Dallas Community Advantage Magazine February 2023

PUBLISHED BY Active Media Publishing Group PO Box 672 · Aurora, OR 97002 info@ActiveMediaUSA.com

503.825.2111

ADMINISTRATION

Matthew Nelson, Publisher

Catrina Nelson, CFO

Tara Weidman, Executive Assistant

Donovan Darling, Content Manager

PRODUCTION

Jeremy Okai Davis, Art Director

Stacy Benner, Sr. Graphic Designer

Holly Darling, Sr. Graphic Designer

Shawn Schmidt, Sr. Graphic Designer

Hilary Berg, Sr. Graphic Designer

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Tyler Francke Dennis McNabb

David Bates Robert Matsumura

Patti Jo Brooks Olive Gallagher

Angie Helvey Sherry Dorn

Cole Mallette

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Carly Carpenter

Kara Langley

Laurel Bice Hayley Starkey

Malaina Kinne Angie Helvey

Brittney Waterman Henry Schifter

Andrew Sambuceto

ADVERTISING SPECIALISTS

Don Ormsby Bill Kistler

Stephanie Baker Jim Belan

Peggy Jacobs David Long

Chris O’Brien John Zobrist

Brad Marti Shelley Zeman

Tina Toney Darren Dwyer

Ashley Berotte Tim Gregos

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DALLAS GROCERY OUTLET

A Dream Come True

By Dennis McNabb,

Joni Mitchell once famously stated, “I like my freedom. I like to do my own grocery shopping.” It’s ironic that something so mundane should possess such significance in the life of a superstar, but the truth is, grocery shopping is a privilege. It’s not something to be taken for granted. Likewise, we should not take for granted that all markets are created equal. Particularly now, with such high inflation, where we choose to shop can significantly impact the size of the grocery bags we’re bringing home. Case in point: Grocery Outlet. If you’ve never visited your local Dallas location, now is the time.

We all know the catchy jingle, but did you know that all Grocery Outlets are independently owned? For owners Jason and Sandy Thornton, the Dallas location is a dream come true. They first got involved with the corporation in 2015 when Jason was approached by a recruiter. He already had 12 years of experience under his belt working for a competing market, but he was so impressed by the organization and the opportunities provided therein, he and his wife,Sandy, purchased the Newberg location in 2016.

They loved the store and the business, but dreamt of someday opening a brand new location, built from the ground up, in Dallas where they lived nearby. When that opportunity presented itself, they took advantage, sold the Newberg location, and opened the Dallas store in February of 2019. Now, they couldn’t be happier.

Since opening, even with the pandemic, they have been thrilled by the community’s response. Jason and Sandy both attribute much of their success to the tireless dedication of their amazing staff. This past year especially, since Sandy was diagnosed with cancer and spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital, their crew, especially their daughter, and even the community at large, really came together to help Sandy and Jason navigate the storm. She is in remission now, and of course we all wish her continued success on her road to recovery, but she was quick to point out, she could not have done it without the support and generosity of her work family, family, and neighbors and friends.

Grocery Outlet is a locally- and independently-owned grocer that sells brand-named products at regular discounts of anywhere from 40% to 70%. So, for the exact same items, you can potentially purchase two to three times more from Grocery Outlet than at another market. Why would you shop anywhere else? Jason and Sandy are as passionate about their community as they are about their store. They are huge supporters of local schools, churches, the Kindness Club, and the annual Dallas Christmas Cheer, and they are partners with the local Food Bank and Red Cross.

Shop Grocery Outlet and support local business, all while saving big on brand name groceries!

Visit Grocery Outlet at 258 W. Ellendale Ave in Dallas, or check out their website at dallasgroceryoutlet.com.

Contributing Writer • Photos by Laurel Bice

Jason and Sandy Thornton

During my childhood I saw my dad become successful in the grocery business, and I was able to see that first hand on Take Your Kid to Work Day. Little did I know I would end up working in a grocery store under the tutelage of both my parents. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, everyone went above and beyond so my dad could be with my mom whenever he needed to be. In six months, I had been through a crash course in running the store. Those days were filled with long hours, constant phone calls with my dad, and gathering advice from my co-workers. The past year could not have been as successful without my co-workers and their willingness to go above expectations for our bosses. Their hard-work, dedication, and willingness to do anything is a testament to my parents’ love and generosity. I cannot express how much I value my family of co-workers; they are the reason I love working at Grocery Outlet.

I’d have to say the thing I love about working at Grocery Outlet the most is the flexibility with schedules. Being a full-time working mom with four kids and a husband who also works full time, being able to shift my schedule to fit our needs is crucial. I’ve never worked for someone who was so willing to help with those things. Jason and Sandy know how important family is and that everyone should be able to have a good work/life balance.

