Bellingham Business Journal, February 04, 2014

Book of Lists

2014 Published as a supplement to The Bellingham Business Journal

An annual report of Whatcom County business statistics useful for prospecting and fact-finding in key industries: real estate, manufacturing, financial and professional services, technology, health care, hospitality, recreation, automotive and marine services, and public and private sectors.

BOOK OF LISTS 2014 · BOOK OF LISTS 2014 · BOOK OF LISTS 2014 · BOOK OF LISTS 2014 · BOOK OF LISTS 2014 · BOOK OF LISTS 2014 · BOOK OF LISTS 2014

(Standard - Rectangle)

(Standard

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 2

MOVEMENTMORTGAGE

(Option - Centered) Same Team,2Same Service, New Office, New Name and a New Way of Doing Mortgages!

(Option 2

12 Bellwether Way, Suite 110 MOVEMENTMORTGAGE Bellingham, WA 98225

360-558-3119 www.movementmortgage.com (Option 3 - Horizontal) Your Movement Mortgage Team!

Josh Zandstra, Branch Manager Josh.zandstra@movementmortgage.com 360-305-8857

Stefani Young

Stefani.young@movementmortgage.com 360-739-3084

Jack Decook

Jack@decookmortgagegroup.com 360-319-7119

Josh Martin

Joshua.martin@movementmortgage.com 360-319-5415

Welcome & (Option 3 Enjoy the Book

Thank you for picking up the latest edition of The Bellingham Business Journal's annual Book of Lists.

This compendium features rankings of top-performaning companies and nonprofits in Bellingham and Whatcom County. It is designed as an informational resource one can turn to throughout the entire year for fact finding, job hunting or just to get a better sense of how our business community is evolving.

Toward the end of 2013, our researcher spent several months contacting local businesses to ask for updates on contact information and a variety of industry statistics. New rankings were generated based on those responses, along with other research. All attempts were made to provide accurate and relevant reports.

Due to space limits, the lists include only the highestranking firms. Every year, there are a number of firms contacted that do not rank high enough to be included or do not respond to requests for information.

If you notice an error or believe something important has been omitted, please do not hesitate to contact us at 360-647-8805.

We hope you enjoy this year's book, and we also invite you to view the "green" edition online at www.BBJToday.com. We wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2014.

3 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

GREEN GROUP

| FEBRUARY 2014

R E N TA L S

G R O U P R E N TA L S photos: lara swimmer, nick mikula, rick allen

ESCAPE TO THE NORTH CASCADES FOR YOUR NEXT RETREAT! Located on the shores of Diablo Lake in the heart of North Cascades National Park, the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center is a one-of-a-kind sustainable venue for your next conference, board retreat, workshop, wedding or other special event. Unique features of this Silver LEED-Certified facility include:

LODGING

for up to

92 guests

including bed & bath

linens

MEETING

DINING

TECHNOLOGY

SPACES

Delicious local and organic catering in our

High-speed

Conference rooms,

outdoor

shelters, lounges & a library

lakeside

wireless Internet & audio-visual equipment

Shuttle service available to and from our campus

dining hall

GUIDED canoeing & hiking

opportunities

educational activites led

by expert naturalists

Proceeds from your group rental benefit North Cascades Institute, a nonprofit organization with more than 25 years of experience in environmental education.

Distance from Seattle or Vancouver BC: 3 hours. Distance from Bellingham: 2 hours.

Past participants include: Western Washington University • The Nature Conservancy • Sustainable Connections • Sierra Club Remote Medical International • Mountaineers • World Affairs Council • Seattle City Light National Outdoor Leadership School • Leadership Skagit • Seattle City Light • Woodland Park Zoo

FOR QUESTIONS OR RATES CALL (206) 526-2565 OR EMAIL RENTALS@NCASCADES.ORG TODAY!

NCASCADES.ORG/RENTALS

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

The 2014 Book of Lists An annual publication of The Bellingham Business Journal.

Advertising Sales Manager Tony Bouchard

CONTENTS AUTO & BOAT

Creative Services Manager Michelle Wolfensparger Creative Artist Jennifer Miller 1909 Cornwall Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone 360-647-8805 Fax 360-647-0502 www.bbjtoday.com Entire contents are copyrighted

by The Bellingham Business Journal. Material published in The Bellingham Business Journal may not be republished, resold, recorded or used in any manner, in whole or in part, without the publisher’s written consent.

