" and so they did. Betty's husband Norman built many of the shelves that they are still using today. In 1997, Dilys joined them and that same year they moved directly across the street from their original location on A Street and have been in their current location between the Market Chef and the Hungry Clam ever since.

Carrying 2nd hand books with a computerized inventory system, they now have 50,432 titles on hand, and if they don't have the one you want, they will let you know when it comes in. Currently there are about 1,500 requests (from all the islands) for specific books and every day Carol or Dilys calls someone to let them know their book is available. The phrase "Floor to ceiling" may take on new meaning when you walk into Serendipity - every room, every wall, every nook & cranny is lined with books. It's really quite a fun experience to browse around and see what you might find.

Mary-Brooke Barger

This is Mary-Brooke spreading the love at Mirabella Skin Care over on Mullis Street. She began her career as a clinical massage therapist 26 years ago in Boulder, Colorado, and never stopped learning. After several years she discovered a new passion - the science of skin care - and she became a licensed aesthetician.
She now specializes in using technologies like microcurrent facial toning, (try saying that 3 times) and products that specifically target aging skin. She also offers deeply relaxing and restorative facials, (ask the other woman in the photo above if she's feeling any stress right now - I'm pretty sure I heard her purring throughout the whole photo-shoot), gentle therapeutic massage, and lymph drainage therapy which is especially beneficial to clients who are undergoing cosmetic or facial surgical procedures.
Last year she got a certification in oncology aesthetics so she could offer safe, relaxing treatments to clients undergoing cancer treatments.

When she’s not at Mirabella you’ll most likely find her alongside her husband Paul, who teaches Ballroom Dance at XYZ Movement Arts after his day job.
When they first moved here from Alexandria, Virginia, they felt like they’d found Paradise. And now, nearly 7 years later, they still have "pinch me" moments - those moments when they need a reminder that they really do LIVE here, it’s not just a dream!

The doors at Mirabella are open to the public every Tuesday from 9-5 for product and makeup sales or complimentary consultations. Other hours are by appointment. Go say hello. She's in the Guard Building at 818 Mullis Street in Suite #2. (360) 378-4250

KO's Subs

Owner Ken Oberreit serves up the goods at KO's Subs sandwich shop down by the ferry lanes.

Ken, his wife Kathy and their kids moved here from Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the spring of 2010. They had family here and always liked the area. It seemed the timing was right to downsize his business life a little... In Jackson Hole, he owned and operated a 6,000 sq. ft. store & deli from 1992 to 2005 and then started two other deli operations in Pinedale which he ran from 2005 to 2010 - each with around fifteen to twenty employees. Here in Friday Harbor, he can run things with only two or three people in the Summer. Or, he can do it all alone in the Winter but he hopes this will change with the new larger dining area, free Wi-Fi, DirecTV on the wall, and some new menu items he's recently added.

He's been working in the food industry since his younger days, beginning with his family's restaurant and then choosing to go to culinary school in 1991. Maybe he realized that working as a ski instructor by day and cooking at nite, might not be enough!

Adam and Deanna

Adam and Deanna Eltinge recently purchased Island Petroleum Services from longtime friends Jim and Kate Schuman. Adam is the friendly guy who's been working behind the counter for the past two years, always eager to help in any way. He and Deanna met at Washington State University and started their family on the mainland, but they've always yearned to move to the island. When they did, it was a return home for Deanna. She was born and raised here as a Sundstrom and is excited the sixth generation will grow-up in the original farmhouse.

In Adam’s former life, he was a construction project manager of large communities in the Seattle area where he honed his business sense and appreciation of exceptional customer service. He now brings that tradition of customer service to IPS when providing fuel and oil at the Carter Station (as well as Free Air for your tires), the Port of Friday Harbor fuel pier, and customized deliveries.