I also appreciate how much of a family dynamic we have here. Jason and Sandy make sure every single employee feels welcome from day one. We have a small crew so we often know what’s happening in each other’s lives - good and bad. I’ve laughed with these people, I’ve complained to these people, I have even cried with them. We care about each other like family. I know when I walk through those front doors, I’ll always be greeted with smiles and understanding no matter what is happening in the outside world. It’ll always be my second home, and an atmosphere that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

As our boss tells us often, we are family which I believe is true. I found my people here and I get to work with my best friends every day! I’m thankful to be working for wonderful people who respect us and treat us fairly.

I enjoy being in my own section of the store knowing it’s my personal responsibility to make sure everything goes smoothly in my department. Making the aisles of my section look beautiful everyday I’m here is my favorite part of my department. I just get so proud of how things turn out that I take pictures to show everyone! I couldn’t ask for a place better to be.

I have always enjoyed working for a smaller business, you have a closer working relationship with your coworkers they become friends. Jason promotes, a family experience at work. Just as Jason is involved in the community, he is also involved with his employees whether it is professionally or personally. We are a family here, which we try to extend to our customers by getting to know their names, helping them find a product or getting a cart for someone who came in for one thing but ended up with an armful of bargains. I love my and what I do at Grocery Outlet.

Grocery Outlet’s environment is very welcoming! You can always count on Grocery Outlet to provide plenty of variety. No matter your dietary needs, restrictions, or preferences, there is always something for every lifestyle!

Elizabeth

What I love about Grocery Outlet is the community we have, the connections I make and the creative freedom I have working in the produce department.

Taryn

Christina Sierra

I love coming to work every day because of the great work environment. We’re like a big family here.

Kimbraly

Darcy

Bailey

o One in 3 people over the age of 60 Have hearing loss.

o Occurrences of dementia are 2 times higher in individuals with a mild hearing loss , 3 times higher in individuals with a moderate hearing loss and 5 times higher in individuals with severe hearing loss.

o Hearing loss is a major contributor to misunderstandings and broken relationships.

o Most people with hearing loss can be helped significantly with hearing aids.

o It is a common misunderstanding that current hearing aid technology can cancel background noise. It is more accurate to say that current technology can greatly help hearing in noise as it is better at managing the noise ... keeping it in the background.

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter

1 cup milk

2 pints strawberries, sliced

¼ cup white sugar

1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 tablespoons chocolate syrup

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch layer pans.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk, mixing until just moistened. Spread batter evenly into the prepared layer pans.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine strawberries and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.

5. Remove shortcake layers from the pans. Place one layer on a serving plate; cover with 1/2 of the of strawberry mixture and 1/2 of the whipped topping. Place remaining shortcake layer on top, then remaining strawberry mixture and remaining whipped topping. Drizzle chocolate syrup over top.

The

Origins of the Tater Tot

A Tasty Oregon Invention

By Robert Matsumura, Contributing Writer

The Tater Tot. It’s hard to resist these crunchy golden-brown potato morsels piled high in a basket, or nestled on a plate accompanying our favorite burger or sandwich. For many of us, “Tater Tot” and “comfort food” go hand-in-hand. It’s ingrained in our culture—at least from a food perspective!

But did you know that these world famous potato nuggets were invented in Oregon, and that they were the creative byproduct of potato scraps originally used as cattle feed? The story of the Tater Tot traces back to two young Mormon entrepreneurs named Nephi and Golden Griggs who came of age during the Great Depression. Originally from Idaho, the Griggs brothers were potato farmers like most of their neighbors. Throughout the Great Depression and World War II, the Griggs survived by growing and selling potatoes, but during the postwar years as Americans increasingly turned to convenience foods—frozen foods in particular—the Nephi brothers were certain that their road to riches lay in servicing this growing demand.

Convinced that the future of produce resided in the frozen food section, the two brothers mortgaged their farms to purchase a flash-freezing plant in Northeastern Oregon for $500,000 (approximately $4.5 million today). As the factory was located on the border between Oregon and Idaho, they chose to name their new company Ore-Ida.

Corn and potatoes were Ore-Ida’s mainstay and the company soon became the largest distributor of sweet corn in the country, but the real profit lay in french fries. French fries, though immensely profitable, posed certain production problems. Nephi (the leader of the two brothers) described their challenge as follows: “We had a problem separating the fries from the slivers and small pieces of

potatoes that occurred when slicing the irregular shaped potatoes.” Instead of wasting the scrap pieces, the brothers had been feeding it to their cattle and other livestock.

