Posted 6/1/2006
Issue 5, Volume V
NEW POSITION, MANAGER JOINS EDCO TEAM
We are pleased to welcome Dayna Dudkowski as the newest staff member of the EDCO team. Ms. Dudkowski recently accepted the position of Membership Development & Events Manager, a newly created position designed to better connect with longtime, new and prospective members as well as to coordinate the more than 25 events throughout the year that EDCO produces or co-sponsors. Dayna comes to our organization with experience as the Guest Services Assistant Manager for the High Desert Museum and the Oregon Garden in Silverton, where she held several management positions in event planning and guest services. To contact Dayna, call (541) 388-3236 or email her at dayna@edcoinfo.com.
Later this month, the primary contact for all members will be receiving via email a survey to find out what EDCO is doing right, what it can do better, what events/workshops are most useful, and what ideas you might have regarding how we can better involve members and other volunteers in the organization’s efforts. Please take the time to complete the survey and we look forward to hearing from you!
INC. MAGAZINE NAMES BEND IN NATION’S TOP 20 SMALL CITIES
More national media for the region – Central Oregon had several mentions in the May 2006 issue of Inc. Magazine including #14 among the nation’s “Hottest Small Cities” – citing that “Bend’s population has more than tripled, to about 70,000 over the past 15 years, with refugees from Portland and California drawn by a scenic location and low cost of living. The influx has transformed a timber-based economy, bringing in manufacturing, aerospace, and semiconductor firms.” To compile the rankings, Inc. measured current-year employment growth for 393 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), as well as average annual job growth over the past three years and compared job growth in the first and second halves of the period comprising the past decade.
The feature story of the May issue was the relocation and survival story of Buck Knives, a household name in U.S. cutlery for the past century, and company that EDCO courted for seven years (that’s right, 7). As noted in the article, Buck eventually narrowed the search to two communities – Redmond, OR and Post Falls, ID – choosing the latter for several relatively intangible reasons that just felt right to the owners and top management team. The article is an interesting read and provides a glimpse into the complex process of relocating a company. For more information about both stories, visit: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060501/ .
EDCO AND OK HOST LENDERS ROUNDTABLE
As part of an ongoing effort to keep the vibrant banking and financial institution sector informed about the various federal, state, and local tools available to help commercial lenders do more deals, EDCO is teaming up this year with Opportunity Knocks for a workshop on June 8th from 11:30-2:00pm. All commercial lenders in (and outside) the tri-county area are invited. The program will feature a brief presentation by Teresa Curran with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, followed by an outline of programs and deal structures by representatives of the SBA Export Finance and other domestic programs, the Oregon Economic & Community Development Dept., Cascadia, COIC, and USDA. Nearly all of these programs are designed for deals that don’t neatly fit the formulas of most financial institutions and nearly all require lender participation. Cost for the event is $25, which includes a buffet lunch catered by chefs Tate & Tate. Seating is limited so for more information, call EDCO at (541) 388-3236.
JUNE PUB TALK FEATURES NATIONAL SPEAKER ON ENTREPRENUERSHIP
Where: McMenamin's Old St. Francis School – Fr. Luke’s Room - Downtown Bend
When: Thursday, June 8th, 5:00 – 7:30 pm
Cost: $15 for EDCO; $25 for non-members
Keynote Speaker - Lisa Nirell, President of Nirell & Associates
“Five Strategies to Energize Growth”
Lisa Nirell is the Founder of Nirell & Associates (www.energizegrowth.com) in Sunriver, OR. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurial leaders leverage their strengths to drive higher growth. Lisa has worked with Microsoft, Vistage (formerly TEC International), Reuters, BMC Software, CTX Mortgage, and hundreds of small companies. Within two years, she helped two companies identify and generate $23M in new business.
