How many times have we all said we wish our Dr. would listen to us more? How many times have we thought that we deserve more than 7.5 minutes with our doctor? Many of us I have no doubt have thought that. So today Tucson Retroflection would like to salute Dr. DeeAnn Grimes Saber NMD. Saber practices Naturopathic medicine.  Which means she spends quality time with her patients and makes sure they are getting the best kind of medical attention.

Dr. Saber has been into natural medicine since her childhood. She says, “My mother was into health and nutrition and she and my father introduced us kids to and insisted on having us do gardening, sprouting, baking and learning about vitamins and organic foods.” She was fascinated with natural health in high school she met a chiropractor who helped her clear up her back and headaches. Saber says, “She taught me about the power of touch and how soft tissue injuries can impact a body’s bones and muscles. Then I loved the local health food store where my mom shopped, it was interesting, funky, and seemed mysterious. I wanted to know what were these products from herbs and why would people use them and how did they get made.”

DeeAnn, who grew up in Seattle which was filled with alternative healers, met Bill Mitchell, ND, one of the founders of Bastyr University. He was her doctor for a while and she loved the fact that he knew so much about plants and herbs. After studying at the University of Washington she left with a Theater degree and made a go at acting but the call of nature, or shall I say natural, was calling her and she wanted to learn more varieties of natural medicine. Off to Russia she went to learn about mud baths, moxabustion, water therapies, massage, acupuncture, herbs and the Russian bath spas called Banya.

“For 10 years I traveled and worked extensively in the former Soviet Union, finally I decided to shift gears and began studying bodywork at Brenneke School of Massage in Seattle,” says Saber. “It was a year of eye-opening healing and beauty. While at Brenneke I was re-introduced to Natural Medicine via a cadaver class held at Bastyr University. I decided while in Massage school that I wanted more tools for healing so after I finished massage school I started in pre-med studies.”

She knew that going back to school would be challenging but in 2000, she was accepted into Bastyr University and started medical school. “It was the toughest thing and the most rewarding thing I have ever done – it brought me to my knees a few times but I persevered.” So after getting a BA from the UW and an LMP from Brenneke and her associate degree from NSCC and her ND from Bastyr she felt it was time to put what she had learned to work.

Dr Saber says she loves to hear people’s stories and then matching up what they tell her with their physical issues. This is why she offers her patients more than just 7.5 minutes. She takes the time to get to know them and offers the appropriate physical exams plus looking at the science through blood work and/or saliva testing. “This complete picture helps me help my patient find answers toward their optimal healing.”

When asked what were some of the most common health issues she said, “Thyroid issues, hormone imbalances, food allergies, and adrenal dysfunction. I also see folks with liver issues, blood sugar regulation concerns like Diabetes, and the common cold.”  She emphasizes the importance of treating the whole person and not just the dis-ease.

I have known Dr Saber both on a personal as well as professional level for several years. She is a warm, friendly, and very comprehensive and complete with every person she sees. When I say complete, I really mean complete. She really goes out of her way to  go through all of her patients records and because of her functional medicine training she can  find possible medical issues through evaluating the lab work before they become a big problem. She works with her patients as if each patient meant something to her. Perhaps that is because each patient does mean something to her. She takes medicine back to its original form, and that is caring for the patient, not the insurance company.

Dr. DeeAnn Grimes Saber NMD cares enough for her patients that she has earned herself one tall and proud salute from Tucson Biz Beat. It is wonderful when a doctor really does take the time to care about their patients and the Tucson community should  be excited to have such a caring physician.  Dr. DeeAnn Grimes Saber NMD.

I had surgery on my foot this week. I had a bad achilles tendon. It means I am stuck in a “bootcast” for the next month. The thought of this does not make me a happy camper, however, it could be summer and that would be worse. I took a picture of my bootcast and showed it off on Facebook. Of course, I had many comments that stated I needed to bling it. What is a bling? After searching for the meaning of bling, Tucson Biz Beat proudly presents our youngest local business owner Amelia Gillette.

Amelia is the proud owner and founder of Magic Buttons. Young Amelia may only be eleven-years-old, she thinks like a thirty-year-old businesswoman. I first saw her in action when she was selling Girl Scout cookies like a pro. How could anyone resist her sales pitch? She really had a pitch going and it seemed impossible to turn her down. She sold more cookies than anyone I met.

