Issue 2 • Apr 2020
LIVING LARGE LAS VEGAS THE PARENT TEAM
Landed in Vegas Peter & Janet Castellano
LISA SONG SUTTON Road to Congress
Stephen Twomey
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contents 06 Lisa Song Sutton Candidate for U.S. Congress
Patriot & Small Business Warrior
10 Foodie Feature Antonio Nunez The Stove
14 Landed in Las Vegas Stories of Las Vegas Transplants Peter & Janet Castellano
20 Charity Column Autism Awareness Month Autism Community Trust
24 Here We Grow Mike Chernine
Brass Cap Development
30 Social Scene Living Grace Home: Garden of Hope Gala & Henderson Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2020 FUNdraiser for EyeCare4Kids 36 Health & Wellness Merriliz Monzon
Minfulness Coach & Meditation Trainer 03
Anthony Mojica
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isa Song Sutton, former Miss Nevada, United States 2014, is a candidate for U.S. Congress, Nevada District Four. Sutton is also an entrepreneur and the founder of Sin City Cupcakes, Ship Las Vegas and is a partner of Christie’s Real Estate right here in Las Vegas. Sutton originally went to law school and worked in a law firm before assuming her role as an entrepreneur. It was something she did with full confidence and in her own way, which certainly is a trailblazing idea that she continues to use today as a businesswoman and Congressional candidate. Opportunities are what you make of them. Following the status quo or the typical path to “become successful” doesn’t always work for everyone and isn’t representative of everyone’s everyday reality. “I grew up with an overbearing, Asian tiger mom. So I was in every extracurricular activity you could possibly think of, tap dance, flute lessons, piano lessons, and all the things. As a result, academics was extremely important and then I had this
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Lisa Song Sutton overlaid time management soft skill that was embedded into me from age five onward,” Sutton said. Having gone to college and law school, Sutton worked at a law firm here in Las Vegas after she graduated. Fast forward to the end of 2011 when Dannielle Cole, the co-founder for Sin City Cupcakes, reached out to Sutton prior to their company being established and told her about the alcohol-infused cupcakes she had started baking. Sutton told her that moving from Florida to Las Vegas to start her business would be perfect since Vegas is a great spot to house a business centered around alcohol-infused cupcakes. Now, Sutton is making her step over into the political sphere as she runs for a seat in the U.S. Congress, Nevada District Four. The chance to sit on a Congressional seat to represent Nevada is the ultimate opportunity that not only is meant to serve the people and better the community, but it’s also available to those same, everyday people. Sutton is one of those everyday
people that wants to really serve and give back to the community she grew up in and see it flourish. “It’s a whole new ballgame. It’s just been incredible, but really it’s rooted in my community work, so as a former Miss Nevada, philanthropy and getting involved in the community’s always been part of my lifestyle. It’s something I did growing up with my parents and church and then, you know when you realize that there’s a real opportunity to give back to your community in a tangible way, that for me is very fulfilling. So, my run for Congress just came about with these unique sets of circumstances kind of looking around and realizing that there’s an opportunity here to serve the community in a larger way, in a way that really impacts on a day to day level. Frankly, I was looking around going ‘someone should run for this seat’ and I’m making phone calls and finally I realized I spent a large part of my professional career as a speaker and a writer encouraging others to stand up for something they feel strongly
about and not to be scared of uncomfortable situations. I was like, I have to take my own advice and so, now it’s time.” Sutton is a firm believer in representing, serving, and giving back to her community, which is evident through all her volunteer and nonprofit activities she’s participated in. “It’s about getting back to what the title is and that’s a public servant, it’s the House of Representatives. They’re supposed to be representatives for their constituents, representatives for our community and I think that once that’s lost, it’s so hard to gain that back. You need fresh perspective, you need some turnover in that, you can’t have people who have been serving there 10, 20, 30 years and yet, you’re getting the same result or worse. There has to be an opportunity for some fresh faces, for some fresh perspective and luckily, that has been the feedback through my candidacy,” Sutton said. Unfortunately, the events that have occured over the past Month regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) have affected the campaign events and many other events as well. “With the campaign, we’re obviously having to