Business Pulse Magazine Spring 2017

WHATCOM BUSINESS AWARDS BANQUET MARCH 22, P. 14

JOHN REID

A ‘Belfast Boy’ brings waterfront vision to Bellingham

MAGAZINE SPRING 2017

The brand

in Brandsma: Edaleen Dairy How new County Council districts impact YOU! Ferndale, Blaine schools benefit from levies and bonds paid

by Cherry Point businesses

Ed and Aileen Brandsma, Lifetime Business Achievement Award

Exempt well ban– a failure of leadership?

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER STORY: ED BRANDSMA, EDALEEN DAIRY PHOTOS AND MILK CARTON designs through the years, spread across the dining room table at Ed and Aileen Brandsma's home in rural Lynden, depict the evolution of their family business, Edaleen Dairy. The development of a mammoth milking farm and dairy store operation merited Ed Brandsma the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award. (Staff photo)

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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AMONG THE FINALISTS FOR ANNUAL WBA BUSINESS PULSE AWARDS MARCH 22 WE’VE GOT WALLETS, we’ve got pallets. We’ve got maritime. We’ve got a good time with room at The Inn (at Lynden). How about cold storage and storage sheds. Surprise! Beauty supplies. Banking, investment and printing services. Security methods, marketing methods, lawn care methods, and loads of concrete. And the winners are…?

SPECIAL REPORT: LOCAL ELECTIONS UNDER NEW DISTRICT SYSTEM WITH NOVEMBER 2017 BALLOTS, Whatcom County residents will cast votes in the district they live in – one of five, in a redrawn expansion from three – and for at large candidates for the first time under the ordinances they voted in during 2015. What will it matter? A lot. A clear message: Pay attention!

MILK ON THE DOORSTEP GAVE WAY TO CONVENIENCE STORES -SO IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM, SELL TO ‘EM BOB JR. TOOK THE REINS from Robert Bray Sr. and grew Dairy Distributing's markets to small stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and institutions like healthcare and schools. But the memories linger of the neighborhood deliveries, and that personal service remains a core value.

GUEST COLUMNS: HOT TOPICS ABOUND AFFECTING DAILY LIVING FOUR OFFERINGS come from Washington Policy Center on public education, some original and effective environment initiatives, the future of healthcare, and labor issues…A look at the landmark Hirst ruling and its effects on water rights and exempt wells, and an analysis of the strong levy and bond support from Cherry Point for local schools…Plus your usual insights into Lean and Small Business Development.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

60 78 74

PERSONALLY SPEAKING: JOHN REID, WATERFRONT ARCHITECT AN IRISHMAN WITH A VISION, Reid talks freely about how his past and his quirky fate of becoming a resident of Bellingham have set the stage for bringing to reality redevelopment projects such as this architectural rendering of a proposed hotel/convention center on the Downtown Waterfront.

(Drawing courtesy of RMI and Harcourt Development)

ENTREPRENEUR ENTERPRISE: MANTHEY MOMENTUM ATHLETIC TRAINING PROFESSIONAL SOCCER provided Megan Manthey Richey a lab, of sorts, for developing training for young soccer players (and eventually other athletes) as a business. The “momentum” refers to body movement, especially from the hips down, that improves performance. But there’s more: mental and emotional preparation for college recruitment.

THE GOODNESS OF GODDARD RIPPLING THROUGH THE WORKFORCE provided the impetus for Whatcom Land Title to rise from small, privately-owned wannabe to the heights of its industry in the state of Washington. David Goddard has retired now, but his approach to business lives on – a living legacy embodied in the employee culture

For editorial comments and suggestions, please write editor@businesspulse.com.

Business Pulse Magazine is the publication of the Whatcom Business Alliance. The magazine is published at 2423 E. Bakerview Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226. (360) 746-0418. The yearly subscription rate is $22 (US). For a free digital subscription, go to businesspulse.com or whatcombusinessalliance.com. Entire contents copyrighted © 2017– Business Pulse Magazine. All rights reserved.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Business Pulse Magazine, 2423 E Bakerview Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226.

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Publisher Tony Larson Managing Editor Laura McKinney Editorial Consultant/Writer Mike McKenzie Feature Writers Tamara Anderson-Loucks Dave Brumbaugh Sherri Huleatt Mike McKenzie Mary Louise Van Dyke Guest Columns Randall Benson: Lean Perry Eskridge: Water Laws Liv Finne: Public Education

Todd Myers: Environmentalism C J Seitz: Business Development Erin Shannon: Small Business & Labor Dr. Roger Stark: Affordable Care Act Cover Photo Mike McKenzie Photography Augusta Lawn Services Blaine School District Dave Brumbaugh ERA Capital Mgt/Jacob Deschenes Harcourt Development Inn at Lynden/Teri Treat

Mike McKenzie Moncrieff Construction Perry Pallett Company Security Systems Trayvax RMI/John Reid Graphic Design/Layout Kevin Baier Ad Sales Jon Strong Subscriptions Janel Ernster Administration Danielle Larson Maggie Stafford

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John Huntley President/CEO

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Ben Kinney President/CEO Keller Williams, NVNTD

Jeff Kochman President AMBK

Tony Larson President Whatcom Business Alliance

Sandy Keathley Founder K & K Industries

Larry MacDonald General Manager The Social Live Team

Tom Kenney Regional President Washington Federal

Lynn Murphy Senior Local Govt. Affairs

Bob Pritchett President / CEO

Becky Raney Owner/CO O

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LEADING OFF Tony Larson | President, Whatcom Business Alliance The Whatcom Business Alliance is a member organization made up of businesses of every size and shape, from every industry. The WBA enhances the quality of life throughout Whatcom County by promoting a healthy business climate that preserves and creates good jobs.

Join us to celebrate business success… and the benefits it has on our community

O

n March 22 in the ballroom of the Four Points by Sheraton in Bellingham, the Whatcom County business community will celebrate their own at the 31st annual Business Person and Small Business of the Year awards banquet.

We will honor entrepreneurs with businesses started within the last three years, a number of small businesses who’ve been operating successfully for the past many years, and business people who’ve led by example in demonstrating that business leadership is not only about the bottom line but also, more importantly, how success provides an opportunity to give back.

You can read compelling articles about the finalists in each category and the recipient of the Whatcom County Lifetime Business Achievement award, Ed Brandsma, in this edition. You are invited to join us that evening as we celebrate their accomplishments and lift them up as examples of businesses doing the right thing. Go to whatcombusinessalliance.com to reserve your table or ticket(s).

AT OUR ANNUAL member meeting in February, I provided an overview for our board and members of our activities from 2016, and shared the goals of the board for 2017.

We were as busy and productive as ever in 2016 on your behalf, 10 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

having hosted many events like the awards banquet mentioned above, industry tours, business academy, member events, Business Expo & Conference, and several others. I described 2016 as a year of business advocacy. This was not only because the Board proactively sought to focus on public policy issues that impact business; WBA members demanded it. We received calls throughout the year from members who made us aware of issues that concerned them, such as zoning, land use, predictive scheduling and other employer mandates.

Our primary mission is to facilitate local business success because we believe that’s what drives community prosperity. Our mission and belief guided our decision to engage on behalf of our members and to launch the WBA Step Up for Business Advocacy campaign last September.

THIS YEAR WE HAVE our hands full on the advocacy front.

Two of the many issues that you should be aware of are coming to the Whatcom County Council, most likely in March.

First, in 2016 we were contacted by a small group of businesses in East County, regarding their concern about language in the Whatcom County Critical Areas Regulations that would have significantly restricted their ability to do business or grow if they were located in a LAHAR inundation zone. A LAHAR is the debris and mud flow in the event of a volcanic eruption (an estimated

6,000-14,000 year event for Mount Baker).

The group grew to about 75 businesses who effectively lobbied the Whatcom County Council to a reasonable conclusion. It appears the Whatcom County Planning staff is pushing back and the reasonable conclusion is being reconsidered.

We’ll keep you posted.

Second, the Whatcom County Council soon will pass an amendment to the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan associated with the Cherry Point Urban Growth Area. The language is troubling, especially two parts in particular.

The Council has added language to the Comp Plan and has allocated $150,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund a study that will show them legal ways to restrict the businesses operating in Cherry Point.

The Council also is expected to eliminate any possibility of building a fourth pier at Cherry Point, the last deep water port available for development on the West Coast.

The purpose is to stop the export of fossil fuels, but the effect would be to stop the potential export of any product from Whatcom County abroad. This is a classic, unthoughtful case of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

It’s going to be another busy year at the WBA. I urge you to join our growing leadership network. How do you do that? Simple. Become a member. Also, I would enjoy discussing how you can participate in our Step Up program. Let’s talk soon.

Enjoy this Spring Edition.

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BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARDS

From the Youthful to Old Guard The Stars of Whatcom Business sparkle at 2017 Business Person of the Year Awards

E

d Brandsma, the patriarch of Edaleen Dairy, headlines the annual Whatcom Business Alliance/Business Pulse Magazine 2017 awards dinner on Wednesday, March 22.

Brandsma joins the esteemed roll call of Lifetime Achievement Award selections.

He and his wife Aileen will be introduced at the climax of the event, following the celebration of finalists in the other three categories – Start-Up of the Year, Small Business of the Year, and the Business Person of the Year – in the ballroom of the Four Points by Sheraton Bellingham Hotel.

The event has sold out every year since inception in 1986. A few seats remained available at press time; visit www.WhatcomBusinessAlliance.com to obtain tickets.

The finalists for Business Person of the Year: • Karen Bellingar, owner of both Bellingar Storage and Sunset Beauty Supply.

• Tom Kenney, NW Regional President with Washington Federal.

• Sam Moncrieff, founder of Moncrieff Construction.

• Doug Thomas, President/CEO at Bellingham Cold Storage.

Youth is served in this year’s Start-Up category. Three 20-somethings earned nominations that were open to the public: the companies of lawn care specialist Mike Andes (Augusta Lawn Care Services), independent investments advisor Jacob Deschenes (Era Capital Management), and inventor Mark King (Trayvax, purveyor of unique wallets) join Teri Treat (The Inn at Lynden) who is managing partner of ForeFront Hospitality that manages the renovated, historic Waples Mercantile Building.

Variety spices up the array of Small Business finalists too, featuring the sectors of maritime/marine (NW Diesel Power, Matt Hardin), wood products (Perry Pallet, Max, Marc & Joel Perry), printing and digital marketing (Print & Copy Factory, Becky and Larry Raney), and home & business protection (Security Solutions—Jim, Jamie, and Toby Vos).

Social and dinner begin at 6 p.m. The awards follow.

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Award Winners History BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR 1986 Don Haggen, Haggen Foods 1987 Dick Metcalf, Metcalf Hodges 1988 Mike Brennan, Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce 1989 Fielding Formway, Arco Cherry Point 1990 Hal Arnason Jr., Arnason Realtors 1991 Sid Baron, Exxel Pacific 1992 Jim Wynstra, Homestead, Inc. 1993 Don Stern, Homax, Inc. 1994 Jody Bergsma, Bergsma Galleries 1995 Jim Frederick, Intalco Aluminum 1996 Peggy Zoro, Key Bank 1997 Glenn Butler, Arco Cherry Point Refinery 1998 Dean Shintaffer, Sound Beverage 1999 Craig Cole, Brown and Cole Foods 2000 Peter Paulson, Hotel Bellwether 2001 Ray Caldwell, Little Caesars Pizza 2002 Elizabeth Grant, Stewart Title 2003 Larry Wickkiser, Airporter Shuttle 2004 Rud Browne, Ryzex, Inc. 2005 Nick Kaiser, Saturna Capital 2006 Larry Weiber, Aluminum Chambered Boats 2007 Dale Henley, Haggen Foods 2008 Scott Walker, Walkers Carpet 2009 Wes Herman, Woods Coffee 2010 John Ferlin, Brooks Manufacturing 2011 Jeff Kochman, Barkley Company 2012 Bob Pritchett, Logos Bible Software 2013 Scott Renne, Blue Sea Systems 2014 Ben Kinney, NVNTD, Keller Williams RE Bellingham 2015 Dale Zender

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 1990 Lehmann and Sons 1991 Ferndale Drug 1992 Il Fiasco 1993 International Athletic 1994 Louis Auto Glass 1995 Garys’ Clothing 1996 Office Systems Northwest 1997 Hardware Sales 1998 Bakerview Nursery 1999 Bellingham Travel and Cruise 2000 McEvoy Oil 2001 Northwest Propane 2002 Brenthaven 2003 Absorption Corporation 2004 Andgar 2005 Northwest Computer 2006 Brambleberry 2007 DeWaard & Bode 2008 Credo Construction 2009 FastCap 2010 Avenue Bread Company 2011 Chuckanut Bay Foods 2012 Vital Choice Seafood 2013 Scholten’s Equipment 2014 Home Port Seafoods 2015 Lynden Sheet Metal

STARTUP BUSINESS OF THE YEAR 1994 Bagel Factory 1995 Northwood Hall 1996 Merry Maids 1997 LaserPoint Awards 1998 Pastazza 1999 LaserJamb 2000 Siscosoft 2001 Chrysalis Inn and Spa 2002 Nuthouse Grill 2003 Aluminum Chambered Boats 2004 Emergency Reporting 2005 K&K Industries 2006 Fairhaven Candy Company 2007 Big Fat Fish Company 2008 Tatango 2009 Reset Games 2010 Fat-Cat Fish Company 2011 Infusion Solutions 2012 Next Level Training 2013 Red Rokk Interactive 2014 Innotech Metal Designs 2015 Capstone Physical Therapy

WHATCOM BUSINESS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

1990 David Morse, Morse Hardware 1991 Hank Jansen, Lynden Transport 1992 Jack Cole, Brown and Cole, Inc. 1993 Red Haskell, Haskell Corporation 1994 Ira Yeager, Yeager’s Sporting Goods 1995 Ivor Allsop, Allsop, Inc. 1996 Chuck Wilder, Wilder Construction, Inc. 1997 Irwin LeCocq, Peoples Bank 1998 Jim Talbot, Bellingham Cold Storage, Barkley, Inc., Talbot Industries 1999 Ann Jones, KGMI, KISM Radio 2000 Brian Griffin, Unity Insurance 2001 Don Haggen, Haggen Foods 2002 Alta McClellan, Hardware Sales 2003 Harold Walton, Walton Beverage 2004 Bob Diehl, Diehl Ford 2005 Hal Arnason Jr., Arnason-Miller Real Estate 2006 Ken Imus, Jacaranda Corp 2007 Jerry Chambers, Chambers Chevrolet 2008 Sid Baron, Exxel Pacific 2009 Jack Westford, Westford Funeral Homes 2010 Dick Hempler, Hempler Meats 2011 Frank Imhof, IMCO Construction 2012 Nick Kaiser, Saturna Capital 2013 Dan Washburn, Windermere Real Estate 2014 Terry Smith, Smith Gardens 2015 Jay Bornstein, Bornstein Seafoods

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 15

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: ED BRANDSMA , EDALEEN DAIRY

Ed Brandsma Passion and hard work take Edaleen Dairy from small family farm to thriving independent dairy brand and beyond Article by Tamara Anderson-Loucks

E

d and Aileen Brandsma, owners of Lynden’s Edaleen Dairy Farm and stores, have steered their farm in many new directions during the 52 years they’ve been married. The term “old school” cannot be applied to them. “They are innovators and early adopters of new technology,” said their longtime banker and close friend Bill Irving. “And, salt-of-the-earth people.”

Through the Brandsmas’ leadership, what once was a small, family-centered dairy farm is now a thriving, independent industry powerhouse milking more than 2,500 cows. Coupling that with widespread community involvement, they have earned the Whatcom Business Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award. “It’s been a very rewarding life,” Ed Brandsma said, “with a lot of ups and downs in farming.”

Irving helped them through the growth periods financially, starting in the mid-1980s. “We’ve remained friends,” he said, “with a common end goal to keep the business profitable and thriving.”

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ED AND AILEEN BRANDSMA, seen here on the deck of their home just shy of the Canadian border northwest of Lynden, have been married 52 years, and operating the farm they took over from her father, Maurice Honcoop Jr., all those years.

In 1975 they opened Edaleen Dairy with 10 employees, and it has developed into a dairy wholesale and retail powerhouse of more than 3,200 Holsteins, 115 employees, and five stores.

Photos

by Mike McKenzie WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 17

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: ED BRANDSMA , EDALEEN DAIRY

A PASSION THAT SPANS 4 GENERATIONS

The Edaleen Dairy brand gained recognition rapidly, including steady traffic from Canada, and success Dairy farming is fused into Ed and Aileen bred the need for expansion. In 1989 the Brandsmas Brandma’s DNA. Aileen was raised on the farm constructed a new dairy facility on Depot Road in that is now Edaleen Dairy, land owned by her famLynden to house and milk cows. The Guide Meridian ily for nearly a century. Ed grew up on a dairy farm facility processes the milk and operates the original in Abbotsford, B.C. The newly-married couple took farm-site store. over their Lynden farm in 1964 In 2007 management of the farm from Aileen’s father, Maurice "We love offering people passed to the Brandsmas’ son-in-law, Honcoop Jr. At that time the Moorlag, but Ed and Aileen a place to bring their Mitch Brandsmas sold all their milk to continued their involvement in the Darigold, but they realized the family – to come in, dairy’s overall operations. opportunities that the farm could In 2011 a family friend noticed a order ice cream, and sit property achieve from processing their own for sale in Sumas and told the milk. They expanded and upgraded down to enjoy it,” Brandsmas she had found the perfect the existing farm and processing spot if they were interested in establish—Ed Brandsma plant in 1974. ing a line of convenience stores. The Edaleen Dairy, a combination of Sumas store opened on June 1, 2011. The Ed and Aileen’s names, officially opened in 1975 with next year Edaleen leased, renovated, and opened a third 80 cows and 10 employees. They processed and sold convenience store Dec. 1, on the east side of Lynden. A Edaleen Dairy-branded milk products directly to disfourth store opened in north Ferndale last year. tributors. They also established an on-site store on the The convenience stores sell premium ice cream, Guide Meridian just below the Canadian border crossmilk, half-and-half, whipping cream, juice, butter, ing, selling milk, half-and-half, and whipping cream eggs, cheese, Ellenos Greek Yogurt, and other items. to customers.

ON THEIR DINING ROOM table the Brandsmas display the iterations of their Edaleen branded milk cartons, changing colors and, finally, adding their story to the last one.

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Two stores have a yogurt bar, three serve sandwiches and soup. And, they all serve the mighty popular softserve ice cream in various flavors, or with two flavors swirled.

Five years ago, the family brought on partners.

Ownership now comprises the Brandsmas, their daughter Karen and her husband Mitch Moorlag, Scott and Melissa Engels, and Kevin and Courtney Price. Today, the thriving Edaleen conglomerate milks around 1,600 Holstein cows, has about 1,600 young stock (cows under 23 months old), and employs 65 full-time and 50 part-time employees.

THE RISE OF A TASTY TREAT In 1980 Edaleen Dairy made a small amount of ice cream and sold it at the Guide Meridian store. “A lot of cream is left after you separate the milk,” Ed Brandsma said. “So we made some ice cream, and sold the remaining ice cream mix to wholesalers. They added their own ingredients to create their own unique flavors.”

Using its cream to make and sell their own ice cream created a better profit center than selling the cream to wholesalers. So the Brandsmas expanded ice cream production in partnership with a professional ice cream maker, Tom Torgeson, who had left another dairy.

