Chair Massages Have Employees Feeling ‘Simply Healthy’
BY MARION WEBB
Staff Writer
It’s a sure recipe for rejuvenating employees, lowering absenteeism and can even raise production at the workplace.
Sounds too good to be true?
Not according to one happy client speaking for Simply Healthy, an Oceanside-based firm that brings massages to the workplace.
“You can feel the energy before they even get here because it’s Massage Friday,” said Tammy Moore, senior director of operations at Del Mar-based Skylight Systems.
For some employees, the 15- to 20-minute chair massages delivered every other Friday are now as much a staple as lunch, Moore said.
The in-house service costs $1 a minute.
Elise Tyner started Simply Healthy in June 1999 and now has 15 therapists to bring a charge of energy to local companies.
Among the two dozen firms dotting Simply Healthy’s client roster are Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals, the United Way, Legoland California and HNC Software.
Paul Tyner, president of Simply Healthy, prides himself in offering his clients good and reliable service and flexiblity in scheduling.
This is how it works:
“We have a contact person at each company to set up a time and date that person forwards the group an e-mail (to sign up for massages) and a couple of days before the date they return the sheet to us,” Tyner said.
Depending on the number of people signed up for massages, Tyner sends out one or two therapists. He said employers or employees are not charged for canceled appointments, but he said Simply Healthy is considering contractual agreements.
Thus far, Simply Healthy has relied on word-of-mouth referrals to boost its growth.
And that won’t change, because happy customers are the best recipe for success in the massage business, he said.
For information on Simply Healthy, go to (simplyhealthymassage.com).
Bicycle Repairman Hits the Road With Mobile Shop
BY GIG PATTA
Staff Writer
In a busy world, few people have the time to take their bicycle in for a tune-up or to replace parts.
Tuna Bike Inc. launched its first bicycle repair shop on wheels this month to service the busy bicyclist at any location.
The Escondido-based company plans to have its mobile bicycle service shop cover mostly North County, including Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Ramona and San Marcos.
Currently, the company has one employee and does not have a permanent shop.
“We want to be a bike shop that makes house calls,” said Richard Heinzel Jr., master mechanic of Tuna Bike.
Heinzel formerly worked in a bicycle shop and is certified by Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Barnett Bicycle Institute as a bicycle mechanic.
The shop is inside the van with the necessary equipment to fix flats, adjust brakes and to replace handlebars, seats and hydration packs. The shop can fix road bikes, mountain bikes, BMX’s and even children’s bikes.
The mobile shop will visit homes, offices, parks and even special events to service the bikes, according to Heinzel.
Tuna Bike offers a free safety check program, which is designed to test out children’s bikes for working brakes, chains, adjustments and steering systems.
Heinzel said the company eventually plans to expand throughout Southern California one day by selling franchises in designated areas.
“With many parents working today, people don’t have the time to take their bikes to a shop,” he said. “It’s very convenient and a new unique thing for today’s fast paced environment.”
For information on Tuna Bike, call (760) 535-5691 or go to (www.tunabike.com).
Love of Sports (and Support From Work) Motivates Kids’ Coaches
BY BRAD GRAVES
Staff Writer
As if courtroom rivalry and professional responsibility were not enough, a subset of San Diego’s legal community takes competition to a whole ‘nuther level.
They coach youth sports.
And they do it with the support of the people at work.
“I love sports and I love working with kids,” says 42-year-old Donald McKillop, who has been coaching in Poway since 1989.
A shareholder with Downtown’s Klinedinst, Fliehman and McKillop law firm, McKillop coaches Pop Warner football and manages Little League baseball. He also helps coach a traveling boys baseball team.
The construction and real estate attorney frequently finds himself tending two youth sports teams along with his caseload.
It can be a lot to juggle.
But with assistant coaches and “a good group of understanding people at the office,” McKillop says he can take care of all his responsibilities whenever there is a time conflict.
Having a crowded calendar also brings rewards.
McKillop got to watch son Donnie hit a three-run homer and strike out 13 to help the Poway National Little League Padres win the city Majors championship in June.
At age 24, Jason Hunt approaches coaching from a different perspective.
Hunt is assistant coach for the varsity soccer squad at Francis Parker School. He landed the job in 2000 after coming to town from Washington state, where he coached youth soccer and played on a club team.
In June, Hunt took a job with the law firm of Anderson & Kriger in La Mesa. As assistant marketing director, he is responsible for two newsletters as well as other promotional materials.
He figured his coaching days were over.
Yet he was able to return to Francis Parker for a new season in November. As of last week the team had embarked on what Hunt hopes is a long series of playoffs.
Anderson & Kriger essentially pays Hunt to coach. Under the firm’s flextime policy, he leaves work around 2 p.m. for the practice field.
Clayton Anderson, senior partner with Anderson & Kriger, says the firm lets Hunt do the soccer work out of the dual obligations it feels toward its employees and the community.
Anderson & Kriger specializes in construction defect litigation and homeowners association law.
So far the coaches have not crossed each other’s paths. But their other teams have.
It’s not unusual to see Klinedinst and Anderson attorneys up against each other in court.
Del Mar’s Golf Fest No Longshot With Local Duffers
BY MIKE ALLEN
Senior Staff Writer
It’s easy to see why 10,000 people attended last year’s Golf Fest.
As an incentive, the first 1,500 attendees at the trade show were given a free round of golf at one of several area courses.
“On the opening day last year, which was on a Friday, we had something like 600 people lined up before the gates opened,” recalls Shelly Hall, the event’s co-founder.
With greens fees for public courses averaging $30 and some private courses approaching $200, it’s a giveaway that gets attention.
Hall is repeating last year’s offer to the first 1,500 attendees at this year’s event on March 15, 16 and 17 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The courses include Bajamar Ocean Front Resort in Mexico, Doubletree Golf Resort in Rancho Penasquitos and Warner Springs Ranch Golf Resort.
As if that isn’t enough, this year’s Golf Fest also has a Beat the Pros contest featuring such local luminaries as former Chargers Willie Buchanan and Dave Grayson; former Padres Gary Templeton and Gary Locklear; former Chargers coach Harland Svare; and several other retired athletes and pro golfers.
The event also includes a consumer show with about 125 vendors representing golf equipment and clothing manufacturers, travel agencies, public and private golf courses, and golf magazines.
Besides that, the show features interactive activities, a virtual gaming area, fashion shows, hitting cages, seminars and a 19th hole for refreshments.
Tickets to the Golf Fest are $10 for adults and free for children under 12. For information, go to (www.golfestsandiego.com).
