By Sally Gracie
A white puddle beneath my back porch on the north side of the house is all that remains of our winter’s stingy snowfall. Boston broke records with 108.6 inches; I doubt we had 2 feet.
The annual fundraiser dinner for Wenatchee’s Trusting Spirit Horse Rescue was held last week at Twisp River Pub. Betty Wagoner is the event’s organizer.
A percentage of the funds raised for the 2015 event has been donated to Suzi Davis, whose barn was destroyed in last summer’s fire.
Claudia Trapp, founder and chairman of Trusting Spirit, along with treasurer Stephanie Stibal, presented Suzi with a frost-free hydrant for her barn and a welcome mat crafted from baling twine in addition to a share of the proceeds.
To top off the evening’s good feelings, T. R. Stewart entertained guests with his guitar.
Claudia Trapp presents Suzi Davis, left, a welcome mat and a frost-free spigot for her new barn as Stephanie Stibal looks on.
Trusting Spirit’s mission is to address the needs of neglected, abandoned and mistreated horses. Their goal is to find a new family and home for rescued horses where they can live their lives in comfort and dignity. Trusting Spirit is a 501(c-3) nonprofit corporation. Go to their website, trustingspirithorserescue.com, to meet three horses ready for adoption, and to find out how you can help this organization. And next year, try to attend the fundraiser at the pub!
When I began to shop at Hank’s Harvest Foods 15 years ago, a friendly man with close-cropped white hair often offered to carry my bags to the car. It was months before I realized that he was Hank Konrad, the owner of the store.
Hank Konrad is a good guy — a generous donor to nonprofit organizations — a businessman who sees customer service and customer satisfaction as a key to his store’s success. Have you ever waited more than a minute or two for a checker to ring up your purchases? If there is more than one person in line and, usually, a new checkout lane opens.
At Christmas time I was scanning the ice cream freezers for pumpkin ice cream. Hank asked what I was looking for, and called Brian to help. In a jiffy, he had picked the quart of dessert from the shelf for me.
I spend a lot of money at Hank’s, but I also make a monthly junket to W*****t to buy dog food and a few other staples for prices that Hank’s Harvest Food can’t match. A 17-pound bag of the dog food I feed Beebe costs $23 at Hank’s and $13 at W*****t.
“That $10 makes it worthwhile to go to Omak,” I told Hank, who promised to see if he could offer the item at a lower price. Hank has ordered the dog food brand directly from the maker instead of from the warehouse. Whether Hank’s final price will be anywhere near as low as the big box store is not even the point, which is that Hank Konrad is trying to offer a price that will please this customer.
Wildlife, especially a lion’s tail at the dog food shelves, and crowded aisles aside, I prefer the service and friendly people at Hank’s.