pivot. Just this month, we were supposed to be starting our really, very integrative and aggressive door-knocking program, activating volunteers and staff. Obviously, COVID-19 has changed that dramatically, so we’re going to be heading in the direction of voter outreach virtually,” Sutton said. “It’s not going to be the same being out and knocking on doors, being in person, but we’re going to be able to get our message out, reach voters in a different kind of way and that’s what we have to do. We’re very lucky to at least live in a modern time where we do have modern technology, so we’re going to use that to our fullest advantage.” The digital era is aiding heavily in times like this as well as being a true voice for and of the people, which is something that Sutton feels she is based on her own values: the community. “2020 is the year for people such as myself to step up and really serve in an elected official capacity. I’m the only candidate that has a ten year track record of giving back to this community through job creation as
an employer, community and philanthropy work, serving on boards, and doing all that without any sort of political lean or political agenda,” Sutton said. “This is home. Nevada is my home. Las Vegas is my home and I’m really excited to step up and be part of this opportunity to stand up for our community and encourage others
like myself to come off the sidelines and get involved too. We have to have real people in government, we can’t have just these career politicians who are out of touch with the community.” Having been Miss Nevada 2014, Sutton has had a number of experiences in the nonprofit community and volunteering
Lisa Song Sutton
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world, especially here in Las Vegas. With her experience lending a hand in many different branches of the community, Sutton presents a great amount of competition with her competitors who don’t have nearly the same amount of philanthropy. “Over the years, I’ve served on several boards, Mondays Dark, the Asian Community Development Council. Even during my time as Miss Nevada, United States, I was able to do early 500 community appearances and that entailed volunteering at schools, reading in hospitals, working with nonprofits. Through that experience, I’ve been able to continue my work with the nonprofit community and it’s simply because of the strength of our local leadership,” Sutton said. According to Sutton, the primary is on June 9 and the method of how people can vote will be addressed once the pandemic surrounding COVID-19 is reassessed as the date gets closer. “We want everyone to turn out and vote.
We’ll see where we’re at with COVID-19 as far as if they’re going to be having open polling stations or if we’re doing mail-in ballots,” Sutton said. “But, all of that information will be disseminated out certainly through our campaign updates and social media as well. June 9 is the day, but here in Nevada we have early voting as well, so people are going to start to receive their early voting, mail-in ballots in May.” Despite the situation, many online content creators are releasing guide information and books for free during this time spent indoors. Take this time to refresh your perspective and mindset to refocus on your goals. “There’s so many resources online and incredible coaches out there and people who have resources that prior to all this, you had to pay for and the sum was large. It was expensive to gain access to some of these really fantastic courses and resources,” Sutton said. “Everybody is offering their online stuff for free right now, so I
would absolutely take advantage of that. We are lucky enough to live in a digital age with modern technology, so jump online and access all of these free resources, courses, even coaching. You can just download the information and get to work.” Since this economic situation didn’t have a bad start, the United States, especially Las Vegas, has the chance to quickly bounce back from this temporary crisis. “I think we’re going to see a huge bounce back. The rebound is going to be amazing and astronomical for everyone. Even in our business of Sin City Cupcakes, the reality is that the majority of our orders were completely cancelled because March is usually a very busy month for us, you have spring break, St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness,” Sutton said. “But what we’re hearing from our customers who have had to cancel or postpone their orders for now through March and April, ecmention ‘we can’t wait to get to Vegas, we’re going to be rebooking our flights for the summer.’
Lisa Song Sutton poses this past summer at one of her companies, Ship Las Vegas, on July 26, 2019 via the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Elizabeth Page Brumley
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This is my home. Nevada is my home. Las Vegas is my home. We have to have real people in government, we can’t just have these career politicians who are out of touch with the community.
