In a couple weeks were getting ready to send our students back to school …that means everyone is BUSY and all the end-of-summer events are here!

Our meeting was very full today {just like the parking lot} with all of our members in attendance, plus a guest speaker. We began our meeting with 30-commercials. Joni {Essentially Healed} is hosting a educational movie night with the documentary “Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World” about artificial sweeteners and sugar.  Karen is gearing up for the 3-day garage sale for Girls on the Run this weekend. You can find more info here. She’s also excited to begin sign-ups for Fall Gymnastics for kids 2 years and older. More info here.  Shelley {Alta’s Antiques} had a busy week at her daughter’s wedding in British Columbia – Congratulations! She is eager to get back to her antique store displays in the Corvallis-Albany area. Anne Fahy {Remax Integrity} is glad to see the real estate market in Corvallis continue to grow and improve. She’s particularly happy to work with so many first time home buyers. 🙂 Nadine {GF RN & RN On-Call} announced that a PBS documentary on the Gluten-Free diet & Celiac Disease will be filming in Corvallis …maybe we’ll get to see a familiar face when it airs on PBS/OPB. Lori {Thank You People} reminded us that everyone likes to feel appreciated and what better way than with a thoughtful card. Oni {Balance Point Acupuncture} shared that she gets asked if acupuncture is good for *fill-in-the-blank* ailment… the answer is yes. Janelle & Mary {Dental Office of Drs. Bugni, Laster, and Jensen} are proud to be part of a dental office with 3 happy dentists. They keep up to date on all the procedures their clients need and are always accepting new patients. E*beth from Valley Eye Care announced today that after 15 years in Corvallis her and her family are off to California for a new job. We’re sad to see her go and wish her all the best in their new adventure. 🙂 Amanda {Amanda Photographic} is focusing her mini sessions on back-to-school portraits for the month of September. Click over to her fb or blog for more info.

Our speakers today were guest, Julia Waterhous, and Ilene Anderton.

Julia Waterhous is the daughter of a former Member at Large (Therese Waterhous) and visited us today to talk about a new project she’s working on.  Julia recently graduated from Boston University with degrees in journalism and psychology. Unhappy with the state of the current media outlets, Julia has been reluctant to begin her journalism career with an existing company. She studied abroad in India, Senegal, and Argentina learning about a group of people that make a living by going through trash & recycling to find re-sellable items. This activity is illegal since the refuse belongs to the state causing tension and hostility between the waste pickers and police. These impoverished people have few, if any, rights and are often targeted for harassment. Julia started Empowerment Media LLC, a multi-media journalism company focusing on international human rights. She is currently fundraising so she can return to New Delhi in 3 weeks for 3 months to begin filming her first documentary “Don’t Waste People”. Her documentary is already accepted for viewing at Boston University, a media convention in NY, and will hopefully be aired here at home on OPB. You can learn more about “Don’t Waste People” and make contributions to this project here.

Waste Pickers. Photo Credit: Avery Williamson

Ilene from A&S Accounting was our second speaker today. Since 1973 A&S Accounting as been first in the phone book {what’s a phone book? haha} and that was exactly what they were going for. The ‘A’ coming from Ilene’s name Anderton has stayed the same with the ‘S’ taking on different meanings – some unofficial & funny, others coincidentally applicable – after her and her initial business partner split. With that early experience Ilene shared that she encourages people who visit her office wanting to start a partnership to consider an S-Corp instead.

Did you know that Oregon is the least expensive state for the IRS to monitor? That’s because we have some of the most strict laws requiring those who would prepare our taxes to be licensed with regular sessions of continuing education. Ilene is one step ahead. She holds a special license with the IRS that gives her a direct line of communication. How many people can say that they can just call the IRS? Not many, but Ilene can. 😉 She told us about odd scenarios of people not filing for 10 years then wondering why they’re getting “you owe us money” letters… see, accounting can be funny too. She also talked about depreciation, but wow, you’re going to have to call her if you want more info on that. I think I get it, I just can’t explain it to anyone else.

Ilene and her AMAZING staff are located on the corner of 3rd and Washington. Available for all manner of financial council & preparation the folks at A&S Accounting are best… anywhere.