“Tom is just who we needed at just the right time,” Aileen Brandsma said. “He stayed with us until he retired about five years ago. Their award-winning ice cream is now developed by a new crew that creates the dairy’s unique flavors, such as Banana Split, Fudgy Wudgy and White Chocolate Raspberry.

“Rocky Road has always been most popular,” Aileen Brandsma said. “Generally, they run their ideas by Kevin (Price), the head of the processing plant. But the ice cream crew basically is free to develop new flavors without oversight. The freedom to create gives a better end product.”

Edaleen Dairy offers 30-40 flavors, including seasonals. About 20 percent of company sales comes from production and sales of America’s most popular frosty treat at all five locations. A single scoop costs $1.25, well below the average price for a scoop of premium ice cream.

Ed Brandsma said, “We’ve been asked why the price is so low. It’s a subject that the ownership has bounced around forever. But unlike many other ice cream manufacturers, we produce our own cream. It keeps costs down. We could charge much more, but for us it’s more about the joy our ice cream brings to others.”

During a photo shoot to support this award and article, both Aileen and Ed expressed that joy as the source of their greatest satisfaction over the years – not their name on buildings. “We love offering people a place to bring their family – to come in, order ice cream, and sit down to enjoy it,” Ed said.

Anaerobic digester saves on sawdust, produces green energy

F

ive years ago, Ed Brandsma installed an anaerobic dairy digester on the Edaleen Dairy milking farm, a nontraditional move for this nontraditional dairy farmer known for embracing new technology. Anaerobic dairy digesters provide both economic and operational advantages for a farm, while simultaneously producing green energy to benefit the environment.

The digesters convert cow manure into methane-rich biogas, a clean renewable fuel that creates electricity. Edaleen Dairy’s digester processes about 70,000 gallons of manure a day, producing about 600 kilowatt hours of green energy – enough to power a large number of homes every day.

“We sell the electricity produced by the digester to Puget Power,” Brandsma said, “then buy power back at less cost.”

Farm manager Mitch Moorlag said, ”We do not have to purchase sawdust shavings for bedding any longer. We can now use the bacteria-free fiber that results from the back end of the digester. The cows love to sleep on it.”

Also, after the manure goes through the anaerobic digestion process, it has a 99.9 percent fecal coliform kill rate, which greatly helps reduce the risk of surface water contamination, he said.

The digester process supplies the dairy with a nutrient-rich, liquid fertilizer to grow feed crops. “It’s a circle of production,” Moorlag said. “The cows produce manure, which goes through the anaerobic digestion and separation. Processing supplies us with bedding and fertilizer to grow the cow feed, and the process starts all over again.”

– by Tamara Anderson-Loucks

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 19

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: ED BRANDSMA , EDALEEN DAIRY demand. But money wasn’t always readily available to buy additional cows. “There were so many good people to help us along the way and who sold me really good cows,” Ed said. “People backed us on reputation, providing what we needed, knowing they’d get paid.

People were so gracious. Looking back at the support we received, it’s amazing.”

Aileen told how “some sold us cows on low or no interest payments to help us build….you never forget that. We received a lot of God’s blessings.”

A SCRAPBOOK that Aileen Brandsma pulled out contains an old photo of Tom Torgeson. He was a vital figure in the rise of the Edaleen brand when he created their first ice cream in 1980. He continued making it until retiring about five years ago.

“Last summer we took some friends to the Blaine store to eat ice cream. For fun, and without identifying ourselves I asked some customers how the ice cream was.

"It was particularly hard to build the customer base when we were new to independent distribution and hadn’t built a reputation yet.”

They said ‘There’s nothing better. Nothing better.’ It makes us feel really good that they come for miles just to bring their families in to enjoy our ice cream.”

Though the stores stay busy and the business flourishes, the company has no plans for more expansion.

“We’re just trying to do a great job managing the locations we have,” Aileen said. “A year-and-ahalf ago we added ice cream cakes to our product offering. People love them, and there is a lot of growth opportunity there.”

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SUCCESS IS NEVER WITHOUT ITS CHALLENGES Building Edaleen Dairy beyond a small family farm was not without its challenges. Edaleen Dairy products are distributed throughout Washington and Western Oregon.

But in the early days the Brandsmas discovered that producing and distributing their own milk was far more difficult than expected.

“When you sell to a company like Darigold, they take everything you produce,” Aileen said.

“But when you are selling directly to distributors and wholesale customers, you need to build your herds to meet demand. And if the orders decline, you now produce more milk than you are selling “Managing the herds to meet the ebbs and f lows—it was a huge learning curve.”

Ed Brandsma added, “It was particularly hard to build the customer base when we were new to independent distribution and hadn’t built a reputation yet.”

As the business expanded, they needed to grow the herd to meet

A GOOD BANKER CAN MAKE OR BREAK A BUSINESS They both credited God, their family, their workers, and their banker, Bill Irving, for helping them weather the bad times and build the business. Irving said he connected with the Brandsmas from the start during the mid‘80s when Edaleen became his account, and a friendship developed that has spanned over 30 years.

“Bill went above and beyond to help us,” Ed Brandsma said. “He spent time reviewing our business plans, providing input on how to make the business work. And even when times were challenging he had faith and loaned us the money we needed to keep the dairy going, as long as he could see that our ideas were feasible.”

Irving said he believed in their vision. “I was raised on a dairy farm, too,” he said. “I knew a little about the industry. They have such a passion for the business, their employees, and the quality of their products. We went through high and low times, and they would seek input in their financial decision-making. I knew I could trust them.”

Irving feels the dairy’s success is attributable to Ed Brandsma’s character and management style.

Strong,Local Local Relationships.

Strong, Relationships

Jon Edholm and Jim Ashby of the Community Food Co-op with Dustin Wilder of WECU. “The Community Food Co-op believes in building our business with local funding, and that is why we are proud to partner with WECU. The benefits of this partnership not only ripple through our business, but also contribute to community support and local job creation that cannot be achieved through out-of-state funding. As an additional bonus, the credit union model has the ability to fund the projects we design while supporting our commitment to the cooperative business model.�

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Dustin Wilder 360.756.7679 dustin.wilder@wecu.com Business Banking 360.676.1168 ext 7320 www.wecu.com WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 21

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: ED BRANDSMA , EDALEEN DAIRY “He allows his employees to provide input in decision-making. He’s hands-on, but not controlling. And he seeks professional help, whether it’s with his accountant, myself, a nutritionist, or a vet – it’s a team  approach at Edaleen Dairy.” 



  

     

  

"People backed us on reputation, providing what we needed, knowing they’d get paid.

People were so gracious.

Looking back at the support we received, it’s amazing.”

—Ed Brandsma

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While his son-in-law manages the farm today, Ed keeps up with the day-to-day dealings of the business, particularly on the dairy side. “He’s basically a cow man,” Irving said.

“He takes great pride in his dairy.”

DEDICATED TO CHARITABLE CAUSES— AT HOME AND ABROAD The Brandsmas deem it important to give back to the community that has supported them through the decades. Edaleen Dairy sponsors parades and youth sports teams, and donates to numerous organizations and events. “We love Whatcom County, and are proud we can work here. We love to be invested in and support the communities we do business in,” Aileen said.

Their latest passion is involvement with the Gulu County Dairy Partnership through Partners Worldwide, an outreach program that teaches dairy farming in Uganda.

“Aileen dragged me to a convention I didn’t want to go to,” Ed said.

OLD PHOTOS trace the story of Edaleen Dairy developments. “The greatest satisfaction for us has been seeing all of our neighbors, friends, and customers enjoying our products,” Aileen Brandsma said.

“But we met Wendell Van Gunst, a producer-handler and the head of the Gulu County Dairy Partnership, who told us about his program. He had a farm created in miniature – to visually illustrate his vision of building a farm in Uganda.”

A team of worldwide partners, including the Brandsmas, made Van Gunst’s vision a reality. Now operational, the Ugandan dairy milks about 25 cows and sponsors university students to stay on the farm and learn dairy farming. It’s become a teaching tool for the community, and its milk has won several awards. Next, the partnership will build a processing plant and teach the community how to process milk and make yogurt.

“Uganda has rich farm lands, but they don’t know how to take care of it. They didn’t even have the machinery to plow,” Ed said.

“Machinery was shipped over to help them farm efficiently. It’s a very special program.”

OVERCOMING AN UNEXPECTED RECENT CHALLENGE Though the business is running smoothly, fate brought Ed Brandsma another hurdle to overcome – the “big C.” Not cows.

Cancer.

A year ago he was diagnosed with lymphoma. The cancer was

wrapped around his aorta, making it nearly impossible for him to breathe. He underwent his last four-hour chemotherapy treatment in early February. “I feel good.

Thankful. I have no complaints,” he said, upon learning about the Lifetime Achievement Award. “I feel 80-90 percent better than last year. Things look good.”

After a lifetime of dedication to Edaleen Dairy, Ed Brandsma’s anticipated clean bill of health will allow the couple to pursue their newest passion. They plan to travel to Uganda to visit the dairy farm their support helped to build.

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 23

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR FINALIST: KAREN BELLINGAR

NOTES FOR KAREN, flow steadily on the message board for the owner of Bellingar Storage in Irongate and of Sunset Beauty Supply in Sunset Square. She has a special niche as an incubator with storage space for other startups, and for women with cancer needing a local wig supplier. (Staff Photo)

Business with Heart Karen Bellingar started in ’78 from the back of her ’71 Pinto

By Sherri Huleatt

F

or Karen Bellingar, owner of Sunset Beauty Supply and Bellingar Storage, beauty supply stores aren’t just retailers offering fancy tubes of mascara, and storage units aren’t just empty metal boxes used for hoarding old household items.

Instead, her three-employee beauty supply store—the largest supplier of wigs in Northwest Washington—is a source of empowerment and care, particularly for women going through chemotherapy. “Our goal is to always sup24 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

port and encourage them on this journey with quality products to make them look and feel beautiful,” Bellingar said.

Likewise, her storage units— which she co-owns with her husband, David – double as incubators for startups and small businesses looking to grow. “Seeing many businesses that have rented from us go on to larger spaces and greater success is incredibly rewarding,” Bellingar said.

Bellingar took two straightforward businesses and turned them into sources of community support over a 39-year period. What makes it even better? It all started out of the back of her 1971 Ford Pinto.

“In 1978 we purchased a bare chunk of land without water, sewer, streets, or even an idea of what we were going to use it for,” Bellingar said. Without a clear plan and with payments piling up, Bellingar turned the property into a storage unit, hoping to convert it one day into a warehouse.

“With no office I rented out units from the back of our ’71 Pinto with our three young sons riding shotgun,” Bellingar said. “We continued to fill out the property until 1991 when we built the last six buildings and an office.” Because of Bellingar Storage’s eventual success, David Bellingar was able to retire 13 years ago. They have two full-time employees.

Sunset Beauty Supply has a different story. Bellingar told how she purchased the store in 2010 for two reasons: One was to keep it from closing, which would have required women to drive to Seattle to purchase highquality wigs. The second was to save a dear friend from losing her job after 20 years of empowering and supporting women.

“The talent she and the rest of the staff share each day is often miraculous to those dealing with hair loss,” Bellingar said. “The rewards are calculated in the heartwarming stories and beautiful ‘before and after’ pictures.”

Whether they’re renting out a new storage unit or helping someone find the perfect shade of ruby lipstick, Bellingar’s business creed stays the same: “To always give exceptional customer service. It doesn’t have to be big or earth-shaking, but do something to make it a better day for someone else.”

With the onslaught of online competition, the fluctuating Canadian exchange rate, and increasing business costs, maintaining a successful brick-and-mortar retail store has become more and more difficult, she said. The next big hurdle she faces is simply surviving the year.

Between five grandchildren, family deaths, and caregiving, Bellingar already has her hands full. “It’s difficult to create a balance while managing ones’ businesses, personal, and spiritual life,” she said. “I am blessed with a wonderful family and exceptional employees who are always supportive and helpful to share the load.”

In addition to her own personal business concerns Bellingar also worries about the community’s overall business climate. “We started out with no money or rich uncles. We were encouraged and supported by the banking community and the government entities that provided the permits.

“Today, it takes months to get through any loan process and much longer than that to get permits

“It doesn’t have to be big or earth shaking, but do something to make it a better day for someone else.”

–Karen Bellinger

for any project, large or small. We have hope because there are still strong organizations, such as the Whatcom Business Alliance and its members, who go to work every day to make this county and the world a better place for us all.”

In addition to being a wife, grandmother, and business owner twice over, Bellingar also is involved with Love INC, Northwest Business Club, Republican Women of Whatcom County, Whatcom County Farm Forestry, Women Marine Association, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Cub Scouts, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, and

Chuckanut Community Baptist Church.

The Bellingars have housed Love INC for more than two decades in their storage office. They’ve also supported the Welding Rodeo at the Bellingham Technical College, Relay for Life, OSLC, and CCBC, and have contributed to local grassroots organizations like Faces NW, Rebound of Whatcom County, Interfaith Coalition, Lighthouse Mission, Salvation Army, and the Whatcom County Pregnancy Clinic.

Karen Bellingar gives most of the credit to others for how she got where she is today: “…Through the Grace of God, blind luck, the support of a wonderful husband and great kids – daughters-in-law and grandbabies included,” she said.

“That, and a strong work ethic that has kept us diligent in our vision to create not only a pleasant work environment, but also an enjoyable place for customers to bring their business.”

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BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR FINALIST: TOM KENNEY

TOM KENNY describes himself as “an ambassador” for the largest bank based in the state, known as WaFed. Despite its size, through regional presidents like Kenney, WaFed operates as a regional community bank. Profitable for 34 straight years, it’s had Kenney on board 10 years. (Photo by Mike McKenzie)

How Tom Kenney leads the charge Spreading the good news about Washington Federal

By Sherri Huleatt

F

ounded in 1917, Washington Federal was one of the few banks that remained profitable throughout the Great Recession that set in during 2008. In fact, the company has remained profitable every year since going public in 1982.

During the recession they helped more than 3,000 homeowners keep their homes by restructuring Washington Federal’s debt, and they did the same for many local businesses that are now flourishing.

At the helm of Washington Federal’s local work, Tom Kenney serves as the regional president of northern Washington. He joined Washington Federal’s Board of Directors in 2006, and in 2010 he took the opportunity to get back in the “banking game” after a 13-year absence by accepting the regional president position.

26 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Kenney previously had worked more than 20 years at First Interstate Bank before transitioning to Haggen Inc. and Briar Development Company as vice president of finance from 1996-2009.

Kenney describes his role as “Chief Ambassador,” spreading the word about Washington Federal’s services, employees, clients, and the communities they serve. Today, Washington Federal is the largest bank headquartered in the state, with $14.9 billion in assets, and is recognized by investors, regulators, and clients as one of the best-run regional commercial banks in the United States.

“As a pretty conservative organization, we don't spend lots of money on advertising,” Kenney said. “Most of our organic growth has been achieved by our good deeds, person-to-person contact, and word of mouth.”

Washington Federal has seen substantial growth over the last few decades. Their stock trades at about 85 times its worth in 1982. They’ve also paid 135 consecutive quarterly cash dividends and, with cash dividends

reinvested, show a whopping 12,177 percent total shareholder return to those who invested 35 years ago.

Across eight states Washington Federal has 1,900 employees—75 of which are in Whatcom County—and it specializes in commercial and consumer banking services. According to Kenney, the company’s ultimate goal is “to be the most trusted and highlyrecommended regional bank in the markets we serve, and to grow our market share with integrity.”

Washington Federal stands out because it’s a “portfolio lender,” meaning that every loan stays in their books. Unlike most banks, they don’t sell loans to the secondary market, which is why their tagline touts that they’re “…invested here.”

“We value the long-term interests of the company over shortterm needs,” Kenney said. “We view our clients as partners to share success with, not as an asset whose value is to be maximized by aggressive selling tactics.”

“I am a very lucky fellow to have found the most gratifying gig of my career at this stage of my life.”

Ref lecting on his most outstanding career achievement, Kenney said, “That’s easy — the successes achieved by younger coworkers, where I may have played a minor role through mentoring and coaching. Working with bright, motivated young people has been the most satisfying part of my job through the latter half of my banking career.”

Kenney also is an active member of the community. He has been a board member and officer for United Way Whatcom County, the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Financial Executives

International, and the Northwest Economic Development Council.

He currently serves the Whatcom Hospice Foundation, Washington Athletic Club, Rotary Club of Bellingham, and as a board member for the Whatcom Business Alliance (WBA).

Specifically, Kenney said he’s leading Washington Federal’s effort to become more involved in the WBA’s Step-UP campaign, aimed at promoting research, education, and advocacy for local business issues.

Kenney said that Whatcom County business professionals help keep him on his toes: “The passion they have for their line of work, the people they employ, and the customers they serve never fails to energize me,” Kenney said. “I am a very lucky fellow to have found the most gratifying gig of my career at this stage of my life."

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 27

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR FINALIST: SAM MONCRIEFF

SAM & SANDI MONCRIEFF, at the company Christmas party: Sam gives God, Sandi, other family, and a strong circle of friends credit for him giving a thumb’s up to life anew. He operates one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. in the concrete construction industry. (Photo courtesy of Moncrieff Construction)

From one house project to industry leader How Sam Moncrieff transformed himself—and his business

By Sherri Huleatt

A

t 30 years old Sam Moncrieff was a far cry from the man he is today.

At the time, he was in jail, a drug addict, an alcoholic, and as “stubborn as they come,” he said. He said he couldn’t take care of his family, couldn’t land a job, and had no idea what his future held.

28 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

His prospects were slim, to say the least.

After getting out of jail, he started to turn things around.

He spent one year in drug rehab and three years in Alcoholics Anonymous, and just a few years after getting out of jail he moved to Washington to get a fresh start.

The trouble was, he couldn’t get a job. So, he did all he could at the time: “I had a truck, knew I could

do concrete well, and off I went,” Moncrieff said.

He started with one house and when he finished pouring concrete there, he went to two houses; after that, he finished five. “I took on projects I had no business taking on, but I realized that if you pushed hard enough, resistance can be defeated—both in mind and spirit,” Moncrieff said.

This was particularly true for the unexpected onslaught of rules

and paperwork he had to work through. “It was like Chinese to me, but I spent nights learning payroll, B&O tax, use tax, what a P&L was, quarterlies, etc.,” Moncrieff said.

Today, 25 years after founding Moncrieff Construction Inc. (MCI) in 1992, his business brings in more than $23 million a year and has been recognized as one of the 25 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. by a national concrete magazine. MCI employs 115 — 35 of which live in Whatcom County – and has offices in Lynden (their headquarters), Everett, and Tacoma.

MCI typically works on several $7million-to-$8 million projects at any given time, and they’re working now on a new $9 million, seven-story concrete project in Seattle.

Moncrieff said that every day his goal is to help his employees find their purpose in life, and to

“Until you truly carry your responsibility as a leader, you realize this isn’t about me, it’s not about money—it’s about helping others see their unique value and talent.” understand their value to their family, to MCI, and to the world.

“Nobody wins alone,” Moncrieff said. “MCI provides a safe place to face our personal demons and fears by understanding our strengths, acknowledging we are all different, understanding our personality types, and how we use cognitive awareness to approach issues and understand what our unique gifts and talents are.”

For someone who thought, upon first getting started in the concrete industry that “there’s no emotion in construction!” Moncrieff has come a long way—both in his

ability to connect with people and to lead a business. “I was never a leader of anything, but now it’s not an option,” he said. “It’s a responsibility. Every night when I go to bed exhausted by people, places, and things, God reinstalls hope. I have never woken up weary of pursuing my purpose.”

