Willowbrook Receives Grant – Celebrates 36 Years of Creativity

Mike Antonelli
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Willowbrook Receives Grant – Celebrates 36 Years of Creativity

BY REBECCA PRATT

Willowbrook Arts Camp is preparing to open its gates at Brown’s Ferry Park for a 36th summer in Tualatin providing hands-on experiences in the arts for children ages 3-18. Each day, campers freely choose their activities from a smorgasbord of offerings, led by their own muses to sample something new or focus on a favorite art form. They are supported in their creative endeavors by a talented and committed staff. No previous experience is necessary and theatre productions are open to all ages.

Willowbrook was recently awarded a Community Cultural Participation grant of $2,000 by the Cultural Coalition of Washington County to provide scholarships for children from the local Latino community. The CCWC contributes to the cultural identity and quality of life in Washington County and supports arts, heritage, and humanities by re-granting Oregon Cultural Trust funds that are managed by the Regional Arts and Culture Council. The Tualatin Arts Advisory Council also honored Willowbrook with an award of $400 to further extend art opportunities for Tualatin youth in 2016.

Althea Pratt-Broome, Willowbrook’s founder in 1982, wrote that “Imagination is the necessary ingredient for fully understanding our world. Willowbrook is a community where children may develop the confidence to express themselves uniquely.” Commitment to her ideal of nurturing the whole child remains at the core of Willowbrook’s approach, and thousands of children have become members of the Willowbrook community. Some teachers have been at the camp since the 1980s when it was located at Althea’s home, the historic John Sweek House. With an impressive return rate, early campers now bring their own children.

Willowbrook’s award-winning program includes the Squirrel’s Nest for ages 3-4; the Village, with ten centers ranging from puppetry to piano, for ages 5-7; and 27 Artisan centers, including fine and world arts, ceramics, basketry, puppetry, stained glass, music, nature, dance and drama, for campers ages 8-18. Scheduling is flexible, from one half-day to all six weeks. Weekly theater performances are free and open to the public. Willowbrook operates Monday through Friday from June 26 to August 4. Register or find out more by visiting www.willowbrookartscamp.org.

Rebecca Pratt Rebecca Pratt is program director of the nonprofit Willowbrook Arts Camp and daughter of camp founder Althea Pratt-Broome and was born and raised in Tualatin.

Tualatin Students Eligible for Scholarship

Mike Antonelli
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Tualatin Students Eligible for Scholarship

Future scientists are invited to apply for the Tualatin Science and Technology Scholarship. This scholarship recognizes high-achieving local graduates who plan to pursue a career in science, technology, or a related field.

One $500 scholarship will be awarded for the 2017-18 academic year. The goal of the scholarship trust is to promote higher education in scientific fields by making possible educational opportunities to Tualatin students. The program has awarded more than 40 scholarships totaling more than $64,000 since it was established in 1990.

The scholarship is awarded to a high school senior who is a Tualatin resident and who will major in a science or technology field while attending an Oregon four year college or university. College students can also apply if they lived in Tualatin during their final year in high school.

Applications are available on the City of Tualatin’s website, www.tualatinoregon.gov/library. The deadline for applications is Monday, May 1, 2017.

For more information contact Jerianne Thompson at 503.691.3063 or jthompson@ci.tualatin.or.us.

Tualatin: 95 Acres, From Ice Age to Agriculture to Industry

Mike Antonelli
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Tualatin: 95 Acres, From Ice Age to Agriculture to Industry

BY LOYCE MARTINAZZI

What I know as the Community of Tualatin is not confined by the map lines that limit its official boundaries as an incorporated municipality. Never was! When I was growing up as a rural child in the ‘30s and ‘40s my sisters and I attended Tualatin Elementary and our family communicated with the outside world via a Tigard telephone number and a Sherwood mailing address.

The 95-acre Orr farm is located on the south side of Tulalatin-Sherwood Road, technically within the lines of the City of Sherwood, but I experienced that 95-acre farm as part of my Tualatin community. I first knew the property as the “Clear place” because the great grandparents of Martinazzi family friend Topy Reber were named Clear and their family lived there for some time around the turn of the last century. My dad always called the property the Clear place, and I guess I got that from him. The Martinazzi family was very close to Bill and Grace “Topy” Reber, and Topy’s mother, Lola Smith, lived there with her grandparents, the Clears, who built the house. An interesting aside is that the Clears, according to Dan Reber, either sold or traded the farm for a blacksmith shop located along Boones Ferry and Martinazzi Avenue, close to the bridge. It occurs to me that may have been the location of Billy Greenwood’s smithy in the 1850s.