Accountants 6, 7 Banks 11 Credit Unions 17 Financial Advisors 20 Law Offices 24 Insurance Agencies 22, 23

REAL ESTATE

Real Estate Companies 31

CONSTRUCTION, MANUFACTURING & THE TRADES

HEALTH, HOSPITALITY & RECREATION Bookstores 15 Medical Suppliers 26

Building Supply 14 Engineering Firms 19 Electrical Contractors 18 General Contractors 21, 22 Manufacturers 25

PUBLIC & PRIVATE EMPLOYERS

BUSINESS RESOURCES

Caterers 16 Banquet/Meeting Facilities 12 Public Relations/Graphic Design 28 Large Retailers 24 Sign Companies 32 Software Developers 32

The Bellingham Business Journal is owned by Sound Publishing Inc. Due to space limitations, we can not provide a complete list for every category. Some companies did not rank high enough to be included on a list. Other companies were contacted for these lists, but either declined to respond, provided inadequate information, or did not respond by press time. Companies tied for rankings are listed alphabetically.

FINANCIAL & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Auto Repair Companies 8, 9, 10 Auto Sales and Service 8 Boat Sales and Service 13

Associate Editor Evan Marczynski Book of Lists Researcher Jodi Sipes

| 4

Nonprofit Organizations 26, 27 Top Private Employers 33, 34 Top Public-Sector Employers 29, 30

ALPHABETICAL SUBJECT LISTINGS A

Accountants 6, 7 Auto Sales & Service 8 Auto-Repair 8, 9, 10

There is no charge to be included in The Bellingham Business Journal’s lists. We assume information provided by company representatives is accurate and every attempt is made to provide accurate information.

B

The Bellingham Business Journal is published monthly.

Subscriptions cost $24 per year.

Business owners in Bellingham and Whatcom County are eligible for a one-time free, annual subscription. Call 888-838-3000 to sign up today.

Caterers 16 Credit Unions 17

Banks 11 Banquet & Meeting Facilities 12 Boat Sales & Service 13 Book Stores 15 Building Supply 14

C E

Electrical Contractors 18 Engineering Firms 19

F

N

G

P

Financial Advisors 20 General Contractors 21, 22

I

Insurance Agencies 22, 23

L

Large Retailers 24 Law Offices 24

M

Manufacturers 25 Medical Suppliers 26

Nonprofit Organizations 26, 27 Public Relations/ Graphic Design 28

R

Real Estate Companies 31

S

Sign Companies 32 Software Developers 32

T

Top Private Employers 33, 34 Top Public-Sector Employers

29, 30

5 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

Addie Moss tests and adjust the rear derailleur on a customer's mountain bike at the new Sports Authority in Bellingham's Bellis Fair Mall on Friday, Aug. 9, 2013. Bellingham saw a number of new large retailers open in 2013, particularly in the shopping districts around Meridian Street and Bakerview Road. EVAN MARCZYNSKI PHOTO | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

Changes for local retailers among business highlights

Some key trends likely to shape local commerce in 2014

BY EVAN MARCZYNSKI The Bellingham Business Journal ome major developments in Bellingham's retail industry, the continued rollout of a long-anticipated federal health care reform law and the future legal marijuana retail market are just a few of the trends expected to play significant roles in 2014's business news.

And while the following items do not represent a comprehensive account of all the things that could impact businesses in Bellingham and Whatcom County this year, these issues are ones that are

S

likely to attract headlines in the coming months.

Local retail changes Bellingham saw several new retail stores open in 2013, most centered around the growing commercial areas on Meridian Street and Bakerview Road.

With some large store spaces still vacant, and Costco's anticipated construction of a new store along Interstate 5 near Bakerview Road, the local retail industry could continue to see new developments this year.

WinCo Foods, the Boise, Idaho-based discount grocer

that operates more than 80 stores in the western U.S., opened a new location in August at 300 E. Bellis Fair Parkway, in the former home of Joe’s Sporting Goods. Across the parking lot, Carpet Liquidators opened a new store in a newly remodeled location that was once home to the electronics retailer Good Guys.

A new Sears Hometown Store opened at 3548 Meridian St., across the street from the Bellingham Golf and Country Club and next to Whatcom Farmers Co-Op’s Bellingham Country Store. That opening marked the return of a Searsbrand store to Bellingham,

| FEBRUARY 2014

after Bellingham’s former fullline Sears department store at the Bellis Fair Mall closed in early 2013. That space is now home to a Sports Authority.

