This month, we are thrilled to introduce Trail 27's Kealy Baughman as our featured member. We asked Kealy a few questions about herself and what it's like showing homes in Boise, not by foot but by bike! Here's what she had to say:

What is your favorite film?
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” Steve Martin is so funny.
 
What is the best book you've read recently?
The Art of Gathering. There is an art to gathering and hosting, which I love to do!
 
What sport do you enjoy watching most?
College volleyball — I played and coached at University of Washington and still love it!
 
Who is the most interesting historical figure?
Teddy Roosevelt — he had enough forethought to establish our national parks.
 
What is your favorite hobby or thing to do during the weekend?
When we are not mountain biking in the foothills, we are biking downtown or the North End to enjoy the local scene.
 
Favorite Idaho escape?
We love packing the Sprinter Van up with the kids and our bikes and spending time in McCall and Driggs.
 
Favorite place in Boise to take a visitor?
I love to show friends and family who are visiting around the North End by e-bike and go up to our favorite restaurant on the Bench, Petite 4.
 
What is the most important trend in your business or industry?
We have found that keeping the "trend" of personal relationships alive is the most valuable. We make sure our clients know we are always here for them.
 
What is the best advice you've received?
Be kind and work hard.
 
Who is a local business or business person you admire?
Sarah and Dave Kelly (aka 'DK') at Petit 4. Every food venture they build turns to gold. From Bleubird to Petit 4 and soon they will announce their next venture, which I am the most excited about, because it will be the 'hub of my hood.'
 
What is the number one reason to do business with your company or organization?
We won’t stop until our clients LOVE WHERE THEY LIVE. We provide guidance with an in-depth consultation so we can lead our clients to self-discovery by helping them identify their ideal lifestyle.
 
What do you enjoy most about your company or organization?                
Unlike most real estate brokerages where Realtors are competing with one another, we truly work as a team so every Trail 27 client has access to at least two Realtors. Someone is always available for our clients, even when our Realtors are taking time off work to enjoy their ideal lifestyle.
 
Tell us about a current or upcoming project or company-wide initiative.
Trail 27 is launching our "Buy Boise by Bike" monthly event on April 27. This is a fun, unique, and low-pressure way look at houses. We will all meet up at the Trail 27 office, and one of our Realtors will lead a tour of new listings in the North End by bicycle. We typically see about six houses in 2 hours and all skills levels are welcome. We have a few bicycles available for folks who reserve them in advance, and we encourage all attendees to wear a helmet. We also recently purchased a fleet of electric bicycles from Idaho Mountain Touring, which are available for private showings and tours. We are super excited to show how fun, safe, and easy it is to get around Boise by bike!

This month, we are thrilled to introduce Brian McKay from Sprout Energy as our featured member. We asked Brian a few questions about himself and what it's like working at one of Idaho's leading providers of clean and sustainable energy. Here's what he had to say:

What is your favorite film?
Saving Private Ryan
 
What is the best book you've read recently?
The Undoing Project by Micheal Lewis
 
What sport do you enjoy watching most?
Boise State Football — Go Broncos!
 
Who is the most interesting historical figure?
Thomas Jefferson
 
What is your favorite hobby or thing to do during the weekend?
Catch a local concert and a dinner out with friends
 
Favorite Idaho escape?
McCall
 
Favorite place in Boise to take a visitor?
All of spectacular downtown
 
What is the most important trend in your business or industry?
More companies realizing very substantial energy savings as solar prices fall
 
What is the best advice you've received?
Admit you know nothing and then listen to those smarter than yourself.
 
Who is a local business or business person you admire?
My partner, Leif Elgethun
 
What is the number one reason to do business with your company or organization?
We practice integrity in all things.
 
What do you enjoy most about your company or organization?
We came together as a group of the best people in the energy and sustainability space. As a company, we practice professionalism and a business-focused approach for our commercial, industrial, and agriculture clientele. (Well, that and our company message board is always hilarious, because we are all quite the jokers and a great team.) Watching and managing our explosive growth has been very enjoyable. Every person we are fortunate enough to add to our team is the sign of being successful.
 
Tell us about a current or upcoming project or company-wide initiative.
The company has been working in sustainability consulting for the hospital industry. We consult on everything from energy and benchmarking to waste disposal. On top of presenting at hospital engineering conferences, we are working toward a separate division that specializes in sustainability and savings specifically for hospitals and health care organizations.

Hello everyone, and happy March! Let’s hope this month brings us the warmth needed for some April showers and May flowers — and less snow!

My name is Amy Aiello, and I’m the intern here at the Boise Metro Chamber. The WorkU Program at Boise State brought me into this opportunity, and I feel lucky to have been placed into such an outstanding organization. Here, I am working underneath Bill Connors, the CEO and President of the Chamber, to assist him with some advocacy and public relations projects.

At Boise State, I am studying communication and public relations, and will be graduating in May! I am originally from Tri-Cities, Washington, and was drawn to the university because of the city surrounding it. The moment when downtown Boise sneaks up on you as I-184 takes a slight turn coming in from the west and all the buildings seem to sparkle against a backdrop of the Boise foothills, is the moment I fell in love with this city. This moment happened four years ago when I made my first drive into Boise, and it happens now whenever I make that drive. I love Boise, and I’m honored to work with an organization that is as passionate about it as I am.

We have a lot of exciting events coming up this month, including Mega Marketing and Business Education Series: How to Maximize Your Online Advertising. I highly recommend checking those out! In addition to our events, you can also look forward to Jimmy Buffet performing at the Taco Bell Arena, and Treefort Music Festival rolling into town later this month.

I look forward to an amazing semester here at the Chamber! You might see my name around the blog more in the months to come … as well as some others, too.