Lisa’s five growth strategies are based on a one-year proprietary research study of entrepreneurs. Lisa’s experience and exclusive research findings enable her to deliver profit-producing workshops and multimedia programs. She is also a nationally recognized columnist for The San Diego Transcript, Women in Technology (WITI), and several CEO publications.
Lisa's presentation will focus on the “Five Focused Questions” that will get your company in high gear. Business owners across the United States have implemented these powerful strategies to ensure profitable growth, and build the company they always dreamed of.
Student Presentation - OSU Cascades
A student from the OSU Cascade’s New Ventures class, a senior-level course in entrepreneurship in which students write business plans for start-up ventures, will present his/her business plan at PubTalk as a means to gain “real-life” experience presenting to an audience of investors and business professionals.
CLICK HERE TO RSVP
SALES BRISK IN LA PINE, MADRAS FOR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL LAND
With the acute shortage of light industrial land in Bend pushing prices to 25-30% higher than any other place in Oregon and considerably higher than other larger communities in neighboring states, communities on the northern and southern borders of the region are seeing the benefits. In south Deschutes County, the La Pine Industrial Group (LIGI) recently reported that it has now sold out more than half of 60 lots in Newberry Business Park, and many of the remaining lots appear to be spoken for. This activity has prompted LIGI (
www.lapineindustrial.org) to raise lot prices from $1.75 per sf to $2.25 per sf for future sales. Additionally, LIGI will be finishing up construction in June on a new development call Finley Butte Industrial Park with larger lots ranging from 1-3 acres and prices in the $2.00 per sf range. LIGI also has one of a few dozen state-certified Project Ready sites in Oregon, an 80 acre parcel with excellent access both to Hwy 97 and the BNSF railroad mainline.
Meanwhile, Madras has sold out its first and second parts of the first phase of Jefferson Park Business Center near the airport. Construction will begin this fall on phase two; however the City of Madras is taking reservations now from users (not speculators). Initial lot prices in the first phase were at approximately $1.50 per sf a year and a half ago but with steady demand have risen to $3.50 per sf today. For more info on this business park, visit: http://www.edcoinfo.com/doing_business/Available_Property/businessparks.html#madrasind
LOCAL FIRMS FIRST TO PURCHASE CITY OF REDMOND’S INDUSTRIAL LANDThe City of Redmond has sold the first two parcels of its Desert Rise Industrial development – 11.3 acres to Aircraft Rubber Manufacturing and 5 acres to Rocky Mountain Products. The price of the heavy industrial property was about $3.50 per sf based on the number of jobs per acre, wages, health insurance compensation and capital investment. Both companies agreed to generate new jobs with wages and health insurance compensation at or above $15.95/hr. The companies are required to secure building permits within 12 months of closing and complete construction within 18 months of obtaining their permits. Employee targets need to be met within the first three years of occupancy and retained for a minimum12 month period.
LEADERSHIP BEND NOW TAKING APPLICATIONSA program of the Bend Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Bend is a community program designed to identify, educate, train and connect willing and committed citizens to leadership roles in our community. Now in its thirteenth year, the program brings together community minded individuals ready to assume leadership roles and businesses who believe in a healthy community and the need to invest in leadership. Leadership Bend is a nine-month program with full-day sessions scheduled once a month. Participants work together with local leaders to expand awareness and understanding of unique issues and challenges facing the Bend community and the Central Oregon region. For more information contact Lindi DeWolf at (541) 382-3221 or via email at
lindi@bendchamber.org. Deadline for applications is June 15th, 2006.
MINTAX DIRECTOR FEATURED SPEAKER AT OEDA WORKSHOP
Brian Corde, Executive Director of Mintax, a New Jersey-based site selector was the keynote speaker of a spring training conference held by the Oregon Economic Development Association (OEDA) in Salem earlier in the month. As a site selector, Mintax’s menu of services to their clients includes site location services, incentives identification, negotiation, documentation, reporting and compliance. The company serves clients nationally and internationally, representing one-half of the Fortune 1000 including Pfizer, Kraft, Yahoo, HSBC, GKN Aerospace and Kohler.