Bellis Fair Mall completed its first major remodel in nearly a decade, just in time for the start of the 2013 holiday shopping season. More changes are expected to come to the mall over the next year. General Growth Properties, which operates Bellis Fair, submitted tenant improvement applications with the city to demolish the mall’s Regal Cinemas movie theater and convert the space into new retail stores.

Regal Cinemas has already closed several of its theaters around Bellingham, focusing instead on the new Barkley Village Stadium 16 theater, which opened in late 2012.

Local grocery stores saw significant changes last year, as well.

The Markets LLC announced the closure of The Market at Lakeway grocery store. That followed an earlier announcement of that the company was closing its two Cost Cutter stores in Bellingham, one located on Meridian Street and the other in the Sunset Square shopping center.

Fred Meyer completed a remodel of its location at 800 Lakeway Drive, which is across the street from The Market at Lakeway. A similar effort is underway at the Fred Meyer at 1225 W. Bakerview Road.

Haggen Inc. completed remodels on its five Whatcom County locations. The company redesigned those stores under a new brand identity, Haggen Northwest Fresh.

Haggen is also phasing out its TOP Food and Drug discount brand, which has operated since the 1980s.

Eight TOP locations around the Puget Sound area have closed or are slated to close this year. Three TOP stores that remain open are expected

See TRENDS, Page 7

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 6

| ACCOUNTANTS | Ranked by number of local employees Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

676-1920/671-5411 mossadams.com

90

Mark Thoma

1976

Manufacturing, construction, ownership transition, casinos, tribal government, international and wealth advisors

734-4280/734-4893 larsongross.com

70

1949

Tax planning & preparation; estate planning; business valuation & consulting; audits & financial statements; accounting; U.S./ Canada cross border issues; accounting & bookkeeping

734-8715/738-1176 vshcpa.com

30

Robert Sytsma, Kathy Varner, Kathy Herndon, Chris Sullivan, Adam Hill, Wendy Wixon,

1984

Tax returns, financial statements, business valuations and international

733-1010/671-9756 metcalfhodges.com

12

Hartwell Bressler, Julie Johansen, Stephanie Artino

1964

Small to medium-sized business growth, management and exit strategies, tax strategy & preparation, financial statements accounting services

The Archer Halliday 1621 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

756-1010/756-1011 archergroup.com

12

G. Dennis Archer, Bernadette Halliday

1964

Accounting services, estate planning, 1031 tax-deferred exchanges, business valuations, pensions, quarterlies, audits, tax returns and planning

Multop & Associates 2710 Rimland Dr., Suite 101, Bellingham

671-7891/671-4963 multop.com

10

1976

Income tax and investment planning, small business accounting

671-1845/671-2247 genebellassociates.com

6

1998

Tax and accounting, financial services

354-2228/354-2229 N/A

5

1964

1040 income tax, partnerships, corporations, estate taxes, bookkeeping and quarterlies

Rank

Company, address

1

Moss Adams 2200 Rimland Drive, Suite 300, Bellingham

2

Larson Gross 1616 Cornwall Ave., Suite 205, Bellingham

3 4 5 6 7 8

Varner Sytsma & Herndon 2200 Rimland Drive, Suite 205, Bellingham

Metcalf Hodges 770 E. Holly St., Bellingham

Gene Bell & Associates 1700 Iowa St., Bellingham Groeneweg Vree & Co. CPAs 1922 James St., Bellingham

Marv Tjoelker

Phil Multop

Services/Specialties

Gene Bell Mark Groeneweg, John Vree

Global expertise. Local delivery.

Whether you do business domestically, across the border, or overseas, you need personalized tax, assurance, and consulting services. Fortunately, the right advisor is right here.

Discover how our cost-effective accounting solutions have been making a timely difference to Bellingham-area businesses for more than 30 years.

Certified Public Accountants | Business Consultants

Acumen. Agility. Answers.