Her mother, Lynne Gillette, says Amelia was doing marketing research in kindergarten when she was trying to sell her potential fashion designs. She asked her friends who would purchase different outfits. The teacher was so impressed she reported this to the mother, she was five at the time.

Fast forward to today, this slick young businesswomen went to the Shoppe at Civano at 5312 S Civano Blvd and presented them with a “pitch.” She took her zipper pulls, pin buttons, and magnet buttons and gave the store owners a pitch they could not refuse. She gave them a bottom line price and the store was impressed and is now setting up a display with her buttons for sale.

Young Gillette custom makes these wonderful pins and magnets buttons to suit the customer’s needs. I found out first hand when I decided to have her make a custom design for me. With the help of her mother, the two of them designed something I needed just for my business. It was a magnet button that had a peace symbol and my business saying, “walk in peace” along with my phone number. I have to say I was very impressed with the product.

“Yes once I get going I can make a button in like 30 seconds.” That she can as I sat in her studio and watched her make some. Of course, it takes her a while to make the design and get it cut out, but she has professional tools that help make the job much easier and a very patient mother.  She looks forward to paying off some of the machinery and tools so she can see a bigger profit.

I asked Amelia if it is hard to get a business going. Amelia, who understands profit and loss said, “Yeah it’s hard and if you want to make it you have to have a backer like mom.” She stated she finds time between after school activities and watching TV to do her business.

What is the next step for this young business entrepreneur? Well, she would like to see her Magic Buttons in a few more shops and she will be working on a web page to sell them online. I have not seen a young person with such a flair for business. Today, Tucson Biz Beat proudly salutes Amelia for her outstanding sense of business and her product Magic Buttons. Good Job Amelia Gillette! You can write to her at amerliagillette@aol.com and put your order in.

If there is one thing I love about writing Tucson Biz beat is the fact that it looks at the local scene that helps shape not only my home town, but my community. Normally I like to say Tucson Biz Beat salutes–fill in the blank, but this week, our local business is so amazing and run by such amazing people that I cannot salute them as much as stand and give them an ovation for what they have done for our community.

Tucson Biz beat does a standing ovation for Fed By Threads which is the master mind of the loving team of Alok Appadurai and Jade Beall. Together, loaded with an idea and a compassion for people and community, the two of them started a small clothing shop for their dance studio and turned it into a humanitarian project that last year provided over 24,000 meals for needy people.

Not only have they mastered how to feed 12 people with each purchase, they have mastered the fine skill of supporting US job creations because of the services they use. Alok and Jade discovered by using biodegradable hangers and mailers they could help the environment, while making sure all business is kept in the US. Yes, it does come with a price tag, but it is important to them to keep it made in America while protecting the environment.

Alok said that there are four reasons people come to their clothing shop. First, he said for some people it is important that it is indeed made in the USA. Second, he stated was their products help protect the environment and they are helping nurse mother earth back to health and people honor that. Another reason people purchase their line of clothing is that with each purchase, they are feeding the hungry and they want to contribute to that effort. Finally, he stated some people like the fact that they are “no leather, no feather.”

Whatever reason people come to Fed By Threads, they are coming and in fact coming and or ordering enough that some of their items are out of stock and they continue to increase their inventory. I personally love the idea that when I purchase an item, each item will feed 12 people. Well, that is for now. I have no doubt that this dynamic duo will come up with other ideas that will probably feed more people and change the world.

Jade, who is a dance instructor and photographer said, she likes to “get high on dreams” because the two of them are always thinking of ways they can better themselves as humanitarian entrepreneurs and reach out to the community. I call them spiritual entrepreneurs because it takes spiritual people like this, to start a business that helps feed the needy. Now ask them if they know what they are doing and Jade will say “We fake it till we make it” and they both are making it happen!

On my way home from interviewing them today I kept thinking, what if everyone of us just donated a few bucks a day to help feed the needy? I certainly am going to put aside two bucks for each client I see and donate it at the end of the month to the Food Bank as well as the National Hunger Relief Organization just as they do. I can’t help but think that perhaps there will be a ripple effect, and what Alok and Jade are doing can reach across not only our community but other communities throughout the nation.