But I digress, as I usually do when talking about Tualatin history.

The story of what is now known as the 95-acre Orr farm really began when the floods of the last ice age, some 15,000 years ago, deposited fine soils from Montana, Idaho and Washington on the north side of the property along Tualatin-Sherwood Road, but the floods scraped to bedrock the southern portion, part of the Tonquin scablands.

Early on the Atfalati Indians lived on the land, and in 1852 Daniel Sebastian became the holder of 320 acres, the first donation land claim to the property. The land then passed through several different farm owners, and finally in 1942 the Daniel Orr family came from Nebraska to Oregon and bought 160 acres of the land after renting it for a year. Florence, second eldest of the eight Orr children, twice sent her son Terry Pennington to spend time with his Orr grandparents on the farm. Terry recently told me some history of his grandparents’ farm and lent the Tualatin Historical Society some precious black-and-white Brownie photos, which we have gratefully scanned into our archives. And as we all have heard, a picture is worth a thousand words. Being just an old farm girl myself, whose family did not think to record daily farm life with a camera, I deeply appreciate these photos. Although there are no photos to record the events, Glen Orr, Daniel’s son, sold 150 to 200 truckloads of rock that was blasted off the back portion in the 1950s.

Speaking of digressing, here is an amusing story. Terry recently told me that he remembers that around noon in the summer of 1944, a fire truck sped west on the road with siren blaring. “Oh Grandpa,” Terry said, “somebody’s farm is on fire!” Grandpa Orr replied “don’t worry Terry, that’s just the Tualatin Volunteer Firemen going to Sherwood for beer.”

Florence’s brother Ray inherited the Orr farm. By the time Ray passed, the original quarter-section was down to 95 acres, but it was still known as the Orr farm. Since Ray’s death, the land has been listed with a commercial real estate agency, and is zoned for industrial use. From Ice Age to family farm to factory—times change, but perhaps not always for the better. A wise old farmer and friend recently told me that if the Willamette Valley were properly farmed, it could feed the world. As the world’s human population is growing at a rapid rate, some of the richest and most arable land in the world is being covered with concrete.

Is Daniel turning in his grave? And when the land is used for industrial purposes, will we feel it belongs to the Tualatin Community? Questions it would take someone wiser than myself to answer.

Loyce Martinazzi Loyce Martinazzi was born and raised in Tualatin and is passionate about Tualatin History. She is Co-Founder of the Tualatin Historical Society and Co-Author of Tualatin…From the Beginning.

The Best Four Letter Word in Parenting – WAIT

Mike Antonelli
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The Best Four Letter Word in Parenting – WAIT

BY KIM DEMARCHI

Give yourself and your young child a gift… the gift of waiting. It will foster trust in their natural abilities. It respects the child’s unique developmental time table and their need for mastery. It will help enable them to be a creative problem solver and express themselves.

1 – Wait for them to reach developmental milestones

Children get their first teeth at all different ages, yet we often expect them to reach other developmental timetables like pedaling a tricycle at the same time as everyone else. My son was 14 months old when he first walked. My friend’s son was 9 months old. They are now equally capable walkers. Earlier is not necessarily better. How will I know when my child is ready? A child will walk when he is ready. And he is ready when he walks.

2 – Wait before we interrupt what they’re doing

Let the baby or toddler watch the world without inserting yourself by pointing things out and giving them words. Find out what interests your child. Follow their lead. It will help them develop longer attention spans and help them become an independent learner. Foster their natural curiosity and love of learning from the world without hijacking their every thought.

3 – Wait for discovery before problem solving

Let them sit with challenging problems. Resist from showing them how to get the piece in the correct space of the puzzle. Let them be frustrated; it builds resilience. We err on the side of teaching, rather than letting them learn from their environment. Let them struggle with things such as rolling from back to tummy. I know you want to pull that one arm out of their way, but wait!

When you teach a child something, you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself. – Jean Piaget

4 – Wait for conflict resolution with peers

Allow them a little bit longer to solve things with their peers. What might appear to us as conflict may just be play. They might be like tiger cubs playfully roughhousing. Or they may surprise us by figuring out a solution among themselves. It will allow them the chance to be problem solvers.

