Business Pulse magazine March | April 2021 by Business Pulse magazine

MARCH/APRIL 2021

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

AWARD

A lifetime of achievements

Marty Maberry’s astute vision will strengthen the company for years to come Marty Maberry Maberry Packing

PLUS: Congratulations to all the

Business Person of the Year Finalists! Northwest Health Care Linen provides essential service for those most in need Tough decisions ahead as Whatcom County employers ponder requiring vaccinations Potential significant changes that could affect your business Business Pulse magazine 2423 E Bakerview Road Bellingham, WA 98226

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We Can’t Give You a Hug So How About a Mug

Your local business news brought to you by WHATCOM BUSINESS ALLIANCE

VOL. 46 | NO. 2 PUBLISHER Whatcom Business Alliance

EDITOR Matthew Anderson

CONTRIBUTING Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy

WRITERS Mike McKenzie

Stop by Our New Digs, 1415 Iowa St. So We Can Give You a Mug Birchequipment.com • Facebook • Instagram

Dustin McKissen Tony Moceri Kyra Planetz Mary Louise Van Dyke

GUEST COLUMNIST Devin Wolf, CFP

ART DIRECTOR Whitney Pearce

PHOTOGRAPHY Tiffany Brooks EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Chase Cover Photo by Tiffany Brooks WBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

BOARD CHAIR: John Huntley, President/CEO, Mills Electric Inc. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Pam Brady, Director NW Gov’t & Public Affairs, BP Cherry Point; John Huntley, President/CEO, Mills Electric Inc.; Doug Thomas, President/CEO, Bellingham Cold Storage; Josh Turrell, Partner, Larson Gross PLLC; Josh Wright, VP/Broker, Bell-Anderson Insurance BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Tyler Byrd, CEO, Red Rokk Interactive; Jane Carten, President, Saturna Capital; Andy Enfield, Vice President, Enfield Farms; Bryant Engebretson, Managing Principal, Tradewinds Capital; Jon Ensch, Commercial Banking Officer, Peoples Bank; Mitch Faber, Partner, Adelstein Sharpe & Serka; Sandy Keathley, Former Owner, K & K Industries; Tony Larson, Founder, Whatcom Business Alliance & President, Barlean’s/Board Member Emeritus; Laura McKinney, NW Gov’t Affairs & Public Relations, Alcoa-Intalco Works; Nicole Newton, Semiahmoo Resort/Golf/Spa; Becky Raney, Former Owner, Print & Copy Factory; Sarah Rothenbuhler, Owner/CEO, Birch Equipment; Patti Rowlson, Founder/Marketing Director, Bellingham PR & Communications; Galen Smith, Operations Manager/Owner, Coldstream Farms; Billy VanZanten, CEO, Western Refinery Services For editorial comments and suggestions, write editor@businesspulse.com. The magazine is published bimonthly at 2423 E. Bakerview Rd., Bellingham WA 98226. 360.746.0418. The yearly subscription rate is $25 (US). For a digital subscription, visit businesspulse.com. Entire contents copyrighted ©2021 Business Pulse. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Business Pulse, 2423 E. Bakerview Rd., Bellingham WA 98226

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

IN THIS ISSUE 11

MEDICAL LAUNDRY SERVICE SERVES PUGET SOUND REGION Family-owned Northwest Health Care Linen provides essential service for those most in need.

15 CAN EMPLOYERS REQUIRE VACCINATIONS? SHOULD THEY? Whatcom County employers face challenges and tough decisions ahead.

19 ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING MANUFACTURERS IN THE U.S. Local company Brist Mfg. learns to pivot and takes a different path to success.

congratulations!

23 BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR FINALISTS

Look for additional content online at businesspulse.com

START-UP OF THE YEAR

Lost Giants Cider Company

Paw Partner

ProShop USA

Lean Revisions

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Ecotech Solar

Simple Box Storage Solutions

Tidal Vision

VanderYacht Propane

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR

Stephen Bates, Hempler Foods Group

Dr. Eddie Hansen, Natural Way Chiropractic

Jennifer Kutcher, WECU

Murry Park, Trans-Ocean Seafoods

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Marty Maberry, Maberry Packing

47 NEW LEADERSHIP, NEW RULES Potential significant changes to watch for that could affect your business.

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

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BP UP FRONT

Talented leaders and dynamic businesses keep Whatcom County fundamentals strong Barbara Chase

Although this winter has been painfully long for all of us, change is finally in the air, bringing longer and lighter days. Spring is not too

far away. There is good news to report. The coronavirus vaccine rollout has begun in Whatcom County, and though the pace of vaccinations hasn’t occurred at the speed everyone would like, local and national experts predict that most people will have the opportunity to get vaccinated by summer. As of this writing, cases across the region and across the county have fallen and businesses are reopening — albeit in a limited capacity. As reopening picks up speed, companies will face important questions about whether to require their employees to get vaccinated. You can read more about what employers (and employees) can and cannot do regarding vaccination in the article “Whatcom County employers face challenges, tough decisions.” Besides the good news about vaccines, this edition also features several inspiring stories about Whatcom County businesses that have thrived during the pandemic. Columnist Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy covers Northwest Health Care Linen in her article “Not glamorous, just essential,” and Dustin McKissen writes about

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

When the business community gets involved in advocacy — especially when it makes a clear, compelling and nonpartisan argument — we can make a difference.

fast-growing apparel company Brist Mfg. in “Pivot.” We also provide updates on the nominees for Start-Up of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Business Person of the Year, and we offer a story about Marty Maberry, the much-deserved recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. We conclude the issue with “New leadership, new rules” from Devin Wolf, who shares insight into how the Biden administration’s approach to corporate tax policy could differ from that of the previous administration. Recently, WBA’s advocacy team has been monitoring several legislative issues, including Senate Bill 5096 and

House Bill 1084, which would amount to bad policies for business. SB 5096 would impose a new 9% tax on certain capital gains income in Washington state, and HB 1084 would prohibit natural gas infrastructure for space and water heating in new residential and commercial construction as well as require the elimination of those natural gas systems when construction is undertaken on existing buildings. Close to 200 businesses and individuals signed the recent WBA petitions to make our voices heard in Olympia. When the business community gets involved in advocacy — especially when it makes a clear, compelling and nonpartisan argument — we can make a difference. As the county’s economic recovery continues, we at Business Pulse strongly encourage local business leaders and our readers to make their voices heard. When we speak as one, we can make a compelling case for Whatcom County, our businesses and the citizens and families who depend on a more prosperous community. Borrowing from a line that countless presidents of both parties have used during hard times: we may be battered, but our fundamentals are strong. Whatcom County is still one of the most desirable and best places to live in the entire country. A major reason our fundamentals are so strong

is that we are home to the talented leaders and dynamic businesses covered in this edition of Business Pulse. There is, finally, actual light at the end of the long, dark tunnel we’ve been traveling through. In the coming months, the story of our county will be defined by optimism, hope and a full return to the prosperity to which Whatcom County has grown accustomed. That will only happen with the type of strong business leadership we have an abundance of. In the meantime, enjoy this issue of Business Pulse. Thank you, as always, to our readers, our leaders and our advertisers for your continued support. We could not do what we do without you. Now bring on the spring!

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BP NEWSMAKERS

Ron Wille

Matt Mullett

Ron Wille named president of All American Marine The owners and board of directors of Bellingham-based shipyard All American Marine have appointed Ron Wille as its next president. Matt Mullett, owner of All American Marine, will continue to serve as CEO and special adviser to the management team. Wille joined All American Marine in 2018 as its business development manager. Previously, he had a decade-long business relationship with All American Marine, working at Kenai Fjords Tours in Seward, Alaska. During that period, Kenai Fjords Tours purchased and operated three All American Marine hydrofoil-assisted catamarans. Wille’s maritime experience includes managing and directing large company operations and experience on tugboats. In addition to being a licensed merchant mariner, Wille holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. As president of All American Marine, Wille will continue to explore new business opportunities, oversee the existing staff, and increase his role in vessel contracting. Waterfront redevelopment project wins awards The Port of Bellingham and the City of Bellingham are redeveloping 237 acres on Bellingham’s central waterfront that was formerly a pulp and tissue mill owned by Georgia Pacific. A

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

Derek Thornton

Kamyar Monsef

master plan has been approved to create a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with new parks and trails. This large land area, known as the Waterfront District, will be redeveloped in phases over the next 40 to 50 years before the project is completely finished. In 2016, Wilson Engineering began work on the preparation of design and construction documents for the provision of potable water, irrigation water and sanitary sewer for the redevelopment of a key 36-acre portion of the district. In 2020, the Granary Avenue and Laurel Street project received the prestigious American Public Works Association 2020 Project of the Year Award in the transportation division for projects that cost at least $5 million but less than $25 million. The project was selected from those of similar size nationwide. In addition to being recognized by the APWA, the project also won the Local Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award 2020 for transportation engineering from the Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Steve Murray

Eric King

Peoples Bank announces promotions on its executive team Derek Thornton was promoted to executive vice president while retaining his title of chief financial officer. Derek joined Peoples Bank in 2013 with expertise in finance and accounting and has held leadership roles in retail, small business, and credit. He is accountable for financial management, budgeting, and asset/liability management for the Bank, and oversees the Accounting and Finance/Data Analytics teams. Kamyar Monsef was promoted to Executive Vice President while retaining his title of Chief Retail Banking Officer. Kamyar joined Peoples Bank in June 2020. He brings more than 20 years of banking experience, specifically focused on retail banking and consumer/ mortgage lending.

Aldi Kllogjeri

Drew Smith

Erin Schlegel

Grant Hauber

In addition, the following people were promoted to the positions of senior vice president, commercial banking group: Aldi Kllogjeri, Drew Smith, Erin Schlegel, and Grant Hauber. Read more at https://whatcombusinessalliance. com/news.