Then I thought, these two are thinking bigger than they ever thought when they decided, while walking in the park looking at ducks to come up with Fed By Threads, just how important their idea really is. So I  want to encourage people to go to their web site Fed By Threads and even look for their email addresses and drop them a line to see what else happens at their place of business or simply say thank you. Their place of business is more than just Fed By Threads, It is a yoga, dance studio, and photography studio, and when I walked in today I discovered it was a place where energy and magic meet creating hope and opportunity.

So today, I ask Tucson to give a standing ovation to these two and their wonderful project Fed By Threads and the wonderful humanitarian efforts they are putting directly into the Tucson community. It is people like this that make Tucson such an outstanding community and I applauded Fed By Thread and the founders for their hard work and diligence to provide such a wonderful local business.

Tucson Biz Beat not only salutes local business I like to include local talent because these local talents, whether it is musicians, photographers, directors, film makers, artists,  all can bring business and attention to our fine city. With that said, today Tucson Biz Beat would like to salute Film director and writer Edgar Alejandro Ybarra and his production company ECUAEA Productions.

Egar is a 2-time Emmy winner. His first was for was for an immigration relate news piece with KOLD reporter Mark Stine called “Border Patrol After Dark”. His second Emmy was in the “Photographer – News – No time limit” category in the 2011-2012 Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards for a combination of news stories called “Mexican Medicine” and “Kids and Caffeine”. This is not what makes him stick out as an artist, it is his love and passion for film making that makes him stand out.

Ybarra got his start and has been making short video skits and short films and feature films since 1994, the age of 14.  He began he said by “goofing around with my father’s Panasonic VHS video camera and friends in high school.” He said he did that until 2002 when he made my first short film called One Sunday Afternoon which landed him a job in Telemundo.  Since then it has been a almost ten year career as a photojournalist/editor in local Tucson, AZ news.

In-between his work Edgar spends time writing, filming directing and producing films and shorts for his production company ECUAEA Productions. “What I love about the production side of film and video productions is the taking of things in this world to slowly piece by piece together another world.” Edgar says, “I love the creativity that goes on when people and a camera get together.”

Ybarra has strong Latino roots in his work. He says, ” Latino heritage is a rich and long spanning one that I can personally recount going back three generations to my great grand parents in Central Mexico, to the streets and neighborhoods of inner city LA from the 1950′s onward to the present day.”

I asked Edgar if there are many very qualified Latinos in the visual arts he said, “yeah, but very few that are given opportunities to develop full and successful careers.”  He states, “I would like to say that I use my work not only to express my culture and heritage, but more importantly to integrate its presence in the world of cinematic storytelling, whether it be in the commercial mainstream or the grassroots indie underground arena.”

So Today, Tucson Biz Beat salutes two time Emmy award winner Edgar Alejandro Ybarra for his contribution to the arts, to his Latino culture and for his desire to integrate his culture with modern film making.

Taekwondo has the ability to enhance self-esteem by working on your physical and mental powers. It can help build confidence by encouraging and help you take control of your life. It demands respect and trust with self and others. That is why today, Tucson Biz Beat is honored to salute Master Alan Roberts and Victory Taekwondo South, Rita Ranch’s premier martial arts school.

Roberts, a 4th Degree Black Belt, Taekwondo, 1st Degree Black Belt, Combat Hapkido is the owner and instructor of Victory Taekwondo South and said he has had a dream since he was a child of owning and running a martial arts school. Also called a dojang, his first school was in South Tucson at a friend’s gym.  “Those were the early days, when we only had about 3 students”, Master Roberts says and then laughs.

“I always knew I wanted to open a school, but we had to start small.”  Master Roberts says that his love of martial arts and his desire to teach it grew out of what it provided for him as a youth.  “I was in trouble a lot and martial arts taught me to have respect for myself and others; it taught me the discipline I needed so badly”.

Taekwondo literally translated means, “the way of the hand and foot”.  In the 1940′s General Choi combined the hand techniques of Japanese Karate and the ancient foot fighting of Korea Taekkyeon and created Taekwondo. Alan Roberts knew this when he began his martial arts training at the age of 11 years old at his local elementary school training under Master Lee who was, himself, from Korea. Flash forward about 30 years and Alan Roberts, holding a 4^th degree in Taekwondo, a 1^st degree in Combat Hapkido and a brown belt in Judo opens his first martial arts school.