Moncrieff credits his wife Sandi, mentors, coaches, “corner man,” and “wingman” for MCI’s success. “Without them speaking into my life, I don’t think MCI would be here. I am not overlyemotional, but when I think about what God has trusted me to manage and the people he has provided, I can tear up fast.”

Moncrieff said his proudest professional achievement is when he—and the rest of MCI’s leadership—realized they were the servants and their employees were the ones they serve. “This is a continual work in progress, but until you truly carry your responsibility as a leader, you realize this isn’t about me, it’s not about money— it’s about helping others see their unique value and talent,” Moncrieff said.

This dedication to servant leadership has carried over into Moncrieff ’s community endeavors, too—particularly his focus on helping youth. He says any kid who has the courage to come into his office and talk with him— regardless of what it’s about—never leaves empty-handed, whether that means emotional support or monetary support. “Any time God puts a need on my heart with a [dollar] amount in my mind, then I am obedient,” Moncrieff said. “It doesn’t always make logical sense, but I know what I’m supposed to do.”

Moncrieff also works with Junior Achievement to empower students. “No matter what the subject is, I want them to know three things: There’s no one on earth like them; they have unique talents and gifts that are special to them,

and they have both value and a purpose for life.

“Anyone or anything that helps kids believe in themselves and communicates purpose and values, I will or do support. I never felt like I had any value as a kid or a young adult, and I don’t want to ever pass up an opportunity to tell a kid that. It may be the only time they will hear someone say that to them.”

“At the end of the day, I only want people to remember me as the guy who never really made it, but never stopped pushing himself and never stopped trying to push others around him.”

Moncrieff said he made many mistakes along the way in business — from buying the wrong equipment to putting too much hope in new software. “I like chasing anything shiny,” he said.

But in the end, in addition to running one of the most successful companies in Whatcom County, Moncrieff said his greatest achievement harkens back to his 30-year-old self: He’s most proud of getting clean, restoring his marriage, getting his family back (which now includes 10 grandchildren), and creating opportunities for others.

“At the end of the day,” Moncrieff said. “I only want people to remember me as the guy who never really made it, but never stopped pushing himself and never stopped trying to push others around him.”

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 29

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR FINALIST: DOUG THOMAS

DOUG THOMAS, President/CEO in his office at Bellingham Cold Storage. (Staff photo)

Innovation and caring The directions Doug Thomas has taken Bellingham Cold Storage

By Sherri Huleatt

F

ounded by Archibald Talbot in 1946, Bellingham Cold Storage (BCS) got its start as a single warehouse and icehouse.

Today, BCS is the largest portside cold storage facility on the West Coast— spanning more than 80 acres across two facilities and employing 175, all of whom live in Whatcom County.

Over the last 70 years BCS has grown into a full-service facility that handles more than 2 bil30 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

lion pounds of frozen and chilled food every year. They’ve expanded their original facility from 30,000 square feet to more than 1 million square feet, and their facilities include 12 on-site food processing customers and 16 cold storage warehouses, with a capacity of 120 million pounds.

And last year BCS experienced one of their best-performing years yet—in large part attributable to the leadership of Doug Thomas, its president and CEO. Thomas joined the BCS team in 1992 as vice president and chief operating officer, and just seven years later took over for his father—Stew Thomas—and

became a second-generation president/CEO. According to Gene Knutson, a Bellingham City Councilman and 42-year veteran at BCS, Thomas had “tough shoes to fill….Doug picked up the torch and has led us to a bright future. Over my 42 years with the company I’ve been blessed to work with great people, and Doug is one of the best. He’s not only a great leader, but a great human being.”

Knutson referred to personal situations as illustrative of Thomas’s personal-touch methods. “I have had several back surgeries, and every time I’ve been in the hospital one of the first people to visit me

were Doug and (his wife) Sandy.

He does that with all our employees, no matter what their title.”

Thomas has spearheaded some unique and effective corporate culture initiatives that helped BCS earn the title of “Premier Employer” by the Northwest Food Processors Association in 2014.

For example, this year BCS will kick off a new “Charity House” home-buying incentive program that encourages employee home ownership. Later this year the company will complete construction of a state-of-the-art employee Training and Technology Center that seats 200. BCS is building a new employee lunch room, locker rooms, offices, food safety, and engineering offices.

Thomas also helped increase company efficiencies about 55 percent by establishing “Balanced Scorecard” key performance indicators.

According to Thomas, the most significant improvement over the last few years has been BCS’s MiCare Clinic—a free health clinic for employees and their families. “This was a major leap for us, and it’s paid off in two significant ways,” Thomas said. “Our employees now have a primary care physician, if they didn’t have one before, and it’s free of charge to them if they decide to utilize the clinic for a number of general practitioner services and most non-narcotic prescription pharmacy needs.

“This resulted in a significant cost savings for our valued employees and their families, while also producing savings to the company.”

The BCS MiCare Clinic has helped foster happier employees and families, lowered employee turnover, and created more efficient and cost-effective medical care for the entire BCS family, Thomas said.

Community philanthropy has always been baked into the BCS culture. It donates to more than 70 charities a year, with a special

focus on youth charities. “Our primary focus has always been ‘kids first,” Thomas said. Whether it’s the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County, YMCA, FFA, and several others, BCS under Thomas’s guiding principles considers it best to invest in kids while they’re young, instead of trying to catch up to them as young adults who might have suffered from not getting enough attention or engagement as kids.

According to Knutson, Thomas is involved throughout the city, county, state, and nation. “He is a champion for all businesses,” Knutson said. “I have seen him grow into a true leader, not only here at BCS but throughout the community.” A primary example of that is Thomas’s involvement for five years on the board of directors since the inception of the Whatcom Business Alliance, and spearheading its business advocacy mission. He’s active in Port of Bellingham and Port

Commissioners business, issues in the state legislature, and he travels extensively on behalf of his industry’s policy-making organizations.

Thomas credits much of his success to surrounding himself with good people. “They’re not necessarily the rocket scientists, but just really good people who have become very skilled, supportive, and outstanding leaders,” Thomas said. “And then there’s the philosophy that my dad gave me that the harder and smarter you work, the luckier you tend to be. Be thoughtful and kind, and put things back in better shape than you found them. Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’ make friends, and smile a lot.”

Thomas gives much credit to his wife, Sandy – considering her as his “biggest supporter” – his parents, Washington State University (his alma mater), and the Talbot family for leading and growing BCS.

Solutions as unique as our clients.

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laserpointawards.com AWARDS & RECOGNITION PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS APPAREL & EMBROIDERY WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 31

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR FINALIST: NW DIESEL SUPPLY

OWNER MATT HARDIN praises his team as exceptional at NW Diesel Power: (left to right) Devon Cooper, Bruce Morey, Hardin and his wife Stephanie, Travis Thomas, Tyson Laurabee, Don Hitchman, and Sean McNamara. Not pictured: Chris Tomlinson, who was out of town attending training with Volvo Penta, a brand that NW Diesel Power specializes in. (Photo by Mike McKenzie)

Service First Mantra Helps Steer NW Diesel Power

By Tamara Anderson-Loucks

W

hile many companies’ growth strategies focus on increasing product sales, Matt Hardin, founder of Bellingham’s Northwest Diesel Power, focused his business on a different strategy: Put service first.

sell, but you cannot easily change a company culture.

“So, service has been our focus from day one.”

A passion since high school days for working in the marine trades led Hardin to open Bellingham’s NW Diesel Power in 2004. “I worked for a wooden boat builder while in high school,” Hardin said. “I really loved –Matt Hardin, Owner the boats, but he kept saying there was no money in wooden boats. So I chose The “Service First” mantra to specialize in diesel engine repair work. I worked in encompasses the idea that growth can be achieved the industry for 11 years prior to opening.” best by hiring the most talented and knowledgeable Hardin originally had planned to pursue a career technicians, and by focusing on servicing the product with another organization – one that provided opporand the customer. Hardin said, “Quality products sell tunity for career growth. But that never came to fruithemselves. But the service side of the business is our tion, so he opted to go into business for himself. main priority. You can easily change the products you 32 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

“I’ve worked to hire the best. It has taken these past 12 years to put together this awesome crew and we have very little turnover.”

“Working as a business owner has been a good fit for me, and I am thankful,” said Hardin. “As a Christian, I feel that God has run me through a lot of stress and challenge in these business endeavors. Without challenge, we do not grow and develop our character.”

Thirteen years later, the company has eight employees and offers full vessel systems service and repair.

Hardin said, “My love for boats and the fact that if you can fix a diesel engine, then you should be able to fix a bilge pump, gradually transitioned us into taking on more repair work. But we will always have the marine diesel engine at the core of our company.”

NW Diesel Power’s business comprises 90 percent marine and 10 percent land-based industrial engine work specializing on Volvo Penta diesel engines. They have become one of the top dealerships on the entire west coast.

Hardin said he realized that

their facility was underutilized, and recently he opened a new company – Cardinal Yacht Sales – out of the same location.

“The yacht brokerage really completes our ability to work with customers throughout all aspects of vessel ownership.”

Both companies support their products and services with highlyskilled technicians. “I’ve worked to hire the best,” Hardin said. “It has taken these past 12 years to put together the awesome crew that I now have, and we have very little turnover.”

The company’s relationship with Volvo Penta and Coastal Craft has helped solidify their reputation for outstanding customer service.

Technicians receive both online and instructor-led training on diesel engine and systems repair through Volvo Penta.

“We also send our techs to train at Coastal Craft’s facility,” Hardin said. “They use a very complex system of automated computer control

through a touch-screen interface that requires constant updating of our skill set.”

Hardin currently serves as president of the Working Waterfront Coalition of Whatcom County, a nonprofit organization formed to ensure that the community’s harbors continue to support a thriving maritime sector and to protect the cultural and economic benefits for all county citizens.

Hardin volunteers his time because he believes the coalition’s work is vital to maintaining an industry that supports high-paying, skilled trades and technical skills jobs. His commitment to achieving the coalition’s mission reveals a man who lives his “service first” mantra beyond the confines of his own business.

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SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR FINALIST: PERRY PALLET COMPANY

PERRY PALLETS’ CREW finds reusable solutions for wood waste: (left to right) Jeffrey Balvanz, Timber Brinkley, Kyle Holden, Geoff Broersma, Marc Perry, Rob Robbins, and Joel Perry. (Photo courtesy of Perry Pallets)

Pallets with purpose

Leftover wood waste yields new avenues for growth and profit

By Mary Louise Van Dyke

P

erry Pallet Company employees have created a strong market out of discovering creative uses for leftover wood waste.

The Ferndale-based company got its start in 1994 with pallet and wood waste recycling for Alcoa Intalco Works. Perry Pallet has expanded services to manufacturing new pallets and finding creative reuses for the leftover scraps of wood and sawdust.

“Perry Pallet provides high-quality, customized service for wooden pallets and products,” said Marc Perry, the company’s general manager/buyer. He and his brother Joel, the operations manager, took over the company from their father, Max Perry, the company’s “mostly retired” founder.

34 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Perry Pallet is a regional supplier for companies in Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties. Whatcom County, with its mix of manufacturing, agriculture, and building products, offers the company many venues for business.

The company uses high-production, automated processes to use every part of all wood in manufacturing, recycling, and distributing wood products.

The wood pallets, for example, consist of a blend of new and recycled lumber. Perry Pallet offers both standard-sized (48”x40”) and custom-sized pallets for used for shipment of roofing products, solar panels, race car frames, and many other goods.

Other Perry Pallet products include wood crates, mulch and bedding, premium mill-end and utilitarian firewood, and sawdust for farm animal bedding.

Customers also contact them about pallet removal.

Marc Perry said that many pallet companies are a “low-end, high-turnover employer. While our product is similar, we are dedicated to investing in our employees and culture, developing a high functioning, f lexible team, dedicated to serving customers and our community.

“We are proud of strong supply relationships with local mills that support loggers and forestry.”

Last year brought new company revenue highs of $4.4 million in gross sales, Marc said. The summer months were especially productive, thanks to record-setting harvests.

Pallet also participates regularly in Ferndale’s Old Settlers Parade, creating a f loat and staging a picnic.

Since 2010 the company has grown by 53 percent in gross sales and added 10 full-time positions. The staff totals 35 full-time. They adhere to a set of pilot principles (four P’s) that covers personal investment, plant capabilities, prized team, and profitable purpose.

Perry Pallet is dedicated to providing a stable, motivated work atmosphere that spills “over into workers’ home life,” Marc said. “We see the work ethic and crew culture at Perry Pallet as a huge factor in building our community.”

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Last year also produced some challenges when the company added onto their facility and expanded to about 17,000 square feet for production, maintenance, and offices. They also purchased new trucks, trailers, and equipment.

That expansion is paying dividends now, Marc said, providing the capability of producing up to 10,000 pallets a week at peak output, plus offering rope and hook pallet delivery options.

The ownership is involved in giving input and monitoring issues at Whatcom County Council and at Planned Unit Development meetings. Perry

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WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 35

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR FINALIST: PRINT & COPY FACTORY

BECKY AND LARRY RANEY, who built a business in the house pictured here behind them, tripled volume in the first year and they’ve survived in the digital era that revolutionized their industry. (Staff Photo)

Changing with the times Print shop evolved into a full-service digital marketing force

By Mary Louise Van Dyke

P

eering into a crystal ball might have given Becky and Larry Raney interesting insights into the evolution of the print business when launching Print & Copy Factory LLC in 1992. At that time that industry was focused primarily on paper solutions.

The fledgling Internet seemed ill-suited for businesses looking to maximize marketing efforts.

Today, however, 25 years later, the company has survived various ups 36 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

and downs to become a marketing resource center in Bellingham’s Irongate industrial area.

The staff of seven includes coowners Becky as chief operating officer, and Larry as chief executive officer. Their services feature web and brand identity design, marketing concepts, printing, and promotional products. “We are not just a printer, we create the full package,” Becky Raney said.

The couple launched Print & Copy Factory with no money, but armed with many combined years of experience at Kinko’s headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Purchasing a small house for a print shop, in a then-undeveloped

part of Bellingham on Irongate Road involved a leap of faith. The area was slated for a future industry boom. The first year resulted in building a customer base and discovering that very rarely an account wasn’t worth keeping.

The business grew over 300 percent in the first year, Becky said, and the house needed remodeling to accommodate the growth. The Raneys added a 6,000 square-foot addition in 1996. Most of their customer base is located in Whatcom and Skagit counties and some in Canada, although a few large accounts have locations across the United States.

Many people wouldn’t bother to answer the phone after the close of the work day, Becky said.

Thinking outside of that mindset brought Print & Copy Factory great results, particularly with one call. That caller wanted information about book printing. The job turned into a $1.2 million project that involved shipping large print runs to Barnes & Noble warehouses.

“I would not have gotten that job if I had decided not to pick up the phone after hours,” Becky said.

“Printing is always going to be around, just how will it look in the future?” Becky asked. “We feel by adding mailing services and website services that this helps our customers businesses capture a better range and reach that is consistent with their marketing efforts.”

Print & Copy Factory is involved in the Bellingham Whatcom Chamber of Commerce, and Becky Raney serves on the board of the Whatcom Business

Alliance. They support other local organizations and provide donations to nonprofits such as Womencare Shelter.

“Surviving to the 25th year, with all of the ups and downs running a business,” Becky said, “we are thankful every day for customers calling and walking through the door.”

One job turned into a $1.2 million book project that involved shipping large print runs to Barnes & Noble warehouses. “I would not have gotten that job if I had decided not to pick up the phone after hours."

—Becky Raney, COO, Print & Copy Factory

When the economy crashed in 2008 small business owners sought help from the Raneys’ company, saying they didn’t have any money but that they needed to continue to market their businesses. How could Print & Copy Factory help them? Finding solutions for those customers while also staying focused on keeping on track financially “was grueling,” Becky said.

“One of the biggest continuing challenges is working to always be 10 steps ahead of what customers want.”

The company is revamping its website to allow customers to design online and to create fresh markets for Print & Copy Factory’s services. Their blog, for example, offers businesses advice on how to put social media and apps to work for enhanced success.

STAY TO PLAY WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 37

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR FINALIST: SECURITY SOLUTIONS

BROTHERS JAMIE (left) and Tobey Vos have kept the wheels turning fast at their retired father Jim’s former company by expanding markets from the original locks and safes into all manner of safety-related systems – alarm systems, inspection & testing, fire extinguishers, kitchen hood suppressors, fire sprinklers, and more. (Photo by Mike McKenzie)

The secret to steady 25% growth and a $7.7 million high?

Variety of products and services….

By Tamara Anderson-Loucks

F

or the Vos family, creating opportunities Tobey Vos believe that opportunities for continued growth have no limits. for people to live better lives, both Bellingham Lock & Safe (renamed Security locally and globally, is the driving force Solutions in 2004) was purchased by Jim Vos and a partner in 1974, and the traditional locksmith business behind the success of their company. They include alarm system installation. Vos own and operate Security Solutions (formerly was expanded tobought out his partner in the mid-‘90s Bellingham Lock & Safe), a and purchased an inspection and test“Dad built a sound ing company, which allowed expanprovider of commercial and foundation and set us sion into the fire extinguisher, kitchen residential security applications hood suppression, and fire sprinkler up to succeed.” for customers from Whatcom markets.

—Jamie Vos , General Manager In 1996, the company became a famCounty to Pierce County.

Over the last several years the company prospered with expansion of merchandise and services. With public security concerns and the emergence of new technologies, brothers Jamie and 38 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

ily affair when Vos’s sons, Jamie and Tobey, joined the business. Vos handed the reins overall to son Jamie in 2002, and Tobey devoted his time to growing the electronic security side of the business. The company experienced 25 percent year-over-year growth

the last three years and added 25 new jobs. Together, the Vos brothers grew the business 35 percent over the last 14 years, increasing sales from $2.7 million in 2002 to $7.7 million in 2016, and from 13 employees to now more than 40.

With public security concerns and the emergence of new technologies, brothers Jamie and Tobey Vos believe that opportunities for continued growth have no limits.

General Manager Jamie Vos said, “Dad built a sound foundation and set us up to succeed.”

In recent years, Security Solutions has become the northwest leader in a new camera surveillance technology. This technology was installed citywide in Bellingham establishing the company reputation down the I-5 corridor. The company received the Circle of Excellence Award from Honeywell in 2014 and became a Honeywell Platinum Dealer in 2015.

Security Solutions is in the midst of several extensive commercial projects, including a video surveillance and access control system for a school district in Skagit County; fire alarm, access control, and video surveillance for The Reserve at SeaTac, and installation of a citywide video surveillance system in Bellingham.

To accommodate this rapidly expanding business segment, the brothers divested the locksmith and retail departments into a separate company – the revival of the Bellingham Lock & Safe brand – and moved the new business unit to a separate location across the street from their main location on State Street, which is currently undergoing an extensive remodel.

Jamie Vos said the company intends to establish itself throughout the entire northwest region. They have an office in the Seattle area, and the brothers are exploring additional branch office locations.

Jamie Vos says the company is committed to charitable giving,

both locally and globally. They have several internal charitable programs.

They pay employees for up to 8 hours of volunteer service each year, offer free fire extinguisher service to foster parents, participate in local safety fairs and Junior Achievement, and donate to multiple sclerosis causes.

Vos added, “For every new alarm monitoring account, we donate a portion of the monthly monitoring fee to two differ-

ent organizations—one local and one global; this year, Rebound of Whatcom County and Icthus Ministries.”