NEWSMAKERS BP

CPI Plumbing provides apprenticeship program A recently developed 12-month apprenticeship program at CPI Plumbing & Heating provides accepted apprentices with paid full-time employment at CPI, with benefits, as they learn the ins and outs of plumbing and HVAC, eventually being able to test and obtain a Washington state residential specialty plumbing license. The fully developed training curriculum is led by Steve Murray, CPI’s HVAC department manager. He has 37 years of industry experience, has been a licensed journeyman plumber for more than 30 years, a certified vocation instructor for more than 20 years, and a licensed 06A specialty electrician and electrical administrator for more than 20 years. Murray also serves as a member of the Mechanical Trades Apprenticeship Council at the Construction Industry Training Council and is a Continuing Education Unit instructor for both online and live classes. He also has developed more than two dozen courses for Washington state, Oregon, Florida and several other states.

care provider in Washington state and among fewer than 30 in the nation to receive this esteemed distinction. “This is a wonderful recognition of the quality outcomes of our cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery programs,” said Dr. Eric King, a PeaceHealth cardiac

interventionalist. “TAVI offers an important alternative to traditional open-heart surgery for our patients with significant valvular heart disorders.” Read more at https://www.peacehealth.org/tavr.

PeaceHealth St. Joseph Cardiovascular Center recognized for excellence The American College of Cardiology has recognized the PeaceHealth St. Joseph Cardiovascular Center for its demonstrated expertise and commitment to treating patients with moderate to severe heart valve disease with transcatheter valve implantation (or TAVI, also known as TAVR) procedures. With its TAVI program now officially certified, PeaceHealth is the first health

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BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

BUSINESS PROFILE BP

Family owners Evan Hall, president of operations and Kelsey Van Miert, president of customer relations

PHOTO: Tiffany Brooks

Not glamorous, just essential Medical laundry serves entire Puget Sound region Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy When you’re in the hospital, you’re not thinking, “Where did this blanket come from?” “You’re thinking, ‘This warm blanket makes me feel a little better,’” said Kelsey Van Miert, president of customer relations and family owner at Northwest Health Care Linen. The Bellingham-based company, founded by Van Miert’s father in 1992, might not be glamorous, but it is essential. It’s a medical-only laundry service for clinics, surgery centers and hospitals, including businesses ranging from sole practitioners to national organizations. NWHCL serves 17 hospitals and 450 clinics, from the U.S.-Canada border to Olympia and from Enumclaw to the Kitsap Peninsula. “We’re a rental laundry, which means we purchase products for our customers and rent it out to them on a daily basis,” Van Miert said. The company provides blankets, spreads, sheets, pillowcases, towels, underpads, baby and pediatric products, lab coats, patient gowns, scrubs, isolation gowns and much more. “When we tell people we own a medical laundry, they

think of a laundromat, with rows and rows of washers and dryers. But this could not be further from the truth,” Van Miert said. “We have robotic folders that fold 1,200 pieces an hour. We have tunnel washers that are 50 feet long and wash 15 different product types at once. We RFID-chip all our scrub-wear and ‘check it out’ to our customers.” RFID, or radio-frequency identification, allows products to be tagged and identified via scanning technology. Van Miert said that the company also has isolation gowns (worn by health care providers) with RFID chips so the number of washings can be monitored to ensure the gowns are protecting their users. In all, the company processes 50,000 to 60,000 pounds of laundry per day. Until recently, NWHCL was owned by Van Miert’s father, mother, brother and herself. When her father, Jim Hall, died in March 2020, his ownership transferred to his wife, Jill Hall, who is now the majority owner. (Van Miert and her brother, Evan Hall, the president of operations, are also owners and run the business together.)

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

All laundry is processed in the main location in Bellingham, which has 110 employees. A depot/transfer station in Puyallup, with five employees, serves South Puget Sound.

requested that he expand the service, Jim and Jill recognized a need. They attended an industry trade show and spoke with a consultant. “My dad thought, ‘Well that doesn’t sound very hard to get started,’” Van History Miert said. Shortly after founder Jim Hall gradHe drafted a business plan and uated from high school in 1972 and signed five local hospitals to 10-year started college, his mother was in a car contracts before he had acquired either accident. His father (Kelsey and Evan’s land or building. The Halls built their grandfather) at that time owned St. new business, Northwest Health Care Francis Extended Health Care in Bell- Linen, on Strider Loop Road in Bellingham. His father had to care for his ingham’s Irongate area and opened in wife full time, so the management of February 1992. St. Francis, then on Williams Street in They sold St. Francis to Avamere, a the Eldridge neighborhood, fell to Jim. national conglomerate, in 1993. “My dad unexpectedly found his In 2002, having won several large calling in taking care of the elderly clinic contracts, NWHCL remodeled and more vulnerable population,” Van and expanded, tripling the existing Miert said. facility to 42,000 square feet, gaining In 1975, when Jim Hall passed his efficiency and improving resource nursing home administrator test at age conservation. 21 and assumed full responsibility at “We needed more room for new St. Francis, he became the youngest equipment,” Van Miert said. “We administrator in Washington state. In brought in our first tunnel washer, the mid-1980s, when Jim Hall was which was a big deal.” 30, he and wife Jill relocated and built In 2012, they installed a KannegiessSt. Francis in its current location, on er garment system, one of just three Squalicum Parkway. in the country at the time. It had five Jim Hall created an on-site laundry hanging stations with RFID-equipped at St. Francis. When medical facilities hangers, a steam tunnel and two ro-

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

botic folders. In 2019, they expanded again to 50,000 square feet total, purchasing a Kannegiesser wash system — complete with tunnel washer, press and six dryers — resulting in energy and water savings. With the minimum wage having increased 44% over the past four years, the cost of producing a pound of clean linen is rising, Van Miert said. To avoid price increases, NWHCL has been looking to reduce operating and utility costs. Hence, the new equipment. In 2020, the company added a sixth hanging station and another robotic folder, further reducing the time it takes to process 25,000 to 30,000 individual garments daily. “When a medical facility orders linen, you work until it’s done,” Van Miert said. “You can’t say, ‘Sorry, we didn’t get it done.’” The new folder and hanging station cuts three to four hours off the day — lightening the load on that department from 20 hours a day — enabling the company to do the same amount of work in less time. The new generation “Growing up, our parents always told us they wanted us to go out and

do our own thing, that they weren’t just going to give us jobs at the laundry,” Van Miert said. “If we really wanted to be part of the family business, we had to prove we could bring something to the table. My brother and I worked there summers during high school then went off to college and pursued different careers.” When Van Miert’s first daughter was born, she and her husband decided to move from Kirkland back to Bellingham to be closer to family; she brought marketing and customer-service skills when she joined NWHCL in 2013. Brother Evan came on in 2016, moving with his wife back to Bellingham from Maui. Annual sales are currently $13 million. The company has four semi-trailers that deliver to hospitals and one large semi — “a two-story semi-trailer with an internal elevator that allows us

to put 53 carts in one load; it’s quite a marvel,” Van Miert said — that transports linen to the depot in Puyallup. Much of NWHCL’s growth springs from customers’ expansions, as health care organizations buy small independent clinics or other hospital groups. Today, one NWHCL contract might cover eight hospitals and 100 clinics, Van Miert said. “The stakes are much higher when working on renewals these days,” she said. The effect of COVID-19 The greatest challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic was early on, when elective surgeries were shut down. Within a week, NWHCL lost 50% of its business. “Our employees were done with all their work in three hours instead of their usual eight or nine,” Van Miert

said. “We were approved for a PPP loan, which was extremely helpful. We paid everyone full wages regardless of number of hours worked. We didn’t have to lay anyone off. Once elective surgeries opened up, everyone was back to work full time.” The pandemic also highlighted the importance of reusable textiles. “One reusable isolation gown (worn by health care providers) that we provide can replace 125 disposable single-use gowns,” Van Miert said. Many hospitals had been using disposable gowns only, and when that supply grew limited, there was a run to reusable. NWHCL was positioned to fill that need, since it had always offered reusable gowns. “We have seen exponential growth in demand for these products,” Van Miert said. “Providers who had bought

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and worn their own scrubs were now asking for our scrubs.” Why? “Germs! They don’t want to take their own scrubs — that possibly have COVID-19 on them — home with them.” Legacy “We are proud to carry on the legacy and work of our father,” Van Miert said. “But right now, I am most proud of the resiliency and dedication of the 115 people who work at Northwest Health Care Linen. As an essential service that serves health care providers on the front lines, our employees put their health and well-being on the front lines as well. They are our hidden heroes during this crisis. “Everyone came to work, and continues to come to work, to provide care for those most in need.”

Here are a few ways in which Northwest Health Care Linen is green: • Clean wash water is recycled back into the wash process. • The company’s washers use 75% less water than conventional washers.

GREEN AND

CLEAN

• NWHCL’s computerized systems inject only the proper amount of cleansing chemicals into wash cycles. • Plastic bags are recycled, reducing NWHCL’s solid-waste stream by 85%. • The company uses reusable products instead of disposables; everything provided to our customers is reusable or recyclable.

• NWHCL also is certified Hygienically Clean Healthcare by the Textile Rental Services Association.“We were one of the first three laundries in the nation to receive this Northwest Health Care Linen certification,” Van Miert said. “Our linens are is certified Clean Green by sent to a third-party lab in Georgia every the Textile Rental Services quarter and tested. Our customers never Association. have to wonder if their linens are clean, because we can prove it.”

