The Wenatchee Business Journal

Page 1

Year 24 No. 9

New Ownership • Page 2

SEPTEMBER 2011

Coffee a la cart • Page 5

The Wenatchee Business Journal

SUP’s up!

Emerging water sport creates new business for a Leavenworth sports shop By Lee Fehrenbacher

S

Travis Knoop recently shot this $2.5 million home in south Wenatchee for a Seattle real estate agent.

Finding a new niche in a tough market Wenatchee real estate agent finds opportunities with a camera By Allison int-Hout

W

hen Travis Knoop began his career as a real estate agent, selling houses was as easy as posting a “For Sale” sign in the yard and waiting for someone to make an offer by dinner time. But this rapid turnover is an unfamiliar concept in the real estate industry today. The feeble housing market has

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sent brokers fleeing to all spheres of the professional world. Some, however, have chosen to stick with real estate. Leaving the buying and selling of properties behind, Knoop is remaining loyal to the real estate market by way of a more artistic calling. A former Windermere agent who felt the repercussions of the struggling economy, Knoop has rekindled his interest in photography to ride out the financial

storm. Now working as a real estate and landscape photographer, he is taking professional photography into a relatively new market. “So many photographers are shooting weddings and portraits, which is really the bread and butter of the business,” he said. “But no one was focusing on realtors, and I realized that would be a niche market.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

urfing in white water was going to take a lot of practice. That was becoming abundantly clear as I knelt on a paddle board in an eddy of the Wenatchee River, clutching the side of a large, moss-covered rock for balance. Growing up on the beaches of California, I was fairly competent on a surfboard, but my first five attempts at stand up paddle boarding in the bubbling froth of the Wenatchee had ended quickly with me swimming for shore 50 yards downstream. Now I was trying a smaller, sportier, less sturdy board and I wasn’t feeling too optimistic about it. “That’s a smaller board so make sure you sit back on it or else you’ll pearl,” called out Adam McKenney, owner of Leavenworth Mountain Sports, as he effortlessly paddled out of the eddy and into the swift current of the river. “Check it out!” I watched as he took several hard strokes and dropped into the nature-powered, perpetual surf machine known as “Happy Wave”.

Every Tuesday night, McKenney opens his shop and invites anyone willing to get their feet wet, down to the river to try out the newest sport in his quiver of outdoor activities. Since 2009, stand up paddle – or “SUP” boarding, as regulars call it – has been exploding onto lakes, rivers and ocean beaches across the nation. Just the past weekend during a trip to Seattle, I had seen people paddling in the Puget Sound at a popular dive site in Edmonds. Looking at the small group of about 20 people gathered that night, it was easy to see the allure – everyone could do it. Downstream, a handful of children paddled and splashed about in the calmer waters, while up river, a few of us bigger kids – ranging in age from our mid-20s to upper 60s, and adorned with helmets, wet suits and life jackets – attempted to surf. With his paddle cradled in his grasp, and crouched casually in a surfer’s stance, McKenney made it look easy as he carved back and forth on the wave. After several minutes, he brought the board about face, let out a “Woohoo!” CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Mark you Calendars (509) 662-6134 Corner of 9th & Miller

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