(360) 676-1920 w w w. m o s s a d a m s . c o m

7 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| ACCOUNTANTS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

647-8992/647-5834 thewiseaccountant.com

5

733-0956/715-3250 jbaaccounting.com

4

647-1739/647-5421 steelefs.com

3

647-9361/612-5890 mcmasteraccounting.com

3

671-8181/671-3604 N/A

3

671-6961/671-1482 vaughnhagencpa.com

3

Curnow & Curnow, PLLC 1720 Iowa St., Bellingham

676-6655/676-7158 curnowcpa.com

2

Beverly Rae CPA Inc. PS 1414 F St., Bellingham

738-3030/738-4040 N/A

1

Company, address Wyandt Accounting Services, Inc. 4200 Meridian Street, Ste. 100, Bellingham Jan Bowman & Associates 519 E. Magnolia St., Bellingham Steele Financial Services, Inc. 1303 Commercial St., Suite 4, Bellingham McMaster & Associates 3636 Kansas St., Bellingham Orphalee Smith CPA 1408 Commercial St., Bellingham Vaughn Hagen CPA 1015 Dupont St., Bellingham

TRENDS | FROM 5 to be remodeled in the future as Haggen stores.

Health reform rolls out Between Oct. 1, 2013, and Jan. 14, 2014, 270,860 Washington residents enrolled in new private health insurance coverage or Medicaid coverage, according to officials from Washington Healthplanfinder, the state’s new online marketplace that helps individuals, families and businesses shop for health coverage—now mandated under the Affordable Care Act. The new law rolls out across the country amid continued debate and uncertainty. State exchanges face challenges in convincing enough younger, healthy people to sign up for coverage, which is considered a key element in making exchanges work. Questions also remain over the new law’s employee mandate—which will require certain businesses

to provide health coverage to their employees or face penalties—that the Obama Administration announced last July would be delayed until 2015.

Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler announced last December that the federal government now plans to allow certain qualifying businesses in the state to receive tax credits that can cover up to half of their employees’ health insurance premiums in 2014.

Under the new federal law, certain small businesses that provided health insurance to their employees from 2010 to 2013 were eligible for tax credits of up to 35 percent.

Those credits increase to 50 percent this year, but only if the employer purchases health plans through a state’s small business health options program or a health exchange.

Washington is one of only two states in the U.S. without such statewide programs.

Kreidler said he expected the federal extension of the tax

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Services/Specialties

1998

Enrolled Agent Tax Services; Quickbooks Pro Advisor; Payroll Services, Corporate Record Book Services

1984

Payroll, taxes and QuickBooks

1989

Financial planning and investment, tax planning and preparation, family and community focused, member of social investment forum

2003

Accounting, business taxes, personal taxes, back tax issues, payroll, bookkeeping services, business management services

N/A

Tax and accounting, financial services

1990

Accounting and tax service

N/A

Tax and accounting, financial services

1993

Tax and accounting, financial services

Yon Wyandt

Employee Owned

Rick Steele Betty and Mac McMaster

Orphalee Smith

Vaughn Hagen

Jack W. Curnow

Beverly Rae

Brenda Henoch, center, a physical therapy instructor at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, answers questions as students Teri Salsbury, left, Meagan McPhee, right, and Rachel Elder, off camera, complete a classroom exercise in the college's new Health Professions Education Center. As the American health care industry faces significant change, the college's administrators are working to expand medical training opportunities.

EVAN MARCZYNSKI PHOTO | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

credits to come as a relief for business owners in Washington state concerned about the costs of complying with the new law.

While the reform’s implementation continues, health care providers are seeing other changes in their industry,

See TRENDS, Page 34

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 8

| AUTO SALES & SERVICE | Ranked by total number of vehicles sold Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Vehicles Sold in 2013

Owner/CEO Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Wilson Motors 1100 Iowa St., Bellingham

676-0600/733-5744 wilsonmotors.com

2027

Rick Wilson

1960

Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Scion

Rairdon's Dodge Chrysler Jeep of Bellingham 1615 Iowa St., Bellingham

734-8810/255-2018 rairdon.com

1357

Greg Rairdon

2007

Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Jeep, Hyundai

Northwest Honda 2010 Iowa St., Bellingham

676-2277/676-4720 northwesthonda.com

1284

Tony Carter

1970

Honda

Roger Jobs Motors, Inc. 2200 Iowa St., Bellingham

734-5230/734-4835 rogerjobs.com

840

Roger Jobs

1985

Porsche, Audi, Volkswagon

Diehl Ford Inc. 1820 James St., Bellingham

734-2640/671-0570 diehlford.com

710

Bob Diehl

1908

Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Isuzu trucks

Wilson Motors Nissan 1516 Iowa St., Bellingham

733-7300/243/6711 wilsonmotors.com

454

Rick Wilson

2013

Nissan & Nissan Commercial Vehicles

King Nissan Volvo 1601 Iowa St., Bellingham

733-7300/733-2559 kingnissanvolvo.com

222

Frank King

1973

Nissan, Volvo

Dewey Griffin Pontiac Buick GMC and Subaru 1800 Iowa St., Bellingham

734-8700/733-4787 deweygriffin.com

DNR

Dick Meyer

1967

Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Subaru

Company, address

Brands Sold

| AUTO REPAIR | Ranked by total number of employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/CEO Top Executive