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I think we’ll have a really strong summer and fall once the lockdowns and quarantines are lifted.” Alongside this though, there are things to be hopeful about for the future of Las Vegas and the city’s rebound once we get over this temporary pandemic with COVID-19. “It’s important for us to keep an eye on the light at the end of the tunnel which is, this is a temporary situation and it’s hard right now and it’s unpredictable. But the constant denominator that we’re seeing from this having happened in other places in the world prior to it kind of ramping up here in the United States, and certainly here in Nevada, is that we are seeing the results of the backend - people heading back to work, businesses reopening, and people going back to living their normal lives,” Sutton said. The Strip isn’t the only large attraction that draws business owners and tourists to Las Vegas. The city’s structure for businesses and companies is also a factor that draws people to want to operate a business out of this city specifically. People want to operate their businesses in this city for it’s fast-paced and constant environment, culture and community, and all the incentives that come with not only
just being a Las Vegas local, but a Las Vegas business owner as well. “Not only does it have those tax incentives that people enjoy, but importantly, because we’re such an international destination, you are able to tap into the best of both worlds, you could have a great local clientele, but have a strong tourist market and out of state clientele. We’re one of the very few cities that literally has year round tourism. There’s always a convention going on, some sort of event, a concert, I mean there’s always something going on here that’s bringing people here,” Sutton said. “So as a business, it’s not even that you have to attract people to Las Vegas, people are already coming here. Your challenge is cutting through the noise and getting your product or service in front of people who are already coming.” While the hustle and bustle and lights of Las Vegas is what intrigues people about the city, Vegas also offers more naturalistic views and other outdoor-type activities that locals and tourists both love. And, they aren’t even that far to get to, making these naturesque destinations feasible and attainable for people who want to get connected with our surrounding environment. “We’re so well situated. What people
don’t realize is we have the rest of Nevada to explore and we have really cool places that make really easy day trips, right outside of Las Vegas,” Sutton said. “You could go to Pahrump, which is 45 minutes away and head to their winery out there, they have a really good golf course too. Or, obviously you know the Grand Canyon is only two hours away. Just north of us is Lincoln County, so it’s 90 miles north and you have five state parks only 90 miles away from here. I think Red Rock is really accessible for us and it’s the first one we think of, but we have five state parks that are just 90 miles north of us, a really easy day trip, and it has lakes, Bald Eagles, all kinds of stuff up there. It’s pretty amazing and we have all that right there very easily accessible for us.” Alongside the scenic and city views, Las Vegas also has a strong-tied, local community that is helpful and resourceful towards each other which locals have seen time and time again. Just like in other tourist cities, for the most part, locals have their own suburbs (Henderson, Summerlin, etc.) where they live which is separate from the tourist hot spots (The Strip). It’s in these little suburbs and neighborhoods where the Las Vegas community lives. “We have such an excellent quality of life here. Not only is Las Vegas so business-friendly because we have no state income tax, low corporate tax, that kind of thing, but the community here. People are always surprised to hear how closely-knit our local community is; and we are, we’re Vegas Strong. You see it time and time again and it’s even occurring now during this emergency,” Sutton said. “The local community here, we care about our homes and our community, we care about each other and that’s really what I love about living in Las Vegas. We have access to all the big city amenities and the fun and excitement of The Strip, but then we also have a tight-knit, local community and we have so many resources around us.” If you’re interested in learning more about Lisa Song Sutton, visit her campaign website at lisa4nevada.com and any of her social media platforms on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn @/LisaSongSutton. LV
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Foodie Feature: The Stove 11261 S Eastern Ave. #200 | (702) 625-5216
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hef Antonio Nunez is the owner of restaurant The Stove as well as Established Culinary Management (ECM), his restaurants consulting company. “I’ve been a chef for a little over 27 years now, and I got into this originally because it was a dating thing,” Nunez said. “My mom, we were very poor and in high school, my mom didn’t have money for us to go on dates so she said ‘what you should do is cook for her and she’ll love it.’ Since then I always attuned to cooking. Cooked with my mom and my grandmother day-to-day and it’s always a lot of fun.” Nunez grew up learning how to cook by constantly being in the kitchen with his family. “My grandmother on my mom’s side was very American homestyle, country style food. With rolls, country fried steak, stuff like that. So, that was a large part of my upbringing. But, my dad’s family was all Sicilian and were the ones that raised me, so Italian food became a passion of mine for years. All I did was Italian food for my first ten years of cooking. I learned it. I lived it. I loved it,” Nunez said. Since he learned how to cook from his grandparents and other family members, Nunez chose to focus more on the business aspect of restaurants while in college. “When I started cooking, I knew immediately that was what I wanted to do. So it was important for me that I learn how to cook. I never went to school primarily for cooking, I learned from basically working for free and you just come in and learn their techniques. I did a year in Phoenix, Denver and then I worked my way to a night job,” Nunez said. “But to pay my bills, I went to
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Ava Rose Agency Chef Antonio Nunez, owner of The Stove and Established Culinary Management, dishing out food to be served to customers.
