QUINCY - People who are becoming aware of Mara Jacobs, because of her growing community involvement, might be surprised to learn she's on her second wind.

Jacobs, formerly of Enumclaw and Redmond, moved to Crescent Bar with her husband Ken in 2004, the year both retired from successful careers. He had done quality control for Boeing at Renton. She had managed/owned Keg Steakhouse and Bar.

The Jacobs were going to kick back in the home they had purchased at The Orchards in 1995. Ken is still kicking back, somewhat. Not so with Mara.

"Retirement was boring," she said. "My golf was not good enough to keep me busy."

As planned, the Jacobs went to Arizona that first fall as new members of the snow bird class. That didn't work for either of them.

"Within 4-5 weeks we realized we wanted to go home," Mara said.

Not home to western Washington but home to Quincy, which Mara adopted quickly. The climate here outshines that of Redmond.

"Once we came into Quincy and activities, I could never see us going back," she said.

To have something to do, Mara joined Pro-fit Training & Nutrition in 2005. But she did not stop at participation. She became a personal trainer at the same gym and still is. And she does Pro-fit's accounting.

Happy to be busy again, Jacobs didn't stop there. She is the business manager for the Quincy Valley School. She manages the Jones of Washington wine tasting room. She works with children's programs at St. Pius X Catholic Church, where she is a member.

And Mara still has time to serve on the Quincy Valley Historical Society board of directors and assist on Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce events.

"It's super fun," she said.

Mara came into contact with Jones of Washington one night in June of 2005 when she and Ken were out for dinner at a Quincy steakhouse. They met Jack Jones and his daughter Megan.

The Joneses had a new wine company with its first vintage in 2002. Having been the wine buyer for her restaurant, Mara took interest in what the Joneses were doing. That led to an invitation to operate the tasting room.

Although you can find Mara most anywhere in town, she is most visible at Jones of Washington. She works there 20-25 hours per week. Ken gives her a break by taking 10 hours of tasting room duty.

Jones of Washington is open regularly only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and the Jacobs cover all of the operating hours.