5- Wait for readiness before introducing new activities

Parents are eager for their child to take ballet lessons or start in pee wee basketball. We want them to experience the wonder of The Wizard of Oz movie, but sometimes we rush them and diminish the impact. Earlier is almost never better. Let them be really ready so they can fully engage and get the most of their experience.

6 – Wait for a better understanding of what babies need when they cry

We follow the impulse most of us have to quell our children’s tears as quickly as possible.

Don’t jump in to solve problems immediately. Perhaps standing back and observing will provide a better answer. They might be hot and we give them a toy because we think they’re bored or we pop a pacifier in their mouth.

7 – Wait for ideas from our children

We tend to jump in with our own ideas instead of letting them sit with their boredom and figure out something on their own. Let them invoke their creativity and their problem solving abilities.

The child may learn that she is a creative problem solver, that she can bear discomfort and frustration, and that boredom is just the time and space between ideas.

This approach to parenting is actually natural, intuitive, and easy. You don’t have to think so hard. Having confidence in your child frees you from coming up with appropriate solutions to their dilemmas. It is freeing knowing that your role is not to “make” my kids into something.

Trust that what they come up with is going to be better (more them) than anything we could construct for them. Give them the gift of waiting.

Kim DeMarchi Kim DeMarchi, M.Ed., Certified Parent Educator and Certified Family Coach, is a Tualatin resident, married with 16 year old boy/girl twins, and has been an educator for more than two decades. Kim is trained and certified through Positive Discipline, as well the International Network for Children and Families in a program called Redirecting Children‘s Behavior. Kim is active in supporting her local parenting community by providing workshops, coaching families and writing articles for our newspaper. Kim is a monthly guest on KATU’s AM Northwest. She also blogs twice a month for Knowledge Universe’s Kindercare online community. Kim’s goal for you is to help reduce conflict, foster mutual respect, and create deeper communication and connections with your loved ones. She can be reached through www.EmpoweredParenting.com.

Meals on Wheels and Winona Grange Plan Double-Header Gardening Weekend

Mike Antonelli
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Meals on Wheels and Winona Grange Plan Double-Header Gardening Weekend

BY LARRY MCCLURE

Mark May 5-6 on your gardening to-do list for an opportunity buy plants, pick up free seeds, learn how to grow them while also getting in the spring spirit with a free ukelele concert.

A traditional plant sale held by the Meals on Wheels folks each May at Van Raden Community Center is slated for Friday, May 5 (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) and Saturday, May 6 (9 a.m.-noon). Plants available will include vegetables, flowers, and ornamental shrubs.

The Winona Grange spring Garden Party will be underway all day at Winona Grange, 9:30-3 Saturday. Unsold plants will be moved to the Grange from the Van Raden Center that afternoon. Proceeds from plants sold at both venues will support the Meals on Wheels program providing nutritious lunches and socialization for seniors in Tualatin. The May 6 Winona Grange Garden Party will feature gardening experts sharing their knowledge on successful growing techniques. All sessions are free to the public

Winona Grange is located next to the Commons at 8340 SW Seneca. The Van Raden building is adjacent to the Juanita Pohl Center at Community Park, 8509 SW Tualatin Road.

Tualatin’s Mobile Makerspace Makes a Visit to the Rotary Club

Mike Antonelli
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Tualatin’s Mobile Makerspace Makes a Visit to the Rotary Club

BY DIANE BONICA, TUALATIN ROTARY

It is not often that you get to see “the power of a pen” yet Rotary members witnessed this and much more during a presentation for Tualatin’s Mobile Makerspace. A demonstration of a new 3-d pen had everyone interested in scientifically artistic creations. Knowing that true scientists “tinker” as they work, the Rotary crowd fell in step with hands-on action.

Jerianne Thompson helps to coordinate the Mobile Makerspace as an off shoot of our library children’s events. Kids can make, invent and learn while having fun. When children interact with the materials provided, they become interested in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education.

A donation from the Rotary Club along with other funds provided by community partners has allowed Tualatin’s ABC initiative to build and supply the makerspace trailer. Students in grades 2-5 are involved with STEAM in their Tualatin classrooms . Teachers schedule appointments with the library staff and the learning travels to the school. To date, over 4,000 children have had the opportunity to discover the Mobile Makerspace.