Mr. Corde noted that competition for jobs is still very stiff and incentives were still very much an important part of the site selection process, especially for larger projects involving large investments and creation of new employment. In his comments he said that most states and communities are getting smarter about requiring greater accountability by the companies receiving incentives. As a result, a new trend is for payroll-based incentives that reward (grants or tax credits) companies based on incremental withholding of taxes for new, full-time positions. Oregon is currently looking at such a formula-based program, possibly for the upcoming legislative session.
Also discussed was how companies view incentives and communities when making expansion or relocation decisions. Mr. Corde noted that companies want to see a team approach from state and local government as well as the business community, but that it is imperative that this collaboration on attracting new jobs is coordinated through a single point of contact – typically an economic development organization. For more info about Mintax, or Brian Corde, visit: www.mintax.com or http://www.mintax.com/resources/corde_bio_1005.pdf.
RECEPTION TO BE HELD BY THE CENTRAL OREGON PROGRESS FOUNDATION A newly formed organization, the Central Oregon Progress Foundation, is holding a reception with Oregon’s leading pollster, Tim Hibbitts of Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, to hear about “Election 2006: Results, Research and Rumors”. The event, which will be held at the Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room on Thursday, June 8th from 4:30-6:30pm, is designed to be fun but enlightening – both for Oregon’s political scene and for the organization’s purpose. The mission of the Progress Foundation is to ensure that state policymakers support efforts to provide land for economic development, common sense water rights laws and adequate transportation funding as Central Oregon grows. For more information about the event or the organization, contact Patrick at (503) 956-2976 or Bob at (541) 923-0925. Cost for the event is $35 or corporate tables are available for $500.
DESTINATION RESORT ACTIVITY HEATS UP IN THE TRI-COUNTY AREA The Central Oregon region already has the West’s highest concentration of destination resorts, and it appears that development in this sector is planning to kick into high gear in the years ahead. Under Oregon’s land use laws, counties wanting to have destination resorts must first complete comprehensive mapping to identify areas that meet a list of required criteria. Deschutes was the first county in Oregon to complete mapping nearly two decades ago, and two years ago Crook County completed its destination resort mapping, while Jefferson County started the process earlier this year and hopes to have it largely completed by the first of quarter of 2007.
In the past two years, three new destination resorts have been approved as well as a fourth project - the Caldera Springs expansion of Sunriver Resort. These projects include: Brasada Ranch (Crook County), Thornburg Ranch (Deschutes Co. southwest of Redmond), and Cascade Highlands (Deschutes Co. west of Bend). Each features golf as a primary amenity and all have a mixture of overnight accommodations and home sites.
Earlier this month, Winchester Development Company (www.winchesterdevelopment.com), a firm with considerable experience in building resorts across the country, has announced their intention to build a new resort community in Crook County on 2,000 acres north of Hwy 126 and five miles east of Redmond that will feature three 18-hole golf courses, approximately 800 residential lots, equestrian facilities and bike trails. One course will feature one of the hottest designers in the world, Tom Doak, architect of the now famous Pacific Dunes Course at Bandon Dunes.
Reliable sources tell EDCO that there are three to four more destination resorts being considered just in Crook County, and developers are eyeing Jefferson County as the next great place for future developments, once mapping is complete. From EDCO’s perspective, these new resorts are positive for the regional economy in that they bring considerable new investment and property tax revenue to the counties in which they are located with relatively small fiscal impacts for new schools, police, fire, etc.
The proliferation of upscale report properties also makes clear the need for EDCO’s efforts to continue the diversification of the regional economy with other primary employers to balance growing employment in tourism and construction. EDCO believes that one of the big attractors to new and longtime residents of living in this beautiful part of the country is that it still possesses a mix of employment opportunities and people from a variety of walks of life, which is a driving motivator to fostering growth in sectors with well-paying jobs including light manufacturing, recreational equipment manufacturing, aerospace, medical devices, electronic hardware, software, and biotech.
