Energetic entrepreneur Greg Whiting

Greg Whiting has rarely – if ever – lacked for energy.

Consider that in a robust and wide-ranging professional life Whiting has variously researched, analyzed, helped develop and written about energy systems designed to both improve quality of life and protect the environment.

And now, with his partner Jenelle Whitton as co-proprietor of Raven's Cup Coffee and Art Gallery on First Street, he markets beverages that, while served in a laid-back Pacific Northwest setting, are the fuel that keeps folks going through their day.

On the art side, the walls at Raven's Cup project a vibrancy of their own – adorned with bright, colorful gift items from throughout the region and around the world.

Native American-themed art is much in evidence, given tribal lore that it was the raven who brought the sun.

"And after the raven brings the sun," Whiting notes with his trademark wry grin, "mankind asks where's the coffee?"

Whiting's cup nearly always runneth over.

Born in Kimberley, B.C., where his American parents were working – his mom was a teacher and his dad a college professor also engaged in the mining industry – Whiting has lived all over the U.S. and Canada, primarily while employed in the energy and utility sectors.

He graduated high school in Golden, Colorado and studied as an undergraduate at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where he was a columnist for the campus newspaper, a role he has since reprised with the Weekly News.

He then attended graduate school at the University of Tennessee and while working on his degree scored an internship at the famed Oak Ridge National Laboratory. That led to his return to Edmonton for a position with a mining company subsidiary.

Whiting was involved in several key projects, including development of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

His unique skill set would also land him positions with major utility providers Florida P&L and TXU Energy.

His resume includes a stop at Seattle City Light, where Whiting wrote detailed white papers and worked on strategies encouraging customers to embrace new technologies to mo re efficiently use energy and reduce consumption during peak periods.

Various assignments delved into solar power and electric transportation, clean energy options of great interest to La Conner Schools and the Town of La Conner.

Whiting subsequently switched gears and in a move that would prove beneficial to his eventual launch of Raven's Cup enrolled at the University of Denver for another advanced degree, this time in marketing.

Stints followed at Stanley Tools in Dallas and in advanced energy systems technology development in Hawaii, then posts at City Light and the Port of Seattle.

At the port, Whiting served as Sea-Tac International Airport's utility manager.

"The airport," said Whiting, who was responsible for everything utility-related, including cable television, "is its own little city."

The airport's cable component required much attention.

"People there," Whiting quipped, "can live without water longer than they can live without the Seahawks."

On a more serious note, Whiting said "the port commission had a robust interest in the decarbonization of the airport."

Weary of traffic congestion and other drawbacks of urban life, Whiting and Whitton looked to escape the city and in time started the energy consulting company that is the parent firm of Raven's Cup.

They decided upon La Conner as their new home after scouting numerous locales around Puget Sound, Port Townsend among them.

That choice seemed pre-ordained. The Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative is here, after all. It wasn't long after his arrival that Whiting was contacted by SVCEC co-founder Terry Nelson, long an advocate of solar power.

Today Whiting shares his expertise through SVCEC, in his Weekly News column and with customers over coffee at Raven's Cup, where he has created his own art through computer technology.

"I'm interested in the concept of using electronic tools to create art," said Whiting. He transforms sketch work and black-and-white photography into colorful abstract images.

"We're not trying to compete with serious artists," Whiting said. "We just want to create something people can enjoy."

He creates famous historical figures drinking coffee with a raven. Customer favorites feature likenesses of Vincent Van Gogh and, appropriately enough, writer Edgar Allan Poe, best known for his poem "The Raven."

Raven's Cup has temporarily closed while undergoing interior remodeling. Whitton has created a balsawood model showing the shop's revamped kitchen. They anticipate reopening ahead of the Daffodil Festival.

In the meantime, Whiting and Whitton have put their energies into a new menu item – a registered and trademarked Canadian latte flavored with maple syrup.

Whiting knows first-hand, after all, that it's innovation that recharges one's batteries.