Year Established Locally

733-0463/734-0552 olsenautobody.com

30

Daniel Schindler

1980

Auto body repair and paint shop

676-5200/738-0144 bellinghamautomotive.com

19

John Beebe

1994

General automotive and light truck, hybrids

Unlimited Service 2325 E. Bakerview Road, Bellingham 1515 N. Forest St., Bellingham

734-2828, 734-4610/734-4448 unlimitedservice.us

16

Todd and Janel Black

1994

Light truck and automotive repair, diesel pickups and biodiesel hybrids, European

Midas Auto Service Experts 4043 Guide Meridian St., Bellingham

647-1111/647-8737 midas.com

11

Patrick Birnbaum

1970s

Brakes, exhaust, tires and full-service auto repair

671-2420/734-8039 harmonymotorworks.com

10

Mark Bender

1979

Repairs on most European and Asian cars

Company, address Olsen Autobody 1919 Humboldt St., Bellingham Bellingham Automotive 4116 Hannegan Road, Bellingham

Harmony Motorworks 1922 Grant St., Bellingham

Services/Specialties

9 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| AUTO REPAIR | Ranked by total number of employees Rank

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/CEO Top Executive

Year Established Locally

738-1911/738-7578 soundtruckandautorepair.com

8

Dick Karuza

1992

Full auto and truck repair

Jim's Automotive Experts Inc. 102 East Main St., Everson

966-4440/966-4441 jimsautoexperts.com

8

James Tjoelker

1981

Complete automotive service and maintenance, including rebuilds

Lynden Lube & Auto 8181 Guide Meridian Road, Lynden

354-7698/354-8236 lyndenlube.com

8

Rob Heerspink

1997

Quick lube and auto repair

676-1970/671-6572 northlanddiesel.com

8

Stan Larson, Roger Larson, Tracy Dawson

1973

393-3638/393-3672 maaco.com

6

Vin Pham

2009

Collision repair and auto painting

398-2944/306-5337 japaneseautocare.com

6

Family Owned

2001

Japanese vehicles, Subaru specialist

733-9032/594-4274 N/A

5

Rising Sun Motors Inc.

1980s

Japanese auto repair

733-1527/714-0466 chucksmidtownmotors.com

5

1994

General auto repair and maintenance on domestic and Asian autos

733-5646/676-4633 djautoclinic.com

5

1982

Full service auto repair

Company, address

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Sound Truck & Auto Repair 4009 Irongate Road, Bellingham

Northland Diesel Service 4141 Bakerview Spur, Bellingham Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting 1515 Iowa St., Bellingham Rod's Japanese Auto Care 5292 Guide Meridian Road, Bellingham Rising Sun Motors 2126 Pacific St., Bellingham Chuck's Midtown Motors Automotive Repair 1058 N. State St., Bellingham Dr. John's Auto Clinic 1420 Kentucky St., Bellingham

Charles F. Legoe Brian Kelly

Services/Specialties

Diesel performance specialists, diesel engine component rebuilding

.

Introducing

WILSON NISSAN 1516 Iowa Street

Bellingham’s Largest and Best Selling New and Pre-owned Inventory

TOYOTA

. MERCEDES-BENZ . SCION . SPRINTER . NISSAN

1100 Iowa Street . Bellingham . 360.676.0600

SINCE 1961

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 10

| AUTO REPAIR | Ranked by total number of employees Rank

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/CEO Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Dan's Automotive 2208 Valencia St., Bellingham