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON SUSTAINABILITYThe Bend Real Estate Investors Conference, the inaugural event targeting individuals and companies interested investment property, is scheduled for the afternoon (1:00-7:00pm) of June 22, 2006 at the Seventh Mountain Resort. This conference will explore real estate investment opportunities with smart growth guidance for Central Oregon. Leading experts will discuss what Central Oregon has done to date and, more importantly, what needs to be considered as the region experiences growth in the future. Additionally, respected local leaders representing different segments of the real estate market will present trends and directions in residential, commercial and resort development. Conference speakers will be from the following agencies and companies: Urban Land Institute, Pahlisch Homes, Compass Commercial, Pronghorn Club and Bend Vision 2030. For further information and to register, please go to:
www.bendreic.com. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Heidi Berkman at (541) 480-8700.
CORIL CONNECTS WITH BUSINESS LEADERS Central Oregon Resources for Independent Living (CORIL) is not waiting for the prospect of increased government funding to meet the needs of the region’s disabled community. Instead the organization is proactively forming partnerships with the business community. The second annual Celebrating Community Partnerships event held on May 16th drew a crowd of more than 100 attendees to hear about the work CORIL does to help individuals with a range of physical and developmental challenges live more and work more independently. Speakers at the event included Spencer Schock, president of Window Alert, Sam Di Spaltro, owner of Bend Mailing and Chris George from Thrifty Car Sales who all reported that working with CORIL helped increase productivity for their existing staff and boosted profits while at the same time helped advance CORIL participants to greater independence. For more information about CORIL contact Jim Lee at (541) 771-6184 or
jiml@coril.org.
NEW DIRECTOR JOINS EDCO BOARD
We are pleased to announce that Bryan Iverson has been appointed by the City of Prineville to the EDCO Board of Directors. Bryan is a graduate of Portland State University, holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and brings a wealth of entrepreneurial experience to the board. He was been involved in sales, advertising and business development for several tech-based companies including Virtualrelocation.com, Tech Tracker, and Pinpoint Advertising which he helped found. In July 2005, he founded The Iverson Group, an ad agency and sports marketing group. TIG now employs 4 full time employees working with Robberson Ford, Mike’s Fence Center, City of Prineville, Crooked River Round-up, Columbia Sportswear, Central Oregon Association of Realtors and a partnership in producing action sports films with Rage Films. Bryan’s community involvement includes Board of Advisors for the Central Oregon Resources for Independent Living (CORIL), Board of Directors Prineville-Crook County Chamber of Commerce, Associate member to the Crooked River Roundup, and member of the communications committee for Crook County Foundation.
THANK YOU TO RENEWING EDCO MEMBERS!A new section last month to the eCon Update, we are now recognizing renewing members to EDCO, many of which have been longstanding supporters of the organization. Our success is very much dependent on your ongoing investment in our efforts to build a strong, vibrant and diversified regional economy!
Platinum
Pacific Power – member since: 1987
Silver
Karnopp Petersen, LLP Attorneys at Law – member since: 1987
WELCOME NEW EDCO MEMBERS!
FINANCIAL SECTOR MEMBERS
South Valley Bank & Trust – Gary Bruce
South Valley Bank & Trust was founded to meet a fundamental need: to provide personalized business banking services rooted in the local community. Dissatisfied with area financial institutions, a team of Klamath Basin business leaders set out to create a new kind of bank that understood their business priorities, delivered superb customer service and supported local decision-making. South Valley State Bank opened its doors in Klamath Falls on January 12, 1977 and now operates eleven full service branches throughout Oregon including ones in La Pine, Bend and Redmond. While business banking is their specialty, they also welcome individuals with accounts and services tailored to personal banking needs. Realizing that they too have a stake in the communities they serve, South Valley Bank & Trust is an active participant and ensures local businesses have the financial services they need to grow and prosper. To learn more, visit their web site at www.southvalleybank.com or contact them at (541) 312-7130.