Today, Victory Taekwondo South martial arts academy in Rita Ranch at Houghton & Valencia is opened 6 days a week and has well over 150 active students. Master Roberts and his instructor team have built a custom, all encompassing curriculum from the ground up incorporating traditional Taekwondo, Judo and Hapkido.

They have classes for 3-5 year olds called, Little Samurais.  These classes focus on what Victory calls, “PreSkills” which is a curriculum based on attributes and activities that teach, balance, focus, teamwork and more.  This program prepares them for the Victory Kids class.

The Victory Kids class is for 5-11 year old kids.  This program is far more than just punching and kicking.  The staff at Victory have developed an entire Life Skills program that focuses on attributes such as, respect, family, responsibly, integrity, attitude and courtesy, to name a few.

Additionally, Victory Taekwondo South also has exciting and high-energy adult classes that focus more on proper techniques of the art, self-defense and lots of fitness. “We have created a place of community here, this dojang is for the residents of Rita Ranch; it is their dojang”, says Master Roberts.  The ‘community’ they have created extends beyond the training floor; the group regularly gets together outside of the school for social gatherings such as family BBQ’s and parties.  Every couple of months the school hosts a “Parent’s Night Out” where the kids come and eat pizza, do Taekwondo and watch a movie while the parents get a night out to themselves.

Master Roberts, along with his wife Kelly Roberts and his staff are always looking for additional ways to provide more services to the community.  They are currently developing a Victory Fitness program, which is a type of boot camp workout with martial arts flair and hope to roll it out after the 1^st of the year.

Victory Taekwondo South is much more than just a Taekwondo studio and they do much more than teach. Roberts and his team teach mind body spirit techniques that help people walk a better path, feel better about themselves and reach for higher goals. It is nothing more than an honor for Tucson Biz Beat to salute this wonderful studio and the people who make it all possible. Roberts and his team is building a better community for Tucson and is proud of his community. He teaches free Taekwondo at AZ Ranch Haven once a month and offers his services as often as he can to help improve his community of Tucson.

Happy New Year. Tucson Biz Beat focuses on small business, art, food, clubs and entertainment. Today we proudly salute Lion Acupuncture. Stephanie Nelson, L.Ac.,O.M., L.M.T. is a licensed massage therapist and licensed acupuncturist who not only studied here in the USA she studied in Haikou, China in the province of Hainan at an integrated Chinese and Western medicine Hospital in the departments of Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and Dermatology.

She got into acupuncture after she had been doing massage for 10 years. She started to realize that  she was referring  a lot of her clients to acupuncturists.  She understood that she needed to help heal people on a “deeper level”.  She was fully aware that acupuncture was needed to solve many issues. Nelson stated, “It was just a natural progression in my mind.  I eventually decided that I would be the person to offer acupuncture along with massage in order to treat the problems I saw.  I wanted to have a bigger skill set to offer my clients as it is important to me to do what I can to help them.  I don’t feel good about just taking their money  I really want them to overcome obstacles”

That is just what Nelson has been doing. She explains that acupuncture is the placement of sterilized non-hypodermic needles in the skin along points on lines on the body called “Meridians”.  Each point has a specific function and is chosen because of its relative usefulness to treating the root and/or manifestation of the problem the client presents with.  The needles, according to the point, “activate” or “deactivate” the supplies of Qi, Blood, Yin and Yang in order to achieve the desired effect.

This modality can be used for many issues. It treats the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of a being.  It is internal medicine, endo-crynology, psychiatry, gynecology, dermatology and much more.  Another way of saying it is that it can treat depression, insomnia, diabetes, stroke, allergies, skin problems, musculo-skeletal issues, sciatica, back and neck pain, chemotherapy side-effects, anxiety, infertility and anemia just to name a few.

As a holistic mental health practitioner I have sent many of my clients to Nelson and have seen firsthand the power of the puncture as I call it. Being in the field of alternative health, I can say that Nelson’s training and techniques are superior and what is equally important is she makes this helpful modality affordable. So visit Lion Acupuncture or give them a call (520) 440-7487.

