ThankYouToLocalWorkers

Advertising Section Thank You to Local Workers | SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020 G3 which will last. “What Canlis is doing today is exactly what it was doing pre-pan- demic,” he said. “It’s just that it looks different: The food has changed to better serve families at home, we’ve traded tablecloths for to-go boxes, sure. But the essence of who we are as a people, and who we are hoping to serve, and what effect it might have on them— all that is the same.” Turner said every shift she works for Canlis lifts her spirits, because every customer encounter is a happy occasion. “They can see I’m smiling,” she said, “even with a mask on.” Nicole Erickson S ince she was 4 years old, Nicole Erickson has wanted to be a schoolteacher. Now 30, she works at Morningside Academy, a small private school in Seattle that helps struggling students catch up to their peers and thrive. She loves what she does. But noth- ing could prepare her for this. Since the coronavirus lockdown, Erickson’s cozy living room has become her cyber-classroom. She communicates with her students online via Google Hangouts. Her sofa has become her desk. A large white dry-erase board leaning on the wall behind her serves as a planning tool and a chalkboard. “Everything is different now,” Erickson said. “[Special education students] often struggle with a typical learning environment, so bringing ed- ucation online has proven to be very challenging.” In the mornings, she conducts reading and writing lessons for her 12 students, ages 8 through 12. In the afternoons, she has three math classes. The stress of the lockdown is par- ticularly disruptive for her students, she said. “Our students need consistency and to feel some sort of normalcy. Some days, this means just starting our sessions with a short meditation,” she said. Because of the added anxiety, part of Erickson’s job is modeling appro- priate behavioral response. “I show the kids what it is like to express your frustration in a calm way,” she said.“Everyone gets frus- trated—now more than ever — in the classroom, and the kids need to know that it is OK to be stressed. I model for them what it looks like to say, ‘I am frustrated right now. I need a break,’ and have them practice that.” There are a few unexpected benefits to livestream teaching, Erickson said. “The students share their jokes, toys, pets, and around their homes. It is really adorable,” she said. “The interactions I have had with my students …have been immeasurable. They have honestly saved my sanity during this pandemic.” Paisley Berkseth O utside the Town & Country Ballard Market, Paisley Berkseth and Jordan Hablewitz have a system. Hablewitz patrols the parking lot for empty shopping carts. His face protected with a curved plastic shield, he gives each cart a once-over with sanitizing spray, cleaning the handle and large surfaces where people might put their hands. Then Berkseth, armed with a wand-style sprayer, spritzes the entire buggy, car wash-style, until every inch is fully disinfected and safe for the next shopper. The cart wash is a nonstop opera- tion near the market’s entrance, where customers queue up, conspicuously keeping their distance, fidgeting with their lists and waiting their turn to go grocery shopping. It’s part of an array of safety mea- sures at Ballard Market, including a metered entrance, one-way shopping aisles, 6-foot intervals between shop- pers, plexiglass barriers at checkout lanes and copious quantities of hand sanitizer for customer use. Berkseth, 20, said that when she began working at Ballard Market two years ago, she had no way of knowing she would soon be part of an essential workforce. “At first, it was a little overwhelm- ing. But it was such a positive reaction from a lot of our customers who’ve been shopping here for like 30 years,” she said. “But this is the new normal. Customers are actually a little nicer than usual.” According to Berkseth, the practice of social distancing has brought peo- ple together in unexpected ways. The face masks she wears, for example, were gifts from customers. She has three styles so far: kittens, puppies and unicorns. She said the cheerful masks make the COVID-19 pandemic seem less menacing, “because there are still a lot of young kids who come here with their parents.” Ballard Market customer Alice Parks, who stopped at the market for birthday goodies for her grand- daughter, said she feels “extremely safe” at the market, and added, “All these people are a new kind of hero.” A THANK YOU TO LOCAL WORKERS This section was produced by the Advertising Department of The Seattle Times. Contact us at 206-464-2400 or advertising@seattletimes.com . Content was provided by freelancers, wire services and advertisers. ADVERTISER DIRECTORY G2: Metro Transit G3: Indigo Real Estate G4: Washington State Nurses’ Association G4: BECU G5: Swedish Medical Group G6: University of Washington G7: Bartell Drugs G8: Washington State Medical Association G9: Kaiser Permanente G10: Builders’ Hardware & Supply G10: 1st Security Bank G11: Facebook G12: The Seattle Times G13: Teamsters G14: SouthWest Plumbing G14: Washington Trucking Association G15: Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi G16: Microsoft Continued from previous page AL KEMP Paisley Berkseth uses a wand-style sprayer to disinfect every cart after every use at Town & Country Ballard Market. She says the process, along with other safety measures, has become “the new normal.” INSIDE G4: Local businesses share their gratitude for their essential workers G14: Creative ways to thank essential workers G15: The work of sort- ing recycling carries on COURTESY OF NICOLE ERICKSON Teacher Nicole Erickson’s classroom is now run out of her living room, her couch serving as a makeshift desk. &%$)!'#(%*"$*! -/' -11 .)#&, &++&/)!-1 )&-0+ $#. -11.$ (+ ). +)-" #.0& -/' +)-" +-%&* '*&+" ,#!/ '$&( -+%).#