Rotary is a philanthropic club and our Tualatin Rotary has a desire to serve at risk youth. The Makerspace is a perfect project. This Spring , the makerspace will be offering after school classes at Title One schools in Tualatin. This summer the creative materials will travel to our city parks as part of the summer lunch program. Children who might not otherwise be able to access STEAM education, will have the opportunity soon.

Educators and community members realize that there is a “Leaky” Science pipeline in our nation. Students decide early in their schooling that they are not good at math and science. They opt out of these classes. In turn, this decision prevents them from entering the good paying careers in math, science and technology. The Mobile Makerspace is hoping to change this trend. Allowing students to find success as beginning learners is a great method to plug the leak and create science minded citizens.

Tualatin’s ABC Initiative Committee is entering into a national competition this April. They could win the three million dollar grand prize. If this happens, our entire community will get the chance to become more STEAM savvy. There is a plan to build and staff a community center that will provide school to work opportunities for all.

Tualatin Rotary

Lunch with the Chief

Mike Antonelli
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Lunch with the Chief

BY CATHY HOLLAND, TUALATIN COMMUNITY POLICE FOUNDATION

Join Us For Our Favorite Fundraiser of the Year!

We are excited to announce that on April 25th, K. L. Wombacher, President & General Manager for the Hillsboro Hops SS-A Professional Baseball team will present the keynote address at the TUCPF annual Lunch with the Chief fundraiser.

Funds raised at our “Lunch with the Chief” help support essential Tualatin Community Police Foundation projects. You will enjoy a great event full of education, entertainment and even a fun live auction to support the many valuable programs provided by the Foundation.

Tualatin Police Chief Bill Steele and TUCPF leadership are thrilled to present President Wombacher as he captivates attendees with tales of the Hops origin and their huge success in bringing minor league baseball back to Oregon. Fans and non-fans alike won’t be able to help but be entertained!

This fun annual event includes Tualatin Police Department updates from Chief Steele including important public safety and community policing programs. There may even be a special guest appearance from Tony, our famous K-9 officer.

TUCPF passionately supports positive connection between law enforcement and the Tualatin community it serves by funding community and public safety programs.

For ticket or sponsorship information – visit our website www.tucpf.org or send an email to info@tucpf.org.

Event Details

When: April 25th, 2017, Full lunch buffet opens at 11:30 a.m. Program runs 12pm-1pm.

Where: Tualatin Country Club, 9145 SW Tualatin Rd, Tualatin, OR 97062

Tickets: $35/person prior to April 15th, $40/ person after April 15th, $50/person at the door. Table of 10: $350/table prior to April 15th, $400/table after April 15th. Tickets may be purchased on line at www.tucpf.org.

Cathy Holland Cathy Holland is a retired businesswoman and a 25- year resident of Tualatin. She is also is a member of board of directors of the Tualatin Community Police Foundation.

Tualatin Life Interview: Jonathan Crane

Mike Antonelli
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Tualatin Life Interview: Jonathan Crane

BY JORDAN BERRIER

JB: How did you get the idea to start Tualatin Life?

JC: It was a combination of reasons. For starters, once the major recession began in late 2008, the staffing business became very depressing. People were frustrated looking for jobs when so few were being offered. People literally cried in my lobby as they were desperately looking for work. I needed an outlet, so in early 2009 rolled out the first issue and it got a very favorable response.

The second reason was that I was tired of seeing Tualatin’s news getting no attention from the Oregonian, and with other local media having such low circulations, our news was either ignored or so tiny it felt insignificant. I thought that a means to magnify local people and local stories would be engaging and effective in Tualatin.

Lastly, I wanted to become more of a participant in our community. I lived and worked in Tualatin, but didn’t feel connected to other local people and felt no real connection to Tualatin. I wanted to highlight the people of Tualatin, its history, its many outstanding ammenities and thought a micro-local newspaper could accomplish that.

JB: Before Tualatin Life and Integrity Staffing, you started The Coupon Tabloid at 23. At that early age, what did you learn in business that helped you the 2nd and 3rd time around?

JC: Grow vertically, not horizontally. Keep overhead low. Be about the bottom line and not top line. As a boss, allow those around you the room to be creative and succeed. Be present, but not controlling, as that limits their growth, which ultimately limits yours. It also taught me that anything is possible. Nothing is bigger than you are if you have the right attitude.

JB: You’ve started three businesses and succeeded with all three. What has been your recipe for success?