Tucson Biz beat salutes this alternative business and appreciates such a skilled practitioner to be in Tucson Arizona offering her skills and extensive background in this truly amazing Chinese art.

Okay I admit it I love Vietnamese food. It is simply one of
my most favorite foods or at least it rates pretty high up there. I love the fact that here in the Old Pueblo, we have one of the best Vietnamese restaurants I can imagine. I have eaten at a few places in Phoenix that cannot come close to my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Today I salute Miss Saigon’s on Campbell.

I have been eating there for years and years. Sometimes I don’t go for a while and then I am back and can’t get enough nor can Tucson from the looks of things. When I go there, no matter what time of day, there are always people sitting at the tables. Sometimes, there is a small wait, but
the excellent staff make sure you are seated as quick as they can and you get your meal quick. I have never had to wait long for a hot meal with fresh
ingredients.

So what makes Miss Saigon the best? Well I would have to say  their Pho soups. They do not have a few Pho soups, they have eight kinds, and all come with a large portion of fresh bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, limes, and jalapenos. My favorite is what I call number 21 or Pho Tái which is rice noodle soup with rare beef slices. When it comes to my table, I squeeze the lime in the broth, and then start dumping all the goodies in my bowl. I let it sit for about a minute, which sometimes seems like 20 minutes, and then take my spoon and start sipping the broth. I get a small bowl and am full which is not bad for 6.99.

Now we come to my other favorite Vietnamese dish it is called Bún Gà Sate I call it number 48 because I cannot pronounce it, but it is charbroiled chicken topped with coconut curry sauce over vermicelli and greens.  It is served with fish sauce and I cannot begin to tell you how much my mouth dances when the curry meets the fish sauce. It is heaven in a bowl. I am a bun fan, a huge bun fan and this is my favorite though I have tried most of their bun, not all ten of them, but close to it. The Bun is fairly priced at 7.99-8.99 for a medium bowl and it fills you up.

As far as appetizers, I like their Vietnamese spring roll which is shrimp and pork, shredded greens, and vermicelli wrapped in rice paper served with a peanut sauce. I had it today and it was very good! It’s five bucks for two so no bargain there but they are tasty. Their fried egg rolls are good as well.

Now let’s get to their drinks. Oh my goodness I love their milk tea and my favorite is the chocolate. It taste like a deep dark pudding that you suck through a straw. It is addicting and I try to get it only on occasions. Their Boba drinks are great and have an assortment of flavors as is their fruit slushes.

Here is the bottom line for me, Miss Saigon has not won awards and been voted Tucson’s best Vietnamese restaurants because their food is not good. They have won the taste buds of most people because they are the best of the best when it comes to Vietnamese food, service, price and atmosphere. Though I have to tell you, I would eat Miss Saigon’s food  in a ditch if I had to. I give them a big salute and I will keep coming back. In fact, to do this story I had to visit them three times in a week. Gosh research is hard….

The Tucson Biz Beat, which focuses on small business, art,
food and entertainment, salutes Adam Technology this week. Tucson has many
computer repair services however; Adam D Technology cares about Tucson and the people and they go beyond simple repair and service.

This small business owned by Adam Dellos opened five years ago
and employees six local Tucsonans. Adam stated that this is probably his
greatest accomplishment, was at his young age, he is able to help employ local Tucsonans and is planning on expanding.

Adam started his business off on a kitchen table, after he got busier; he moved his business into a spare room.  Many told him that the ompetition was too much and he should stick to his day job, but Adam knew he had an idea that he could offer Tucson great services at fair prices.

He took his dream a step further and decided he just did not
want to do computer repair, but he wanted to server repair, configuration, website hosting and design, computer hardware and software sales, SEO and social media services, ISA/IT services, search engine optimization and offer affordable tutoring and classes. His high standards of ethics and professionalism allowed him to have the successful business that he now has today, and he is under 30 years-old.

When I talked to Adam about what makes him better he stated,  “the level, dedication the passion that we have for what we do and the  people that we service is far beyond what any company does.”

For a man so young, he is involved with the Tucson community, gets involved with non-profits and gives back to his community over  and over. Adam, says, “the best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

So here’s to you Tucson Biz Beat salutes you.