BRONZE LEVEL MEMBERS
Access Knowledge, LLC – Jon Ruggles and Kevin Detweiler
Access Knowledge provides valuable solutions that enable the individual professional or organization to be more effective with integrated products and services on the BlackBerry® platform that result in savings of both time and money. They are a formal Research in Motion (RIM) “Solutions Alliance Member” in Central Oregon and as such provide experienced analysis of their client's mobile data needs, development of a mobile data strategy and solid execution. From mobile point-of-sale solutions, digital pen – “handwriting to text” form capture, GPS services and Hosted BlackBerry Enterprise service their portfolio of solutions are deep and ready to take business to the next level. They also offer customized individual or group training, BlackBerry handheld device utilization, integration with Microsoft Outlook 2003 and application functionality. They are partners with four carriers, T-Mobile, Nextel, Sprint and Cingular Wireless to best accommodate the needs of their clients. To learn more, visit their web site at www.accessknowledgellc.com, email them at info@accessknowledgellc.com or call them at (541) 306-3391
Journeys by Ambassador – Sherry Kirkwood
Established in Eugene in 1988 as one agency, privately owned Journeys by Ambassador (formerly Legacy World Travel) has grown to five offices and over 60 employees across the state. As the second largest travel agency in Oregon, they are big enough to handle any travel needs, yet small enough to know each of their client’s names. JBA believes it makes good fiscal sense to partner with a local travel company that will provide the best quality service while meeting your travel policies and reducing travel expense costs. Locally, JBA employees average 18 years of experience and they use their first hand knowledge to give their clients the best in leisure and business travel. Another good reason to try JBA is the fact that they have been a valuable partner in facilitating the use of the Delta Airline Travel Bank cards. They will gladly accept two forms of payment, which makes it easy for travel bank participants to use all of their remaining funds. For more information you may visit their web site at www.jbatravel.com or contact them at (541) 388-3424.
INDIVIDUAL LEVEL MEMBERS
Century 21 Gold Country – Jim Prosser
A 30-year resident of Bend, Jim has purchased and developed both commercial and residential properties throughout the area. Jim's early experience with identifying successful commercial location, negotiating leases and guiding businesses to profit came to him as a District Manager for Coast to Coast Hardware Stores in California. Jim is a member of several organizations including EDCO, the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, the Commercial Investment Division of Central Oregon and the Certified Commercial Investment Member. To learn more, visit www.centraloregoncentury21.com or contact Jim at (541) 382-3333.
Keller Williams Central Oregon Realty – Kristine Harwell
Keller Williams® Realty is a full-service international real estate company committed to providing the most professional and comprehensive real estate services available to their clients. Voted the "Most Innovative Real Estate Company" by Inman News, Keller Williams® Realty takes a different approach, one that is built on personal touches, a professional rapport and positive results. Kristine utilizes the latest technologies, market research and business strategies to meet her client’s expectations. She prides herself on the fact that she listens to her client’s needs, which helps find solutions tailored to their specific needs. For more information, visit http://mc636.yourkwoffice.com/home or contact Kristine at (541) 549-9965.