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BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021



FEATURE BP

PHOTO: iStockphoto.com/scaliger

Whatcom County employers face challenges, tough decisions Can employers require vaccination? Should they? Dustin McKissen As the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines continues to ramp up, employers in Whatcom County face important questions. Can they require vaccination? (Yes, in most instances.) Should they require vaccination? (The answer is “it depends.”) What role should employers play in what can be a complicated health care decision for individuals and families? Like the disease, the vaccines are novel. While each vaccine is slightly different, none of them uses the more traditional treatment of injecting the live virus into the vaccine recipient. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vaccines currently approved use mRNA technology. This new technology, which helped speed the vaccines’

development, works in the following way, as written on the CDC website: “mRNA vaccines are a new type of vaccine to protect against infectious diseases. To trigger an immune response, many vaccines put a weakened or inactivated germ into our bodies. Not mRNA vaccines. Instead, they teach our cells how to make a protein — or even just a piece of a protein — that triggers an immune response inside our bodies. That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.” Importantly, an mRNA vaccine cannot give the recipient COVID-19. Although the vaccine cannot cause COVID-19, health

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

and religious concerns about brand new vaccine technology may prevent many employees from embracing vaccination — leaving employers in a difficult position and raising an important question: Can employers require that employees receive a COVID-19 vaccination? In most instances, the answer is yes. “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance that states employers can require the vaccine, even if they do not work in an industry with a high volume of public contact,” said Jeffrey Fairchild, an employment law attorney at Adelstein, Sharpe & Serka LLP in Bellingham. “Further, we expect the Occupational Health and Safety Administration will soon issue guidance on what employers can do along with providing some guidance clarifying the liability employers face if an employee gets sick

from the vaccination. We also expect OSHA to provide guidance on how to handle an employee’s refusal to take the vaccine.” Fairchild notes that while employers can require the vaccine, there are limited scenarios in which employees can object. The first and likely more common reason to object is a legitimate medical condition. The Food and Drug Administration has provided guidance that individuals with a known history of allergic reactions to vaccines in general should avoid receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The second reason for exemption is a legitimate religious objection. “While employers can mandate the vaccine, the question of what employers should do — rather than what they can do — is likely best left to each individual business,” Fairchild said. “For those businesses that require the

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vaccine, figuring out how to accommodate employees who cannot or will not get vaccinated will be an important consideration.” COVID-19 vaccine policies will probably differ depending on the company’s industry and the likelihood that the disease could be spread through routine business operations. “We have over one hundred employees spread over six campuses,” said Shawna Walton, director of operations at Christ the King Community Church. “We have stringently followed public health guidelines on masking and social distancing. Thankfully, we have not been a source for spread for our employees or the public. We have also adopted hybrid scheduling for staff, which ensures we can still provide weekend services and limit the opportunity to spread the disease.” Walton noted that the organization is taking a similar approach to vaccinations. “We will follow public health mandates and guidance regarding the vaccines,” Walton said. “However, we believe the decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate is best left to the employee. It is best if they reconcile those concerns with their family and their health care provider, rather than their employer.” All employers interviewed for this article stated that they would adopt a policy of letting employees make their own decisions. “Thankfully, our company has had no outbreaks of COVID-19 in our facility,” said Matt Mullet, president and CEO of All American Marine in Bellingham. “Initially, we closed for three weeks, just to be safe. We made it through those three weeks, but the ongoing impact on tourism has been hard on our company. The pandemic has affected our bottom line, but thankfully we have landed enough contracts to keep us busy.”

“While employers can mandate the vaccine, the question of what employers should do — rather than what they can do — is likely best left to each individual business.” — Jeffrey Fairchild, Employment Law Attorney Adelstein, Sherpe & Serka

Like Christ the King Community Church, All American Marine plans on letting its employees decide for themselves whether they will get vaccinated. “This is a personal decision,” Mullet said. “It just isn’t our culture to micromanage the choices our employees make in their own homes, with their own families. If an employee tests positive or is exposed to the virus, we will take the appropriate steps to limit his or her contact with other employees — and of course we will continue to follow all public health mandates throughout the duration of the pandemic.” One concern employers share is the potential exposure to liability. Employers fear the liability they may face if someone gets ill from receiving an employer-mandated vaccine. They also fear the liability they could face if someone refuses the vaccine and infects other employees or customers. However, legal experts predict employers will face little-to-no liability either way. “I do not believe employers will get caught in the legal crosshairs of a lawsuit, regardless of their vaccine policy,” Fairchild said. “This is unfamiliar territory, but unless the employer engages in an act of gross negligence, requiring or not requiring the vaccine likely will not end up with the employer being sued. A refusal to follow public health mandates regarding masking and social distancing could be another story, but a vaccine involves a unique set of considerations.” Like everything about the yearlong (and counting) pandemic, the vaccine presents Whatcom County businesses with difficult and often complex decisions. In many businesses, individuals

lining up for their vaccine and individuals flatly refusing to receive a shot will work side by side. Balancing their concerns will prove challenging as vaccinations become widely available. “Ultimately, employers should follow public health guidance, use common sense and be supportive as employees consider what their best course of action is,” Fairchild said. “If they do that — and document their policies and process — they should not have to fear any liability.” Transparency is also important. “Communication and openness is the key,” said Tony Larson, president of Barlean’s, former publisher of Business Pulse and founder of the Whatcom Business Alliance. “If employers do not properly communicate their COVID19 vaccination policy to their team,

employees will fill in the blanks. Misinformation around such an important topic can do significant damage to a company culture. Management needs to clearly communicate what their COVID-19 vaccination policy is, the reasons for the policy, and how employees can voice their objections and concerns.” While employers may not require the vaccine, they are certainly looking forward to a return to Whatcom County’s previously booming economy. “We have been able to maintain our team without having to do a reduction in staff,” Mullet said. “That said, we cannot wait to turn the corner on this pandemic and get back to business as something close to usual. When that day comes, I think we will all celebrate.”

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Congratulations to the finalists for the Business Pulse Business Person of the Year Award!

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BUSINESS FEATURE BP

Brist Mfg. CEO and owner Brendan Pape

PHOTO: Tiffany Brooks

PIVOT! !TOVIP

How Brist Mfg. became one of the fastest-growing manufacturers in the U.S. Dustin McKissen It is among the more memorable television scenes of the 1990s. Chandler, Ross and Rachel are all attempting to carry a heavy couch up a flight of stairs on an episode of “Friends.” The couch is much too large for the sharp-angled staircase. Ross tries to guide the rest of the couch-moving crew up the staircase by constantly and abrasively shouting “Pivot!” While shouting “Pivot!” might be a poor strategy for moving a couch up a flight of stairs, pivoting away from the company’s original business model was the best thing that ever happened to Bellingham-based Brist Mfg. The apparel maker originally got its start as Disidual Clothing, a lifestyle brand that eventually gained a presence in retailers up and down the West Coast. The brand was even on the

shelves and racks at Zumiez, a longtime presence in major malls and shopping centers. While Disidual was successful, CEO and owner Brendan Pape soon realized the difficulties associated with largescale clothing manufacturing. “Scaling up required existing relationships with overseas suppliers and unrealistic minimum order requirements,” Pape said. “Disidual did not have those relationships nor the ability to order the number of minimums suppliers required. We knew we had to figure out a different path. We solved our own problems by starting Brist Mfg.” The plan worked. Brist became very good at manufacturing apparel and solving the needs of clothing companies. By 2015, Disidual was making more clothes for other

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

companies than it was for Disidual. At that point, Brendan made a strategic business decision. He and his then-business partner focused on Brist and manufacturing clothes for other brands. It was a wise decision. Over the next half-decade, Brist Mfg. experienced year-over-year growth that culminated in being named to the 2019 Inc. 5000 list. Published by business magazine Inc., the prestigious annual list ranks the nation’s 5,000 fastest-growing privately held companies. “2019 was an exceptional year for our company,” Pape said. “We entered 2020 with every expectation that we would continue on the same trajectory. By that point, the business had around 50 employees, and we were growing rapidly.” Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened.

“Businesses were clearly struggling with projecting demand in such a sudden economic downturn,” Pape said. “We definitely struggled with our revenue and sales goals. We had to make some hard decisions that could have had a much more negative impact on our culture than it did. I commend our team for that. They have really faced this year with a sense of courage and determination. It makes me proud to work with them.” Almost immediately, Brist tried to do what they could to help each other and their community through the coronavirus crisis. In response to the pandemic, Brist developed a campaign focused on one simple message: “America, We Got This.” “We could either wrap it up and go home or buckle down and try to make a difference,” Pape said. “No one on our team wanted to wrap it up. We all

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wanted to make a difference. Because of that, we developed a message for our community, and really the world. We are all in the same boat. We all face uncertainty. But we have faced fear and uncertainty before and have always risen to the occasion. That’s the message we were trying to share.” The program centered on the ability to design an “America, We Got This” shirt specific to individual communities, with a portion of sales going to the James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund, which supports independent food and beverage businesses. Brist’s commitment to its community may have brought the company good karma. After enduring the first three quarters of a terrible year, Pape and his team bounced back in a big way at the end of the year. The fourth quarter of 2020 set an all-time sales record for Brist. “The hard work everyone put in this year — and our commitment to each other and our community — really paid off. We aren’t where we were before the pandemic hit, but we see the path ahead that could put us where we want to be,” Pape said. “Barring any other major national calamities and assuming the vaccines work like they should, this year should be a great year for Brist.” Brendan attributes Brist’s success to the fact that they are more than just a run-of-the-mill screen printing shop. The company has an in-house creative department that can provide clients custom art and designs. “Normally, creating a custom piece requires working with a separate design team and then bringing that artwork to the company that turns it into a finished clothing item,” Pape said. “It is an inefficient process, and things

“It will not be easy. But if you stay committed to who you are and what your business stands for, you will succeed — and the team here will root for you all along.”

sometimes get lost in translation between the design and production sides. Brist is different. Our creative team can help customers imagine, design and produce items while working one company. We help our clients create complete marketing solutions. That is very different in our industry.” The difference has been noticed by more than just Inc. magazine. Brist has a client list that includes Woods Coffee, the Seattle Mariners, Lyft, Alienware, South by Southwest, the Sundance Film Festival, Mt. Baker Ski Area, Jackson Hole Ski Resort and seemingly half the craft breweries in the Pacific Northwest. (Half might be an exaggeration, but Brist does a significant amount of business with breweries inside and outside of Whatcom County.) “I like to think our partners understand the value of our creativity and innovation, but more than anything, I like to think we’ve worked with so many great local and national brands because they are attracted to our values,” Pape said. “Our commitment to our culture and our community is even more important than our commitment to our bottom line. The past year showed us we can’t always control the environmental factors affecting our business — but we can control the way we respond to those factors. At Brist, we stayed committed to our core values. Because of that, we are starting this year from a much stronger position than I would have expected a few months ago.”