JC: Fill a need. Create something that you can sell with pride and vigor. Grow slowly and organically. We always hear about businesses that fail due to lack of funding, but I can list an equal number that failed because they started with too much funding. Their decision making is as if it’s play money and buying decisions aren’t reality based, but theoretical and unproven. The scrappier entrepreneur understands the importance of frugality, cash flow, doesn’t extend too much credit, etc. I actually find it fortunate that I started with nothing and that mentality has never escaped me.

JB: Are there any phrases you remember that have had a profound impact on you?

JC: “The respect of those you respect is worth far more than the applause of the multitude.”

JB: You father was a very influential figure in your life; what were biggest lessons you learned from him?

JC: He was a depression era kid, which had a large influence in his mindset, much of which was passed along to me, such as being frugal, don’t overextend, grow a business slowly, etc. I would run most every important business decision I made by him because he was generally more cautious than I was, which is exactly why he was such an excellent sounding board. I would often see just the blue sky and he’d warn me of potential downsides that I was too excited and inexperienced to consider. He threw caution into the discussion which, when I was younger, would often cause me to roll my eyes, but in hindsight, his influence grounded me and helped me approach things with a more prudent posture. He was also a very thoughtful, empathetic and reflective person, which also influenced my life immeasurably.

JB: What do you think Tualatin’s biggest challenges are in the next 3-5 years?

JC: Overcoming apathy. With term limits now in place, new people will need to step forward and participate. Our community has understandably become complacent due to the same leaders in place for decades and people feeling no need to educate themselves and participate with local issues. We’ve had incredible progress in a relatively short time and the day has come for new leadership to infuse our city with progressive, fresh ideas to bring us forward. Just a few years ago, we were the sleepy little city at the Jiggles exit, but look at us now! Great progress, but many of the same problems remain. I welcome new sets of eyeballs to solve our issues. The future of Tualatin looks very bright to me, and the more who participate, the better.

Jordan Berrier has been a Tualatin resident for 4 years. He currently works with Jonathan Crane at Integrity Staffing. You can reach Jordan at berrier. jordan@gmail.com.

Spring, a Balloon, and Cherry Blossoms

Mike Antonelli
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Spring, a Balloon, and Cherry Blossoms

BY JONN KARSSEBOOM

We were huddled at the outdoor coffee bar on an early spring morning shivering while it rained and rained. The three of us were grateful it wasn’t the winter cold but because spring for gardeners tends to bring with it rising expectations of sun and warmth, we looked to the sky for any indication of our expectations.

“I see a clearing in the clouds about ten minutes away.” Explained T-Rex. (Trevor’s Garden Corner nickname that seemed to stick.)

I drafted the gift certificate of $25 and then penned a quick note to what we thought would be to the “intrepid explorer”. This mysterious person might, by a slim worldly margin, find it and return it to us. In my excitement I forgot to put a date on it.

I licked the envelope and then dropped the gift certificate/letter along with a lucky penny (for ballast) into a Ziploc freezer bag. A clumsy slice with my pruner into the bag’s upper corner and I tied a quick knot through the hole with the dainty, brightly colored ribbon. Our mission was set.

“This time, let’s avoid the trees and let it loose in the upper parking lot.” directed Sting as he eyed the previous failed mission tangled high up in a nearby Douglas fir.

The gift certificate, the lucky penny and the Ziploc bag were being sent away, for no particular reason, tied to a Mylar balloon filled with helium. The balloon was just the right shade of bright yellow, at least we thought, with a large, smiling “Have a Nice Day” emoji.

I’ve noticed when talking with fellow gardeners there comes a point in our gardening life that some unusual plant befuddles us with mystery. Is it alive or dead? Will it make it? What might it need? What shall I do with it?

During those trying, questioning times we have a common last resort response: Dig it up, plant it in the ground somewhere else and just see what may happen. I think it’s that absolute last point of no return that makes gardening the most rewarding. It’s a do or die, live and let live, against-all-odds kind of feeling. As gardeners we hope all will go well. Often times we’re wondrously surprised that it does.

And yet, sometimes it doesn’t. Gardening is also a full story of heartbreak and loss and disappointment and frustration and lost potential and through that hardship and work we learn: “oh well, tomorrow comes another chance.”