Michelle Powell Properties PC
Whether you are a first time buyer or an experienced investor, Michelle can help provide useful information about how to choose the "right" property, making an offer, negotiating, financing, mortgage rates, moving, and everything involved in making an informed real estate decision in today’s market. Her web site, www.michelleproperties.com offers direct access to the latest properties for sale in the communities of Sunriver, South Bend, La Pine, Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Tumalo, and Powell Butte. You may also get more information by contacting Michelle at (541) 771-2997.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Bank of the CascadesFounded over 28 years ago in Central Oregon, Bank of the Cascades has been serving the financial needs of the communities its serves with personal-touch relationship banking, competitive financial products, and advanced technology applied for the convenience of customers. Repeatedly ranked among the best performing banking is the nation, Bank of the Cascades has remained committed to a business strategy which focuses on delivering the “best in community banking for the financial well being of customers and shareholders.” A leader in service, customers benefit from a comprehensive line of business, professional, and personal banking services as well as mortgage loans, trust and investment services. Bank of the Cascades strives to recruit and retain the best in-market bankers as a key strategic advantage. In addition, the Bank has a strong history of proactive support of non-profit and local organizations in the communities it serves, including being a member of EDCO since 1987. Currently, Bank of the Cascades operates 32 branches through out Central Oregon and Southern Oregon, the Portland/Salem area and Boise/Treasure Valley, Idaho. Bank of the Cascades is a subsidiary of Cascade Bancorp, a one bank holding company publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol CACB. For more information, please visit their web site at
www.botc.com.
PENDING RECRUITMENT PROJECTSWithout breaching constraints of confidentiality, we want to make you aware of a few of our pending projects for the region. They include but are not limited to:
- A company supplying packaging for the natural food processing industry is seriously looking at establishing a manufacturing facility in Central Oregon. The company is looking at both options of leasing an existing building or new construction. The project would create 10-15 new jobs.
- A medical device company based in the Pacific Northwest is interested in relocating its headquarters, manufacturing and assembly operations to the Central Oregon area. A lead we generated at a recent trade show, the company is looking to make a site visit later this spring.
- A new distribution facility for foreign-made heavy equipment is considering locations in Central Oregon and Nevada. The company is an exclusive distributor in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and the new facility would supply all of these markets. Initially a 20,000 sf parts warehouse would be constructed, preferably on a 10-12 acre site. EDCO is working with the company on locations in Redmond, Prineville and Madras.
- A wood products manufacturer from another part of Oregon is looking at relocating to the Redmond area. The company would initially employ about 10 people.
- Efforts continue to look fruitful to recruit the headquarters and distribution for an online recreational equipment retailer from the Puget Sound area of Washington to Redmond. Earlier in the month, EDCO and other representatives from the region visited the company to familiarize its 40 current employees with life in the Central Oregon region. The company would initially employ that number in Redmond and would quickly grow to 50-60 employees within a few years and occupy a new 35,000 sf facility.
PENDING RETENTION/EXPANSION PROJECTS
- Medical equipment manufacturer Shielding International (www.shieldingintl.com) is currently constructing a new corporate headquarters and fabrication facility in the Jefferson Park Business Center in Madras, where the company was founded in 1958. The new facility will help with current and anticipated growth of the company.
- EDCO is working with a local wood products manufacturer on finding a new location within Deschutes County. The company has outgrown its current space and is looking to construct a 20,000-25,000 sf combined fabrication shop, warehouse & distribution and corporate offices. The company is anticipating considerable sales growth and expects to expand it’s employment by more than 20 people over the next two years. EDCO is working on an incentive package to assist with this growth and with site location assistance.
- Construction is well underway on True Line Steel’s new 7,000 sf industrial building on NE Hemlock Avenue in Redmond. The company manufactures steel building construction components for clients throughout the western U.S. Company growth combined with the benefits of Redmond’s Enterprise Zone program prompted the decision to shift from leasing to owning its own space. True Line employs six people and anticipates occupying their new building later this spring.
- As noted above, Bud Prince in the Redmond offices of EDCO, has been working closely with local manufacturers Aircraft Rubber (formerly Fuel Safe) and Rocky Mountain Products in the process of negotiating with the City of Redmond on its Desert Rise Opportunity Site on the east side of town.
FEEDBACKWe would love to hear your thoughts and comments about this electronic newsletter and ways to improve it. Just fire back a
response. Once again, thank you for your support and interest – we are working hard to make the most of your contributions to help strengthen and diversify the regional economy!