656-6103/441-3923 dansautomotive bellingham.com

5

Dan Thorndike

DNR

Foreign and domestic automotive diagnostics, repair and maintenance

Wheel Alignment Shop Inc. 1918 Iowa St., Bellingham

733-6727/733-6297 alignshop.com

4

Susan Bradley

2002

Full service repair and suspension

Trottner's Auto Repair Service Inc. 2005 Kentucky St., Bellingham

733-3280/647-7824 trottnersauto.com

4

David Trottner

1979

Full auto repair

733-5220/676-9376 joesautomotiverepair.net

4

Joe Cardinale

2004

All automotive repair

Davis Automotive 2134 Queen St., Bellingham

733-4841/296-7005 N/A

3

William Davis

1994

Full automotive repair

Hi Tech Auto 2696 Roeder Ave., Bellingham

733-3922/715-1993 hitechauto.com

3

Robert Aswegan

1992

General auto repair

Rude's Auto Repair 1918 Iowa St., Suite 101, Bellingham

671-2181/671-1087 rudesauto.com

3

Bob Rude

1990

All phases of auto and light truck repair

738-0659/N/A alignmentandbrakesplus.com

3

Patrick O'Connell

2005

Brake and suspension work

392-8676/393-3846 finaltouchautospa.com

DNR

Ari Adelstein

2009

Company, address

Joe's Automotive Repair 605 Iowa St., Bellingham

Alignment & Brakes Plus 300 Ohio St., Bellingham Final Touch Auto Spa 1916 Iowa St., Bellingham

Services/Specialties

Provides vehicle detailing, window tinting, dent& chip repair, vinyl and leather repair

Looking for a loan expert?

Commercial Equipment • Commercial Lines of Credit • Commercial Real Estate Fixed and Adjustable Rate Mortgage • Purchase • Refinance • Construction • VA

Local Lenders • Local Decisions • Local Focus

We’ve been your neighbor since 1923

Member FDIC

Learn More > ourfirstfed.com 800.800.1577

11 |

| FEBRUARY 2014

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| BANKS | Ranked by value of local deposits Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Top Local Executive Corp. HQ Location

Number of Local Brances

354-4044/354-7263 peoplesbank-wa.com

248

Charles LeCocq Lynden, WA

10

$644,733,000

733-3050/733-7019 washingtonfederal.com

61

Tom Kenney Seattle, WA

7

$362,373,000

738-8090/738-8095 bannerbank.com 738-2600/738-2604 usbank.com 738-2331/738-2332 wellsfargo.com 734-7306/240-4977 wibank.com

50

Cheryl Fischer Walla Walla, WA Ann Caldwell Cincinnati, OH Rakhi Samant South Dakota Jorge Alverez Burlington, WA

7

$242,094,000

6

$240,000,000

5

$177,518,000

4

$175,153,000

KeyBank 1221 N. State St., Bellingham Bank of the Pacific 2124 Hannegan Road, Bellingham

676-6317/527-4444 key.com 714-8805/714-8815 bankofthepacific.com

38

Heather Vaughn Cleveland, OH Drew Wilkens Aberdeen, WA

5

$155,118,853

4

$118,508,000

Sterling Savings Bank 1784 Front St., Lynden

354-7500/354-0816 bankwithsterling.com

17

John Paradis Spokane, WA

3

$83,224,000

647-6919/676-0681 skagitbank.com

17

Cheryl Bishop Burlington, WA

3

$63,659,000

671-8225/ 671-1596 unionbank.com 685-0080/685-0087 businessbankwa.com

11

Mike Sebring San Francisco, CA John Cruikshank Burlington, WA

3

$43,500,000

1

$19,000,000

Columbia State Bank 211 E. Holly Street, Bellingham

671-2929/671-3685 columbiabank.com

9

Nancy Abbott Tacoma, WA

1

$ 1,943,000

Chase Bank 1336 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

676-8900/671-3809 chase.com

45

Denise Meador Chicago, IL

5

DNR

Bank of America 112 E. Holly St., Bellingham

676-2816/325-0918 bankofamerica.com

DNR

DNR Charlotte, NC

6

DNR

Company, address Peoples Bank 418 Grover St., Lynden Washington Federal Savings Bank 1599 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham Banner Bank 1600 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham US Bank 121 W. Holly St., Bellingham Wells Fargo 3101 Woburn St., Bellingham Whidbey Island Bank 265 York St., Bellingham

Skagit State Bank 15011 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham Union Bank 3410 Woburn St, Bellingham Business Bank 2417 Meridian St., #104, Bellingham

56 76 70

60

5

Local Deposits

We have 3 words for businesses that don’t fit the “national bank” loan profile.

Have a seat.

We understand that not all businesses are the same. So we tailor our loans to fit your needs. Plus, we’re ready to lend right now and have the capital to back loans, big or small. So give us a call. Or better yet—come in, have a seat and let’s talk.