Security Solutions is building schools in India, helping to rescue children from sexual slavery, and providing power and infrastructure to schools in Africa. “Re-investing our successes and blessings into our community is a core value for us,” Jamie Vos said. “It is our foundation, and the reason we desire growth.”

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 39

START-UP OF THE YEAR FINALIST: AUGUSTA LAWN CARE SERVICES

DELIVERY OF FERTILIZER, gravel, and other lawn-care specialty products has taken this budding company to new heights ($550k) in just three years.

(Photo courtesy of Augusta Lawn Care)

Mowing magnate Andes then added landscaping and product delivery

By Dave Brumbaugh

M

ike Andes is far from a conventional entrepreneur. Few have started a business at age 11 to earn money for college, where he enrolled at 13.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that his main current business, Augusta Lawn Care Services, takes a different approach from competitors in its sector. Andes oversees three divisions: lawn-care services, 40 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

landscaping services, and bulk materials delivery (soil, gravel, and mulch).

“We offer a unique combination of products and services – a one-stop shop for all things landscaping-related,” Andes said, “for the DIY folks and service clients, as well.

Blaine-based Augusta Lawn Care Services launched in 2014 and took off like a rocket.

Revenues totaled a modest $30,000 in its initial year, but quickly grew

to $200,000 in 2015 and $550,000 in 2016, aided by the acquisition of Kenny’s Materials and Paradise Lawn Care. Andes projected sales to reach $1 million this year, and the opening of a second retail location Bellingham by early 2018.

“We plan to continue building more shops down the I-5 corridor,” he added.

Life as the owner of a lawn-care company strayed from the Andes' original plan. “Originally I was going to go into the medical field,”

he said. “I completed my bachelor’s degree and had applied to a medical school, then I went to Africa for a medical volunteer trip. Discouraged by the American medical system and insurance system, I opted to make a career in business.”

Andes already had a start in business, having created Andes Lawn Care with his brother in 2008.

After founding Augusta Lawn Care Services, he bought out Andes Lawn Care and didn’t stop there.

He also is host of BusinessBootcampPodcast. com, founder of LandscapeBusinessCourse. com, and author of the book Millennial Millionaire: The Young Entrepreneurs Guide to Breaking Out of the Middle Class. Further, he hires out as a consultant with other companies and conducts workshops.

Andes believes that communication sets his company apart from

“What sets us apart from the competition is our (quick) communication with clients. Within a couple of hours we can have a detailed, line-item estimate and contract proposal in their hands.”

—Mike Andes, Owner Augusta Lawn Care Services

competitors. “We have created systems and procedures that allow us to respond to clients quicker than any of our competitors,” he said. “Within a couple hours, we can have an estimator visit a client in person, complete a detailed lineitem estimate and have a contract

proposal in the hands of a potential customer.

“Most companies in our industry take days, if not weeks, to do this.”

Despite his youth and his company’s rapid growth, Andes said the lessons he’s learned include a long-term perspective.

“Be patient – life is a marathon, not a sprint,” Andes said. “Be selfaware and know your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t ignore your weaknesses, but spend 90 percent of your time on your strengths.”

The guiding philosophy for the owner of Augusta Lawn Care Services, he said, is based on his employees, currently totaling nine.

“Leaders eat last,” Andes said, citing a book title by Simon Sidek.

“People are the greatest asset of any organization.”

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 41

START-UP OF THE YEAR FINALIST: ERA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

STAYING ABREAST of business developments through membership in the Whatcom Business Alliance as a sole proprietor, Jacob Deschenes (seen here with his wife Crystal) has devised his own original algorithms and software for his business. (Photo courtesy of Era Capital Management)

Going it alone Investment advisor Deschenes thrives on independence

By Dave Brumbaugh

E

ven though it could mean having the support of large, nationwide brokerages, Jacob Deschenes decided he didn’t want to be a traditional investment advisor.

He was uncomfortable with the concept of commission-based advisors, who are incentivized to sell clients financial products with the highest payout.

“I have a strong desire and need to be independent, think freely, and execute without objection,” Deschenes said. “I seek the rewarding feeling of complete autonomy to do what’s right for my clients.”

Deschenes founded Era Capital Management in Bellingham three years ago as what he terms a “bou42 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

tique investment advisory firm” that offers in-house, portfolio management service. As a fee-only advisor, he receives no compensation from investment companies and has no incentive to sell financial products.

Era Capital Management emphasizes complete transparency, daily liquidity, and solutions tailored to the needs of each investor.

“When people seek to hire a financial or investment advisor, it’s not simply about just providing advice,” he said. “Along with the advice I feel I should bring an actual management element to products against the ever-changing market risks and uncertainty of our economy.”

Deschenes has 12 years’ experience in investment management because he began working in the industry while attending Western Washington University, where he graduated in 2008 with a degree

in business finance. He grew up in the Auburn-Federal Way suburb of Seattle and has lived in Bellingham since college days.

Deschenes not only researches and develops investment solutions for clients, he also develops his own, unique, proprietary mathematical algorithms that contribute to his recommendations. “Numbers tell us more than what one thinks,” he said. “I operate with the understanding that investing and emotions don’t mix, and that no single investment strategy is perfect.”

that I could be profitable my first year.”

Then, perhaps he can expand the company. Or, he could sustain the independence he has carved for himself in a niche approach to the business.

“I’ll continue to research and develop new portfolio models that meet the needs of clients,” he said. “Furthermore, I’ll develop enhanced cloud-based solutions

for advancing client relations and transparency.

“Even as a solo entrepreneur, I believe in thinking bigger than I am. That means building systems that can adapt and streamline everyday tasks as if I had employees. In the next 3-5 years, I hope to have $15 million-to-$20 million of assets under management.”

“Even as a solo entrepreneur, I believe in thinking bigger than I am. That means building systems that can adapt and streamline everyday tasks as if I had employees.”

He also maintains full awareness of the responsibility that comes with operating as an investment advisor and portfolio manager. “Treat every client as if they were your grandparents,” Deschenes said. “Become invested with your clients. Don’t offer what you wouldn’t invest in yourself.”

Deschenes analyzes risks and costs for Era Capital Management just as he does for clients. He hasn’t hired employees yet, preferring to keep costs down and to utilize freelancers to perform specialty work. Despite starting with no inherited clients, Deschenes now manages $5 million in assets.

“Investing on behalf of your client is no easy task because it's very complex,” he said. “It’s not just about being the best analyst, but also requires a high degree of personal skills. I chose to bootstrap this by borrowing no money and foregoing an expensive office so WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 43

START-UP OF THE YEAR FINALIST: THE INN AT LYNDEN

ONE OF FOUR partners in ForeFront Hospitality, Teri Treat serves as managing partner and as general manager of The Inn, a major driver of the redevelopment of the fire-ravaged, historic Maples Mercantile Building. As the inn aims for 30% growth this year (cyclists love it), other local companies have helped fill the retail spaces.

(Photo courtesy of ForeFront Hospitality)

Waples house New inn revives downtown Lynden

By Dave Brumbaugh

M

ost new businesses have some measure of impact on their community.

It’s safe to say The Inn at Lynden made a huge difference in downtown Lynden, reinvigorating an area that had been gradually declining for a number of years.

The Inn at Lynden is located in the Waples Mercantile Building, 44 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. However, before the hotel opened on Dec. 28, 2015 the building, formerly occupied by Delft Square and Lynden Department Store, was viewed more as an eyesore than historic. It was gutted by a fire in June 2008, leaving a charred and vacant building at one of downtown Lynden’s most prominent locations.

After several ideas for the site went nowhere, Matt and Teri Treat and Jeff and Debbie McClure stepped up, creating ForeFront Hospitality.

“By repurposing the Waples Mercantile Building to house The Inn at Lynden (along with vibrant retail shops), we sought to help fill the need for premium lodgings, as well as to preserve an iconic building and an important part of Lynden history,” said Teri Treat, general manager of The Inn and managing partner for ForeFront Hospitality.

“Along the way, the project has also helped to revitalize a charming downtown, provided numerous employment opportunities and, hopefully, has instilled

a renewed appreciation for the appeal of the area.”

The 35-room boutique inn occupies the mezzanine and second story of the remodeled building, featuring several distinctive room types with no two rooms alike.

The rooms feature luxury beds and bedding, contemporary furnishings, and plenty of natural light.

Many original and historic features of the building were preserved.

The Inn was specifically designed to serve both the leisure and business travel markets through a variety of room sizes and types.”

Village Books, Avenue Bread, Drizzle (olive oil), and Bellingham Baby Company for the ground f loor. A new business, Overf low Taps, offers local craft beer for hotel guests and local residents.

While the final product is a source of community pride, Treat admitted that such a major product had to overcome many hurdles.

“Real estate development today is extremely challenging,” she said. “Balancing economics while meeting all of the regulatory

benchmarks is not easy in today’s environment.”

The ownership group received widespread support from many sources. “If your project is well considered,” Treat said, “we found there are financial institutions, community members, and elected officials who will assist in any way they are able to help you achieve your goals. Especially if your project provides economic and environmental benefit to the community.”

Logistics for the fresh and frozen food industry!

—Teri Treat, GM, The Inn at Lynden, and Managing Partner, ForeFront Hospitality

“The Inn was designed specifically to serve both the leisure and business travel markets through a variety of room sizes and types,” Treat said. “We seek a small percentage of a number of different market segments to fill our hotel.”

She named core target markets meeting the needs of local residents, Canadian visitors, the business sector, visitors for local sports and events, and tourists. “With a special soft spot in our hearts for cyclists,” she said.

She added that weekday occupancy has proved better than expected, due to strong support from the local business community, particularly agriculture. “Based on existing reservations and a strong January, 2017 looks very good,” Treat said. “We project 30 percent growth in revenues for the year.”

Perhaps nearly as important for Lynden’s downtown, the Inn at Lynden serves as the anchor tenant for the Waples Mercantile Building, enabling it to draw established retailers such as

Temperature-controlled trucking.

From fresh vegetables to frozen fish, Lynden moves temperature-sensitive commodities while maintaining the product in top quality condition. We offer scheduled service from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska to points throughout the Lower 48. Lynden provides solutions and expertise in handling even the most complex logistics challenges.

lynden.com | 1-888-596-3361 WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 45

START-UP OF THE YEAR FINALIST: TRAYVAX ENTERPRISES

STARTING WITH $80 and a wild idea for a wallet, Mark King set out to eliminate plastic bags, to create a vibrant work culture, and to “make the world a better place.”

Bingo! (Photo courtesy of Trayvax)

Made To Last Innovative wallet – King’s 3rd invention – takes off from crowdfunding start

By Dave Brumbaugh

T

rayvax Enterprises has a distinctly specific recipe for success: an innovative product, solid values proven over time, and a modern financing technique.

Founder Mark King is a good business chef – his Bellingham company has sold approximately a half-million unique, metallic wallets to outdoor recreation, industrial, and military customers around the world since the company launched.

Unlike the proverbial mousetrap, King didn’t set out to build a better wallet.

46 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

In fact, the wallet wasn’t his first invention. That was an electric car. He designed and built in as a teenager growing up on Bainbridge Island. “I created it to drive to school,” he said.

His first dip into entrepreneurial ventures came when he was a student at Bellingham Technical College pursuing a degree in machining, after he had started and dropped out of Western Washington University.

He developed an organilectic (food texture) analyzer. “It would analyze the ingredients in a granola bar,” he said. “I sold it to General Mills and it paid for my schooling. Then I dropped out at BTC, too.”

His next dip was literal – a snorkeling outing in the waters of Hawaii. “I saw plastic bags floating around under water, and got the idea to make something that could be reused and not thrown away as often…a product to replace the use of plastic bags,” King said.

“I ended up designing a wallet that carries things securely and sleekly.”

It wasn’t that easy. He moved to Bellingham at age 20 – six years ago – and he described how he spent half a year building his first office after first working out of his apartment. “At first I kept developing prototype after prototype, and I would forget them (when going out). I knew I wouldn’t forget my wallet.

“People kept telling me it wouldn’t sell, it was not a good idea. But I was dedicated to making it work. I finally came out with a metal wallet with spikes on the side that made a bottle opener. With a huge stroke of luck it sold a lot on the internet.”

A wide variety of extraordinary wallet styles evolved from there.

“We sell innovative metal/leather wallets to people who are sick of their wallets falling apart.”

Designed to withstand the toughest conditions – and offer the most utility of any wallet, metal or otherwise, on the market – Trayvax wallets are built from the highest quality materials and assembled by hand in their Irongate light-industrial area facility. Their metal enclosures also offer radio frequency identification, or RFID resistance for credit and debit cards.

“I want our products to be handed down through generations and to last long enough to take on the stories, adventures, and sentimentality that make a product worth hanging on to,” King said.

“In an age where products are made to fail, we are making products that are guaranteed to last at least 65 years.”

Like with many startup businesses, financing was a huge challenge for Trayvax Enterprises.

However, King succeeded without taking a single loan or incurring any debt – and he still hasn’t.

“I spent my last $80 on launching an online, crowdfunding campaign,” he said. Until then he was machining every Trayvax wallet by hand and powder-coating the aluminum faceplates with a small counter-top oven.

“I turned my studio apartment into a manufacturing line, hired four people, and put my bed in my loft. After seven months, we were able to move into a larger facility.”

Now, 32 employees work in two buildings assembling, packaging, and shipping several hundred wal-

lets a day. In developing a cuttingedge product, King said those 32 employees are the most important part of Trayvax Enterprises.

“We are a culture-centric company that is only as good as the people that we hire,” he said. “We take good care of our teams.” He cited the provision of healthcare, snacks, a paid book program, camping once a year, a pay-to-quit program, “…and many other perks.

Our teams are the company, and it’s very important to me that they are taken care of.”

Like its signature wallets, King believes Trayvax Enterprises will operate for many years to come. The company currently offers five different wallets, plus accessories. King said they have a variety of camping innovations, outdoor gear, and industrial gear in developmental stages to expand the product line.

“The company isn’t about you – it’s about the people that work there,” he said.

“As an entrepreneur, you are assigning yourself to a life of serving and it won’t be easy. Find high-level mentors who understand you very well and listen to their guidance.”

“I’ve always wanted to help make the world a better place through technology, and I love the outdoors. I’m grateful that I can put the two together.”

Trayvax has drawn attention as widely as an article in The New York Times and a TED Talk. His themes consistently lean to his philosophy about entrepreneurship. “It is about philanthropic endeavors as much as it is about innovating,” he said.

“Satisfaction comes from doing for others and creating change that’s bigger than you.”

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEW 5-DISTRICT ELECTION COUNTY

Local Elections MATTER

First turnover of County Council under new system holds profound implications with 4 seats open Compiled by Business Pulse Staff

O

ne of the most important elements of any democracy is how representatives are elected. It is no less important here in Whatcom County. In 2015 County voters approved significant changes to how the Whatcom County Council is elected – perhaps the most important change in 40 years:

Voters approved expanding their electoral districts from three to five, and approved district-only voting.

In November 2017, the first election will take place under the new system with four County Council seats open. According to Dick Donahue, WBA member and chairman of the nonprofit Common Threads Northwest, “Business leaders and citizens should understand the significance, background, politics, and impact of the changes. They need to make informed decisions in the 2017 election.”

Donahue and others voice concerns that many voters are unaware of the economic implications of recent County Council decisions. “Our jobs, schools, roads and 48 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

environment all depend on local government policies,” he said. “The recent moratorium on county building and expansion at Cherry Point will have profound implications for everyone, but many don’t know much about the issues.” (See article on P. 58 about taxes and schools.)

SIGNIFICANCE Ideally, citizens vote for leaders that best represent their interests at the federal, state, and local levels.

Given the extent of ongoing media coverage following the recent presidential election, it’s easy to forget that the U.S. has a decentralized system of government.

Donahue said, “It’s important to remember that elections not only matter. Local elections matter most.”

Most people can name the President, their governor, possibly their senators and members of the House of Representatives. Many may even know who their state legislators are. But according to the Census Bureau, only about 65 percent of the U.S. voting-age population (and 71 percent of the voting-age citizenry) registered in 2012. The numbers are even lower when it comes to local elections.

BACKGROUND Whatcom County voters adopted a county charter in 1978. The charter basically serves as Whatcom County’s constitution. The charter outlined three voting districts.

Each district had two council seats, and voters chose one at-large position for a total of seven council members. Voters chose among candidates from any district in a countywide vote.

VOTER TURNOUT IN WHATCOM COUNTY ELECTIONS Year

Republican

Democratic

2016

35.9 percent 40,599

53.4 percent 60,340

2012

41.1 percent 42,703

55.0 percent 57,089

2008

39.8 percent 40,205

57.7 percent 58,236

2004

44.6 percent 40,296

53.4 percent 48,268

2000

46.5 percent 34,287

46.1 percent 34,033

1996

42.1 percent 2 7,153

45.1 percent 29,074

1992

37.4 percent 23,801

41.8 percent 26,619

1988

47.6 percent 23,820

51.0 percent 25,571

1984

53.7 percent 27,228

44.7 percent 22,670

1980

46.4 percent 21,371

40.0 percent 18,430

1976

48.0 percent 20,007

47.4 percent 19,739

1972

58.2 percent 22,585

38.7 percent 15,027

1968

47.1 percent 14,695

44.9 percent 14,003

1964

34.7 percent 10,900

64.6 percent 20,297

1960

52.8 percent 16,651

45.4 percent 14,298

Source: Whatcom County Government Statistics

During an off-cycle election year local voter turnout usually runs less than half of registered voters. In the 2015 Whatcom County general election, about 61,000 people voted of 129,000 registered (47 percent). In the 2016 Federal election, about 114,000 out of 139,000 registered voted participated (82 percent).

Locally-elected officials have great impact on daily living.

Local representatives make economic growth plans. They oversee resources, fund schools, roads, and parks, and protect the environment. They make public safety and law enforcement decisions.

They set property and sales taxes.

Becky Raney, co-owner of Print & Copy Factory and WBA board member, said, “These issues matter to our future, but running a small business is time intensive. Trying to follow the regulations and attend all the council meetings becomes impossible. I want to participate, but there are just not enough hours in the day to stay fully engaged.

That is why the WBA has become so important to us at Print & Copy Factory – employees included.”

In retrospect, despite the low turnout, Whatcom County’s 2015 election will have a profound impact on the county’s political and economic future. Here’s a look into the background, the politics, and the impact of the new districts and district-only voting.

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 49

SPECIAL REPORT: NEW 5-DISTRICT ELECTION COUNTY

WHATCOM COUNTY CHANGED , from three to five geographic districts, and this year is the first election under districtonly voting and two at-large council members – creating profound implications.

(Whatom Country GIS Services)

50 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Previous Council Districts

New Council Districts

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 51

SPECIAL REPORT: NEW 5-DISTRICT ELECTION COUNTY Proposition 1 – vote totals Whatcom County Proposition No. 1 Method of Electing Council Members

Proposition 9 – vote totals Whatcom County Proposition No. 9 Number of Council Districts and At-Large Council Positions

Measure

Vote

Vote Percent

Measure

Vote

Vote Percent

Approved

31,003

53.06 percent

Approved

31,096

54.03 percent

Rejected

27,426

46.94 percent

Rejected

26,460

45.97 percent

Total Votes

58,429

100 percent

Total Votes

57,556

100 percent

Source: Whatcom County Auditor

As the population grew, the population density gradually increased in Bellingham. Whatcom County had 105,000 residents in 1979 when the charter was approved.

There is an estimated 212,000 in 2016, a 100 percent increase.

Bellingham’s population in 1979 was near 45,000. Today it is more than 85,000.

The balance of political power shifted significantly to the more dense urban population over time.