Brist Mfg. is setting an example that, one would hope, other entrepreneurs in Whatcom County will follow. The clothing industry is notoriously difficult, as Brendan Pape learned when he started Disidual. Whatcom County also is a challenging place to start a business of any type — let alone one with the labor and production costs that come with running a clothing maker. Still, Brist is doing far more than just making the best of a challenging situation. The company is thriving. In 2019, Inc. magazine ranked Brist No. 42 among the fastest-growing manu-

—Brendan Pape

facturing companies in the country. “I really believe there is a future for manufacturing in the United States and in Whatcom County,” Pape said. “We proved value is recognized wherever it is created. I hope that inspires others to start something they love, right here in Whatcom County. It will not be easy. But if you stay committed to who you are and what your business stands for, you will succeed — and the team here will root for you all along. And when the time comes, we will be happy to design and manufacture your apparel.”

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

“

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BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

WECU.COM/BUSINESS

congratulations to the

BUSINESS PERSON

OF THE

YEAR

FINALISTS

Locally Owned & Operated

PETROGAS

Pacific, LLC

soil • water • air compliance solutions

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Our nominees are all about being adaptable, resilient and positive about the future. Like every year, in February 2020 Business Pulse was preparing for our annual Business Person of the Year event, honoring Whatcom County’s most successful and innovative businesses and leaders across four categories. Unfortunately, that was the plan. Then the rest of 2020 happened and the event was sidelined ... until now. Each of these companies and leaders were recognized recently and had their moment in the spotlight. Below are the nominees, with updates on the following pages on how each of them adapted to the challenges of the past year.

Start-Up of the Year

success. The company plans to keep the system in place, even when the pandemic ends. Tidal Vision’s seafood-waste polymer continued to be in strong demand, resulting in 100% growth — even during a pandemic. VanderYacht Propane grew in 2020, which allowed the company to keep its entire staff and continue to serve a four-county region.

Business Person of the Year

Stephen Bates, owner of Hempler Foods Group, helped Lost Giants Cider, a Bellingham-based cidery, restruc- his company navigate the pandemic and continue to be an tured its staff team and focused on online sales, curbside important employer in Whatcom County. Bates and his orders, and supplying other businesses with their craft cider. team expect growth in 2021 and beyond. Though the company does not know when it will open its Eddie Hansen helped lead his Natural Way Chiropractic taproom, it expects growth in 20211. practice through the pandemic by strengthening communiPaw Partner, (formerly Pawslove) a technology pro- cation and being well-prepared. As a result the practice was vider for pet-focused businesses, thrived despite the pan- able to serve patients for most of 2020. demic and the accompanying economic restrictions. How? Jennifer Kutcher, CEO at Whatcom EducationOld-fashioned customer service and reaching out directly al Credit Union (WECU), helped serve her community to clients. by offering crisis loans to individuals and funding $36M ProShop USA, a manufacturing software platform, near- worth of PPP loans, helping to preserve 5,000 county jobs. ly doubled its staff and grew revenue by 60% — along with Murry Park, president of Trans-Ocean Products, grew his making diversity and inclusion a focus of its growth and team in 2020 while implementing health and safety protostrategy. cols to help keep his staff safe. SixSigmaTV.net rebranded, becoming “Lean Revisions.” Owners Jeff and Mason Gray continue to work with Lifetime Achievement Award companies across the region to become more efficient and profitable. Marty Maberry, co-owner and chair of the board at Maberry Packing, continued to be a shining example of Whatcom County business leadership. By implementing structural change within his company and empowering Small Business of the Year leadership, Maberry helped the business continue to grow Echo Tech Solar installed its 1,000th solar energy sys- and play an important role in the region’s agricultural tem and has strong momentum going into 2021. industry. Simple Box Storage Containers instituted a profit-sharing model that invested employees in the business’s

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

Read all the nominees’ complete stories at http://www.businesspulse.com

Lost Giants Cider Company START-UP OF THE

YEAR

Online sales a critical ingredient

Lost Giants finds growth opportunities during the pandemic Mary Louise Van Dyke

Just as different ciders require varied ingredients, 2020 pushed the owners of Lost Giants Cider Company to develop innovative tools to stay productive during the pandemic. The Bellingham craft cidery was founded in 2018 by Brad Wilske, Abraham Ebert and Chris Noskoff. The three met while working for Kulshan Brewery. Ebert’s interest in making ciders as a hobby plunged them into thinking about opening a craft cidery. A year of planning, recipe creation and testing followed, combined with constructing a production and packaging facility at 1200 Meador Ave. The company’s focus was crafting ciders, infusing new flavors that pushed the boundaries and left customers wanting more. COVID-19’s brusque plunge onto the national scene forced the owners to stake out a new direction. “We’re here,” Wilske said. “We are a startup, and we didn’t have a lot of infrastructure that we had to scale back.” And then the management team became two. “It was very stressful for us,” he said. “Chris decided to back out of the company.” Wilske and Ebert took a hard look at what was working for company operations and what operations clogged efforts to grow at a practical rate.

The taproom closed, due partly to state restrictions and partly, Wilske said, because he and Ebert wanted to close it. That resulted in them having to temporarily lay off one employee, while their other employee departed after accepting a full-time job elsewhere. “We’re being very cautious of COVID-19,” Wilske said. “There’s only a few of us, and we can’t afford to close down.” If the company couldn’t keep the taproom open for customers, at least it could continue sales to local venues and wholesalers in Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties. Discovering that online sales was a possibility was a welcome positive, Wilske said. Wilske took over running curbside sales, offering customers the opportunity to purchase their favorite ciders to go. People are using that tool for purchasing products, he said, and he thinks those transactions will continue after the pandemic restrictions ease. People can visit the Lost Giants website and scope out ciders of their choice, including the Rosé Cider and Jonagold Cider, both crafted from Bellewood Farms apples. Limited release ciders also are available, including the Cherry Cider and Pineapple Habanero Cider. “There seems to be a real draw to

Abraham Ebert

Brad Wilske

Owner, Head Cider Maker

Owner, Tap Room & Brand Manager

fruit ciders, not just apple ciders,” Wilske said, adding that the Rosé Cider has won two major awards, including the “2020 Platinum Medal: Best of the NW” from Sip Magazine. 2020 strengthened the cidery’s connections with other local businesses. “Everyone is in the same boat, with everyone scrambling to learn how to do what’s necessary to stay in business,” Wilske said. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to swap stories and learn valuable tips, such as who prints another company’s cans, he said. We still don’t know where we’re at with opening up the taproom,” Wilske said, “but we’re still looking at continuing to grow in the next year.” ■

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Paw Partner START-UP OF THE

Plenty of bright spots during the year

YEAR

Paw Partner presses forward, cleaning off the 2020 muck Mary Louise Van Dyke

Imagine trying to take a shower while wading through a mud puddle. Kim Singh and his partners, Mike Thelen and Austin Thelen, launched Paw Partner in February 2020, just as COVID-19 was creeping into the American consciousness. The partners’ goal was simple: provide software for the pet industry via a mobile app for iOS and Android devices and gain worldwide recognition as a premier software platform. People can use the app to make grooming and walking reservations for their furry companions, receive reminders of upcoming veterinarian appointments, and share photos on Paw Partner’s social media platform. Doggy daycares and similar businesses utilize the operations management system to help them run daily operations. Initially, the business did well despite the 2020 pandemic restrictions; however, the fourth quarter dampened the outlook, said Singh, Paw Partner’s chief financial officer. “(The travel restrictions) hit us pretty hard,” Singh said, “but we’re sludging through the mud. I believe there’s a shoreline ahead, and we’re heading towards that.” Reaching that destination means moving forward a few footsteps at a time, given the current restrictions on workplaces. Singh compares the experience to trying to take a shower while immersed in a mudhole. Little by little, the muck washes away. Paw Partner responded to the business slowdown by implementing a one-on-one strategy, phoning pet business owners who were struggling just to survive. A friendly hello and time spent listening to clients pour out worries about fewer pets needing services proved beneficial, Singh said. These people needed someone to help them see there is light ahead, Singh said. Granted, using the phone is kind of old school, but the tool turned out beneficial for building morale and staying the course. The company didn’t make any changes in 2020 that will outlast the pandemic, Singh said. Plans to promote the mobile app slackened but didn’t change.Though COVID-

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

Kim Singh Austin Thelen

Founder

Founder Mike Thelen Founder

19 made things difficult, there were plenty of bright spots throughout the year, Singh said. “What inspired me the most,” he said, “was everyone coming together to be positive.” Ideas were accepted from everyone involved in the company, even from staff members’ youngsters. Would the concept stick or plummet to the bottom of the suggestions box? Being agile, learning to not assume anything and always having a secondary idea or plan in place helped Paw Partner navigate 2020, he said. Social distancing meant cancellation of most of the symposiums and trade shows the management team was counting on to attract new customers. Virtual conferencing platforms such as Zoom proved less effective than getting out to talk with prospective customers face-to-face and showing them the mobile app, Singh said. However, recent months still have been well spent. On the Paw Partner website, Austin Thelen has been announcing numerous software updates, including regarding the creation of welcome packets for new customers, the generation of invoices, and an icon update that shows whether a dog, for example, lacks a current rabies shot. Paw Partner continues to press forward — despite at times standing in the muck — making improvements and reaching out to customers, Singh said.“We’re still here,” he said. “We don’t see anything that’s stopping us at the moment. We’re moving ahead.” ■

