Offered by Home Helpers Home Care

At any time over the recent holiday season did you have a reason to believe that Mom or Dad might be struggling due to age-related limitations or health issues? Does anything stand out as being odd, or does any of their behavior seem slightly “off” to you? Perhaps your parents’ house seemed messier that normal, or Mom seemed to have become a bit forgetful. Perhaps you found yourself discussing their changes in behavior with your siblings, asking questions like, “Why is Mom acting so strange? Do you think Dad is Okay?”

We often sense when something just doesn’t seem right with an aging parent, but do not know what to do about it. There are many circumstantial, personal and environmental factors that come into play when assessing your aging parents’ health and living situation. This is a very difficult conversations to have with family members and questioning our loved ones’ condition can be stressful, even daunting at times.

Hiring an in-home caregiver can ensure that your loved one receives the daily care they need. A little extra help with housework, cooking and errands may be all that is needed, or a more intensive care plan that includes personal care might be in order. Whatever the needs, in-home caregivers can be the solution to keeping your loved one happy, healthy and at home.

Home Helpers Home Care is here to help. Please call David Caughey at 720-442-8156 for more information. He will happily come to you to discuss your specific needs for a family member.

Click here to view Home Helpers on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Elizabeth Maloney

Your local “one stop shop” for everything home. From comfy sofa’s and inspiring wall art to the kitchen and bath you’ve always wanted, izzy’s has it.  In addition, professional design services by Elisabeth Maloney are always available to make the process of home design fun and easy.

On the corner of Bridge and Cabbage in historic downtown Brighton, rustic charm seems to best describe this newly renovated space built in 1912. Months of dedicated work went into the restoration of what was once known as LEHRMAN MERCANTILE, which still houses the original freight elevator. Proudly, Elisabeth, had this amazing piece of history highlighted in her new enchanting mercantile. She is always delighted to take you on a tour.

With the holidays upon us, it may be a great time to do some sprucing up in your own space. Elisabeth is offering a free design consultation to help you on your way to designing a home that feels like you. She is also passionate about embracing your family heirlooms, blending the old and the new into her designs. Come by and enjoy a hot cup of coffee, bring some home pics, and enjoy a shopping experience like none other.

Click here to view izzy Home Design on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Jan Giuliano

From everyone at Academy Mortgage, we thank you for a wonderful year. When I look back, I think of all the great people we have met and helped achieve their home-buying dream. Thank you all for sharing that opportunity; it means the world to us. Even after the closing is over we continue to stay in touch providing resources and continued support. Our wish is that more families will have that opportunity come in 2016. Please enjoy the holiday season and may you be blessed with joy, health, prosperity and love. Give Frank and Jan a call at 303-450-1650.

Turkey stuffing recipe from my grandmother’s box:

• 1 loaf of bread (it doesn’t matter the brand); break into pieces into a large bowl.
• 2 stalks of celery; cut into small pieces
• ½ of a small white or yellow onion; cut into small pieces
• ½ stick of butter; cut into about 6 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon of celery seed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Use some turkey drippings from the cooked turkey, about ½ to ¾ cup (skim the fat). You don’t want too much to make the bread too soggy, just moist enough to form together.

Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Set oven to 425 degrees. In the large bowl of bread add the celery, onion, celery seed, salt and pepper and butter scattered over the mixture. Add the liquid; remember to use enough to moisten the bread mixture but don’t make it too soggy. Use a large soup spoon and lightly flatten the patties on the baking sheet so they don’t touch. They won’t spread. Cook for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown outside and bottom but still soft in the middle. The cooking time will depend on the wetness of the bread. If very wet, cook longer. If not very wet, cook less time. 50.

Click here to view The Giuliano Team at Academy Mortgage Corporation on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Michael A. Dolan

People love to procrastinate, especially when they’re dealing with topics that make them uncomfortable. As a result, estate planning can be a task that people tend to put off. Often they wait until someone tells them they have a terminal illness, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease or they retire. Unfortunately, procrastinating can raise significant questions as to your intent regarding your instructions after death. It adds uncertainty when you have not made amendments to your estate plan for a period of many years, and then make significant changes just prior to your death.
Death bed changes to estate plans are often contested in court. Undue influence by family members over aging parents, diminished mental capacity, and the influence of medications on an individual’s capacity all raise questions about whether the last-minute change or preparation of an estate plan really represents their intent.