school for Hotel Restaurant Business Management at CSN and a little bit at UNLV. I figured it was more important for me to learn the business than for me to learn how to cook, since I learned how to cook from better chefs than the ones that were in the schools.” When it came down to deciding where to open up a restaurant, Nunez knew that Las Vegas was always going to be his first option as a born and raised Las Vegas local. Nunez first began by opening restaurants across the Las Vegas Valley for other chefs and hotels before extending his business and culinary knowledge to his own benefit. “The journey here has been very rapid. As executive chef and a sioux chef and running through the hotels, I’ve opened in Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, the Linq, etc,” Nunez said. “I learned very fast that I could keep doing it for everyone else, or I could start doing it for myself.” Nunez branched out and started a consultant company, Established Culinary Management (ECM) which backs his restaurant The Stove. “I started ECM, which is my consultant company and we took on projects all over town as well as L.A., Chicago, we were moving all over the board,” Nunez said. After starting his consultant company and getting over the loss of a business partner, Nunez decided to open up The Stove here in Las Vegas. “I opened up The Stove and we had taken off just like wildfire, it was a huge success right off the bat. It was what the community needed,” Nunez said. “We’re very good at pulling demographics and seeing what the neighborhood wants to support and how they’re going to support it. That’s why we do what we do and why we’ve always been successful. We have a 98% success rate in opening vendors, we’ve only had one restaurant fail.” The restaurant is one of high appeal in the community due parts of the menu constantly changing based on the season and the produce that’s in season. “The Stove itself is a sit-in restaurant, so we do about a 20% attrition on changing the menu every three months. We try to stick to what’s in season, so we’re always buying the freshest products,” Nunez said. Nunez has done an excellent job in creating a comfortable environment for his customers that has a very homely-feel to it that keeps them coming back. “The experience when you come here, the energy, the vibes, and the people that are coming through, they’re happy and satisfied,” Nunez said. “You don’t feel like you’re stuck in a stale restaurant. When you walk in, you feel like you’re at home, you feel comfortable.” If interested in checking out The Stove, it’s located at 11261 S. Eastern Ave., Unit #200. You can also view their website at thestovelv.com. LV
‘Maharajah,’ from The Stove.
‘Birthday Cake Pancakes’ from the menu at The Stove.
The Stove’s ‘Vegan Fried Green Tomato Benedict.’
‘Vegan Fried Green Tomato Benedict’ from The Stove’s menu.
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LANDED IN LAS VEGAS Peter & Janet Castellano Andre Taylor Photography
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eter and Janet Castellano moved to Las Vegas all the way from New York back in the summer of 2001. While their reason to move wasn’t ideal, the move itself ended up being beneficial for their whole family. “Peter and I have been married for 30 years and we relocated because my mom had dementia and believe it or not, Las Vegas has the best dementia care facilities here. When my dad passed away and my mom had dementia, we said ‘we’ll try it and if we don’t like it we can always move back,” Janet said. “We relocated here from New York, but Peter’s family lived here and my girls were only six and seven so it was a little bit easier for us to transition here and the perfect time for us to move cross country.” Prior to moving cross country, Peter had visited the city of Las Vegas and loved it. He even recommended that his parents come here for their 40th wedding anniversary, which led to them moving here with Peter and Janet’s family not far behind. “I’ve been coming to Vegas since 1978. Totally loved the place back in the old days. I love everything about Vegas because of working in a nightclub and the nightlife, things like that. Plus, it was just a place that I always wanted to come to. But, I love everything about Las Vegas: the weather, the slow pace (with less than a million people at the time). Everybody in New York is rushing to go nowhere in a hurry; in Vegas everything was ‘why do it today when you can put it off until tomorrow.’ It was nice, people were different, everything was spread out. It was a nice change. And, what’s not to love about Vegas,” Peter said.