The balloon captivated us as we watched it gain altitude. It quickly cleared the trees and through the short sunshine it sparkled and then the wind carried it away. We wondered how far it would go and of course, we took bets. Wind speed, altitude, temperature, weather, googled stories of balloons flying thousands of miles kept our conversation going throughout the day.

A few weeks later picking up my daughter Abbi from Tualatin High she pointed out that she could see the first pink in the cherry trees that surrounded the school. (In my adult rush I hadn’t stopped to notice.)

“Do they start out pink and change color along the way?” she wondered out loud.

It made me think of the importance of cherry blossoms here and in faraway places like Japan. The blossoms represent both the vulnerability and the beauty of life. Because they appear astonishingly enmasse but just as quickly disappear they help us to remember that life can be amazingly beautiful and yet can also be sadly short.

I have yet to hear from the intrepid explorer that presumably has found the now deflated balloon and zip locked note. It’s possible (and likely) I’ll never hear how far it travelled. Meanwhile, with that same spirit of fleeting immortality I’ll keep planting in the garden. It never fails to surprise me.

Jonn Karsseboom Jonn Karsseboom loves the science behind, under and around and in the garden. You may email him for no reason at all too: jonn@thegardencorner.com.

From the Cockpit to Commissary School

Mike Antonelli
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From the Cockpit to Commissary School

BY KIM BEELER, BEELER MARKETING

Claude Karam, owner of Trazza™ Fine Lebanese Food, held a Grand Opening at his new Tualatin production facility on Wednesday, March 15. He treated more than 50 attendees to a tour of the 7,500-square-foot facility. Open House guests also enjoyed Lebanese fare, including an assortment of Trazza’s hummus, falafel, baba ghanouj, tatziki sauce, tabouleh, mhishi (stuffed grape leaves) and baklava.

The new production facility and company headquarters is located at 19870 SW 112th Ave. in Tualatin – just off Tualatin-Sherwood Road and near Industry restaurant, which is another new business to the growing industrial area.

An obvious family man, Karam said he left his 15-year career as an Alaska Airlines pilot to spend more time at home.

“I never in a million years saw myself as an entrepreneur,” he notes on his website at www.trazzaflf.com. “I remember late one night, on the way home from the airport after I finished a four-day trip, I stopped at a traffic light near a local grocery store which also featured a well-known coffee shop inside. This sparked an idea in me; an idea of producing and serving authentic Lebanese food in local retail stores, just as this coffee shop was doing in this grocery store.”

And who better to serve authentic Lebanese food than Claude, whose brother, Tony, and sister-in-law, Emeline, operated Karam Restaurant, serving some of the family recipes in Portland for 25 years. Now, they have returned with Karam Lebanese Deli and Catering, located at 2800 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. in Beaverton. His other brother, Andre, is running Zaatar Fine Lebanese Cuisine restaurant in Portland’s Pearl District.

Like many first-time entrepreneurs, Karam started experimenting with recipes from his home kitchen in Beaverton six years ago. He quickly expanded his business to a commercial kitchen in Northwest Portland at KitchenCru, which he refers to as his ‘culinary school’. It was here where he learned everything from food preparation, cooking, and kitchen equipment to exposure to great local chefs. Karam began presenting the food he made at KitchenCru and he was invited to participate in a “Food & Wine Event” that same year at Bales Marketplace Cedar Mill; the business’ first retail partner in 2012.

Today, you can find Trazza’s Fine Lebanese Food products at more than 100 stores throughout the Portland metropolitan and Vancouver, WA area, including Fred Meyer, Chuck’s Produce, New Seasons Market, Zupan’s Markets, Natural Grocers Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods Market, and hospitals such as OHSU and Kaiser Sunnyside and Tanasbourne. He has distribution as far south as Salem and through a New Seasons Market partnership Trazza products are being sold in the Seattle area.

Karam said his products are made from scratch and in small batches. All Trazza products are made without the use of pasteurization and there are no artificial ingredients or preservatives. He said they are delivered to the stores in less than 24 hours from being made and packaged. The 8-oz. hummus products retail for $3.99 and they have a shelf-life of 10 to 14 days.

The name Trazza was inspired by an Arabic word Tazza, which Karam said the meaning is “fresh.” Tra is significant for the meaning “traditional.”

Tradition – fresh – family – local; these are all very important attributes at the small and growing business with 18 employees.

“We are revolutionizing the food industry,” Karam noted with a clear commitment to his new-found passion – from flying to food!

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