There also was a shift in political affiliation. The historically conservative rural and agricultural communities became less influential.

In Presidential election cycles since 1984, Republican candidates prevailed in only one presidential election in Whatcom County.

Every 10 years the County is required by law to convene a 15-member Charter Review Commission, elected by public vote.

The commission’s purpose is to enhance efficiencies, consider charter suitability, review structures, recommend changes, and allow public input into the process. The process is meant to keep fair governance and balanced representation.

In early 2015 the Commission proposed eight amendments to the charter for the November ballot.

Among them was Proposition 1, district-only voting. The sitting County Council added Proposition 9 to the 52 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Source: Whatcom County Auditor

ballot, a proposal to expand the number of electoral districts to five.

In November 2015 Whatcom County voters upended the way they select County Council members. Passing Proposition 1, voters approved district-only voting.

Passing Proposition 9, they changed the number of county council districts from three to five (see attached charts), with one representative in each, plus two at-large council members based on countywide voting.

Under the new five district system, voters will have the opportunity to vote directly for three of the seven County Council positions: voters will vote for one district candidate who lives and represents the voters in one of five districts, and two at-large candidates for the entire County regardless of where they live.

The approval of Prop 9 required a Districting Committee to set new electoral boundaries. Republican and Democratic Party leaders selected two representatives each for the panel. Brett Bonner and Mark Nelson represented conservatives.

Lisa McShane and Mike Estes represented progressives.

According to Bonner, "Proposition 9 was designed by the Democrats to lock in their power on the County Council. Mark and I worked to ensure that the people

of Whatcom County would be represented fairly and that people who live outside the City of Bellingham would have a voice on issues such as jobs at Cherry Point and property and water rights."

The four members selected Dale Kinsley, former Superintendent of the Bellingham School District, as a non-voting chairman to moderate the discussion and Tjalling Ypma, Western Washington University Mathematics Department Chair, as Districting Master. Ypma previously served as Districting Master in 2011.

The duty of the Districting Committee was to redraw county district boundary lines equally, balancing population with demographics from previous election results. The committee set the five new districts for Whatcom County elections on April 20, 2016, with just over 40,000 voters in each of the new districts (see map).

POLITICS

County Council members, by legal definition, are nonpartisan.

Chet Dow, a WBA member who served as secretary on the 2015 Charter Review Commission, pointed out: “There are always political interests and influences.

The politics surrounding Prop 1 and 9 were complex, and very interesting.”

OUR CONGRATULATIONS to the Business Person of the Year Finalists and Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Business Person of the Year Karen Bellingar Tom Kenney Sam Moncrieff Doug Thomas

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Whatcom Business Alliance, Business Pulse Magazine and the following companies congratulate our Business Person of the Year nominees and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and thank them for their contributions to our community prosperity.

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEW 5-DISTRICT ELECTION COUNTY Council’s direction.

That voter identity appeared to shift two years later with the passing of Propositions 1 and 9 in an unusual twist, also revealed in voter turnout statistics. Progressives campaigned hard against district-only voting (Prop 1); conservatives favored it. Progressives favored Prop 9; conservatives fought it.

The 2015 Progressive Voters Guide gave this argument against Prop 1: “…Proposition 1 would establish district-only voting, meaning councilmembers will no longer be accountable to the entire county.

It’s highly concerning that supporters of district-only elections have explicitly said that approving Amendment 1 is necessary to approve permits for the coal export terminal in Whatcom County. Voters should stop big coal’s attempt to rig the system Chet Dow, secretary, 2015 Charter Review Commission and reject Proposition 1.”

The argument in favor of In 2013 issues in local elecProposition 1 from the 2015 tions were dominated by a permit Republican Voters Guide: request to expand coal exports.

“This amendment brings represenSSA Marine and its partners tation closer to the people. It will force planned to build a new pier and the county government to be more terminal in the Cherry Point responsive to the local community industrial district. Progressive rather than outside interests.” leaders mobilized their base. They The positions for Prop 9 were successfully highlighted their reversed. From the GOP Guide: viewpoints of fossil fuels and coal’s “…voters choose who will represent impact on climate change. them every two years. Under five disCandidates identified as protricts this will happen only once every gressives and campaigning colfour years. Five districts is less represenlectively swept the 2013 county tation and more political gerrymandercouncil elections. Conservatives ing. This amendment may change how argue that opponents won due to the Port of Bellingham and Charter a very large influx of out-of-state review commissioners are elected.” money from environmental activThe Progressive Guide: ists. Progressives counter that they “…Proposition 9 would create five had stronger environmental issues. districts and two at-large positions Regardless of why, Cherry to better serve all the diverse needs of Point industry and expansion in the county. Whatcom County voters its heavy-industrial zone became would choose one district councilmemlumped together as one antiber and two at-large members, ensurcoal environmental issue. The ing a balance of district attentiveness large progressive voter block in and county-wide consideration.

Bellingham, based on statistics Voters should approve Proposition 9’s displayed here, shaped the County sensible updates to the charter.”

54 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

According to some conservatives, the Prop 9 five-district plan favored progressives. In an April 21, 2016 Bellingham Herald Article, Brett Bonner is quoted as saying that the process that put the measure on the November ballot “reeked of partisanship.” Some Whatcom County citizens were so concerned that they attempted to take the measure to court prior to the elections. A Skagit County Judge dismissed the lawsuit.

Donahue, who was involved in bringing the suit, believes there was a political goal behind Prop 9. “The voter demographics favor Bellingham. Less development in the county and denser urban growth increases the number of urban voters who trend progressive,” he said. “It’s likely that progressives fought Prop 1, district-only voting, and introduced Prop 9 to counter rural voter trends outside of Bellingham.”

Two council members from the new Bellingham districts, and two elected at-large from the same Bellingham voter base, theoretically, could maintain a majority on the seven-member council.

Both propositions passed, indicating that County voters aren’t always tied to political party recommendations. The results might show a split personality in voters, or, that the average voter wants fair representation.

IMPACT Sixteen months after Props 1 and 9 passed, nothing has changed – yet.

But the County Council has four seats open in the November 2017 election under the revised system.

The seated seven-member council was elected under the old system.

Six of the Council members were elected from the previous three districts (two from each), with one at-large member. All were elected in countywide voting heavily influenced by Bellingham demographics, not by constricted district-only voting in the five new districts.

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEW 5-DISTRICT ELECTION COUNTY According to Dow, “Propositions 1 and 9 will change the playing field for candidates in Whatcom County.” In the November 2017 general election, voters will decide on seats in South and North Bellingham (Districts 1 and 2), one in the Foothills (District 3), and one at-large. The other three seats – Farmlands (District 4), Coastal (District 5) and one at-large – will be up for election in 2019. Going forward, the five district candidates must reside in the district they represent.

Under the previous system, the County Council represented the interests of the single largest voter base – Bellingham. Council members have made decisions on building moratoriums, property and water rights, taxes, and future planning that some perceive as counterproductive to farm, coastal, and foothill interests, according to Dow. Under the new system, Dow says “Decisions to urbanize growth, and efforts to close the largest and highest paying job providers at Cherry Point may come back to haunt sitting council members.” There will certainly be new political agendas and campaign platforms for the five new districts.

The changes from Propositions 1 and 9 will have a profound impact on local elections and the economic future of the county. Increasing regulations on agriculture, the moratorium on building permits, and the economic impact of Cherry Point industries equate to as much as 50 percent of the County’s economic activity, according to commissioned surveys and studies.

Dick Donahue, a financial advisor in private practice, believes that the future of the County tax base is at risk. “Sitting council members hopefully understand that a major economic crisis will face all of us if these issues are not resolved soon,” he said. “Voters can hope the Council responds effectively, or all of us can get informed and take action to influence the Council’s decisions.”

56 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

All of this underscores the high value of voters’ understanding of the importance of local elections.

District-only voting and the five new districts created a system that will encourage representatives to respond to their constituencies’ interests, or to get voted out.

The two at-large candidates still remain beholden to a larger population base. But voters can choose council members who commit to their role – to protect jobs, schools, roads, and our environment – in balanced ways,

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Voters can seize the opportunity to ensure that Whatcom County’s economy will grow effectively, competitively, and in a way that improves our community. And, as with the new 2015 Propositions taking effect this year, citizens can ignore partisan power plays and vote to protect their interests.

As Becky Raney put it: “Local elections matter to my business, my customers, and my future.”

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ANALYSIS: CHERRY POINT IMPACT ON LOCAL SCHOOLS

What Cherry Point taxes mean to local schools Compiled by Business Pulse Staff UNDER CONSTRUCTION: a new high school in Blaine, where the school district receives construction and operational funding from huge levies and bonds paid by the Big Three companies in the heavy industrial Cherry Point zone. (Photo courtesy of Blaine School District)

A

significant portion of income for Whatcom County public school districts comes from:

1. Maintenance and operations (M&O) levies, which help fund the ongoing costs of running the school, and 2. Bonds, which typically are used to fund larger school renovations, new construction, and other capital projects.

In the Ferndale School District, for example, which has successfully floated M&O levies since 1977, the M&O levy funds about 25 percent of the total budget, according to information on the district’s website. Among the items funded by the levy: the salaries of one in four teachers, and two in three 58 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

classified staff, in addition to athletic, music, technology, and safety programs for students.

In 2016, according to the annual tax book published by Whatcom County, the Ferndale School District had in its budget an M&O levy that brought in roughly $14 million and a bond that brought in approximately $3.3 million. The Blaine School District had an M&O levy of roughly $6.6 million and a bond of approximately $3.9 million.

Both bonds and levies are funded by the property taxes paid by property owners in each district. A large portion of the budgets of the Ferndale and Blaine school districts come from BP Cherry Point Refinery, Phillips 66 Ferndale Refinery, and Alcoa Intalco Works.

For the 2016 tax year, here’s the breakdown (source: Whatcom County Assessor’s Office):

Phillips 66: The company’s most valuable parcel of land in the area, the refinery on Unick Road in Ferndale, had a taxable value of $415.8 million. The total assessed value of all properties in Whatcom County owned by Phillips 66 Company was roughly $479.8 million.

On its refinery parcel alone, the company paid roughly $1.5 million toward the Ferndale School District’s M&O levy and $376,509 toward its bond levy. That’s 10.7 percent of the M&O levy and 11.4 percent of the bond levy.

Alcoa: The company’s most valuable parcel of land, its smelter on Mountain View Road in Ferndale, had a taxable value of roughly $58.6 million in 2016. The total assessed value of all properties in Whatcom County owned by Alumet in 2016 was roughly $63.2 million.

On its smelter property the company paid $211,534, or another 1.5 percent of the Ferndale School District’s M&O levy and $53,101, or another 1.6 percent of its bond levy. A small number of properties throughout the county are listed as being owned by Intalco Aluminum Co., but they are not included in these totals.

BP: BP West Coast Products Inc. is listed as owning 68 parcels in the Whatcom County. The company’s most valuable parcel, its refinery on Grandview Road in Blaine, had a taxable value of roughly $890.4 million. The total assessed value of all of the company’s properties in the county was roughly $934.8 million in 2016.

On its refinery property alone BP paid roughly $1.5 million, or 22 percent of the Blaine School District’s M&O levy and $761,690, 19.8 percent of the district’s bond levy.

All of these numbers are generally consistent with a 2014 study

of the economic impacts of Cherry Point Industrial Zone. Hart Hodges of Western Washington University and Bill Beyers of the University of Washington estimated that BP, Phillips 66, and Alcoa, the three big companies in the Cherry Point area, paid a total of $14.7 million in property taxes.

Of that amount, the authors deduced, roughly $2.6 million went to the Ferndale School District and $2.1 million to the Blaine School District. That report, titled Employment at Cherry Point, was commissioned by the Whatcom Business Alliance (WBA) and published in October 2014.

The report estimated the various companies in the Cherry Point Industrial Zone pay more than $200 million annually in total taxes. In addition to property taxes, the businesses also pay business and occupation (B&O) taxes, hazardous substance taxes, oil-spill response taxes, payroll

taxes, and sales and use taxes.

Colleen Fiega, who works in communications at Phillips 66, said that her company accounts for roughly $45million to $50 million – upward to one-fourth – of that approximated $200 million total each year. And while a lot of those taxes go outside the county, much of it stays home.

The cleanup of Bellingham Bay, to name one example cited by the report, is largely funded by hazardous substance taxes paid by the oil refineries and aluminum smelter. Those taxes go to the state Department of Ecology to help clean up and manage solid and hazardous waste.

For more info about the impacts of business growth in the Cherry Point area of Whatcom County, please visit http://cherrypointgrowth.com/.

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PERSONALLY SPEAKING: JOHN REID

JOHN REID’S IRISH EYES are smiling during this month of St. Patrick’s celebrations, as he surveys the interior reconstruction of the old Granary Building at the Downtown Waterfront. Reid, representing his own company, RMI, as contractor with Harcourt Development of Dublin, has a grand vision for the overall waterfront makeover.

Interview and photos by Mike McKenzie 60 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

PERSONALLY SPEAKING WITH

JOHN REID H

e’s from Ireland, a Belfast Boy, born and bred, this awardwinning, art loving, architect who writes poetry as well, John Reid. Now, 4 ½ years in, he’s a Bellingham resident. Fate – or, in Jungian terms, synchronicity – can at times seem mind-blowing. Reid, in a lengthy interview-over-coffee with Senior Staff Writer Mike McKenzie, revealed how he arrived here to build a new life out of personal and family tragedy and wound up creating a new waterfront vision. Bellingham’s City and Port officials had talked for years on how to resurrect the downtown waterfront. One day this stranger from Ireland brought The Port an idea – he calls it his Vision Plan – borne out of actually living here and understanding the place from research.

Reid read deeply into the history of Bellingham and the Pacific Northwest, talked at length with the First Nations tribal members, walked the site, and had thinking time while running along the bluff.

Then, lo! A few months later, a request for proposals appeared and Reid alerted his No. 1 source of projects, Harcourt Developments in Ireland. Who would have thought?

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 61

PERSONALLY SPEAKING: JOHN REID Queen’s University in my hometown Belfast pushed me towards engineering but it was too mathematical for me. I found it boring. I liked art and always had this thing about drawing and doodling and sketching. I liked the color and long gray lines.

I decided on architecture.

TURNED DOWN, BUT….

The school advised me not to because it was too hard to get accepted. I ignored the counselor’s advice and put five engineer-

ing choices behind architecture.

Because of that I got refused.

In a big argument with my advisor I said, “Why don’t you give me a chance? Let’s see if I can make my grades, it’s no skin off your nose whether I do or not.”

I got the grades and got in! I finished my B.S. degree in architecture in four years, including one year of practical, followed by two years of post-graduate, followed by a year of professional training. It took a long time. My Mother was so pleased.

MEIER INFLUENCE I wanted to travel. In college we got to go to many European cities and the world began to open up.

In post-graduate year I developed a love for an American architect called Richard Meier from New York. He was winning a lot of international competitions with beautiful white geometric buildings. He had an internship open. I surprised myself and applied, and they interviewed me. I went to New York for a week. To the Bronx to look at an asylum. To Hartford to look at a new seminary. His buildings were so artful and never square or straight. I loved his visual poetry.

The wonder of architectural form.

NY FUELED INTERNAL DRIVE New York was staggering, mindblowing. I was 21. I remember the size of the buildings, mountainhigh, and it was so cold in New York. We ice skated at Rockefeller Center. I remember seeing so many things that I’d never seen other than on television. That trip taught me that there was so much more to the world.

BIG PROJECTS, NOT KITCHENS While working in Belfast for a couple of very good firms I traveled more to Europe. I began working on bigger buildings.

Kitchen remodels weren’t for me – except for friends.

Over the course of 15 or more years I got a lot of experience in a wide range of big-skill projects, which gave me a lot of confidence. And then I got a really big job…head-hunted by a big firm in Belfast. In over 20 years with RMI, I’ve worked on several award-winning buildings, like Belfast Waterfront Hall, The Bar Law Library, and Newry Railway Station – not to mention Titanic Quarter in the former shipyard.

62 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

FROM COMMERCIAL TO ARTISTIC

TALK OF THE TOWN: WATERFRONT

I became very involved in the art world, helping create an important gallery in Belfast called The Golden Thread, pursuing sculpture projects as part of the architecture and sponsoring art prizes and exhibitions. The two are so interlinked across history.

There’s an interesting and simple story of my involvement in the Bellingham waterfront: I moved here with two of my children, sons who were teenagers at the time, because of family circumstances. As soon as people I met knew I was an architect they’d start talking about the waterfront. It came

up in almost every conversation I was involved in. I would hear many opinions, and many complaints. This went on and on and on, the entire first year I lived here.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? I obviously became interested.

It was intriguing because opinions were so strong, often almost hostile – a lot of frustration, disappointment, pessimism.

Irish upbringing and his father spurred Reid’s achievements [Waterfront architect John Reid paints a picture of growing up in a rugged Belfast; losing his Father in a bombing; working his own way through university; becoming one of his City’s well-known architects, and moving to Bellingham with two of his four children to try life anew.]

I was born in Belfast, and I grew up the eldest of 10 children of working class parents. I describe myself as a child of the troubles – the years of the conflict in the north of Ireland.

My father worked on the docks at the waterfront in Belfast. My mother didn’t work – she was too busy with us children. When the conflict started (1968) we never traveled. Even just living in Belfast wasn’t safe.

I saw a little too much as a teenager – a lot of violence (and) ugliness. And I’d like to tell you I never got into trouble (laughing). The hard part was losing my father when I was 17. He was killed in an explosion in a small, ordinary neighborhood pub. One Saturday evening, some loyalist terrorist opened up a door and rolled in the bomb and demolished the place. My mother and I had the job of identifying him. A hard memory.

I ended up with my younger sister Mary at 2 years old and my mother, Maureen, raising all 10 of us on her own, on a state pension. Quite a story. Living in a terrorized community, we had hardly ever left Belfast. I’d never been to England, and only just visited the south of Ireland. The world did not exist. I went to Queen’s University in Belfast because that offered opportunity and a future.

People back home would call me a Belfast Boy, and I love the place but as a young man I wanted to see the world and get away from the trouble, the poverty, the whole situation. My Father used to say, “Try to get a job like me where you don’t have to take your coat off.” I wanted to make him proud, and my mother too.

When I was 14 I wanted to get myself some new jeans and a new pair of trainers, so I got myself a job at a butcher shop. I used to scrub the timber blocks. Sweep the floors of sawdust. Clean the windows. But I also learned how to carve meat without carving myself. I became very valuable, and the owner would let me take home a mixture of things on a Saturday night.

My parents loved it, and I had money in my pocket, too.

At that time I was very clear that I wanted an education even though where we lived there weren’t a lot of people who went to college. I got a grant to go to college.

Nothing would have stopped me.

I’ve almost never felt disadvantaged as a kid from Belfast, and I love the sense of community of that famous city.

My first wife Liz passed away with breast cancer in 2008.

I decided to create a new future for my kids and myself.

I have four children – Emma (29), Richard (27), Jonny (21), and Calum (18). It was hard for them, the tragedy and trauma. I wrote a book of poetry to speak to them about it. One of the poems got published here.

We moved here the 18th of August in 2012 with the two youngest. I re-married on the 27th of October, 2012. I continued working, consulting with RMI Architects and with Harcourt Developments LLC. I have been lucky to have a wide range of experience and involvement in several award-winning buildings, including two buildings of the year, and some projects for as much as $100 million.

