Deborah Anderson

The Edmonds Public Schools Foundation, which raises money for students, teachers and schools in the Edmonds School District, has appointed Deborah Anderson as its new executive director.

Before coming to the Foundation, Anderson was director of finance for the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council in Everett and Washington Vocational Services in Mountlake Terrace. She earned her certification in non-profit management from the University of Washington, and has raised over $800,000 for area non-profits including the South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce, Friendship House and Western Washington University’s Center of Economic Vitality. She also has two children who attend Edmonds-Woodway High School.

Alex Mercier certainly looks and sounds the part of a pop musician. But spend a few minutes talking with the 27-year-old Edmonds native, whose voice has been compared to that of James Blunt, and you realize that he is both practical and focused about his efforts to find success as a performer.

Like most people trying to break into show business, Mercier made the move from the Seattle area to Los Angeles. We had an opportunity to talk with him recently when he was in Edmonds visiting his parents, John and Mary Mercier.

An alumnus of Holy Rosary School in Edmonds, Mercier admits that he took piano lessons grudgingly while a youngster –  “I hated it and quit” – but developed an interest in music in middle school. He played in the jazz choir and band at Blanchet High School and also played football in high school and college, including two years as a receiver for the Washington Huskies.

While at the UW, he combined his football and music interests to create a CD titled “Husky Nation,” part of his senior-class project to finish a degree in music management.

Before joining the Huskies, Mercier played junior college football in Southern California and became familiar with the LA music scene — and knew he’d eventually return there. He also was exposed to professional athletes, and quickly saw the connection between playing sports and music.

“There’s a lot of mysticism involved in professionals at the highest level,” he said. “I always thought it was about being the best, but it’s about being an athlete that has a use. The way one athlete gets on the field over another player is because it’s what the team needs.”

Given his belief in teamwork, it’s no surprise that Mercier is collaborating with two other musicians — Michael Blue, who discovered One Republic, and Benji Heard – to write and record music. “Between the three of us, we’ve written hundreds of songs,”  he said. “We are focusing on what our strengths and talents are. You put that melting pot together and see what comes out of it. And then, we’ll say, ‘Can we outdo that?’” He expects the trio to have a mini-CD of their music out by spring 2012.

When you ask Mercier his dream, it isn’t what you’d expect – to be famous. Instead, he said his focus is on “generating effective content, which includes getting the music out to a large audience.” The economic downturn has taken its toll on the music industry, Mercier said. “It’s so much more competitive. There are more fish swimming and less food to feed them with.”

“I’ve met some of the biggest producers in the business, who’ve sold $50 million, $100 million in records and now can’t make a living,” he added.

He emphasizes the business end of show business, bringing a dose of patience to his ambitions and accepting that success takes time, with the eventual goal of getting a record label.

“There’s an unwritten rule that it takes about five years to get established in LA,” said Mercier, who started out walking dogs to make ends meet. “I used to be in a band and we played a lot of colleges. Now I’m playing spot dates, like a fashion show in Las Vegas.” He has also had success composing music for a range of popular television shows such as “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” “Real World” and “L.A. Ink.”

All the while, Mercier feeds off the collaboration with his fellow musicians.

“Whenever I’m feeling exhausted or lose perspective, someone else comes in,” Mercier said. “Most recording artists think if you have the courage to show up, that’s half the battle. While that’s true, following through, learning, adjusting are a bigger piece of the equation. Although the talent is a unique component, there is so much more to it.”

Because the recording process is mostly computerized, putting a song together “is more of a puzzle piece,” he said. “You have to have something – skill – you have to build on. Some people have powerful vocals, some people have stylized vocals. It’s important to figure out the right type of combination.”

You can learn more about Mercier and his music on MySpace, Facebook and YouTube.

You can read our original story on the Ramen Rater here. You can also visit the Ramen Rater’s Facebook page.  And Lienesch has introduced a Ramen Rater store at www.ramenraterstore.com

Members of the Fred Chomos Family take a break from serving pies. From left: Mellissa, Brent, Annette, Claudette, Marc and Cynthia.

For the 27th year, the Chomos family of Edmonds has been involved with the Thanksgiving dinner served the Saturday before Thanksgiving at the Matt Talbot Center in downtown Seattle.  This year, six members of the family of the late Fred Chomos — who led the event for many years — were there to continue the family tradition.