ProShop USA START-UP

ProShop adds employees during pandemic

OF THE

YEAR

Move to remote work adds to 60% revenue growth Mary Louise Van Dyke

ProShop USA experienced some bright moments during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing staff from 22 to 41 and experiencing a growth in revenues of about 60%. Those gains in a year spiked with unexpected hurdles for manufacturing concerns was no minor accomplishment for a startup business. “We had an amazing year,” said Paul Van Metre, company president. Bellingham-based ProShop USA is a subsidiary of Adion Systems of Vancouver, British Columbia. The company was launched in 2019 to facilitate sales and support of the ProShop enterprise resource planning software. The software helps manufacturing facilities run smoother, more efficient operations. After the virus hit, ProShop USA — along with many clients — shifted office staff to working remotely. The move to remote work was probably the toughest lesson of 2020, Van Metre said. “The transition to working at home was harder for some employees than others,” he said. However, manufacturers still needed machinists, assemblers and shipping department personnel on the shop floor. ProShop personnel worked to be supportive, determining how ProShop could help its clients operate during the pandemic. Many companies decided to pull the trigger on operations. Geared for small- and medium-sized enterprises, the software improves efficiency at the shop level through monitoring quality inspections and managing machines, work and instructions. The software also can manage all of a company’s various quality systems. ProShop software allows workers to connect via the Internet; they log on to use the internal messaging system and view work queues. The software also securely protects company data.Working from home certainly isn’t easy for everyone, Van Metre said. Staff need a place to operate that, ideally, is free from distractions. To that end, the company has been supporting team members with items such as

Paul Van Metre President

noise-cancelling headphones and webcams, he said. To help keep workers connected, the company set up a chat platform that includes various channels for conversation, such as a channel about pets. The company’s chat platform also has a diversity and equity group, inspired by the unrest that took place during much of 2020, Van Metre said. The group offers opportunities that encourage inclusion and recommends podcasts and books on the subject. “The move to all remote work, I think, will be permanent,” Van Metre said, adding that means downsizing the office in downtown Bellingham. Van Metre said he was inspired by the recognition a female employee received for her work in cyber security. Cyber security is becoming more important, and the employee is leading the company’s efforts in that direction, he said. The move to remote work has opened opportunities for ProShop to hire more Bellingham/Whatcom County residents and even a few individuals from Florida and Texas. “We love having a headquarters here in Bellingham,” Van Metre said. “It’s an amazing community to be part of and to attract employees.” ■

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Lean Revisions START-UP OF THE

YEAR

The ‘lean guys’ lean into 2021 New name, same service propel this team to success Mary Louise Van Dyke

Jeff Gray and his son, Mason Gray, don’t mind being dubbed “the lean guys” these days. After all, the cornerstone of their business, Lean Revisions, is assisting companies and organizations in paring down what doesn’t work and focusing on optimizing operations. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the company to re-examine how it conducted business and to rebrand itself with a new name. “We are a 95% in-person business,” said Mason Gray, the company’s chief operating officer. “We had all these classes and projects lined up when 2020 hit. We had to push all of them back.” Paring down meant empty offices, with Lean Revisions’ core team of seven all working from home. Limited get-togethers were held at the company’s studio to shoot videos that were then edited remotely. The Grays revamped their style of training and moved to a virtual platform with shorter, more focused and interactive modules, said CEO Jeff Gray. Previously, the company offered workshops that ranged between 8 and 128 hours, lengths that don’t work for virtual presentations. The company retooled the information from those workshops and released it in smaller chunks to help clients revamp operations, Jeff said. Instead of visiting customer facilities in person, they take virtual walks via cell phones and drones and coach people using Zoom. Those weren’t the only major adjustments forged. Initially, when Jeff and Mason launched the consulting and training firm in 2018, it was known as SixSigmaTV. Net. Mason says that moniker proved a mouthful for customers. The downtime imposed by the pandemic allowed the Grays time to rebrand as Lean Revisions. “People would call us the lean guys. We weren’t getting the name recognition,” Mason said. “Now it’s okay to say we’re the lean guys.” Their services, which helped the company earn $1 million

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

Jeff Gray CEO

Mason Gray COO

in 2019, are based on the Lean Six Sigma methodology: help companies optimize operations through increased capacity and quality; lower operating costs by eliminating waste and variations; increase revenues by maximizing efficiency; and build relationships through employee and customer loyalty. “This methodology is proactive, not reactive,” Jeff said. In the midst of the pandemic, companies everywhere are thinking about how to reengineer their operations and emerge successful, Jeff said. What issues are most impacting them? How do company employees communicate with each other when working remotely? What materials are needed to help them stay in business? Mason applied that description to the toilet paper shortages and hoarding of the early months of the pandemic — people buying a year’s worth of toilet paper, grocery store shelves emptied by panicked consumers. “I was telling people, ‘Don’t go buy up everything in the grocery store,’” Mason said. “That (type of action) hurt a lot of people.” Instead, he encouraged people to think in terms of “we all need” and not just “I need” when making a purchase. Buy what was needed for, say, two months, and leave enough Charmin for your neighbors. As for the future, the lean guys will keep working to empower companies to create roadmaps and evolve to become their leanest best. ■

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Ecotech Solar

A major milestone in a very challenging year

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE

YEAR

Ecotech Solar installs 1,000th solar setup since its 2004 founding Tony Moceri

“Figuring out how to take care of everybody, you know to figure out the right protocol to make sure that our employees and customers and everyone was safe,” Brandt said, “so it created a ton of workload in terms of figuring out this new normal.” To keep operating, Brandt knew that some changes would need to be made, but like every business owner, he didn’t know exactly what that meant. The first thing he did was become super flexible with his team. With kids out of school, schedules had to be shuffled, and the balance between work and life became even more important as people managed their obligations. Dana Brandt Fortunately for Ecotech, business Founder, President stayed strong through 2020, allowing everyone in the company to work as normally as their schedules would allow. With shifting schedules and new protocols in place, Brandt said he was impressed with how his team has At the start of 2020, Ecotech Solar handled it. owner Dana Brandt was feeling good “I’ve watched my crew be really inthat even with solar incentives going tentional about not just following the away, he had been able to stay prof- letter of the law in terms of what the itable and keep his team working. COVID guidelines are but being reWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit ally thoughtful about caring for the in March, it handed him a whole new folks we work for and the folks we world to navigate. With a business work with about being careful and safe that has his team interacting direct- about COVID transmission,” he said. ly with people, and their homes, it With all the challenges 2020 brought, couldn’t just be business as usual. there have been some lasting positive impacts as well. In the past, commu-

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

nication with customers had always been via phone calls or in-person meetings. Now, video conferencing has become the norm, so it gives the company a middle ground for communication. In addition, Ecotech is now set up for employees to work efficiently from home. At the start, it stretched everyone, but they have now honed their processes, and working remotely is functioning well. Brandt said that these changes will continue to be a part of his business once the pandemic is over. With the initial shock of the pandemic now under control, business is good. With processes in place to keep people safe and solar now accessible to just about any homeowner, we are living in a time in which solar is no longer a luxury for the wealthy, Brandt said. “It’s something that can help your average homeowner save money on their bills and make their own clean energy,” he said. The broad availability of solar has Brandt excited; it’s what allowed him and his team to just finish up their 1,000th solar install since the business opened in 2004. It’s a significant milestone for both Ecotech and the community, and Brandt said he and his team are looking forward to rolling out the next 1,000 solar systems. ■

Simple Box Storage Solutions

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE

Difficult times inspired change

YEAR

Simple Box scrapped plans, relied on core values for direction Tony Moceri

Heading into 2020, Ross Black, the owner of Simple Box Storage Solutions, was looking forward to executing his plan for future growth. Business — providing storage containers for rent, purchase and to help people move — was on an upward trajectory, and he had no reason to think that would change. “We were poised to have our best year ever,” Black said. That sentiment would quickly change as the world entered the pandemic. “March 6, we held this all-team meeting, scrapped all the goals and just said we have one goal, and that’s survival,” Black said. He and his team rapidly made changes to their daily operations, allowing them to thrive in this new environment. Communication became the team’s focus. With the business spread out among seven locations and multiple states, Black had to figure out how to keep everyone on the same page. They began using Voxer, a walkie-talkie app that allowed people to communicate instantly. He also instituted morning meanings, which Black leads himself. As he and his team meet virtually, he ends every morning meeting with a slide that says, “How Can I Help?” Black’s instincts to increase communication were correct. “Teamwork just seems to be the No.

