About Thunder Bay Oasis

I was born and raised in northwest Ohio. Most of my childhood was spent living in an old farmhouse a few miles outside of a small town. Nature and animals became a passion, and we were never lacking in pets. The youngest of three boys, my brothers and I were raised with a strong business sense. We were taught by example that a good business isn't about making money, but taking care of the people involved. 

I spent my earlier years working in food service and retail, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. My passion in department store retail was working with people. I was especially skilled at calming upset customers. Most times they just needed to feel like someone was actually listening. I also loved making visual displays and keeping my department tidy and eye appealing. After the recession in 2008, I watched helplessly as staff and budget cuts devastated the world I so enjoyed. By the time I left everything was about huge sales with coupons, and every minute not with a customer was spent scrambling to keep the store from looking like a clearance bin hit by a hurricane. There was no time to go above and beyond for my customers, and my perfectionist nature became more a burden than a gift.

In fall of 2012 I enrolled in the massage therapy program at the Healing Arts Institute (now the Orion Institute) in Perrysburg, Ohio. It was the answer to a prayer I never knew I made. Never had anything come more naturally to me than massage did. Discovering the flow of movement, learning to distinguish the various tissues that lie between skin and bone, and understanding how to work with muscles to encourage them to release... my perfectionist side found a whole new outlet! To top it all off, I was learning to really, truly help people. The classes were small and intimate, and my instructors were skilled and knowledgeable.

In October 2013, I graduated after completing Ohio's required 750 hours of training, as well as numerous additional continuing education courses offered through the school. I heard repeatedly "Don't be a jack of all trades and master of none." It drove me crazy every time. If I'm going to work with bodies as a career I want to learn as much as I can, and I want to know as many varied ways of working with them as I can. So I did, and will continue to do so!

I received my license in November 2013, and by December I got my first job at Exhale Body and Soul in Defiance, Ohio. I joined as the fourth member of the team at the end of their first year in business. By the time I left for Illinois 6 years later, we were up to eight therapists, and had expanded three times to add more rooms. I worked with some phenomenal therapists. We worked well as a team, and were always there for each other. 

I fell in love with Galena on my first trip out to visit my friends. The history, variety, and kindness of the locals really impressed me. The scenic nature in the Territory completely won me over. I found myself on Zillow and Realtor apps during each visit; dreaming, wishing and hoping to start a life out here. On the last day of my third visit in early March 2019, I toured the house I now call home.