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While there’s a common misconception that Las Vegas isn’t a great place to start a family and raise children, Janet and Peter feel the opposite. “We just love the lifestyle, love that kids can be kids here, they don’t grow up too fast,” Janet said. Janet and Peter’s two daughters, Liana and Stephanie, both went to school here in Las Vegas as they were growing up. Steph-
Peter Castellano on duty with former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“I’m a landscape contractor, we’ve been in business since 2002. It started as a hobby when my girls were still young and I was only 47 years old. We started small, then things grew,” Peter said. The Castellano’s business grew over several years and became a sucessful local business in the Las Vegas Valley when it really started to economize in the early 2000’s, even after 2008. Due to Peter and Janet’s work ethic being reflected in their business, they were able to survive the economic recession back in 2008. Within their business, though, respect goes a long way which has bred loyalty among the Castellano’s few, but loyal, employees “Out of the 11 employees I have, five of them have been with me for over ten years, one of them has been with me since day one, and another one has been with me for 15 years,” Peter said. “And that’s because although we are technically a corporation, we call ourselves a family. When the market crashed, we took care of each other, it was something that would never happen back east.” The Castellano’s business, PD Landscaping continues to thrive today in the Las Vegas community, something people who aren’t locals think we don’t have - another misconception debunked by Janet & Peter. “We live in a beautiful community in Summerlin and there’s parks everywhere, there’s always an activity every weekend. There’s so much going on and there was never a lack of things for our girls to do,” Janet said. Today Peter and Janet are both diehard Golden Knights fans. They enjoy attending the hockey games in the T-Mobile Arena and going to the brand new Las Vegas Ballpark stadium in Downtown Summerlin, home of Las Vegas’ AAA team, The Aviators. In addition to the ballpark, Downtown Summerlin also offers a large array and variety of food choices that seem like they never end. With all this located right in their neighborhood, Peter and Janet are proud to call themselves Nevadans and declare Las Vegas as their home, even if they can’t get rid of their New York accents. LV Peter & Janet Castellano at a Golden Night’s game sporting new hats as a special gift from the team for a First Responder’s Night.
anie graduated from UNLV and now works at Konami Gaming here in Las Vegas. “There’s so many opportunities for kids here, especially nowadays. If they’re smart and they apply themselves, this is a great place,” Janet said. There’s so much diversity here, you can graduate high school and be a pilot if you go to a magnet school. There’s just so much here.” The Castellano’s have always been productive and hardworking. Back in New York before moving out to Vegas, Peter was a police officer with the NYPD. Because of his work, he was recognized with numerous community awards including Cop of the Year by the Elk Lodge of Staten Island in 1994. Feb. 27th has even been recognized as “Police Officer Peter Castellano Day” by the Burrow President of Staten Island. Fast forward to today where Peter and Janet have successfully raised not only their daughters, but their business - PD Landscaping - here in the Las Vegas Valley as well.
Janet & Peter Castellano pose in their driveway by their truck.
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Julie Ostrovsky
Charity Spotlight: Autism Community Trust From Founders Julie Ostrovsky & Richard Femenella
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he Autism Community Trust is a non-profit organization that’s meant to help support people with autism in the Las Vegas community. See below insight into the organization from Julie Ostrovsky and Richard Femenella. “[The Autism Community Trust is] a very special non-profit that raises money to support programs in the community that support people with autism. We most recently opened a location for people with disabilities to socialize and hang out.” Ostrovsky and Femenella had a specific visionwhen they created this non-profit organization. They wanted to not only support already existing programs in the community, but to also offer safe spaces for young people with autism to interact. “We wanted to support outstanding programs in the community and offer a social opportunity for young adults that don’t have many options in the community.” The needs of people with autism in the Las Vegas community, are high with resources and services hard to find. The Autism Community Trust tries to fulfill every need they can for the families they serve across the Las Vegas Valley. “There are year long waiting lists for diagnosis because of the limited number of doctors certified to provide such an evaluation and can be up to another year to get services. Medicaid rates are some of the lowest in the country and insurance can be limiting. So finding services and funds for services is challenging.” The Autism Community Trust also funds a Games and iPad program with FEAT of
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Julie Ostrovsky & Richard Femenella from the Autism Community Trust.