Despite the fact that their potato scraps were being utilized as feed for farm animals, Nephi Griggs—always focused on efficiency and profit maximization—was bothered by their inability to derive any revenue from the constant flow of potato byproducts. In a letter to an OreIda colleague, Nephi vented his frustration at not putting to better use “product that has been purchased from the grower, stored for months, gone through the peeling process, gone through the specking lines and trimmed off defects, only to be eliminated into the cattle feed.”

An unexpected visit by a representative from an equipment manufacturing company, however, proved to be serendipitous. Although the company representative was there to demonstrate a prune sorter, Nephi and his plant superintendent envisioned utilizing the equipment in a different manner. Instead of sorting prunes, could the machinery be refashioned to sort irregular potato pieces from french fries? To their delight, it could.

It wasn’t long before the Griggs and their people at Ore-Ida devised a creative use for the supply of potato scraps. By smashing the bits together using new machinery, then blanching, forming the crushed potatoes into nuggets, and cooking them in oil, a completely new product was

created. These potato nuggets could subsequently be frozen, bagged, and distributed. Although the original idea was for the nuggets to be fried, it was soon discovered that baking them produced equally good results. According to Nephi, a man on their research committee who “traveled the markets playing a ukulele and demonstrating our product,” came up with the name. Unfortunately, the man’s name has been lost to history, though his talent for creative alliteration lives on. The name “Tater Tot” is iconic across the world for fun, palate-pleasing, potato goodness.

Nephi remarked in his notes (which are now housed at the J. Willard Marriott

“new product has about a three year

the “Tater Tot” name, purchased additional machinery, and began mass producing their tasty invention.

Despite the success of the Tater Tot, the process to create them was a bit of a sticky mess—literally. New equipment had to be fashioned to deal with the starchy potato product. Steel drums the diameter of a human torso rotated continuously filling tot-sized molds with potato. These molded potatoes would then be ejected onto a conveyor belt and sent down a line for seasoning and subsequent freezing.

Ore-Ida’s commitment to the Tater Tot, in spite of production difficulties, proved a gamble worth taking. The Griggs brothers’ promotion of their new product at the 1954 National Potato Convention was a huge hit, garnering interest in Tater Tots throughout the industry. The media was also quick to embrace Tater Tots as a convenient

new food for snacks and meals that was tasty and easy to prepare. So successful was the Tater Tot that Nephi referred to it as their “hero profit item,” and cited it as responsible for making Ore-Ida a household name. By the end of the 1950s, Ore-Ida had captured 25 percent of the domestic frozen potato market. A second plant was opened in 1960, and by 1961 Ore-Ida had gone public.

In 1964, despite generating an annual profit of $31 million, problems within the family necessitated the sale of Ore-Ida. The Griggs sold the company to H.J. Heinz in 1965 for $30 million. The Heinz purchase of Ore-Ida was the company’s first foray into the frozen food market. By the time Heinz merged with Kraft in 2015, the Tater Tot was so common of a product that few people realized the name was still trademarked to Ore-Ida. An advertising campaign was even created to differentiate OreIda tots from the competition. The campaign warned, “Don’t be fooled by Imi-taters,” because Ore-Ida Tater Tots were the “original and only.”

Today, as one of America’s cherished food items, Tater Tots have been incorporated in multitudes of home recipes and even elevated to culinary feature items at certain restaurants. There is no end of possibilities when it comes to something as versatile as the Tater Tot! So, next time you find yourself reaching for a crispy golden Tater Tot, think of the Griggs brothers and the Oregonian ingenuity that transformed cattle feed into a delectable treat enjoyed by millions.

Nephi Grigg was the inventor of the Tater Tot

The Power of Local

State-of-the-art services based in the Valley

By Dennis McNabb, Contributing Writer

The power of local! State-of-the-art products and services provided with old-school customer service!

Technology’s advancement occurs at such an accelerated rate these days that it can sometimes be difficult to keep up. Even for the most tech-savvy among us, there is the general understanding that once the latest gadgets hit the market, they’re already obsolete. It wasn’t that long ago that we were all still using dial-up modems! Fancy gadgetry aside, what most of us are primarily concerned with is our internet connection. Our modern lifestyles are completely dependent upon it, and if that connection is slow or spotty, it’s a problem. Fortunately, for those living in Dallas and Rickreall, it takes just one call to Willamette Valley Fiber to resolve all your connection issues!

