A heart for service will help families
By the time Tracey Brown Fouche attends her Post Falls High School 10th class reunion this year, she will have amassed an extraordinary list of accomplishments. The wife, mother and lawyer has launched a new firm in Coeur d'Alene. Adopt Idaho is devoted to every aspect of adoption.
Tracey has always been possessed of a beautiful heart for service. A talented ballerina, she has graced the national stage of the Miss America Pageant as Miss Idaho and been an effective advocate for breast cancer research. She has done mission work overseas and on the mean streets of inner cities in California. Now she has come home to make a difference in the lives of children and the people who will become their parents. Welcome home Tracey, wishing you much success.
www.adoptidaho.com
John Blanchette of Post Falls is a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan and the proof can be seen in the large Cowboys star tattoo on his neck, a daughter named Dallas and a dog named Emmitt, as in Smith. During the playoffs and then the Super Bowl build up John found himself surrounded by friends who were Seahawk fans. We all saw evidence of the exuberance of the 12th Man. So after Seattle brings the Lombardi Trophy home to the throngs of joyful fans John decided to toss out a challenge to his gloating friends.
Aware that the Post Falls Food Bank was running short of peanut butter he said that if he could get 200 jars of peanut butter donated he would add some ink, specifically a Seahawk 12th Man logo, to his tattoo collection. On Saturday John set up shop in the parking lot of Pizza Hut for a few hours to accept the donations. By mid-afternoon the goal of 200 jars had been exceeded by 14. John's a man of his word, and word is that the tattooing will take place today. And more than 200 families will appreciate the addition of peanut butter to their food bank grocery bags. I might have to cheer for the Cowboys next season!
If you watched Olympic ice skating this week and saw American figure skates Meryl Davis and Charlie White win the first gold medal for the U.S. in an Olympic ice dancing event, there's a bit of a local connection. Working with the duo on choreography for the competition was Derek Hough of "Dancing with the Stars" fame. Derek's dad Bruce graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School in 1972 and his grandparents Bob and Colleen Hough are longtime Coeur d'Alene residents.
Wayne Manis, owner and president of Manis Investigations, Inc., a Coeur d'Alene-based company specializing in corporate security and executive protection, will publish his memoirs in 2014. "The Street Agent" will recount Manis' nearly three decade long career with the FBI and is sure to be an exciting read.
Spotted the first robin of the year enjoying berries in our Mountain Ash a week ago. That's later than last year when the robins came out in a snow storm the first week of January.
Happy Birthday today to Amy Boni (40!), Teri Nipp, Rebekah Newbry, Samantha Kraack and Rob Colvin and tomorrow one of my favorite Marines, Rick Seward turns 84 years young, sharing a birthday with Ron Ouren, Maycie Goodlander, Barb Eveland, Phil Romans and Jared "Mike" White. Friday birthday girls are Megan Lee, Paige Watkins and Donna Pfeiffer.
On Saturday Mark Sales, Tami Crawford, Billie Jo Campbell, Jim Clark and Jack Lash make another trip around the sun. Shawn Telford, Corinna Hunter, Diane Mort, Louise Robeson, Bill Kaufamn, Holly McNee, Denise Wilbanks and Marion Brendis celebrate Feb. 23 birthdays and on Monday wish a happy birthday to Ingrid Allen, Sheila Wooley and Barb Koerner. Tuesday Nathan McLeod, Barb Dietrick, Rosalie True and Jimmy Conrow will blow out the candles.
Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email [email protected].