They helped serve a delicious dinner to 500 people, complete with all the fixings and hundreds of delicious pies. The food was provided by parishioners of Holy Rosary Church in Edmonds, and members of the Knights of Columbus ferried the food to the downtown location.

The Matt Talbot Center serves the homeless, addicted and mentally ill.

According to the Times, Reid spelled out his problem with Bell at the beginning of the episode — “B-O-R-I-N-G” — and Bell’s almost-motionless version of “We’ve Got Tonight” didn’t disabuse him of that notion. The actual sound of his voice was a cut above the rest of the competition, though, and he took the criticism gracefully — which was ennobling. He survived elimination on Thursday (Brooklyn’s Stacy Francis went home). But it was another dodged bullet, like the week before last.

You can read the complete Times story here.

Celebrating with Hulda Humola for her 105th birthday are top row, from left: Don, Ray, Roger, Marge, Sunny, Mike, David and bottom row, from left: Marsha, Mary Anne, Geraldine, Jon, Matt.

By Lara Alexander

This week, friends and family gathered to celebrate the 105th birthday of long-time Edmonds resident Hulda Humola. Ms. Humola was born on Nov. 5, 1906 in Meeker County, Minn., to immigrants parents from Finland. She was one of eight children, seven of whom lived into their 80s and 90s.

Ms. Humola began her education in a one-room country school in Minnesota. She went on to earn a bachelor of science degree in nursing and a bachelor of arts degree in social work from the University of Minnesota. Later, she studied political science at the University of Chicago, writing a masters thesis on the Labor Party during the 1930s.

World War II interrupted her educational pursuits at the University of Chicago but not her interest in politics and opportunities for women. Friends said she has been a life-long activist and champion for women’s issues. She enjoyed a career in nursing, social work and child welfare in California and Oregon before settling in Edmonds, where she has lived for more than 60 years.

An independent woman, Ms. Humola never married or had children. Besides her advanced education and long career, she counted a road trip to Alaska on the Old Al-Can Highway as one of her major accomplishments.

Attending Ms. Humola’s celebration were relatives from Minnesota — niece and goddaughter Geraldine Giese and husband David, nephew Roger Humola and wife Mary Ann, and grand-nephew Jon Ruopsa, plus local friends Matt Hendricks, Marge and Ray Martin, Marcia and Don Patience and Sunny and Mike Strong.

Jessica Ketola, the Edmonds mother of four whose singing career was re-ignited when she sang with Sting at the Gorge a few years ago, will appear at a  CD Release Concert Friday night, Nov. 18, in Seattle.

The show will be at the historic Fremont Abbey, 4272 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are
$8 advance/$10 at the door and will include wine and cheese, local artwork and live painting.

You can purchase tickets here and buy the CD here.

Congratulations to Edmonds’ own LeRoy Bell, who received enough live audience votes on “The X-Factor” airing Thursday night to advance to the next round of the Fox network’s competitive singing show. We’ve included a video of Bell singing “I’m Already There” during the show. Good luck in the next round, LeRoy!

Realistic makeup just in time for Halloween. (Photo courtesy of Don Warner)

Story from our friends at Shoreline Area News

By Victoria Rhoades, ND

Don Warner applies wounds to a student for an emergency exercise in Shoreline while other "victims" wait their turns. (Photo by Diane Hettrick)

However, Don was unhappy with the “special effects” – the realism of the damage done wasn’t realistic enough for him. As a paramedic, he knew he could better simulate an actual accident victim. So he started taking classes, first in Carson City, Nevada, then in other locations. Hence, he started off his business with injury simulation, aka “moulage.”

Another makeup job perfect for the season. (Photo courtesy of Don Warner)

What sort of clientele does he serve? Many kinds, he works for disaster preparedness exercises, but he also works for individuals putting on parties. Parties can be for anything, from a theme wedding (Goth wedding, anyone?), to an over-the-hill birthday party, to a costume party of any kind, a Christmas production with elves, as well as Halloween. I’m certain he could work to provide makeup and other professional support for a theatrical production as well.

Currently split evenly between boys, girls, singers over 30 and multi-person groups — judged by Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger, L.A. Reid and Paula Abdul — one act gets the boot each week from here on out. Performances are Wednesday, eliminations Thursday. America starts voting Nov. 2.

You can see music writer Andrew Matson’s rankings of the 12 acts (he puts Bell at No. 2) here.