The amazing part is that I didn’t come here with any intention of working on the Bellingham waterfront. But here we are…

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 63

PERSONALLY SPEAKING: JOHN REID

“A VISION PLAN,” he calls it, and architect John Reid explains detail after detail of a park, a trail, and other pieces he would like to see in the grand scheme of a busy, working waterfront. He’s designed many similar giant projects internationally, and this, he said, could become his favorite.

I had come here from a city of 650,000 people where I’ve been involved in bigger-scale projects and the art world 15-20 years, and have a good degree of confidence in what I’m doing. I didn’t understand what the problem with the Bellingham waterfront was. It needs experience and confidence and vision.

A PUZZLING SITUATION Eventually I went to look at the site – an old industrial, con64 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

taminated site with a magnificent setting and disconnected from the city. It’s the same the world over, but the beauty of this setting struck me!

DIVING IN ON HIS OWN I had a lot of presentation material from the waterfront project in Belfast. So I contacted the Port of Bellingham to simply share with them what I had been involved with, just on my own. I brought

down a CD of Titanic Quarter in Belfast, which was a compatible example.

I think it would be fair to say they were stunned. I have a clear memory of what they said to me – that this was exactly what they were hoping to do in Bellingham….to attract a developer and bring that sort of development to Bellingham. And that was that.

first saw it. I flew back to Ireland and met with Harcourt and said, “I think I’ve found a terrific development opportunity on the West Coast of the USA, and I think we could do a fantastic job with it.” The Harcourt gentlemen said, “OK, let’s do it – submit the RFP.”

DIGGING INTO HISTORY There was a ton of material to go through, files that would fill a library, a paper trail from here to Seattle and back. But I decided just to ignore everything and instead read a bit of the real history and find out why Bellingham is important. What is its history? What do people like about Bellingham? What makes it work?

There’s more than GP, right?

Could I create something that would be different? I came up with an idea that looked at the whole site; that connected the site back into the City, not just part of it; that connected with the history of the place. The cultural heritage. I wanted to try and connect the past through the present into a new future.

FOURTH CORNER ENLIGHTENMENT

NO EXPECTATION …THEN AN RFP They asked if they could keep the CD to show other members of the Port. I left it, and they showed it around. I had no expectation at that time, no ambition to be involved – I was just trying to be helpful. Several months after that an RFP emerged looking for a developer. You can guess what happened next.

VISION CLEAR, CONTACTED HARCOURT I knew exactly what to do with that waterfront from the moment I

I got this great book called The Fourth Corner about the history of the (northwest) corner of the United States – the land, the water, the Native American culture, and so on. The landscape.

I learned some of the things that are important in Bellingham... the outdoor life, the freedom of the trail, public space, informality and casualness, and a yearning to get to the water.

TRAILS, GAPS AND MUD FLATS And also I came up with this strange thought that Bellingham is a sort of a shotgun marriage: four different entities that have been joined together – Fairhaven,

Sehome, Bellingham, and Whatcom. The broken history stones – these gaps in the stones or joints where these communities have been joined together. What joins them together and the waterfront seemed to represent a break.

The waterfront is not a natural site. It didn’t exist. It’s just mud flats. I found a lot of culture and history. I saw that the Native Americans had a trading village on a beach at the bottom of the creek where they fished in Whatcom Waterway.

THE CONNECTIVITY OF BROKEN WATERFRONT When I started on this project, everyone had looked at the waterfront as a small drawing. I actually went to Google Earth, and zoomed out to 30,000 feet to see this property. It revealed the break in the site in the City, but something else too. I began to see that the waterfront could connect the entire city from Fairhaven Park to Maritime Heritage Park. I decided to break all the rules and go beyond the RFP.

THE VISION BEGINS WITH TRAIL CULTURE I believe you’ve got to have a vision to know where you’re going because it informs everything you do, every decision you make. You need know the direction you’re going and the bigger picture. You may change direction, but you always know the purpose.

So I had this idea that I would like to use the waterfront site and join it all up – a trail culture, so that you could go from Fairhaven, through the trail there down to Taylor Dock, and through Boulevard Park, along the bluff and through the waterfront to Maritime Heritage Park. You could actually have this connected trail all the way through that parkway, even out to Lake Whatcom.

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 65

PERSONALLY SPEAKING: JOHN REID

OVERLAP SPACE WITH HISTORICAL VIEW My driver is the creation of public space, which is what the public wants. Their space. Their community. It becomes a lifeline, a bloodline, the freedom to get to the waterfront. So I began to sketch out this idea of how to take my development of public space and overlap it with a historical view. I call it my Vision Plan.

It’s holistic and exciting: a beautiful new park connecting the waterfront to the bluff and on out, using the whole 100 acres that would stretch from the Granary to Cornwall Beach. A public waterfront with public space as the spine.

VIEWS FIRMLY FIXED Create that excitement and give it a passion, and people will support the idea. I can show this view from Google Earth of this

green trail from Fairhaven to Maritime through the waterfront and I won’t have to say a word to explain it. People will understand it immediately.

END OF STORY Create public space. Overlap it with historical view corridors – a beautiful concept. We define the potential for giving everyone this view connecting up the bluff. And that’s my story.

THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS? The Granary will be finished and open this summer. Next will come waterfront residential, or what you call condos. Then the City will build a new Whatcom Waterway Park that will complement these.

Project three, I hope will be the Board Mill hotel and conference center, which seems to be well

received. The fourth project could be a new office building. Harcourt would like to do an entrance building. And, eventually, an assisted living complex and some means of luring high tech from Seattle.

CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ART PARK CENTERPIECE Ideally, I’d like the new park to be a piece of old forest, the Pacific Northwest, reflecting its cultural heritage, its people, its flora and fauna, its wildlife, as well as aspects of GP. Use landscape and art to interpret this. A concept that joins the past to the future and is used to help heal history if it can. The First Nations culture is very important in this to me. An artistic and cultural collaboration opportunity for the whole community.

HARCOURT PROPOSES this design for a $30 million hotel and convention center. (Drawing courtesy of Harcourt Development)

66 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

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PERSONALLY SPEAKING: JOHN REID

MARITIME/MARINE INDUSTRY? The marine trades and the history of fishing are an important part of the history of Bellingham.

I see it as a working waterfront in its widest sense. The development should not sanitize that in any way.

A STEVESTON EXPERIENCE I visited Steveston. It’s fantastic, for a number of reasons. The grit of the place. The vibe. The smell.

The sights. You can walk down to the docks and buy fish. I like that it’s real, not artificial. And I like the collision of buildings and people and fishing – that’s all very rich.

Bellingham can have all that action, too. Whatcom Waterway is all cleaned up, and it should not be a sterile marina type space. I would like to see moorings, and jetties, and fishing boats pull up loaded with fresh fish, and see people go down and become part of that scene.

DRAINING PROCESS There is a marathon of obstacles.

The waterfront is a big project, within the scale of Bellingham. It involves big change. That’s sometimes challenging and intimidating.

Slow process is another killer as well as the fear of change. There are lots of regulatory requirements which are very powerful and strong, and can kill creativity.

SIMPLE CONCEPT OF CHANGE Change can be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. To me the waterfront situation is very simple: It’s an ugly site. It’s contaminated.

It needs cleaning up. It lacks public space. Its disconnected from the City. It needs development. If we can build connected public space and build some nice buildings on it and give people access, we should 68 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

“I wanted to see the world and get out of an ugly violent city – the trouble, the poverty, the whole situation….(My Father) used to say to me, 'Try to get a job where you don’t have to take your coat off like me.' A very nice visual.” do that as soon as possible. I sense a good deal of frustration within the community over it taking so long.

HELP…ANYONE? The exciting part is that the point of change is here and now. I came here with no baggage and a clean piece of paper. I am not politically aligned, and have no leanings in that regard. Sometimes my frustration is that there is so much process that it is almost impossible to sustain and protect a vision, such that it will become diluted or a piece of it will do.

STAYING THE COURSE: ‘IRISH HAVE GRIT’ The great thing about the Irish is that we have grit, and we did build

a lot of America and the railroads, of course. The Irishman John Joseph Donovan had a significant impact on the history of Bellingham. I believe there is experience and there is a vision now. That gives people confidence. Let’s get ahead and get it done now. I would build the new park tomorrow.

Let’s not let process and regulations frustrate this project any longer; let this new triangle of the Port, the City, and Harcourt push on together to make it happen – the first target being the completion of the Granary by the summer of 2017.

AGENT OF CHANGE: ‘MY BEST EVER’ There can be a natural resistance to arguing for change, and sometimes a political resistance, too, but I believe a new vision should sell itself. Its clarity and reasoning should speak without needing words. Its ideas should be its language of persuasion. I welcome constructive criticism as I want it to be really good because I live here in Bellingham.

It’s a strange accident of fate to come here, and I get a sense that Bellingham is going to turn out to be one of the best projects I’ve ever worked on.

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BUSINESS PROFILE: DAIRY DISTRIBUTING INC.

BOB BRAY JR. and his late father, Robert Sr., shared a love for Mariners baseball, Washington State Cougar athletics, and Seahawks football as they worked the family business together. Bob displays his dad’s vintage glove in the downtown office of Dairy Distributing.

70 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Photos by Mike McKenzie

Where does the milk truck go when home delivery

disappears?

Family company Dairy Distributing turned its trucks to the convenience stores, restaurants, healthcare and coffee shops

By Mary Louise Van Dyke

R

obert “Bob” Bray Jr. recalls hopping out of bed as a kid on non-school days and going to work with his dad, Robert Bray Sr., at Dairy Distributing Inc. (DDI). Robert gave young Bob the privilege of carrying bottles of milk and cream to customers’ doorsteps while waiting in the truck.

“That’s cool. Not many people have the opportunity to work with their dad,” Bob said, smiling.

Partners Robert Bray Sr. and Roy Skogmo launched the company 54 years ago in Bellingham when offered a distributorship for Carnation Company, where Bray Sr. had worked since the 1950s. Bob Bray Jr. graduated

from Washington State University in 1981 and returned to Bellingham to work at Dairy Distributing.

Bob Jr. and his wife, Martha, took ownership in 1993. He said he initially questioned the idea of purchasing the business. “But when I had been here for a while I thought I could make a good go of this,” he said. And he has, now operating a fleet of eight trucks serving 12 routes. “It’s a great way to make a living.”

Dairy Distributing is located on Central Avenue in Old Town, close to Holly Street. Workers breathe in the salty air coming off Bellingham Bay. Sharing a building with a few tenants, the company occupies about 5,000 square feet. That space is divided among offices, a dock, and chilled warehouse space where they store hundreds of gallons of milk, butter, cheese, eggs, ice cream, and gelato in coolers and freezers.

MARTHA BRAY takes breakfast to the DDI team on Friday mornings. “She is in charge of employee care,” husband Bob Jr. said.

“She keeps us orderly.”

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 71

BUSINESS PROFILE: DAIRY DISTRIBUTING INC. Occasionally, Bob heads out himself on distribution runs and “slings milk” to customers. “I’ve always been my own relief driver,” he said.

“That gives me a chance to see each customer we have three or four times a year.”

The company’s focus has shifted from those early years of retail, door-to-door deliveries in residential neighborhoods to wholesale distribution of milk and other dairy products to institutions such as schools and health care facilities, plus restaurants, coffee shops, and convenience stores across Whatcom and Skagit counties.

Bray Jr. said it became necessary during the mid-‘80s, shortly after he came on board, to find a new model.

Increasingly in homes where both adults worked no one was at home to fetch the milk left at the door. That gave rise to “convenience stores on every corner,” he said.

Continuing with Carnation until it sold to Nestle in 1988, Dairy Distributing then switched to a contract with Vitamilk Dairy in Seattle.

Another major step forward took place in the early 2000s, Bray Jr. said, when DDI began distributing Edaleen products. Partnering with Lyndenbased Edaleen means that customers receive a local product, and that fact is important in a place where “local means quality,” according to Bray.

Workers and temperature gauges closely monitor temperatures in the warehouse to ensure keeping products fresh. Bob said his primary role is to provide support for the staff of seven that includes his son, Tyler Bray, and a cousin, Steve Swanson.

Martha Bray is renowned for showing up on Friday mornings and serving the crew breakfast. “She takes charge of employee care,” her husband said. “We’ve got the best crew I’ve ever had here right now.”

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Before passing away last October, Robert Sr. habitually stopped by the office on Wednesdays to chin-wag with staff and answer the phone.

Bob Jr. proudly displays his dad’s vintage baseball glove in the outer office as a memorial.

“One of the things I learned from my dad is service,” he said.

“Customers who call in with problems need answers and not on the next delivery day.” He said that Dairy Distributing crews makes sure those questions receive a quick response. “We have many customers who have been with us for 20 years or more. In some cases they become like your family.”

Bray Jr. said he doesn’t have any plans for expansion at this time.

“We’ve been on a slow growth curve for many years. Fortunately,” he concluded, “we’ve been going in the right direction.”

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BUSINESS PROFILE: DAVID GODDARD/WHATCOM LAND TITLE

A LARGE PART of David Goddard's success at Whatcom Land Title was due to Colleen Baldwin. She joined WLT in 1986, bought a half-interest in the company in 1994, and is now its CEO and sole owner.

74 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Goddard’s value of employees sends Whatcom Land Title to the top

By Dave Brumbaugh

T

here’s been nothing flashy about Whatcom Land Title’s march toward the top of title insurance agencies in Whatcom County – unless you count its iconic neon-green pens that are so prevalent in the real estate industry.

Baldwin described Goddard as “warm-hearted, generous and loving.” According to colleagues he always has a smile on his face, pausing only when the matter at hand requires thoughtful consideration.

THE BUSINESS OF TITLE INSURANCE

A title insurance agency works with underwritWLT has been the only locally-owned title agency ers to provide insurance that ensures that a home or for much of the time since it launched in 1982. But the other pieces of property are legitimate and free of Bellingham company hadn’t been Whatcom County’s any complications. But first the agency must check market-share leader until the last several years – the culproperty records and look for possible problems, such mination of 30-plus years of steady growth. as outstanding mortgages, liens, unpaid taxes, and Something stands out at WLT: Employees love workeasements. ing there and particularly for founder David Goddard, The title agency often maintains the transaction’s who retired as CEO last Dec. 31. Many of the 52 escrow account – containing the funds needed to close on employees have been at WLT for more than 20 years, the purchase – to make sure that the money is used only and a handful returned there after briefly for settlement and closing costs. leaving to work elsewhere.

Much of WLT’s success can be attrib“I think we treat “Our vision was always to establish uted to employees following Goddard’s a very trusting family environment and example. They must not only be knowlour people culture in which all employees felt a part edgeable and diligent, but also possess extraordinarily well.” excellent people skills as they work with of the company, valued and appreciated,” said Colleen Baldwin, who joined WLT buyers, sellers, and real-estate agents at a – David Goddard, retired CEO, in 1986. She bought one-half interest in point when all parties expect a successful Whatcom Land Title the company in 1994 and now is CEO conclusion to the transaction. Any hiccups and sole owner. can be highly stressful.

Goddard said that displays of appreciation for workGoddard said he didn’t start with any lofty goals ers ranges from bringing in meals at busy times to sharabout owning a successful business. Born in Seattle, he ing profits through bonuses. He saw that as both being graduated from the University of Washington in 1968 the right thing to do and good for business. And while and then studied literature at Western Washington WLT is in the real-estate industry, a sector notorious State College. for extreme swings up and down, Goddard earned more By the time Goddard started looking for a job in good will among his staff by disdaining layoffs during Seattle in 1971, Boeing was going through tough times tough times. and he remembered that unemployment stood at about 14 “I think we treat our people extraordinarily well,” percent. Goddard eventually found a position at Security Goddard said in a recent interview for Business Pulse Title Company, an agency owned by Safeco, a property/ after retiring. “We’re slow to hire and we don’t like to let casualty insurance company that had just entered the title people go.” insurance sector.

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 75

BUSINESS PROFILE: DAVID GODDARD/WHATCOM LAND TITLE

WITH RETIREMENT, David Goddard now has more time to enjoy his high-performance cars, including this 2007 Porsche Targa.

After stints at title insurance agencies in Wenatchee and Spokane, Goddard became manager of the Safeco Title office in Bellingham in 1979. Opportunity knocked softly at his door in 1982 when Transamerica Title wanted to sell its Bellingham office. With home mortgage rates above 10 percent and the economy in the dumps, “That year (’82) was as low as the (real-estate) market got,” he said.

Still, Goddard persuaded a group of investors to be guarantors of the loan he needed and Whatcom Land Title was born as the only locallyowned title insurance agency in the county. But that didn’t mean much when it was the new kid on the block.

WLT was asked to obtain title insurance for problematic properties that the established agencies declined, like those along the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway line that went through Bellingham, and other properties where obtaining a clear title for a transaction was more difficult.

“We didn’t get the golden deals to start,” Goddard said. “We got the junk, the properties others didn’t want to insure.”

76 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

However, the man with the friendly smile also had a strong backbone and he persevered. He was able to pay off his investors within two years. With each year his employees improved along with his hiring choices. Using a sports analogy Goddard said, “The team got better and we had more depth on the bench. When you deliver good, consistent service, you will come along.”

Baldwin also gives credit for continued growth to the decision to buy the building at 2011 Young St. – large enough to accommodate future growth with room for other tenants, plus it is close to the county courthouse. When Goddard retired, he became sole owner of the building, and Baldwin became sole owner of WLT. As a result of solid leadership, good employees, and strategic decisions, WLT now handles approximately half of all title insurance transactions in Whatcom County.

It also receives praise from other local businesses: The Bellingham/ Whatcom County Chamber of Commerce & Industry named WLT its 2016 Large Business of the Year.

STARTING ANOTHER CHAPTER While WLT has grown to 52 employees, Goddard was always recognized as the face and identity of the company – remarkable as he stayed active in recent years after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2005. Parkinson's is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement.

It develops gradually, sometimes starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand.

Goddard said he is aware that age and health concerns are undefeated over time and he will enjoy life away from work while he can.

He plans to spend time traveling and visiting relatives. He also enjoys driving his four luxury cars.

His favorite: a 2007 Porsche Targa.

Goddard hasn’t ignored Parkinson’s disease, but he hasn’t dwelled on it. “I’ve been very fortunate,” he said “A lot of people have it a lot worse than I do.

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ENTREPRENEUR ENTERPRISE: MANTHEY MOMENTUM

Body movement & mental mastery Former pro soccer player offers a new twist on training young athletes

Article and photos by Mike McKenzie MEGAN MANTHEY RICHEY demonstrated how to use the lower body in creating more efficient movement on a soccer pitch as she worked with three young girls recently in gym space she leases from Synergy Fitness in Bellingham. “The key is in the hips,” she said.

78 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

A

t 16 she left home and Ferndale High School. Not as a dropout; rather, as college recruit-level soccer prospect bound for the elite IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in 2007. (Yes, we still call it soccer.)

What followed for Megan Manthey – some lows and disillusionment in college, and many highs as a professional fußball player in Europe (that’s what they call it) – led her to inspiration for her f ledgling startup, Manthey Momentum in Bellingham.

Technically, it’s Manthey Momentum Sports Performance Training LLC. She has developed a unique methodology for physical training of young athletes, grades 4-12, especially on a soccer pitch. “It’s about how to move more efficiently, how to use your energy,” Megan said. “The key is in the hips.”

The other unique aspect of the business she began about a year ago extends beyond the fields of play. Her students engage in work on the mental and emotional aspects of competing at an elite level, including preparation for the rigors of having colleges recruit them one day. This stems from lessons learned, sometimes harsh, as she gradually moved along a path to an elite academy, through two college programs (University of Colorado, a negative, and College of Charleston, S.C. (a positive), and on to an illustrious career abroad in Denmark, France, and Iceland, paid to play.