This can be avoided by putting an estate plan in place early, and reviewing it regularly to make sure that it continues to meet your intent. It makes the plan more enforceable, and provides you with peace of mind. It can also help remind you of your true and well thought out intent when you are struggling late in life and are encouraged by others to make changes. If you want to make a change to your estate plan when you are late in life or facing a terminal illness, take special care to document your true intent and your mental ability to express that intent. Additional steps and formality can save problems, disputes, and litigation after your death.

Avoid these problems by planning early, review and update your plan often, and if you decide to make changes late in life, properly document your intent and your ability to make the decisions. Your family is less likely to fight over your wishes and they will continue to have family gatherings and meaningful relationships after your death.

Click here to view Dolan & Associates on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Melissa Rippy, Rippy Insurance

Now in its third year of business, The Rippy Agency has been so busy and involved in the community over the past two years that we are literally asking ourselves, where did the time go? December has been an exciting time for the Rippy Agency. You may recall having seen our floats decorated in thousands of holiday lights as we have been involved in the City of Brighton’s Annual Festival of Lights Parade the past two years. We are gearing up once again, and getting our elves ready to help prepare our float for this year’s parade on December 12th! We are very excited to have you see this year’s entry as it will be like nothing you have seen before!

In the past two years, we have also sponsored an Angel Giving Tree in our agency. We have partnered with two local elementary schools in the past to provide an opportunity for our customers as well as citizens of our community to help provide a gift for a child who may not receive one otherwise. If you would like to become an angel, please stop by the agency to pick out a tag.

When we are not active in the community, we are working to protect our customer’s assets and loved ones. Allstate has recently released several new products that can gear towards not only your budget, but your family’s needs. We offer final expense policies with death benefits starting at $10,000.

If you would like to set up an appointment to go over your family’s needs at your home or at our office, please let us know.

Click here to view Melissa Rippy, Rippy Insurance on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Jan Hepp-Struck

The past two months I’ve been addressing the growth rate here in Brighton and some of the effects related to the rapid growth. It’s general knowledge that at least some of Brighton’s growth is directly related to the influx of energy industry growth in Adams and Weld counties, and after last months article, that our growing population is getting younger. But what does that look like in terms of employment?

Not surprisingly, construction and oil/gas sectors account for a large percentage of the overall greater Brighton area job generation, but the job mix, specifically in Brighton, is in reality driven more by public sector jobs (including education) and retail trade. Breaking it down within just the private industry sectors, more than two thirds of Brighton’s local economy hinges on employment in retail, oil/gas extraction, health care, accommodation/food services, construction, and manufacturing. According to ESRI and a recent report by Leland Consulting Group.

In terms of occupational classification comparisons between Brighton and the general metro area, there is a much higher concentration of blue collar workers in Brighton than the overall metro area. But, when you only consider Brighton, the number of white collar workers (54%) is nearly double blue collar workers (30%). Source: ESRI (based on US Census/BLS data)

Numbers clearly show that despite our history of agriculture and the assumption that Brighton is a predominantly blue collar town, the face of our community is evolving increasingly into a community of white collar workers, looking for a place to raise their young families.

For proven expertise in establishing your home value and/or searching for a new or existing home, please call Jan at (303) 520-4340.

Click here to view Hepp Realty on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Jennie Poppenger
Are you using social media to boost your business? I have a special offer at the end of this article. Facebook says it now has 1.55 billion active monthly users, up 14% from a year ago. Most of those users, 1.39 billion of them, accessed the social media platform through mobile devices. [nbcnews.com, 11/4/15 stats]

Are you using ads to raise awareness of your business? Try creating a link ad to promote your website and increase purchases and leads.

If most of your revenue comes from people near your business, use local awareness ads to reach more of them and grow in-store traffic.

Unlike promoting your Page or boosting posts, local awareness ads let you target people by distance around your business—as near as one mile away. Plus you can include a call-to-action button to give potential customers a way to get directions, call or message your business directly.

Have you tried using a video ad yet? Targeting your video ads on Facebook helps get your videos in front of the right people to maximize views and reach. Organic video loaded directly to Facebook will have the best results.

Need help? My gift to you this Christmas season is to offer a complimentary 1/2 hour consultation. Call me at 303.518.0089 to schedule. I can help you make sense of social media and help grow awareness for your business or non-profit!

Need help with your social media? Call Jennie Poppenger at Face to Face – 303.518.0089.