1 thing that just skyrocketed in 2020,” he said. This teamwork mentality has showed through not only in the success of the business, but also in the actions of the team. Many people offered to take pay cuts to help the business and their co-workers. Black was inspired by these selfless acts, and in what was shaping up to be a challenging year, he Ross Black doubled down on his team. Founder, CEO Dave Black He instituted a profit-sharOwner/Business ing model that will continue Development with the company even after the pandemic is over. This has created a level of ownership among the team that took 2020 only good if the world didn’t change. from surviving to thriving. Instead of working from a plan, the Simple Box now has people working team at Simple Box now work from all over the West and is doing it their values and daily habits, which better than ever. Black upgraded the will hold true no matter what happens. team’s equipment and set them up to Black is still concerned about an ecowork remotely, improving efficiency. nomic impact that could be looming “Overall, we ended up probably hit- due to large inflation, which is why he ting every one of our goals as far as continues to streamline operations to expanding and increased revenue,” he be prepared for whatever comes next. said. “It just looked so much different He believes unequivocally that the than we thought it would.” events of 2020 made Simple Box a In a year that looked much different better business. He could not be more than anticipated, Black has learned impressed with his team and is thrilled not to hold too tightly to plans. He that the company is better positioned thought Simple Box had great strat- than before to help people with their egies going into 2020, but those were storage needs in 2021. ■

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Tidal Vision

SMALL

Even a pandemic can’t slow Tidal Vision’s chitosan

BUSINESS OF THE

YEAR

Demand sticks for natural polymer made from seafood waste Tony Moceri

Zach Wilkinson Craig Kasberg

Co-founder

Co-founder, CEO

2020 created new challenges for all businesses, but for Craig Kasberg’s Tidal Vision, the year was more about adapting to change than dealing with major setbacks. The company makes chitosan, a biopolymer made from seafood waste, which can be used in a variety of products. Its uses include in water treatment, textiles, agriculture and food preservation; the Tidal Vision website boasts of more than 400 products on the market today that include chitosan. “(Chitosan is a) natural alternative to a wide range of synthetic chemicals, and we target industries where we know we have something not just greener but also lower cost, easier to use, and better performance,” Kas-

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

berg said. His product is in high demand, so when the shutdown happened, his challenge was keeping production high enough to meet customer requests. To keep production going, Tidal Vision instituted protocols designed to help ensure the team stayed healthy. In addition to providing personal protective equipment at work, Tidal Vision made it easy for people to stay home if they were not feeling well. “We gave everyone a couple extra weeks of paid time off so that if anyone even felt like they had a tickle in their throat, they could take time off without losing any of their paycheck,” Kasberg said.While the company did experience a slowdown in March, it was able to do so without laying anyone off, actually adding to the team overall in 2020. Company leaders made changes to accommodate people working from home and now have some full-time remote workers, something Kasberg sees as a permanent change that may even increase in the future. What could have been a major setback ended up being a moment of inspiration. “Our employees adapted to accommodate different styles of work and quickly built the systems in a way that

works for everyone,” Kasberg said. Tidal Vision was able to achieve 100% growth in 2020, and team members learned a lot about themselves in the process. “When things don’t go according as planned, we know that we were capable of making changes quickly and adapting not only to survive but eventually grow, as well,” Kasberg said. The success the company was able to achieve in 2020 has it positioned well in 2021. Tidal Vision is expecting continued growth as it gets its chitosan into the hands of more industries that can benefit from using a product able to replace toxic chemicals. Tidal Vison is growing its operations throughout Whatcom County — and across the country, with a warehouse now in South Carolina — and positioning itself to better serve national and international customers. This growth means the company will need more help to keep up with demand. Leaders are looking to grow their team with people passionate about the mission “to create positive and systemic environmental impact by advancing chitosan chemistry solutions.” Now with a proven track record of overcoming challenges — and looking at a great deal of opportunity in the future — Kasberg is optimistic about Tidal Vision’s ability to further its mission while growing the business. ■

VanderYacht Propane

VanderYacht Propane turns focus inward for positive results

SMALL BUSINESS OF THE

YEAR

Residential growth, team focus help company beat 2019 numbers Tony Moceri

As an essential business, VanderYacht Propane didn’t have any downtime in 2020, which meant the company had to adapt on the fly. Denver VanderYacht, the company’s sales and marketing manager, began the year anticipating a 10%-15% growth in sales, like recent years. However, while they did still beat their 2019 numbers by approximately 2%, those sales did not look how company leaders had expected. In a normal year, providing propane to restaurants and campgrounds is a large part of the business, but with those sectors operating at partial capacity, VanderYacht Propane saw commercial sales drop significantly. What allowed it to edge out 2019 was the large number of new residential customers. “Construction has been busier than ever,” VanderYacht said, “and we’re still setting tanks for all of our contractors we’ve partnered with. That part of our business has not really slowed down, because people are still wanting to move here to Washington state.” Due to the continued demand, VanderYacht Propane didn’t have to lay off a single employee and is now looking to add drivers and service technicians to the team. Without a pause to figure out what quickly became a new world, VanderYacht focused on making sure his employees and customers felt comfortable with

Denver VanderYacht Bryan VanderYacht

Sales & Marketing Manager

Co-Founder Mary VanderYacht

Drake VanderYacht Driver

Co-Founder

the new safety precautions. Using social distancing and personal protective equipment, employees were able to fill tanks and conduct gas checks without jeopardizing anyone’s health or safety. VanderYacht said he does not see these added precautions leaving anytime soon. During such a strange time, VanderYacht said he was touched by the team’s response: “employees letting us know that they were grateful how we were able to employ them through this pandemic and have that stability.” While he had always been appreciative of his team, he said, 2020 shed additional light on how important it is for a business to be able to adapt. Without such a great group in place, he said, nothing he could have done on his own would have mattered. “We’ve really learned this year to just focus inside out, to take care of our employees, make sure they’re good,

and then it’s really going to show to our customers,” VanderYacht said. Making sure the company was able to provide essential service was critical. With many customers facing challenging times, VanderYacht said he appreciated his loyal customer base, making a point to work with those who were unexpectedly out of work and needed a little more time to pay bills. As so many people were struggling, company leaders focused on being part of the community and doing their best. It is this type of approach, VanderYacht said, that has allowed the company to grow from the little delivery company it was in 1989 to now providing service throughout multiple counties. In 2021, VanderYacht has a message for those with propane needs in Whatcom, Skagit, Island and Snohomish counties: “We’re here for you, and we’ll do anything in our power to accommodate your needs.” ■

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

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Stephen Bates CEO, Hempler Foods Group

Hempler Foods keeps employees a top priority

BUSINESS P E R S O N OF THE

YEAR

CEO says ‘change is neutral; what matters is how you handle circumstances’ Kyra Planetz

As COVID-19 hit Washington state in full force nearly a year ago, many companies had to adapt to a new way of doing business. Changes, either positive or negative, had to be made. However, Stephen Bates, CEO of Hempler Foods Group, doesn’t believe in such a black-and-white outlook. To him, the pandemic has proved that change is neutral; it all depends on how one handles developing circumstances. “We’ve faced a lot of challenges, but nothing quite like the effects of what happened in 2020,” Bates said. “Through it all, I’ve definitely learned that we’re more resilient and stronger when we work together as a team.” After 86 years in Whatcom County, Hempler Foods has stayed true to its values: maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit while caring for others. Bates said he is inspired by this enduring culture and by his employees, who define what it means to be essential. He gives credit to his entire team for producing quality products for the community, state and country despite the health concerns of living in a pandemic. “Our company was really built on family values,” Bates said. “It’s always been in our culture, our first priority, to protect our workers and their families (and) keep them safe and in good health.” The CEO said the way his compa-

ny has adapted throughout this past year has encouraged him to continue developing a high level of work ethic beyond the pandemic. Not only has Hempler Foods kept its employees healthy by installing safety gear in its facilities and kitchens, but it also sent many nonessential workers home to work remotely, something that has had a positive impact on those employees and their families, he said. Hempler Foods will keep protective safety measures and online meetings in place for the foreseeable future, Bates said. “The way we’ve leveraged digital technology today will survive not just this last year, but I think it will forever change how we live and work,” he said. In addition to ensuring employees’ physical well-being, Hempler Foods also provided mental health services to help them cope with the stress of the pandemic. Bates said the company created resources through its health care provider, ensuring that all employees, as well as their families, had access to services like counseling. He believes it was a very important decision because it opened up a healthy discussion about mental well-being, he said. “The greatest blessing out of this difficult experience is being able to speak more openly about stress, anxieties and the impacts on our mental health, for all of us,” Bates said.

Despite the pandemic-induced challenges Hempler Foods has faced, Bates said the company experienced a “truly unprecedented” demand for its product. In terms of sales, Hempler Foods saw double-digit increases, producing more food in 2020 than any other year in the company’s history. Bates said Hempler Foods continues to show its appreciation to its employees by keeping pandemic bonuses in place until the crisis ends. With its success in 2020, Hempler Foods Group has committed to expanding its Ferndale facility by late 2022 or early 2023. The expansion will effectively double the size of the company’s capacity. Bates said more announcements about the upcoming project are expected soon. “Bottom line, we’re investing in our people,” Bates said. “That’s what our founder, Dick Hempler, did for so many years. We’re also investing in Whatcom County. We’re hopeful and optimistic for this beautiful place we get to call home.” ■

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Dr. Eddie Hansen Co-owner/CEO, Natural Way Chiropractic

Managing pandemic anxiety

BUSINESS P E R S O N OF THE

YEAR

Natural Way spent the year fixing a lot of stress-related pains Kyra Planetz

When Gov. Jay Inslee announced the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order nearly one year ago, Natural Way Chiropractic, like many businesses, wondered whether it would stay afloat after closing its doors due to the governor’s order. Eddie Hansen, co-owner and CEO, said his employees’ fight or flight responses kicked in as they scrambled to figure out their next steps. “It leveled the playing field for big businesses versus small businesses,” Hansen said. To prepare for a partial reopening, Natural Way employees worked diligently to order non-contact thermometers and plexiglass barriers. According to Hansen, the company was among the first to receive these items, and with its strong business model, Natural Way could afford to bear expenses that other companies could not. Natural Way reopened its offices for three days a week beginning in April 2020, and by May, it was open full time, with only its medical massage services closed. Hansen explained that Gov. Inslee had lumped all medical massages with spa services, closing them until June 2020. This decision was a challenge, Hansen said, because he believed that medical massage differs from a massage you might find