Southern Nevada - Families for Effective Autism Treatment, another non-profit. One of Ostrovsky and Femenella’s biggest inspirations about their work that they do with the Autism Community Trust is the response that they get back from the families and participants that they serve and are part of their organization. While the Autism Community Trust is one of many non-profit organizations in the Las Vegas Valley, they set themselves apart from other organizations when looking at how much of their proceeds that they actually donate to their participants. “One-hundred percent of the money raised goes directly to the people who participate in the Autism Community Trust (ACT) programs and programs that ACT supports. The organization is run by volunteers who do not take a salary or any
money for programming or funding. That is unique in our community.” Alongside ACT giving their full proceeds to the families they serve, they also run mostly by volunteers that aren’t paid and just want to help and give back which is also unique. If interested in making a donation to the Autism Community Trust please visit this site: gofundme.com/f/jigsaw-jam-viii. LV
HERE WE GROW
Here We Grow
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ver a few decades, the city of Las Vegas has changed and grown in a short period of time. From the hot spots on the strip, to the renovations and scenery changes in the neighborhoods out in the suburbs of Henderson, Summerlin, and other branches of the Las Vegas Valley. Mike Chernine, partner at Brass Cap Development, a local industrial development firm, has seen these various shifts in the Valley not only from the perspective of a resident, but also that of an aspiring and successful businessman. “I’ve been living in Las Vegas since 1981,” Chernine said. “I’m a real estate investor and developer, slash entrepreneur. I have several companies and one of them is called Brass Cap Development where we build industrial projects. My other company is CherCO where I just help put on other peo-
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Mike Chernine, Brass Cap Development
ple’s projects and give them the funding that they need.” One of Brass Cap Development’s most recent projects is called SanTico, a 2.5 acre industrial space at the intersection of South Rainbow Boulevard and West Sunset Road. “ T h at project is just a two-acre parcel that we bought about a year and a half ago over by Sunset and Rainbow. We just completed a 40,000 square foot building on it and put it in escrow to sell it,” Chernine said. “It’s an industrial building, but it’s in a retail location which means it’s just a higher traffic area. So we built the building, but right now
it’s in escrow with an artist, a young famous artist - a painter. He’s going to print his prints in his warehouse and store his art.” Looking at these kinds of higher end projects, it’s easy to forget that a few decades ago, Las Vegas wasn’t the constantly busy and bustling city that it is now today. “When we moved here from Eugene, Oregon, which we had been there for one year prior, so when I got off the airplane - I mean then the airport was you walked off the airplane, out the gate, you walked like a couple hundred feet, then you walked out of the front of the airport
love Vegas because “it’sI constantly reinventing itself, there’s always excitement. Mike Chernine
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Vegas INC
and the parking lot was right there. I think there were probably about 280,000 people in town at the time and we lived in the outskirts over at Alta [Drive] and Rainbow [Boulevard] which is definitely not an outskirt anymore” Chernine said. Since the 80’s, the Las Vegas Valley has continued to thrive and produce successful businesses. This has resulted in the building of many retail and commercial centers in various neighborhoods across the city. “I live in the suburbs, I live in a master plan community, I live in a golf club community, and I live up in the mountains, so we spend a lot of time hiking up at Red Rock which is 10-15 minute drive from where I’m at,” Chernine said. “All my favorite restaurants are within one or two miles and I literally live my life within about two miles from my house. All three of my kids
go to school a mile and a half away. Downtown Summerlin is one minute away and it has shopping, restaurants. The 215 [interstate] is a couple hundred yards away and I can get anywhere in town. You run into the same people all the time at restaurants, stores too and it has kind of a smaller town feel where I live on the West side of town.” Convenience is only one of the perks of living in Las Vegas. The city is moving so fast to keep up with the trends and pop culture happenings of the entire world. But, that doesn’t mean the city is exclusive to that single kind of lifestyle either. “I love Vegas because it’s constantly reinventing itself, there’s always excitement. You can live a really lowkey, quiet life here that’s really affordable or you can always go live it up. I’ve been standing at my bathroom at three o’clock in the morning, looking out the window and looking at the lights of The Strip and going, ‘people are going crazy down there right now.’ There’s always something to do here 24 hours a day. The caliber of entertainment, food, shopping, and golfing that we have here is incredible. Plus, I
just love the excitement of this town,” Chernine said. Alongside the convenience and culture of Las Vegas, the city is also a place where various opportunities and experiences may present themselves. “When I moved here when I was 13 years old, I was planning on being a dentist in Eugene, Oregon and this kind of changed my trajectory. I was going to UNLV and I took a real estate law course and I said, ‘This is it. I get real estate,’” Chernine said. “So at the age of 19 or 20, I embarked on a real estate career that I’ve now had for 33 years. But, the growth of this town during its growth spurts has created opportunities for me in my life to travel the world, enjoy a lot of experiences in life and all of that was owed to what happened in this town, which someday people write books about.” Las Vegas has always been a city of new opportunities and risk-taking and that doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. “Right now, this town is thriving and it’s growing up all the new businesses that have come here, the sports teams have changed and turned this Pinterest
Fremont & 1st Street, early 1980’s.