“After retiring I decided I wanted to teach young athletes the things I learned,” she said. I wanted to create something with a bigger impact than just on the field.

Now married – her husband, Brent Richey, works on the facilities staff at Cornwall Church – and about to start her own family (their first child is due in July), Megan began by word-of-mouth. “I started with phone calls from parents who knew me from my soccer playing days. I’d work with their kids wherever I could find space.”

She has rented gym space, a studio essentially, at Synergy Fitness in the Irongate industrial park. There she conducts regular sessions either one-to-one, in small groups of 5-6, or with full teams. At this point, they’re all soccer players – about 25 individuals, in addition to full squads that she invites in 2-3 times a week – though she intends to expand to aspiring athletes in other sports.

Her work takes place after school hours between 3:30-7:30 p.m. “It’s crazy how fast it’s grown,” she said, “and the potential for growth is limitless.” She bases fees on individual consultations that determine the sessions: semi-private, private, groups. “We keep it in small groups so there’s more individual attention on each kid.” The business model also centers on long-term training, 2-3 times a week for six weeks up to a year, or even longer.

“I want slow, sustained growth,” she said.

MEGAN MANTHEY RICHEY works with individuals, small groups, or full teams indoors. All of her clients so far play soccer, grades 4-12, though she plans to expand to all athletes.

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 79

ENTREPRENEUR ENTERPRISE: MANTHEY MOMENTUM She entered into this venture with “zero business experience…

I played professionally six years.

I worked a year at Bellingham Athletic Club and learned some of how it operates. I’ve done a lot of research and I’ve studied.”

She also seeks mentoring from a business owner friend, and other sources. Recently, for instance, she attended a week-long seminar in San Diego on the “why” of business rooted in the popular book, Start with Why by Simon Sinek.

Megan’s ‘why’: “Ideally, we create a space these kids can go to and feel safe, experience growth intellectually and emotionally, and learn about college recruiting. I want them to know the commitment it takes to attract colleges to an elite athlete.”

The precisely-designed program that she calls Manthey Momentum works in phases: strength and conditioning; speed and agility; sports nutrition and hydration, and goal-setting/mental conditioning.

“They learn that there’s far more to it in athletic development than on the field, and the off-field training lends greater impact,” Megan said. “I overcame so many obstacles, just in women’s soccer by itself. I’m providing an opportunity for change with a commitment to something I love to do, that I’m passionate about.”

One of Manthey Momentum’s out of the ordinary techniques: “A lot of the young kids, they’ve learned running and agility exercises, but not how to change direction efficiently,” Megan explained. “They’re approaching a point on the field, looping around, wasting valuable energy instead of making quicker movement using the lower body. We want them cutting from points A to B to C in a triangle with sharp angled cuts instead of round loops.”

She said she has drawn her techniques from her personal experience.

But she's also learned from many others in the functional training 80 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Megan Manthey Richey's Journey in Her Own Words

I

will be the first to tell you it wasn’t a smooth road.

I graduated from the IMG Soccer Academy at sixteen as the female player of the year. I learned what committed coaches look like.

I spent two years at the University of Colorado being humbled and absolutely hating college soccer. I was ready to throw the towel in and give up on my dreams.

After transferring to the College of Charleston my college career ended as our conference’s leading goal scorer and overall point earner.

Then came seven weeks with Athletes in Action in Paraguay. While there I learned I had landed my first professional trial in Denmark. I flew out, signed a contract and never looked back.

Over the course of the next 5 years I played 3 seasons in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, won a Danish and Icelandic championship, played with and against the best female players in the world, found my “it,” and am now living my new dream of owning my own business and transforming the lives of young athletes.”

world and past coaches who encouraged, taught, and influenced her positively, such as IGM Academy and at College of Charleston.

So far, she’s going it alone in her business. “Right now I’m the only trainer, and I’m making sure I don’t get in over my head before I expand,” she said. “It’s growing quickly, so I need to be ready to find a larger facility and bring in another trainer. But it’s also hard because so much of it is in my head and instinctive, and I adapt the training sessions as they develop.”

Megan Manthey Richey said that her path through soccer was a love-hate-love path. And, she navigated it with continual support from family and her Christian faith. “I’m super strong in my belief. What I have is from God and through Him it grows. I’m doing what I was created to do.”

Her mother, Laura Nicholson (and now Howell), had been an outstanding cross country and track and field performer at Ferndale High. Her father, Randy Manthey, was an outstanding football player at Meridian High who worked at BP as Megan and her brother, Grant, were growing up. Her mother worked at Haggen.

Grant played college soccer, too, at Colorado School of Mines. “I trained with him and his men’s high school team,” Megan said. “I spent a lot of time trying to be better than him. It helped me toward my dream.

I’ve always been a big dreamer ever since I was little – and that allowed me to become a pro athlete.”

After attending Ferndale High from 2005-’07, she graduated from The Pendleton School, associated with IMG, in ’09. She traveled to Uruguay and Brazil with national amateur groups on mission trips, and five seasons in the European Women’s Champions League; her teams in Iceland and Denmark won titles, and she played for a team in Paris.

Now, she’s converting it into energy for others who might aspire to a path through athletics to college, and beyond. “I saw an opportunity where the community needs this,” she said. “Usually athletes get what a community says it wants instead of what they need.”

Wednesday, March 22, 6 p.m.

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GUEST COLUMN: WATER RIGHTS Perry Eskridge | Executive Officer and Government Affairs Director Whatcom County Association of REALTORS® R. Perry Eskridge was born and raised in Montana and graduated from the University of Montana (B.S.-1990; J.D.-1993).

He clerked for Montana Supreme Court Justice Karla Gray and then served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of Montana until he and his wife relocated to Ferndale in 2000. Following a brief time as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Bellingham, he was appointed General Counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Transport Airplane Directorate. He currently maintains a small law practice in Ferndale and serves as the Executive Officer and Government Affairs Director for the Whatcom County Association of REALTORS®.

Water rights decision bogs down water rights on wells “Whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s for fightin’.” – Mark Twain

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he Washington Supreme Court upended established water law several months ago with the October 6, 2016 decision in Hirst vs. Whatcom County.

Prior to the decision, water appropriation was the sole purview of the Washington Department of Ecology.

The Court sided with the four petitioners, including Bellingham resident Eric Hirst, an engineer and environmental activist, and David Stalheim, City of Bellingham Block Grant Manager. The decision deemed that counties would be required to make independent findings of water quality and quantity before allowing construction in rural areas.

Hirst began as a challenge before the state Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB), alleging that Whatcom County violated the Growth Management Act prohibition against urban sprawl by permitting construction of residences in rural areas utilizing “exempt wells.” Petitioners asserted that the County was required to determine the legal and physical availability of water, independent of the Washington Department of Ecology’s (DOE) rule on exempt wells, and regulate building in the rural county accordingly.

The result turned into months of political strategizing while landowners, many who have invested thousands of dollars in their land, are left in the lurch.

At issue is the Nooksack Rule, a rule adopted by the DOE requiring a certain volume of water to remain in the Nooksack River to maintain environmental and aesthetic values. Because the Nooksack River has less volume in some months (July-Sept.) than is deter82 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

mined as necessary by the DOE, many of the tributaries and watersheds feeding the Nooksack are closed for new surface water appropriations during parts of the year, whereas others are closed year-round.

The Nooksack Rule, however, did not impact the ability to secure water from an exempt well, i.e., a well limited to 5,000 gallons of water each day used for domestic purposes.

The County Council has passed an ordinance allowing people to utilize exempt wells to secure a building permit in the Samish River Watershed, Point Roberts, and on Lummi and Eliza Islands. In the other parts of Whatcom County, however, you will need documentation demonstrating that you have a source of potable water and that such water is available by: 1. A water right from DOE; 2. A water purveyor stating that they will provide you water; 3. Or a rain water catchment system.

If you wish to use an exempt well, other requirements include a hydrologic study and a mitigation plan.

Beyond the local political resolution, which remains almost as cumbersome as the permitting process itself, myriad bills are wending through the legislature.

Legislators have introduced more than a dozen bills seeking to address the problems caused by the Hirst decision, with “solutions” ranging from water banking, “trust” water rights, cisterns, and even trucked water.

Only a few bills, including Senate Bill 5239 sponsored

by Senator Warnick (R-13th Leg. Dist.; Ellensburg) seeks to return Washington water law to pre-Hirst status.

But, as Terry Anderson noted in the Wall St. Journal in 1983, “The fight will continue as long as water is allocat-

ed by politics instead of the market.”

So, was Whatcom County the casualty of the water fight? It should be noted that several members of the current County Council did appropriate the funds necessary to defend this unfortunate lawsuit. But a prior Council had the opportunity to resolve this issue many years ago.

The 1998 Washington State Watershed Management Act created Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs), with the Nooksack River basin designated WRIA 1. The initiating governments (Whatcom County, City of Bellingham, Lummi Nation, Nooksack Tribe, Public Utility District 1) utilized the statutory framework to create the WRIA Planning Unit – 16 “caucuses” representing various groups with an interest in resolving water issues within the Nooksack basin.

The Planning Unit, with the initiating governments acting as the administrative arm, commissioned work by the United States Geological Survey and Utah State University with the goal of developing a decision support system to model and predict future water use impacts on water quality, quantity, instream flows, and fish habitats.

After spending millions of dollars, the project stalled and the Planning Unit stopped meeting; the initiating governments continued to work on fish habitat issues.

Although a management and an implementation plan exist, critical work remains unfunded and unfinished today. Instead, work that has apparently proved too expensive and almost impossible for five of the largest water rights holders in Whatcom County to achieve has instead been foisted off on individual property owners to prove before obtaining a building permit.

So while individual families are left to worry about water, the Whatcom County Health Department takes the opportunity to open a new front in the battle: on-site septic systems. County residents will recall the fight waged by rural fami-

lies to avoid expensive septic system inspections requested by the Health Department. The result of a monthslong battle was that individuals with simpler septic systems would be allowed to conduct their own inspections, but anyone observing the process could tell that Whatcom County Health was not pleased.

The Supreme Court noted that the GMHB found that the septic self-inspection regimen did not adequately protect groundwater resources.

The County initially defended the evidence concerning water quality on the basis that the evidence was “overgeneralized” and that the largest threat to groundwater resources is surface stormwater runoff. Now, the Health Department has abandoned that argument and, instead, reversed a policy it never supported.

While the Health Department has not explained or attempted to determine the reasons for “disparate inspection results” between (continued on page 87)

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WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 83

GUEST COLUMN: PUBLIC SCHOOLS Liv Finne | Director, Center for Education Washington Policy Center Liv Finne is the Director of the Center for Education at Washington Policy Center. She is the author of An Option for Learning: An Assessment of Student Achievement in Charter Public Schools, which in 2011 reignited the public debate about charter schools in Washington state. She is also the author of Washington Policy Center's widely-read education blog, and of WPC’s Education Reform Plan: Eight Practical Ways to Improve Public Schools; Learning Online: An Assessment of Online Public Education Programs; and numerous other WPC education studies. Liv holds a law degree from Boston University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College. She retired from civil litigation practice to raise two children and work as business partner for a small business she owns with her husband. Liv is committed to improving Washington’s public education system.

Trends in spending and student learning in state public schools, 2006-‘16, show flat-line results

I

n ongoing debate over education spending in Washington state, some special-interest groups argue that schools are underfunded. These special interests never define the dollar amount they think the people of Washington should spend on schools.

The proposed number constantly shifts and changes, always in the upward direction and by billions of dollars. No matter how much the people of Washington provide for public schools, according to these political activists, it is never enough.

To outside observers, these special interest groups appear narrowminded and insensitive. Activists give no credit to hard-working taxpayers who, in each budget cycle, provide $4.5 billion in local levy funds to public schools, plus another $2.1 billion in federal funds.

Political demands for more money also regularly omit mention of the current state budget, which now supplies $18.2 billion to K-12 schools, the highest amount in state history. These demands 84 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Washington State K-12 Schools Total spending per student 2006-2016 $13,000 $12,500 $12,000 $11,500 $11,000 $10,500 $10,000 $9,500 $9,000 $8,500 $8,000

belittle historic spending increases enacted by state lawmakers of both parties, particularly the $4.6 billion increase in state spending supplied by taxpayers in the last four years – a 34 percent permanent expansion to the state program of basic education.

Average school funding from all sources is now at the all-time high of $12,652 per student, more than the tuition charged by many private schools.

One commonly-held assumption is that more school spending will inevitably lead to better learning outcomes for students. Ten

years of data, however, show that more spending has not led to better learning outcomes for students.

Despite large increases in spending, student learning on average has not changed, but instead remains flat.

The promises that more money would result in gains in student learning have not materialized.

Average total spending, from all resources, has grown 43 percent, from $8,836 per student in 2006 to $12,652 per student in 2016.

For 10 years, per student education spending in Washington has grown at twice the rate of inflation. In real terms, taxpayers have increased

public education spending by $2,153 per student.

The only consistent assessment that reports trends in student learning in Washington state over the last 10 years is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). This test is given every other year to a statistically representative sample of Washington’s 4th-grade and

One commonly-held assumption is that more school spending will inevitably lead to better learning outcomes for students.

Ten years of data, however, show that more spending has not led to better learning outcomes for students…. but instead remains flat.

8th-grade students in reading, math, and science. The NAEP is the most respected, reliable, and consistent measure of academic progress.

Experience shows that Washington’s public school monopolies have a strong financial incentive to promise lawmakers and the public that the next round of funding increase will improve learning for students.

The real-world findings indicate, however, that school bureaucracies, with guaranteed employment and funding, have little or no incentive to increase the time or quality of instruction provided in public school classrooms. Over time the school system is costing the public more money and providing less benefit, consistent with the results economists say are to be expected from monopoly systems.

The primary obstacle to reform within the education system is the political influence of executives at the Washington Education Association (WEA) union. The

Eighth and Fourth grade Mathematics scores Washington State National Assessement of Educational Progress 500 400 300 200 100 0 2006

2007

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Eighth grade

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Eighth and Fourth grade Reading scores Washington State National Assessment of Educational Progress 500 400 300 200 100 0 2006

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main shortcoming preventing parents from gaining better learning opportunities for children is Washington’s lack of family choice in education. In contrast, officials in 24 states now offer parents a total of 51 school choice programs to help students and families get access to better schools.

These family choice programs create powerful incentives for school administrators to improve the quality of the programs they run, knowing that their own public funding is no longer guaranteed.

With their focus on families, lawmakers in these states have expanded access to charter schools, offered family Education Savings Accounts, and created tax credit scholarships for private schools.

More than 300,000 students ben-

2012

2014

2016

Fourth grade

efit from these family-based education programs.

Parents, especially in low-performing urban districts, want access to school choice programs for their children. These programs provide the best way to help individual children get a better education, and to improve their chances of earning success. These programs also provide incentive for monopoly school systems to improve.

Washington state’s experience shows that large increases in spending in an unreformed district-based education system has not resulted in better learning outcomes for students, while the experience of other states indicates that Washington’s children would benefit from greater access to educational choice.

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 85

GUEST COLUMN: LEAN OPERATIONS Randall Benson | Lean Operations Randall Benson is a management consultant, author, and Lean master based in Whatcom County. You can visit his blog “The Lean Heretic” at www.leanheretic.com, and his website at www.bensonconsulting.com.

10 positive behaviors for leading Lean

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o how do we lead a Lean transformation?” I was recently asked this question by the owners of a small manufacturing company, so I came up with 10 behaviors that could help them get started as leaders in Lean.

5. Talk process, not financial numbers. The financial benefits of Lean can be astounding, yet Lean leaders know that those benefits are the result of Lean process. So, talk about Lean process, not making the numbers. Over-emphasizing financial goals will make you look like (a.) you don’t really understand Lean principles, or (b.) that you’re not committed to Lean in the long run.

1. Lead a journey. As I discovered while writing my book, “The Quest Effect,” Lean leaders became most successful when they treated Lean as a journey through uncharted territory. When they do, discoveries emerge and breakthroughs occur. A journey approach activates employees’ imagination and creative juices.

6. Demonstrate that seeing problems is important.

Show interest in causality — ask people why they think a problem has happened. Go with employees to the workplace space to see the problem first-hand.

Respect the knowledge of the front liners who encountered the problem. Demonstrate that seeing the actual problem is superior, in your mind, to analyzing data on a computer.

How many of these behaviors do you embody?

2. Avoid both autocratic and laissez-faire styles.

Lean leaders are neither command-and-control nor hands-off leaders. It’s neither “Do it my way,” nor “Do it your way,” but always, “Let’s figure this out together.” Be crystal clear about the Lean destination, and then hold employees accountable in finding the best path to that goal together.

3. Become conversant in lean. Approach Lean as a means of systematic thinking throughout your organization, not simply a cost-cutting method or a bag of technical tools. Emphasize the importance of an uninterrupted f low of value. Talk about improving the f low by involving everyone in eliminating all forms of waste. Understand such Lean principles as shortening f low, pull systems, eliminating waste, and visual control.

4. Show deep respect for people. Recognize that employees should not become slaves to the process.

Instead you need them to participate in creating the process. Acknowledge each person’s deep understanding of the process and expect that each employee can solve problems that improve his or her job.

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7. Treat having no problems as a problem. Assume that not everything will go according to plan, and problems will occur. If there are no problems, that is in itself usually a problem. It likely means that problems are hidden. Lean leaders support exposing problems and dealing forthrightly with them, without blame.

8. Adopt an experimental mindset. Experimentation is the engine of improvement. Ask everyone to take an experimental approach to problem solving. Reject solutions that are not evidence-based. Insist on the use of Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycles for experiments.

Memorialize successful experiments with standard practices.

9. Model Lean practices. Some leaders mistakenly think that while Lean is for the front line, it’s not for the executive suite. The front line will see this attitude as hypocritical or apathetic. Find ways to apply Lean principles to the work of executives. Use Lean 5S* techniques to clean, clear, and organize offices.

Put visual management devices in executive areas.

Find waste and eliminate it. People will follow you when you walk your talk. [*Note: 5S methodology is based on five Japanese words, all starting with S, that

translate to sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain.)

10. Lead with humility. It’s worth recognizing that you and your employees are all on the Lean journey together. Adopt a beginner’s mindset. Respect deep knowledge on the front line. Lead by asking questions rather than giving direction. Become a co-learner and co-creator.

This is my list. You’ll find many

other lists of Lean leadership qualities and I encourage you to check them out on the Internet. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear them. Please reply to the Business Pulse or send me a message at rbenson@bensonconsulting.com.

Happy Lean Trails!

WATER RIGHTS (continued from page 83) homeowner and professional inspectors, stakeholders hope that the County Council will investigate further and not rely on the Health Department’s bare assertions.

The Washington Growth Management Act requires counties to include a rural element. That element must, according to specific findings of the legislature: • “Help preserve rural-based economies and traditional rural lifestyles; • Encourage the economic prosperity of rural residents; • “Foster opportunities for small-scale, rural-based employment and self-employment; • “Permit the operation of ruralbased agricultural, commercial, recreational, and tourist businesses that are consistent with existing and planned land use patterns; • “Be compatible with the use of the land by wildlife and for fish and wildlife habitat; • “Foster the private stewardship of the land and preservation of open space • “And enhance the rural sense of community and quality of life.”

Recent decisions by the Growth Management Hearings Board, bolstered by recent court decisions, are making the rural lifestyle a thing of the past. Rather than protecting that lifestyle as the legislature has decreed, overzealous litigants and sympathetic judges have worked to dismantle that protection piece-bypiece.