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

at a spa in that it is targeted to benefit those who have sustained sports injuries or who have been in a car accident. Despite the closure, Natural Way was as busy as ever. Anxiety can cause physical pain, often leading to headaches and insomnia. The daily stress of the pandemic, coupled with poor ergonomics from working at home, brought many patients into Natural Way seeking relief. “I have never seen, in 25 years of being a chiropractor, more people with back and neck problems,” Hansen said. “It is simply because society was incredibly stressed.” The CEO said he believes because Natural Way was able to stay in business during these trying times, his employees were able to cope due to their camaraderie and ability to stay in constant communication. Like many businesses, Natural Way took advantage of online meeting platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Because the company has seven clinics throughout the state, the online meetings proved especially helpful for communication and morale. Hansen said he plans to continue using these platforms even after the pandemic ends. As they worked together through the onset of the pandemic and col-

lectively navigated the “new normal,” Hansen was continuously inspired by the tenacity of his employees. He believes he wouldn’t have been able to make it through the past year without them by his side. “I got to see my employees rise to the occasion through significant adversity,” he said. Looking forward, Hansen is in the process of interviewing doctors and staff to work for new clinics to open soon. Those clinics potentially would be in Marysville, Arlington and Stanwood. For now, Hansen hopes patients will continue to turn to Natural Way Chiropractic as a COVID-19-safe environment that exists to take care of them. “We’re here to help,” he said. ■

Jennifer Kutcher CEO, WECU

BUSINESS

‘It’s really about helping people’

P E R S O N OF THE

YEAR

WECU continues community support throughout pandemic Kyra Planetz

Like many businesses, Whatcom Educational Credit Union had goals for 2020 set prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a financial institution, these objectives included growth in loans, deposits and assets. But once news of the shutdown hit the company, CEO Jennifer Kutcher said WECU’s priorities began to shift. “Really, 2020 was all about continuing to fulfill our mission as an organization, pursue our goals, but reprioritize and adjust,” she said. “We had to make sure, first and foremost, everyone’s health and safety came first in all of our decision-making.” As an essential business, WECU stayed open, making the assurance of employee and member safety a challenge. Bankers conducted online meetings with members from home. Tellers completed transactions from drive-up windows. Many members utilized online banking and the WECU app to manage their money and deposit checks. To support members through pandemic hardships, WECU offered individual crisis relief loans, which included extensions and low interest rates. Its business banking team also worked diligently to provide Paycheck Protection Program loans to businesses throughout Whatcom County. Overall, WECU funded close to

900 PPP loans for a total of $36 million, supporting roughly 5,000 jobs in the county. Kutcher said the decision to offer PPP loans was not planned, but she believes small businesses are the backbone of the community. “It really wasn’t a question of ‘should we or shouldn’t we,’” Kutcher said. “It was more of a question of ‘how can we?’” To lessen the stress of the pandemic, WECU implemented a COVID-19 employee update corner on its website. It also maintained strong communication and connection with employees via online meeting platforms. Kutcher is proud of her employees, she said, for adjusting to new circumstances and rising to the occasion to support one another and serve WECU’s members. “I couldn’t be any more inspired or impressed by my team,” Kutcher said. “This last year really showed what we can accomplish together.” Despite the pandemic, WECU remained financially strong this past year and achieved all of its business goals. The company saw more deposit growth than anticipated, which drove its asset growth as well. Currently, WECU has more than $2 billion in total assets. After seeing what WECU accom-

plished this past year, even in uncertain times, Kutcher said she views the situation as an opportunity for betterment. She said WECU is currently working on a strategy for the future that aligns with its mission to make a meaningful difference in the lives of its members. In 2021, WECU will continue to focus on improving the member and employee experience and on ongoing enhancements to its current products and services, such as online banking, deposit products and loans. Kutcher said WECU continues to seek feedback from its employees and members and hopes the community will turn to the company with any financial questions or needs. “We’re really thankful for the trust the community has in our credit union,” Kutcher said. “As a financial cooperative, it’s really about people helping people.” ■

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

Murry Park President, Trans-Ocean Seafoods

BUSINESS P E R S O N OF THE

Seafood manufacturer sees growth

YEAR

Many tough decisions play part in ‘keeping the lights on’ Kyra Planetz

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the country, temporary closures threatened the stability of businesses small and large throughout Whatcom County. For many, tough decisions had to be made regarding ensuring employees’ safety and “keeping the lights on,” as Murry Park, president of Trans-Ocean Products, put it. Despite a tumultuous 2020, however, the company maintained operations and even increased its employee count, volume and revenue. Park attributes Trans-Ocean’s success to the effort of his employees, many of whom continued to come into work long before the

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

risks of COVID-19 were fully known. “It wasn’t business as usual,” Park said, “but we did get through the food safety audits throughout the year because of the outstanding efforts of the employees.” To ensure the safety of its employees, Trans-Ocean implemented plexiglass shields, social distancing and staggered breaks before the facemask mandate was put in place. It also required that administrative work be done from home and that COVID-19 screening questionnaires be completed prior to coming into work. Park said that throughout the past year he challenged employees to take the situation as a learning opportunity in order to be more competitive when things returned to normal. Having followed the safety precautions for some time, Park said the company has seen a decrease not only in COVID-19 cases, but also in such illnesses as colds and influenzas. Because of this success, Park said TransOcean will continue taking precautions in the coming years. As the demand for affordable protein increased this past year, Trans-Ocean’s sales and marketing teams pivoted to meet the needs of its customers. Many wanted the option to purchase a TransOcean product online and then pick it up or have it delivered; the company worked extensively with retailers to

accommodate this change. With that came a shift to utilizing online meeting platforms. Park said this transition saved travel and meal expenses and also will outlast the pandemic. “The market never really stays static,” Park said. “It’s dynamic in nature.” Park said he was inspired by his employees’ hard work and sacrifice throughout the past year, which ensured that Trans-Ocean products reached consumers and, ultimately, kept the company in business. Park wrote an end-of-the-year letter to his staff, asking them to identify ways in which their colleagues went above and beyond. “I was quite touched by the sincere gratitude that they expressed towards each other,” Park said. Park, born and raised in Whatcom County, said he is proud to be a part of the community and to work at a place that supports the local economy. Looking ahead, Park said he believes the vaccine rollout is creating a less stressful environment for everyone in Whatcom County — and at TransOcean Products — and he hopes it can be the start of a new normal. “In a way, 2020 was the year that didn’t happen,” Park said. “But in another way, it’s a year that’s going to help define us moving forward.” ■

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L I F E T I M E

A C H I E V E M E N T

A W A R D

Marty Maberry, Maberry Packing

Forward, ho! ‘We are not in control of everything — we can only do the best we can’ Mike McKenzie Appearing atop the leaderboard of the most used words in any conversation about business during the 2020 and the ongoing pandemic: “difficult” and “challenging.” As “COVID-19” became omnipresent as a new proper noun, two other words also surfaced in virtually any conversation, business or otherwise: “impact” and “pivot.” A prime-time example in highlighting the annual Business Pulse awards for outstanding achievements among Whatcom County companies and their leaders: Marty Maberry, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. He assessed 2020 succinctly in an online interview: “Certainly, 2020 was a very difficult year for all businesses, not just ours. Obviously, it was a very challenging year for operations, given all the safety protocols to keep everyone safe.” Operations span a massive, tri-berry landscape at Maberry Packing under Marty Maberry’s third-generation (and now in its fourth) patriarchal leadership as co-owner and chairman of the board. His son, Jon, manages the growing ops. Daughter Jamie Gunst serves as director of human resources. Maberry Packing was tagged as an essential business within the food industry. The family brand has loomed large in its specialties since 1944, when it began with Marty’s grandparents, Leonard and Blanche, as a small strawberry field. Marty’s father Jake founded Maberry Packing in ’55. Today, the company is not only growing but also processing, packing and marketing raspberries (about 65% of the business), blueberries (25%) and strawberries (10%). It sells to the consumer market through Maberry & Maberry Associates, founded in 1980 with Marty’s cousin heading Curt Maberry Farms. To pivot in the impact of COVID-19 — see? those constant conversation droplets — Maberry’s team of about 130 employees, which expands by three or four times during

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

harvests, increased its training procedures and methods and its internal communications to keep everyone well-informed about the dreaded coronavirus. “We provided them with updated information about health and safety as it became available, so they would understand how we were working through the challenges together,” Maberry said. These were already good practices inherent in the stringent regulations dealing with agriculture. Suddenly and unexpectedly, all of it fell under an exponentially more powerful microscope. And it all called for one of Marty Maberry’s most outstanding leadership traits — astute vision, seeing beyond the virus travails of 2020 and 2021. The organizational structural changes that have been necessary to deal with COVID and safety will continue to strengthen the company for years to come, Maberry wrote. He indicated that he found both gratification and inspiration from “watching leadership dig in and deal with the pandemic” — not just within the company, but with the requisite moves made to deal with state and county health department guidelines and restrictions. “The preparation for the harvest was exceptional,” Marty said. Perhaps the toughest lessons learned: “We are not in control of everything. We can only do the best we can in all circumstances.” That resolve, encapsulating a lifetime of Maberry achievements — both his and those who modeled it before him — strengthened, in his view, the commitment of Maberry Packing to excellence as a new year unfolds. “We are committed to what we do for the community, for our employees, and for our customers,” he said. “We have an excellent team that is put together to last into the future, and we are all about people.”