You may not be familiar with the name. Willamette Valley Fiber is a relatively new entity having been founded in 2018. However, they are a subsidiary of MINET (Monmouth Independence Network) which has been providing the best

service in the industry to Monmouth and Independence, Oregon since 2006. In fact, the existence of Willamette Valley Fiber itself is a testament to the success of MINET. Outgrowing their original service area, they have expanded into Dallas, and most recently, Rickreall. It just goes to show that when an organization prioritizes customer service and their appreciation for the local community, good things happen.

Willamette Valley Fiber operates a cutting edge fiber-tothe-home internet and phone service with data speeds up to 1 gigabyte. They are the only fiber-to-the-home provider in

the market, a responsibility they do not take lightly, and their infrastructure (including resiliency and redundancy) has been built-in to be future proof. Fiber is the state-of-the-art, highest quality connection available, and the most synchronous— meaning the upload and download speeds are equal.

Most importantly, by choosing Willamette Valley Fiber, you are choosing local! Everyone on staff lives and works locally, and they are highly involved in the community. Their vans have the Dallas cityscape painted on the side, and their signature color is orange, after the Dallas High School Dragons. These are your friends and neighbors, and the level of service you receive is a reflection of that. Case in point, in 2020 they received the Dallas Community Award for Business of the Year!

Tired of that slow, spotty old internet connection, and even spottier customer service? Contact Willamette Valley Fiber today. It’ll be the smartest decision you’ve made all year! The 1st month of gig service is free for all new customers. Call now and take advantage of their current special: rent a Plume Pod (providing mesh Wi-Fi) from them for 1 year for only $4.99/month!

Willamette Valley Fiber is located at 988 SE Jefferson St. in Dallas. For more info on their services, visit their website at wvalleyfiber.com, or give them a call at 503-837-1700.

Making Real estate DReaMs CoMe

BUDGET BLINDS OF KEIZER & EAST MARION COUNTY

S T Y L E & S E R V I C E FO R E V E RY B U D G E T

By Patti Jo Brooks, Contributing Writer

Budget Blinds’ local franchise owners, Lacey and Andy Dahlstrom, “take pride in providing style and service for every budget.” Celebrating the 30-year milestone of their parent company, the Dahlstroms love being part of the Budget Blinds family which allows them access to “the largest network of vendors nationwide.” Budget Blinds’ company culture also falls in line with Lacey and Andy’s total commitment to their customers. They’re happy when their client is happy!

The Dahlstroms built their Budget Blinds franchise on a foundation of customer service.

Both Lacey and Andy come from sales and customer service backgrounds. “We enjoy working with people and treating them well and making sure that they’re happy,” Lacey says. On a daily basis this Budget Blinds franchise sells a wide variety of products; and every install comes with a free 90-day customer care service. “We want to make sure everything’s working properly for the client,” Lacey explains. She also shares that, “We have the best warranties in the industry.”

Acquiring their Budget Blinds franchise in January 2019, Lacey remarks, “We got lucky!” She and her husband, Andy, had moved from Denver about 8 years ago for Andy’s work. Later, Andy was introduced to Budget Blinds through a friend who had bought a franchise. Watching his friend set up the business, seeing how

much he enjoyed it, and witnessing the volume of business being generated really piqued Lacey and Andy’s interest. “Wow, wouldn’t it be cool if we could do something like that,” they thought. It just so happened that Andy’s friend knew a local owner who wanted to sell one of her two territories. The owner was clear that she would only sell her Budget Blinds business to someone she liked. “She was very passionate about it,” Lacey recalls. “I understand that now; not just anybody can do this.”

Leaving behind a career in esthetics, Lacey turned her full attention to serving Budget Blinds clients along with Andy, who does everything from consults to installations. “We are partners in everything and work very well together,” Lacey comments. Assisting with the office administration is Katie Ernst. Katie had moved over with the Dahlstroms when they purchased the company. “She was a huge blessing to us since she already knew a lot of the business,” Lacey acknowledges. “We love having her.” Katie, a new mother, is able to perform all her administrative duties remotely from home. Rounding out the staff are two full-time installers, Devon Hargrove and Izik Garcia. Izik has also recently begun consulting with customers.

Don’t miss Budget Blinds’ February Special “Buy One Get One Free” on select products. (Some restrictions may apply. Talk to your consultant for details.)

Call Budget Blinds of Keizer & East Marion County at (971)304-0544. For more information visit their website budgetblinds.com/keizer-or or email ldahlstrom@budgetblinds.com.

Andy & Lacey Dahlstrom

We offer a comprehensive safety policy, outstanding communication, and personalized service. Our crew is easy to work with and provides exceptional, long-lasting results.