Offered by Susan Kline

During this Holiday Season, a lot of people are thinking about the gifts they might give or receive. A number of people in our Brighton Community have realized that giving is the true gift and worked diligently to put together 1250 Thanksgiving dinners for those that might not have had one. Many years ago, the VFW and Kiwanis organizations began this tradition on a smaller scale. Typically, 500-600 meals were prepared and delivered each year.

When the VFW closed several years ago, the Brighton Elks Club joined with the Kiwanis to keep this tradition going. Each individual receives both a hot and cold container of food with all of the usual Thanksgiving fixings. The cold container has relishes, cranberry sauce, a roll, and a slice of pie. The hot container is filled with hot turkey, mashed potatoes, and hot vegetables. Putting together these dinners was no small task. The volunteers participating cooked 70 turkeys and spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week cooking to have the food available to assemble for the recipients. Another group of volunteers arrived at 3 a.m. Thanksgiving day to stage the meal packaging and 50 people assisted from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. to put together all the meals. Another 60 volunteers delivered the 1250 meals by noon on Thanksgiving.

Participants in this effort are many. To list just a few…….United Power, Brighton United Methodist Church, Brighton Business Builders, Greater Brighton Neighborhood Organization, Safeway and King Soopers, Bimbo Bread in addition to the Kiwanis and Elks organizations. The organizers of this effort worked tirelessly to keep things moving and make this all happen. They were: Bill Alsdorf, Kiwanis, Bob Grant, Kiwanis, Char Wolf, Elks Lodge, Jim Vincent, Elks Lodge and Kiwanis. The success of this undertaking is largely because this group of people had the sole desire to help others during this Holiday Season. They enjoy doing it and derive great pleasure from seeing it grow each year. Congratulations to them and all of the participating volunteers for making this happen!

Click here to view Jim Vincent, Farmers Insurance on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Snap Fitness

Snap Fitness will celebrate 10 years in Brighton in 2016, Whoop! Whoop! A huge Thank You to all of our members, past and present . . . and of course future, for the wonderful opportunity to serve as your fitness destination. Watch out for the celebrations in the summer and our plans for the next 10 years.

Over the past couple of years we have made many improvements to our club. Adding a full fitness studio with Fitness on Demand offering 24 hour classes including spinning for our members at no extra cost. Based on membership feedback we added a Power Rack this year which has garnered substantial positive feedback. In addition new treadmills with increased speed and incline options; Expresso Bikes allowing you to shift gear and elevation and explore everything from coastal runs and forest getaways, to Mayan ruins and outer space!

Our latest addition is the Gauntlet Stairmaster “the machine the entire gym looks up to” which allows members to climb the world’s most recognizable landmarks including the Eiffel tower.

Snap Fitness has all the tools and support to help members look good, feel great, and get results. In addition, members can also work with personal trainers and customize nutrition programs.

There’s never been a better time to join Snap Fitness. The club, located at 35 North 42nd Ave., is offering new members a special deal: Join with $0 enrollment fee.

See you at the GYM!

For more information on Snap Fitness or to schedule a club tour, please contact the gym at 303 659 1261 or brighton@snapfitness.com

Click here to view Snap Fitness on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory

Offered by Paul Cucunato

Have you been thinking about getting a life insurance quote? Well, I have one for you: “Fun is like life insurance, the older you get, the more it costs.” Kin Hubbard, American Humorist-Journalist. Kin lived from 1868 to 1930 and he was a pretty wise and funny guy. Even though he made his joke about life insurance about 100 years ago, his statement is timeless and still true today.

So, let me ask you another question-what’s the most important thing in your life? When asked this question, my response and that of a majority of my fellow Coloradoans would be “my family”. If family was the first thing that came to your mind, you need to ask yourself if you are fully prepared with a well-thought-out plan to protect them and their way of life if something happens to you. Many of us put off this type of planning and these discussions because we always think we can do it tomorrow or next week, but then the unexpected occurs and our legacy becomes the good intentions we had to do the right thing for our loved ones.

If a child, a life partner, or a parent depends on your income, you need life insurance. It can be the difference in getting to stay in the home with the lifestyle you built, and starting all over again. It helps keep dreams alive and it provides a relief and a softer landing in times of need. Life insurance isn’t about death, it is about life and legacy.

With the holidays upon us, you can give yourself and your family some security and peace of mind. Come see me and my team at our agency to ask questions and learn about a wide variety of options that are available to protect those that are most important to you.

A final thought for today: “You don’t get life insurance because you are going to die, but because those you love are going to live.”

Click here to view State Farm on The Brighton Buzz Business Directory