Exodus Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas, 1992.
into a big city. It’s like we’re going through a maturation period right now, we’re just evolving into something bigger, a bigger city,” Chernine said. “It’s a good place to move your business because of the tax structure - we don’t have state income tax, inventory tax, corporate tax. So, there’s a lot of benefits to having your company here, plus you don’t have natural disasters, so it’s still affordable comparatively speaking to southwest cities like Phoenix, L.A., Northern California, Salt Lake City. I think that there’s more and more demand being created here and with demand, prices get pushed up.” Additionally, the economics of Las Vegas are stable, except in light of the recent events regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19). However, even after all the chaos dies back down, there are still big companies looking at Las Vegas from a business opportunist perspective. “Up until 30 days ago, we were probably one of the strongest economies in the United States, I mean this town was thriving and now with the COVID-19 things are kind of
tossed up in the air here for a month, maybe two months, or maybe even three months,” Chernine said. “But, I think overall, the economics and what is happening in this town is moving in the right direction. There are big companies investing in this town. You’ve got: Blackstone coming in here and paying hundreds of millions of dollars for apartment complexes when that wasn’t happening before. A lot of tech companies are moving into Southern Nevada. We’re working on building facilities for Amazon right now, so there’s a lot of interest in this town and a lot of businesses are leaving California due to the cumbersome regulations there.” Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic and effects, if you’re thinking of moving to Las Vegas, be sure to be confident in your knowledge of the city and its ins and outs. “You have to find a very seasoned broker to guide you so that you can ramp up your knowledge of this market quickly. If you try to do it on your own or you get with the wrong person then you’re going to get bad information and you need good information,”
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rediscoverthe80s.com
A view of the Las Vegas Strip back in the 1980’s.
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out of your experience here and making sure you start off on the right spot. Like if you want to live in the northwest in a half acre lot or in Downtown Vegas and you live in a loft and don’t use your car as much or you want to live out at Mountain’s Edge so you’re up against the mountains and far from the city lights, but you’re close to Red Rock. Geographically, there’s a lot of different experiences you can have here. If you like old school Vegas you can live down on East Oakey and get those old homes built in the ‘60s and they still look that way. Or, if you want to build a custom home with a bunch of billionaires you could go to The
“ It’s like we’re going through a maturation period right now, we’re just evolving into something bigger, a bigger city. Mike Chernine
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Chernine said. “I have been burned in other markets because I have built and bought property in six or seven different states. I had to make sure I got with the right people when I was entering a new market.” Because of Las Vegas’ diversity, each part of the city renders different cultures that you’re bound to experience within the bounds of each area. “There’s so many different experiences that you can have in this town depending on where you live. So, really understanding where in town fits you and your family is of paramount importance when you get here,” Chernine said. “It all depends on what you want
Summit.” The diversity in Las Vegas extends outside of its population. The city also caters to practically everyone - early risers, night owls, midday risers, etc. “This town is full of people from somewhere else, it is a true melting pot here. It’s built for people coming here and starting something new. It’s a great town for anything, there’s something for everybody here,” Chernine said. LV
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Jane Villafuerte & Time Weavers Photography
LIVING GRACE HOME: Garden Of Hope Gala
Living Grace Homes hosted their 13th annual Garden of Hope Gala on Mar. 5th at the gorgeous Dragon Ridge Country Club honoring Mayor Debra March & featured keynote speacker, Trish Nash. Living Grace Homes is a local Henderson charity that provides a safe haven for young, pregnant, and homeless women.
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Courtesy of Trish Nash Team, Nick Lodhi, and Jane Villafuerte via Facebook
HCC LEADERSHIP CLASS OF ‘20: FUNdraiser for EyeCareforKids
The Henderson Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 2020 came together on Mar. 7th at a beautiful home in the SouthShore Country Club - compliments of the Trish Nash Team for a FUNdraiser event benefiting EyeCare4Kids. The tea was successful in raising nearly $30,000! EyeCare4Kids provides professional eye care for low-income, visually-impaired children & underserved families.
