September 01, 2008

Heather Olson Spotlight

Heather_gsg Heather Olson is a young woman who has been down many career paths before sticking a landing at Golden State Gymnastics. Heather is originally from San Jose. As a young child she ended up in the entertainment industry which lead her to Burbank. Over the years she has been in various television ads, a few movies and even landed a steady role on Days of Our Lives. As she grew up, Heather found herself drawn to working with kids. For five years, she worked as a professional nanny and decided that she would dedicate her life to working with kids and being a positive role model.

Heather, along with all of the other program directors and coaches at Golden State Gymnastics, is USA Gymnastics safety-certified. In addition to this training, Heather's work as a child actor and nanny makes her sensitive to the individual needs of each child she works with. When she coaches she not only teaches kids about the fundamentals of gymnastics, she also tries to instill important social skills and self-confidence.

Golden State Gymnastics is a non-profit organization that relies on fund raising and donations. Working for a non-profit, Heather has learned that it's not always about making money, instead life becomes more rewarding when you're making a difference. Creating and sustaining a sense of community are the goals of the organization, and they try to help their community by instilling habits in the children of our community that embody healthy living. They have summer camps, daily classes, and "parent's night out". Parent's night out (held once a month) falls on Saturday nights and the idea is to give Burbank parents the opportunity to drop off their kids in a fun and safe environment while they go out and have "grown up time" out on the town.

We at justBurbank want to salute Heather and Golden State Gymnastics for all of their efforts to make our community a better place for kids (and parents on Saturday nights).

July 31, 2008

Steve Cooper Spotlight

Steve_cooper_3 This month our spotlight has fallen on Steve Cooper of Granville Cafe. 

Steve is the marketing manager for Granville. He is involved in all three of the Granville locations; the corporate offices in Encino, Burbank and the new Glendale location.  Steve is a very social and funny guy.  Many don’t know that Steve used to be a professional stand up comic and toured around the country making people laugh. I had the great fortune of meeting Steve at my first chamber mixer years ago and he has yet to stop making me laugh.

Granville Cafe, for those of you who don’t know, is one of the most delicious restaurants in Burbank. Blown away by their excellent Happy Hour Specials, we decided to feature their Berry Patch Mojito in the "Ya Gotta Try This" category of this blog. One of my other favorites at Granville is the Grilled Cheese Dipper appetizer.  Steve and I were talking about this dish and about just how much I love grilled cheese. Steve let me in on a secret...There is an underground event held in a surprise location every year called "The Grilled Cheese Invitational".  Granville and their grilled cheese participates in the Invitational. He told me that if was interested he would keep me informed of the location and details as he got them and would have me come out and enjoy the fun. True to his word, Steve called me the day before the event. I brought a slew of grilled cheese enthusiasts with me and a great time was had by all.

Besides all the restaurant related events Steve partakes in, he also gets involved in the Burbank community.  This year justBurbank took part in the American Cancer Society’s 2008 Relay for Life event in Burbank. Steve volunteered to walk for our team and stuck with us through the blistering hot day (the high that day was 110 degrees!). On any given Thursday night you can find Steve at Victorio’s Restaurant to watch sports and enjoy the karaoke. He's also one of the regulars at every Chamber Mixer, and his wit and charm are both reasons why I always make a point to attend. Steve knows that it’s not just about his success but, the mutual success of all of his associates.

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