Biz Beat 12-10-2015

It appears WINGS Seminars, based in Eugene and facilitating personal development seminars and related training for more than 25 years, will be shutting down soon, or evolving. Founder and President Kris King has not made a formal statement, but she has used social media to tell her community that she conducted her last Personal Effectiveness Seminar (PES) in Sacramento in late November. King and her office manager did not respond to an EW request for comment by press time. 

PES is the four-day introductory seminar and many graduates (who often call themselves “Wingnuts”) go on to advanced, intensive workshops, seminars and leadership trainings. WINGS has worked with a reported 35,000 people over the years, including those sent to the seminars by corporations and government agencies. The seminars are intended to “increase confidence and empowerment, meaning and purpose, clarity and focus, enthusiasm and energy, and finely tuned communication skills,” according to the website at wings-seminars.com. 

The website still has a link to sign up for a $595 January PES, and advanced seminars in January are fully booked. WINGS has its offices at 275 W. 5th Ave. and does many of its seminars at the LCC Downtown Center. 

Lane Monthly published its last issue this month, and former publisher Michelle Naidoo wrote on her Facebook page, “We knew it was an experiment from the beginning. Still, we set out to work with some of the best writers in the area.” She says she started work on the publication in early 2015 and “we believed our gorgeous Lane County could sustain not only a daily and a weekly and a quarterly publication, but also a monthly magazine that celebrated all that was splendid about the people, places, businesses and nonprofits of Lane County.” She went on to say, “The experiment was loads of fun and joy, but it’s time for us to wrap up.”

We wrote about indoor pot growers causing power outages in the Portland area (see Nov. 12 Biz Beat) and we heard from Clark Tippin of ogcannabisgrowers.com about “options in lighting that look very promising, and we have been testing two LED lights.” He tells us the Promax grow light he is currently testing “uses only 250 watts and so far is outperforming the 600 watt HPS it is paired against.” HPS refers to high-pressure sodium lights which are often used as street lights since they are relatively inexpensive. Tippin says Promax offers a leasing option for its LED lights, which makes the initial investment lower than HPS. “Savings are mostly in the lowered use of electricity,” he says. 

“Power outage is not the only concern that the public should be worried about,” he adds. “As commercial production increases indoors the conventional synthetic fertilizers used should also raise the ire of the public. … Our municipal sewer systems were not designed to handle the synthetic nitrates and phosphates that are being flushed into them.” 

Shopping local? The third annual Winter Native American Arts & Crafts Market will be from 11 am to 5 pm Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Amazon Community Center, 2700 Hilyard Street.

We see the nonprofit Community Alliance of Lane County is looking for a half-time organizer to coordinate the work of CALC’s Springfield Alliance for Equality and Respect (SAfER). Get more information and an application by emailing calcoffice@gmail.com. Deadline to apply is Dec. 14. 

The Eugene Y got a grant from the national YMCA to start up EnhanceFitness programs starting in January, according to Jeff Oliver, director of communications and operations. The fitness sessions are geared to older adults, including those with arthritis and other chronic conditions, and will be 60 minutes three times a week. See eugeneymca.org or call 543-7775. 

The 37th annual Senior Holiday Dinner is coming up Dec. 25 at the Eugene Hilton, and sponsorships and donations are being requested from local individuals and businesses. Last year about 550 senior citizens gathered at the Hilton for a free dinner, entertainment, dancing and door prizes. Call 343-4397 or email seniorcd2015@gmail.com to help.