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Mindfulness Hacks for a By Merriliz Monzon
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midst times of uncertainty and stress, it is so important to incorporate mindful practices for your emotional, physical and mental well-being. Practice these three meditative life hacks to calm the body, elevate your emotional IQ , and deepen your connection to your Self.
1. Take Six Breaths
When one is mentally or emotionally stressed, the breath quickens. When the breath quickens, the mind becomes fuzzy and unstable. When the mind is unstable, decisions and actions are made irrationally and without clarity. It. Is. Time. To. Breathe. Slowing down the breath relaxes the mind, de-stresses the body, promotes clarity and increases immunity. A simple practice is to sit against a wall or on a chair and take six full breaths from your diaphragm in one minute. Inhale through your nostrils for a slow count of five; exhale through your mouth for a slow count of five. You can practice this for several minutes, being mindful to relax the shoulders, and breathe in and out from your belly. Regularly taking six full breaths per minute for ten minutes is a healthy practice. This is also ideal for when you’re in an emotional funk throughout your day or a heated conflict with another. Take six full breaths. Repeat.
2. Watch the Mind
Meditation is not just sitting in stillness and having absolutely no thought. Meditation is the ability to be present with all that arises - and be in full acceptance of it. You are not your thoughts. Thoughts are like clouds in the sky that come and go; we are not meant to attach ourselves to them. When you make an effort to be mindful of the stories and thoughts that arise - of fear, doubts, self-judgment, guilt, comparison, unworthiness - you become free of them. A thought is like a thief in the night - the moment you are aware of its presence, it stops what it is doing and ceases to exist. Train your mind to be aware of the thoughts that spring
up. When you are aware, you are no longer a slave to the negative feedback loops that unconsciously run your life, impacting how you think, act and feel. When you are aware, you have the power to choose your next thought. Make the worthwhile effort to watch your mind and its thoughts. Remember to be gentle and kind to yourself in the process.
3. Move Your Body
The creative energy at the base of every human being’s spine is known as the kundalini. This energy remains dormant unless one awakens it through meditation, yoga posture and physical movement. Get up and move. Jump. Run. Bike. Swim. Kickbox. The brain releases serotonin (the happy hormone) and stimulates the release of cortisol (stress hormone) when the body is active and thriving. Shake off and sweat out bodily toxins and built-up energies of unnecessary stress. Bonus tip: dance. Not only is dancing a feel-good, muscle-toning aerobic exercise, dancing allows you to tap into your own child-like innocence to move with freedom and joy. Our ancestors understood the healing power of dance through rhythmic movement, why not let loose? Remember, mindful meditation is being wherever you are fully. Be with your body in exercise, movement and physical release. And if the mind wanders during exercise - or any activity! - accept it, be glad you took notice and come back to the moment. You always have the power to switch up your mood and stress level by being mindful of it. When you do the work to slow your role and take six breaths; to actively watch the mind’s thoughts without judgment or story; and to raise the creative life force in your body through mindful movement - you will become more and more immune to the external stresses of the world and be more in tune with the world within. That’s the work we get to do, and in times like today - it’s the work we are individually called to do. Be a healthier version of yourself by making time for mindful activities with yourself. The best time is now. LV
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Articles by Kaeli Britt
It is with gratitude that we have this opportunity to share our vision with you and all who experience Living Large Las Vegas. This digital magazine is the product of the ever-evolving Living Large Las Vegas Podcast, and with it we look to showcase to the world our incredible City of Las Vegas and it all it has to offer. Please enjoy this work as we venture through the lives of leaders and innovators in our community and highlight just what makes Las Vegas a global destination for businesses to come and flourish and for families to come and have great success. We are so proud of our community and the elements that have bound in unity at the core of what drives us forward in innovation, industry, hospitality, education, healthcare, and charity. We hope that our magazine can be a viewbook for you to experience THIS city like no other and ultimately have you ready to join us in becoming a resident and a contributor in our world-renowned City of Las Vegas. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
Derek Parent & Coby Sherlock Derek Parent & Coby Sherlock, Founders of Living Large Las Vegas