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

AWARD

A look back

Life has grown berry, berry, berry fruitful and exceptional at Maberry farm fields near Lynden over the last 77 years — as in strawberry, raspberry and blueberry. Those crops include the largest raspberry farm in Whatcom County — lo, many ambitious iterations beyond the smallish strawberry field where it all started in 1944. The soil near Lynden was the magnet that drew Leonard and Blanche Maberry and their children, Jake and Janet, from rural Carter County in southeast Missouri. Jake and his wife, Money, founded Maberry Packing in 1955. Today, four generations in, Marty Maberry stands as its co-owner (with two of his children) and chairman of the board. Given his strong presence in the expansion of Maberry Packing and within the agriculture industry, he’s

worthy of the 34th annual Lifetime Achievement Award from Business Pulse. Reticent about public praise and shying from the spotlight, Marty nonetheless commands both. He has overseen the steady growth of the

you get to where you are today?” he responded: “One decision at a time. Wonderful wife. Great employees. And parents who instilled the passion and desire to do the best you can, always caring for

“I love how many local kids that have gotten their first jobs in our family business, through many generations—many of our full-time and seasonal employees’ parents used to work for us.” – Marty Maberry

company that morphed into one of the most productive red raspberry entities in northwest Washington’s red raspberry hotbed. Getting him to talk about himself and his achievements is akin to the age-old analogy of pulling teeth. For example, when asked, “How did

people.” Outside the borders of the multiple Maberry Packing growing fields (which his son Jon oversees) and the processing and marketing operations, Marty has assumed the leadership mantle in the contentious arenas of

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

water rights and other regulatory issues throughout Whatcom County. He has served as lead spokesman for the county’s Ag Water Board and the Whatcom Family Farmers alliance. Marty also was instrumental in developing the county Watershed Improvements Districts, a politically delicate hot potato that required collaborative efforts on many levels. “It’s important to bring all of agriculture together,” Marty said, “to speak with one voice on the many difficult issues that we deal with, both locally and statewide.” His CEO, Jon Olson, took it a step further: “Marty has a vast knowledge of state water law, rights and regulations,” he said. “He spends a lot of time and resources in resolving water issues. He’s been a long-term steward of our natural resources, and he understands

BUSINESSPULSE.COM | MAR/APR 2021

The Maberry family (L to R): David Maberry, Cora Gunst, Kyle Gunst, Jamie Gunst (Maberry), Marty Maberry, Debbie Maberry, Steven Markham, Kai Johnston, Lisa Maberry, Phoebe Markham, Haedyn Maberry, Bree Maberry (Brandt), Marty “Blake” Maberry, Jon Maberry, Riley Maberry. Photo courtesy of the Maberry family.

that our actions affect the community.” Community service and 130 fulltime employees sit at the heart of the outreach credo that Maberry Packing preaches and practices. Logically, the company lends strong support to the National FFA Organization and is neck-deep in support of the annual Northwest Raspberry Festival in Lynden, among many causes. High school basketball is a centerpiece of the Maberry family’s local support.

“The Jake” — Lynden High School’s Jake Maberry Gym — is named after Marty’s father, the company founder who died four years ago at age 86. Jake coached LHS to 16 conference, nine district and four state championships in his 26 years there and was inducted into the Washington Coaches Hall of Fame in 1992. Olson, a 21-year Whatcom County resident who has worked 13 years at Maberry Packing, said Marty remains a huge booster. “He loves to talk about the history of Washington high school basketball — teams and players from the 1960s to the present,” Olson said. Hoops is not the only love and passion in Marty’s personal and work DNA derived from his father. Faith, family and farming rule. Among the numerous family members, work associates and peers who talked to Business Pulse about Marty (vital to the award and this article because he doesn’t say much about himself ), a constant common theme surfaced: high value and premium treatment of employees, whose numbers swell by three and four times during harvesting seasons. Marty spoke not only a lot about that topic, but also with obvious pride. “I’m proud of the advancement and promotion from within our existing employment base,” he said. “We have a high number of employees who have

gone from seasonal to full-time work. We have a policy of promotion from within. With our growth, it’s gratifying to see how many lives have been improved over the years.” The company’s growth has been good for many families, he said. “I love how many local kids have gotten their first jobs in our family business, through many generations,” he said. “Many of our full-time and seasonal employees’ parents used to work for us.” Jamie Gunst, one of Marty’s two daughters and a company co-owner, manages the human resources arm of Maberry Packing. The records there indicate that many employees have been on board for 30 or more years. “We know we’re only as good as our team,” said Olson, who was the chief financial officer before becoming CEO. “We value the hard, results-oriented

work of our team ... and treating them with the respect we want of ourselves.” A constant theme, he said, is “fostering a positive, healthy environment

tion. In 1980, another step took place that brought Maberry Packing into its primo size, production and reputation: the addition of the blueberry (Today,

Photo courtesy of the Maberry family.

Marty’s kids, Jon and Jamie, working during harvest.

and opportunity for advancement.” The total farm operation dates to Jake and Money Maberry’s strawberry fields in 1944. About 10 years or so later, they began farming the red raspberry, which today makes up about 65% of the company’s produc-

blueberries account for about 25% of the business, with strawberries accounting for the other 10%). The tri-berry commitment quickly led to the decision to expand into fruit processing. Soon thereafter came the addition of individual quick freeze air

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

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blast tunnels. And soon after that came the marketing initiative, a joint effort with another Maberry family farm. In listing the company’s most notable accomplishments, Marty Maberry wrote: “The decision to expand from just the farming operation to the fruit processing and marketing” and “The deci sion to expand to the IQF (individual quick freeze) consumer market.” He also mentioned: “The diverse customer base and the reputation for quality that exists for our company within the industry,” “Implementing the values passed down to all of us by our family, both immediate and extended — that of quality and integrity in doing business” and “Holding the business as family-owned, owing to so many contributions from not only my family, but extended family as well.” That’s a reference to Curt Maberry Farms, founded and operated by Marty’s cousin. Together, to further enhance their marketing needs, they formed Maberry & Maberry Berry Associates in 1980 to expand the reach of both operations. Today, sales stretch across the United States, to Canada and into Asia. In a region ideally suited for farming, the Maberrys aim to be — and have been — among the best at growing, producing, packing and selling delicious berries. Marty Maberry now represents that lofty position with the Lifetime Achievement Award. ■

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New leadership, new rules Potential significant changes to watch for Devin Wolf, CFP Now that we have a single party controlling the House of Representatives, Senate and White House, sweeping legislation change is an imminent possibility. By peeking into President Joe Biden’s proposed tax plan, we can determine some of the most likely changes that could be passed into law, enabling us to plan for those most impactful to individuals and businesses. President Biden’s income tax plan focuses on corporate taxation, higher-earning individuals and estate/gift tax changes. It should be noted these are still only concepts and have a long way to go before becoming law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 marked a significant change to corporate taxation. The corporate tax rate moved from a tiered structure to a flat 21% rate. A qualified business income deduction was introduced for pass-

through entities. The Biden tax plan appears to keep the structure of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act but proposes significant changes that may impact higher-earning business owners. What these changes mean for business High-earning business owners would need to prepare for dramatically higher taxes. Income from C-corporations is taxed twice, once at the corporate level and again when it is distributed via a dividend to stockholders. Currently, a business owner would pay the 21% corporate rate and the 23.8% maximum qualified dividend rate. But if the corporate rate moves to 28% and the maximum dividend rate moves to 39.6%, this would mark a significant increase. Potential solution: Some C-corporation business owners may be better served by issuing themselves a higher salary or bonus; however, if they increase their earned income

MAR/APR 2021 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM

CHANGES TO WATCH FOR 1 Increase in corporate tax from 21% up to 28%.

2 Phase out of the QBID for those with

3 4

5 6 7

income above $400,000. Currently non-specified service businesses may still be able to deduct. Increase in the top individual tax bracket from 37% to 39.6%. Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends taxed at ordinary income rates for those with income above $1 million. Note: Washington state is also proposing a capital gains tax of 9%. 12.4% Social Security payroll tax on earned income above $400,000. 26% retirement plan credit instead of the current tax deduction. Revert Federal Gift and Estate Tax exemption to 2009 levels: $3.5 million and a 45% tax rate. Potentially eliminating the step up in basis at death. Raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.50 this year, escalating to $15 by 2025.

above $400k, this may subject them to the proposed additional 12.4% Social Security tax. The 26% retirement plan credit instead of the current tax deduction could cause you to alter your savings plan. Regardless of your income, if you save in a retirement plan, you would receive a 26% credit. Potential solutions: For people in lower tax brackets, tax-deferred savings would be encouraged. For those in higher tax brackets, it may be preferrable not to save in a tax-deferred account if you believe you will have to withdraw at higher income tax rates later. This could push more high earners to Roth savings, or business owners may shift to plans with higher employer contributions, to reduce income. Business transition planning will have new importance. Reducing the Federal Estate Tax

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Exemption, combined with eliminating the step up in basis at death, would make business transition planning much more important. With the current $11.7 million exemption, step up in cost basis, and portability, very few estates pay tax. A step up in cost basis allows an inheritor to receive a new cost basis equal to the fair market value at the time of death and sell taxfree. Many businesses have a very low cost basis, so if the estate exemption is lowered to $3.5 million and the step up in basis is eliminated, higher capital gains taxes would be imposed, and if transitioning at death is considered a deemed disposition (sold), the tax consequences would be severe. Potential solution: Plan far in advance for estate and business transitions. Techniques such as developing a gradual business transition plan, removing the business from your estate or providing other sources of estate liquidity to pay the taxes may be critical for your business to endure. Although none of this is yet law, understanding how these changes may impact you or your business can be helpful in planning ahead for 2021 and beyond. If we do see a comprehensive tax package, the implementation date will further impact strategies. For an in-depth analysis of these tax points and links to helpful sources, go to https://financialplaninc.com/blog/. Devin Wolf, CFP® is a Principal and Lead Advisor at Financial Plan Inc. in Bellingham. With a special focus on business owners, high-level executives, and CEOs, Devin makes a point of staying up to date on tax codes and how they might affect his clients. His expertise with corporate retirement plans and estate tax planning enable him to help his clients navigate complex financial situations as well as accumulate and transition wealth.

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114 W. Magnolia St., Ste 201, Bellingham, WA

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Business Pulse magazine March | April 2021

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SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR