Goodwill Grand Opening in Sequim July 15

Goodwill selects July 15 opening date for new Store

Four-day grand opening sale will be community introduction

After we had shared with Sequim residents in April that Goodwill is coming to Sequim, Goodwill's PR manager asked SequimTownBlog again to publish the more information about this Sequim event. This is a press release and no advertising. As we expect this to be useful to Sequim residents and visitors, here is the entire info about the grand opening of Goodwill in Sequim.

"The new Goodwill store will open July 15 in Sequim, filling a former empty retail space with 32,000 square feet of great values and a convenient location for donations of gently used clothes and household items.

A store-opening ceremony will take place that Thursday at 8:45 a.m. at the store, 680 C W. Washington St. The event will include Sequim Mayor Ken Hays, Goodwill CEO Terry A. Hayes and others. After the short event, the store will open to the public at 9 a.m. with a grand opening sale through Sunday.

"We’ve always looked forward to opening a store in Sequim and we're very excited to see this take place," said Hayes, who as CEO of Tacoma Goodwill oversees a 15-county service area including Clallam County. "The store represents an opportunity for jobs in the community while donors and shoppers can support our job training and placement services for people with disabilities or disadvantages."

There are several events taking place during the opening weekend July 15-18, including:

- The opportunity for shoppers to win a DVD player, iPod and $50 gas cards during the event. Other, free giveaways will also be available at the store.

- Live radio broadcasts throughout the weekend, including: KMPS 94.1-FM featuring "Today’s Country: KONP, 1450 AM and 102.1 FM; and KSQM, 91.5-FM.

- Hot dogs and soda, for $2, will be available from Healthy Families of Clallam County. The organization combats child abuse and domestic violence.

"Goodwill is looking forward to a great relationship with the community over a long time," said Jane Taylor, Tacoma Goodwill Board of Directors president. "Besides jobs, it’s a convenient place to drop off gently used clothes and household items."

The store will be located in the former Rite Aid building, 680C W. Washington St., in the Safeway shopping center. Architects BCRA and Mountain Construction remodeled the store improvements, including expanded space for donations. Goodwill hired about 40 people, including donation attendants, cashiers and supervisors.

Tony Anderson will be the new store’s manager. Anderson has been with Goodwill since 2008, working in a variety of positions in Goodwill stores in Lacey and Olympia.

"I’ve always wanted to live up here on the Peninsula since I first visited," said Anderson. He said he hoped shoppers would feel welcome in the store, where families could find great values.

The store will be the second located in Clallam County and the 26th for the agency, headquartered in Tacoma. Other Goodwill stores in the region are located in Port Angeles, 603 S. Lincoln St., and Port Townsend, 602 Howard St. Store hours are Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Goodwill has already been providing job training and placement services for Sequim-area residents through a program giving older workers experience to get back into the workforce. For a list of donation or store locations or to find out more about Goodwill programs and services, go online to www.tacomagoodwill.org"

Tags: Goodwill store opens in Sequim, Sequim shopping

Hummmingbirds are back in Sequim

Coming to Sequim from Hawaii, we did not know hummingbirds but as soon as we had built our house and saw all the hummingbird feeders at our neighbors' houses we got interested. And ever since we have those little guys come visit us at the hummingbird feeder on our balcony, in easy view from our dining table, we became 'addicted'.

Some Sequim friends told us that they had a special hummingbird kind even through winter. That gets pretty involved because the water in the feeder freezes and needs to be taken in at nighttime. Anyways, they were very proud to get those little guys through our Sequim winter. We noticed even in spring when mornings are still cold the hummingbirds have a hard time to get warmed up. One would always fly to the top of our neighbor's tree and sit there in the full sun till he warmed up.

Now it's easy for them, and everybody spoils them. Amazingly, there are still enough hummingbirds for everybody in Sequim who hangs out a hummingbird feeder. Just make sure not to put too much sugar in it. It's not good for the humans or the hummingbirds. We have also learned not to fill up the feeder with too much sugar water. It goes bad over time. Rather take a bit and fill it up anew more often.

If you have not watched Keoki's hummingbird video last year, here it is again.

Tags: Hummingbirds in Sequim

Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center goes high tech

As regular Sequim Town blog visitors you know that one of the reasons we love Sequim so much is because it's a town which offers the ingredients to keep you young and in good shape and health. It's all up to you! We love biking the Olympic Discovery Trail, hiking in the Olympic Mountains or just walking Carrie Blake Park!

Of course, there are also those months when outdoor activities are limited because of the weather. Rain shadow and blue holes are good but Sequim is still in the PNW. When we investigated about Sequim as our retirement option, we read about SARC Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center. We say it again 'This is the biggest bonus the Sequim retirement community enjoys DAILY!. The Center offers any cardiovascular or muscle-building machine you can dream of - come and see for your selves - two pools, jacuzzi, steam sauna complement the workout with nice recreation and relaxation features.

SARC has changed and improved a lot ever since we joined 4 years ago when moving to Sequim. It seemed to me that SARC had achieved a high level in quality equipment and exercise classes, including Keoki's very own 'Easy Stretch class' on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 10:30am, but it still got better. When I walked into the aerobic workout room over a week ago, there were two new cross-trainers, my favorites ,and 5 new treadmills equipped with its own TV. I brought my airplane headphones and tried one of the cross-trainers. Really nice!

Reading when on the cross-trainer does not come easy and a 20-30min workout can stretch when not doing anything but pumping your arms and legs. With the new TVs, any workout becomes a piece of cake. Interestingly, the first week the machines stayed surprisingly empty but as it was and is with any technology, seniors need a little while to adjust to the challenges of new buttons. The figured out computers and cell phones. Sequim seniors will line up at the new machines pretty soon. Thanks SARC for going high tech!

Tags: Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center, retire in Sequim