I think I need a drink!

WHATCOMBUSINESSALLIANCE.COM | 87

GUEST COLUMN: LABOR MANDATES Erin Shannon | Center for Small Business & Labor, WPC Erin Shannon became director of the Washington Policy Center for Small Business & Labor during January 2012. She has an extensive background in small business issues and public affairs. The Center improves the state’s small business climate by working with owners and policymakers toward positives solutions.

Will paid family and medical leave be the next labor mandate imposed on Washington’s employers?

I

mposing a paid family and medical leave law has emerged as the business issue du jour this legislative session in the Washington state capitol.

are now suggesting compromise versions of those policies.

In the Senate, Sen. Karen Keiser (D) sponsored SB 5032, which would provide up to $1,000 a week for 26 weeks for a child’s birth or adoption, or to care for a family member (to go into effect October 2019), and While Washington state already has a paid family another 12 weeks of paid leave for the individual’s own leave law, it never has been implemented because lawhealth condition (to go into effect October 2020). makers recognize the burden it would create, and they Workers could apply for both benefits in the same have never been able to agree on a funding source. year, meaning they could receive 38 weeks of paid The current unimplemented and unfunded Family and leave with a maximum benefit of $38,000 in one year.

Medical Leave Insurance Act Employees would be eligible for mandates benefits of $250 a week Washington Sen. Karen Keiser the paid leave after working just for up to five weeks for individu340 hours (that’s an average of als who regularly work 35 hours describes her family paid medical 6.5 hours a week annually, or a week. Workers with fewer and leave proposal as “elegant.” 8.5 weeks if working full-time). hours would receive a prorated Unlike the state’s current benefit amount. The benefit is It would be by far the most paid family leave law, SB 5032 only for the birth or adoption of a expensive in the nation. She may identifies a funding source for child, and eligibility begins after the new program. working 680 hours. consider that “elegant,” but I liken Employees and workers Since lawmakers could never it more to using a sledgehammer would pick up the tab by splitagree on where the funding for ting a new payroll tax. The tax the program should come from, to crack open a nut. rate would be set by the bill for the law has been suspended the first two years of implesince 2009 – eight years and mentation. But by 2021 the tax would then be detercounting! mined annually by the state based on the funds needed Despite the lack of funding for the existing paid to maintain the specified account balance ratio (the leave law, some lawmakers have consistently pushed for program’s account balance divided by total wages paid even costlier versions. Previously and repeatedly these into the fund). efforts failed to gain much traction.

If the account balance ratio falls below that speciBut after unions and worker advocates last year fied point, employers and workers would be charged made good on their threat to pass a statewide measure a “solvency surcharge” to keep the fund in the black. to increase the state minimum wage if the legislature This means there is simply no way to predict how big failed to act, lawmakers who historically have been the tax hit might be on employers and workers a few opposed to a paid family and medical leave mandate years down the road.

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While Sen. Keiser describes her proposal as both “modest” and “elegant,” the fact is the paid leave benefits provided by SB 5032 would be, by far, the most generous (meaning the program would likely be the most expensive) in the nation. She may consider that “elegant,” but I liken it more to using a sledgehammer to crack open a nut.

Across the political aisle, Sen. Joe Fain (R) sponsored SB 5149, a milder paid family and medical leave proposal that would allow up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, phased in over three years.

The first year of the law’s implementation in 2020 would mandate eight weeks of paid family leave, followed by 10 weeks in 2021 and 12 weeks in 2022. Workers could use the leave for a child’s birth or adoption, to care for a family member, or to recover from their own health condition. They would be required to work 26 weeks (6

our Thank you to all of mination no the for customers the Year. of ess sin Bu all of Sm We are honored and humbled.

months) to become eligible for the paid leave.

The weekly benefit amount would also be phased in, starting at a maximum weekly benefit of 50 percent of the state average weekly wage in 2020, increasing to 55 percent in 2021, and topping out at 60 percent of the state average weekly wage in 2022. The average weekly wage in Washington in 2015 was $1,082. So the maximum weekly benefit amount would be significantly less than proposed in SB 5032.

Under SB 5149, the program would be funded entirely by employees through a payroll tax paid only by workers, as is done in the four other states (California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and New York) with paid family and medical leave laws.

But even a program that is completely employee funded comes with a hefty price tag for employers. After all, employers are on the hook for the cost to hire and train

a temporary replacement worker to cover for the employee using the paid leave or, alternatively, make other employees work harder to cover for the absent team member.

That can be a heavy lift for the state’s smallest employers.

The biggest problem is not so much the idea of a paid family or medical leave mandate itself. The problem is such a mandate would be in addition to the piles of other mandates with which employers must comply.

Employers in Washington were just hit with a significantly higher minimum wage and a new paid sick leave mandate. Another costly labor mandate is the last thing needed right now.

As one business owner put it, one rule adding $100 to overhead may not be the straw that breaks the camel's back, but 10 rules adding $1,000 to overhead – and tens of thousands of rules to monitor – make for a tall haystack.

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GUEST COLUMN: SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CJ SEITZ | Executive Director Small Business Development Center, WWU CJ is the executive director. For 33 years the SBDC has enabled Western Washington University to give back to the business community and has helped to shape the economic future of Whatcom County. The SBDC provides free, confidential advising, technical assistance, and research to business owners and managers in an effort to help businesses thrive throughout Whatcom County.

Can causes in common create consumer commitment?

“Smart brands recognize that consciousness is now actively informing purchase decisions, and will…win hearts, wallet, and loyalty.” – JLJ Marketing report

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n exciting emerging strategic trend centers on customers aligning themselves with companies, brands, and causes. One of the most authentic ways to communicate your brand story is to support a meaningful community or global initiative with cause-related marketing.

The national organization Engage for Good (formerly Cause Marketing Forum Inc.) defines causerelated marketing as “a wide variety of commercial activity that aligns a company or brand with a cause to generate business and societal benefits.”

According to a recent study by JLJ Marketing, “Smart brands recognize that consciousness is now actively informing purchase decisions, and will…win hearts, wallet, and loyalty.”

The growth of cause marketing has exploded from a $120 million industry in 1990 to $2 billion in 2016.

Ebiquity’s 2015 Global clinical study report found that 90 percent of consumers will likely switch brands to one associated with a good cause.

While cause-related marketing is not new, it has grown more mainstream. When done well, companies see a rise in sales. Some call this “the business of doing well by doing good.” Many different approaches or types of such campaigns have worked, such as:

PORTION OF PURCHASE Make a direct financial contribution to a charity or a cause, tied to a portion of gross revenue. A wellknown initiative is “1% for the Planet,” originated by Patagonia.

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BUY ONE, GIVE ONE This is a fresh take on the BOGO of the 1980s, i.e., buy one get one. See how we’ve evolved? The new BOGO is a giving model by which every purchase results in an equivalent donation by the company to a community in need. At Tom’s Shoes for every pair of shoes sold, Tom’s donates a pair to someone who otherwise could not afford them.

CO-BRANDED EVENTS A business might sponsor a walk, run, or celebration event with the proceeds going to a popular organization or cause. Many companies hold golf events for a cause.

We have witnessed innovative local companies adopting cause-related marketing effectively to drive sales growth and social good. WWU SBDC business advisors spoke to three of our clients to learn more about (a.) why these clients chose a particular cause; (b.) if this strategy motivates customers, and (c.) to measure the financial impact of giving. So let’s pull back the curtain and take a look at what your friends and neighbors have going on.

OVERFLOW TAPS IN LYNDEN They give 25 cents of each pint sold to clean water projects.

Jesse Nelson, co-owner of this craft brewery: “We chose to align Overflow with clean water after learning that 663 million people in the world are without water. Once customers learn about what’s going on with the pint they’re holding, they feel good.

I believe it motivates people to choose Overflow. It’s

a heartwarming culture, with heartwarming customers, teaming up to accomplish a heartwarming goal.” He said that last year the community raised $8,000 for various causes. “Live on the big screen at Overflow, we recently donated $6,000 to fund a well in Malawi.”

NUU-MUU IN BELLINGHAM Ashley Fullenwider, whose title is Choreographer at this designer of women’s exercise dresses: “Nuu-Muu became members of 1% for the Planet in March 2011 and we have donated almost $20,000. We choose 1% because we want to give people a choice to support a business that truly cares about protecting our natural environment for future generations. We are dedicated to getting women outside and we want to support those places. We’re not sure if it brings in customers, but we are passionate about being that company that includes the environment in our bottom line. We won’t have our business any other way.”

have helped house more than 100 people through our local and international nonprofit partners.”

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IF YOU ARE THINKING OF ALIGNING YOUR BUSINESS WITH A CAUSE, HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO CONSIDER: 1. A lign with a cause that is close to your heart.

2. T he cause should have some correlation with your brand.

3. Be transparent and authentic about how funds are used.

4. K now your margins; revenue is likely to increase if your marketing is properly aligned with the customer.

Thus, having a solid business model is critical for ongoing success.

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2ROOFS IN BELLINGHAM Sean Hall, co-owner of this “real estate social enterprise”: “As principles, Rob Weston and I had been friends for over a decade before launching 2roofs in 2015. Rob was looking for a way to leave more of a legacy and I had been working in local pastoring along with studying social business in my grad program. We launched 2roofs to redirect a portion of every commission towards helping a person in need. “We ask, ‘Thinking of buying or selling your house? Why not change the life of a person in need at no additional cost?’ The response has been fantastic. It works because we connect our clients with the story of the person they helped.

2Roofs has donated $25,000 to date. Donations range from the hundreds to the thousands, and we

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GUEST COLUMN: FREE-MARKET ENVIRONMENTALISM Todd Myers | Environmental Director Washington Policy Center The Washington Policy Center is an independent, non-partisan think tank promoting sound public policy based on free-market solutions. Todd Myers is one of the nation’s leading experts on free-market environmental policy and is the author of the 2011 landmark book Eco-Fads: How the Rise of Trendy Environmentalism is Harming the Environment. His in-depth research on the failure of the state’s 2005 “green” building mandate receives national attention. He contributes to The Wall Street Journal.

When ‘saving the planet’ looks like a crowdfunded mug

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offee mugs would seem unlikely saviors of the planet. Increasingly, however, smartphones, crowdfunding, and distributed solutions are becoming the key to making a difference for the environment.

tal issues we faced on the first Earth Day 45 years ago.

Back then, the primary problems were large smokestacks that created air pollution and large outfall that created water pollution. Those were exactly the type of problems that can be addressed by government agencies – where the problem is clear, and a simple rule can solve the problem and it is easy to enforce.

The opposite is true today. Environmental impact Consider Seattle-based startup JikoPower. comes from many small inputs. Despite that change, Conceived by University of Washington students, the environmental policy mindset has not changed JikoPower created a coffee mug that much in 45 years. For example, the transforms heated water into elecJikoPower is exactly the previous administration sought to tricity you can use to charge your smartphone. kind of environmental expand EPA jurisdiction to every trickle of water of the United States, This nifty gadget seems frivosolution that is becoming including every drainage ditch. lous until you realize that in many This simply would not have African countries, cell phones are more common. It is a worked. The agency could not have not just a form of communication, small technology that policed every bit of flowing water but also act as a wallet and are used to pay for goods. Running out makes an incremental across the country. There aren’t enough enforcement officers. As a of battery power means you can’t environmental result, the only option for the EPA pay for goods and services. Many would be to severely punish any vioAfricans who live in rural areas have improvement and lation that they happened, randomly, to take a bus into a town to recharge is funded not by to get across a message based on fear. their phones, wasting time and Understanding they will miss the vast human potential. government or major majority of violations, regulators’ only JikoPower is exactly the kind corporations, but through option is to make an example of cases of environmental solution that is becoming more common. It is a private crowdfunding. they do find. This is arbitrary and unfair, and it is an ineffective way to small technology that makes an protect the environment. incremental environmental improveThe alternative is to encourage thousands of small ment and is funded not by government or major corpoenvironmental solutions like the JikoPower mug. There rations, but through private crowdfunding. are many examples.

JikoPower is not the only example of this type of The Nest Thermostat allows household users to approach. As environmental impact is becoming more save electricity by reducing power use when you are distributed, the best solutions must also be distributed. away. The system learns your daily patterns and can This is a stark contrast from the types of environmen-

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reduce the temperature when you are out of the house. If you forget to turn down the thermostat, you can even change the temperature remotely on your smartphone.

Farmers are turning to “precision agriculture” to target scarce resources only where they are needed most.

Using drones, farmers can tell which of their crops need more fertilizer or pesticides. Rather than spreading pesticides across all crops, they can save money – and reduce environmental impact – by delivering fertilizer or pesticide only to those crops where there is a problem.

Problems have changed, but the mindset hasn’t.

The EPA will miss the vast majority of violations.

Thus, regulators’ only option is to make an example of cases they do find. This is arbitrary and unfair, and it is an ineffective way to protect the environment.

In Seattle, Car2Go offers hourly use of efficient two-seat cars rather than using your own car or waiting for public transit. The program has proven so popular the City of Seattle now estimates Car2Go has reduced the number of cars on the road in the city by 4,500. Car2Go is not only making travel around the city easier, it is helping the environment.

Every Earth Day we are told the only solution to environmental problems is higher taxes and more big government solutions. Those expensive programs are not only wasteful, they don’t solve the type of environmental problems we face today.

In 2017, the best environmental solutions to save the planet look more and more like a crowdfunded coffee mug.

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GUEST COLUMN: HEALTHCARE Roger Stark MD (ret.) | Healthcare Policy Analyst Washington Policy Center Dr. Stark is a retired cardiothoracic surgeon. He is the author of two books on national healthcare issues, including Our Health Care Crisis, How It Happened, and How We Can Fix It, and an in-depth study on the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Washington state. He has testified before three Congressional committees on the ACA. He graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, served residencies in Seattle and the University of Utah, practiced in Tacoma, and became a co-founder of the open-heart surgery program at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.

What’s next for our healthcare system when Obamacare gets repealed?

R

epublicans won nationally in the election last November. From a policy standpoint American voters clearly said they want a new direction for the country, including a new direction for our costly and over-regulated healthcare system.

The political problem that Republicans in Congress now face is making a seamless and painless transition from Obamacare to a patient-oriented system. Although the ACA is a failed law, 20 million Americans now have health insurance either with taxpayer subsidies through the exchanges or through the expanded Medicaid entitlement program.

Lawmakers in Washington state aggressively established a state exchange and expanded The Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid under the provisions of also known as Obamacare, passed Although he actually Obamacare. If these programs are defundin 2010 and was enacted as a highly ed by the federal government, our state voted for Obamacare partisan, complex, 2,700-page fedelected officials will have to decide whetheral law. Unquestionably, the ACA when he was in Congress, er Washington taxpayers should continue has helped some people, but it has to pay for them, or if the programs should Gov. Jay Inslee now not come close to reaching the two be meaningfully reformed. Retaining goals supporters promised: coverage realizes that Washington them could burden state taxpayers with for everyone, and decreasing healthbillions of dollars in new taxes. state taxpayers could be care costs.

Last year in Washington state 170,000 The law is too complex, too responsible for an extra people received their health insurance political, and too expensive. through the state exchange. $3-3.5 billion a year if the Another 600,000 Obamacare Ineffectively, it clearly imposes Washington residents too large a regulatory burden on ACA is repealed and the were placed in the expanded Medicaid Americans. bringing the total number in state retains the exchange entitlement, Proponents of the law fail to Medicaid to 1.8 million. acknowledge that millions of and the Medicaid Gov. Jay Inslee is pushing our state’s Americans lost their existing health Congressional delegation to vote to retain expansion. insurance, that millions of people the ACA. Although he actually voted for now pay much higher insurance Obamacare when he was in Congress, he premiums to access smaller provider now realizes that Washington state taxpayers could be networks, that thousands of employers cut employee responsible for an extra $3 billion -3.5 billion a year if hours, and that truly needy low-income people in the the ACA is repealed and the state retains the exchange traditional Medicaid program now must compete with and the Medicaid expansion. This extra tax burden able-bodied 18-to-64 year-olds in the Obamacare would take money from education, transportation, and Medicaid expansion. other vital state needs.

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As national policymakers repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, they must protect those people who have benefited from the law, so they can continue to have health coverage.

Republicans did not win a 60-vote majority in the United States Senate. Consequently, repeal of Obamacare will require either the support of Democratic lawmakers to reach a filibuster-proof 60 votes, or a series of votes on specific parts of the law requiring only a simple majority.

Within hours of taking office, President Trump signed an executive order that began the dismantling of Obamacare. Supporters of the law contend that only Congress can amend or repeal the ACA. This belief overlooks the fact that the law states 1,300 times that the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department can change the ACA unilaterally. In other words, the architects of Obamacare gave the executive branch broad power to amend the ACA. Congress must offer reasonable alternatives to people who might lose their health insurance if the ACA is repealed. This will be difficult unless the costly mandates imposed by the law are repealed.

For example, simply allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines would not increase competition if all plans must include the 10 federal benefit mandates now required by Obamacare.

Eliminating the individual mandate would not be successful unless insurance companies can offer mandate-free or mandatelight plans at low cost, and offer consumers tax-free health savings accounts and high-deductible plans at low prices.

Health insurance premiums are set for 2017. Without repeal and replacement of the ACA, Washington residents could face significant rate increases in 2018.

One half of all Washingtonians

Obamacare states 1,300 times that the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department can change the ACA unilaterally‌.the architects of the law gave the executive branch broad power to amend the ACA. receive their health insurance through their employer or their spouse’s employer. This market saw a 6 percent increase in costs last year. Along with this increase, provider-networks have narrowed and more cost-sharing between employers and workers is now occurring.

About 15 percent of people in Washington state are in the Medicare program. These seniors have experienced modest increases

in their premiums since the ACA took effect. About one in four Washingtonians are in the Medicaid entitlement program totally paid for by taxpayers.

Unless Obamacare is repealed, all Washingtonians can expect significant increases in their health insurance premiums in 2018, and with potentially higher deductibles. The truly needy people in Medicaid can expect more difficulty accessing healthcare because of the large increase in able-bodied enrollees in the Obamacare expansion.

The ACA has had a harmful impact on the vast majority of Washingtonians. Repeal of Obamacare and meaningful, patient-centered healthcare reform can bring costs down, improve access, and decrease the regulatory burden our state has endured the past seven years.

Cont #WHIRLS1090D9

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ADVERTISER INDEX 1st Class Autobody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Barkley Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Barkley Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Bellingham Bells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Bellingham Cold Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Birch Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Business Person of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Care Medical Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Chmelik Sitkin & Davis P.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Choose Whatcom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Congratulations Nominees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 DeWaard & Bode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Faber Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Finestrino Film Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Fortiphi-HR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Four Points By Sheraton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Haggen Market Street Catering . . . . . . . . . 55 Hardware Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Heritage Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Holiday Inn & Suites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Hometown Reminders (Datalink) . . . . . . . . 77 Larson Gross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Laser Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Logo AD Congrats Ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Ludtke Trucking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Lynden Transportation Services . . . . . . . . . 45 Mills Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 BP Cherry Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Moncrieff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Northwest Propane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Peace Health St. Joseph Med Center . . 100 Perry Pallet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Peter James Photography Studios . . . . . . . 43 Porsche Bellingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 PRAISE 106.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Print & Copy Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Saturna Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Savi Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 ServiceMaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Signs Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Skagit Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 The Skagit Casino Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Veritas Media Productions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 VSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Washington Fed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 WECU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Whirlwind Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Yorkston Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

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