Find out more at columbiabank.com or call 360.671.2929. Member FDIC.

You’ll notice the difference.

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 12

| BANQUET/MEETING FACILITIES | Ranked by total meeting space Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Events 2012

General Manager Year Estd. Locally

Total Meeting Sq. Ft/Number of Rooms

Northwest Washington Fair 1775 Front St., Lynden

354-4111/354-1315 nwwafair.org

550

Jim Baron 1910

71,200 s.f. / 4

Northwest Washington Fair, craft show, railroad, car, dog shows, rodeo, private parties, weddings

Semiahmoo Resort 9565 Semiahmoo Parkway, Blaine

318-2000/318-2034 semiahmoo.com

520

David Sullivan

35,000 s.f. / 13

Versatile banquet and meeting space, AAA Four Diamond, two award-winning golf coarses

Mount Baker Theatre 104 N. Commercial St., Bellingham

733-5793/671-0114 mountbakertheatre.com

300

Kim Laskey, Brad Burdick 1927

23,800 s.f. / 3

Theatrical and dance presentations, concerts, film, lectures, meetings, receptions, parties

Silver Reef Hotel Casino & Spa 4876 Haxton Way, Ferndale

312-2370/383-0929 silverreefcasino.com

1100+

Harlan Oppenheim 2002

22,200 s.f. / 4

Event center holds 1000 with theater-stlye seating; 6 rooms seating from10-80, high speed Internet access, sound system, dining, gaming, open 24-hours

Western Washington University 516 High St., Bellingham

650-4777/650-7736 wwu.edu

2,000

Kate Stevenson 1898

18,000+ s.f. / 7

Multiple venues available, from 18,000 s/f gym, multiple renues available

Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County 1715 Kentucky St., Bellingham

527-9777/733-8078 whatcomclubs.org

50

Kim Gramms 2001

17,000 s.f. / 1

Best Western Lakeway Inn 714 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham

671-1011/676-8519 thelakewayinn.com

516

Larry MacDonald 1979

11,000 s.f. / 10

Catering on and off site, state-of-the-art audio/video equipment

Bellingham Cruise Terminal 355 Harris Ave., Bellingham

676-2500/594-4409 portofbellingham.com

126

Ally Vincent 1989

9,650 s.f. / 3

Tables and chairs for 250 people, sound system, full kitchen, waterfront, Internet

Hotel Bellwether 1 Bellwether Way, Bellingham

392-3100/392-3101 lighthousebar&grill.com

500

Elizabeth Crawford 2000

7,000 s.f. / 6

Waterfront hotel, 66 guest rooms with fireplaces, waterside, weddings, corp retreats

The Majestic on North Forest 1027 N. Forest St., Bellingham

676-0292/N/A bellinghammajestic.com

65

Alborz Monjazeb 2002

7,000 s.f. / 4

Can accommodate up to 400 people, dance studio/classes

Broadway Hall 1300 Broadway St., Bellingham

733-1560/738-9938 broadwayhall.com

50

Rob Westford 1905

5,600 s.f. / 2

Historical hall offers unique ambiance for weddings, meetings, kitchen

Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant 21 Bellweather Way, Suite 112, Bellingham

714-8412/714-9055 giuseppesitalian.com

75

Giuseppe Mauro 2005

5,500 s.f. / 3

Authentic Italian food, beer/wine, full bar, intimate gatherings, weddings, up to 210 people

Depot Market Square 1100 Railroad Ave., Bellingham

778-7000/778-7781 www.cob.org

50

Amanda Grove 2006

5,220 s.f. / 1

15,000 s.f. courtyard, 8,200 s.f. of covered shelters for event space

Fox Hall at Hampton Inn Bellingham 3985 Bennett Drive, Bellingham

676-7700/671-7557 hamptoninn.com

480

Alex Nephew 2002

5,126 s.f. / 3

In-house catering, audio/visual equipment, guest rooms

Bloedel Multipurpose Room 2214 Electric Ave., Bellingham

778-7000/778-7001 www.cob.org/parks

60

James King 1948

4,256 s.f. / 1

Gymnasium, kitchen, tables and chairs, capacity 280, no alcohol, at park

Northwood Hall 3240 Northwest Ave., Bellingham

671-8311/671-6924 northwoodhall.com

DNR

Shannon Rohrbacher 1995

4,000 s.f. / 1

Full catering with liquor license, tables and chairs max capacity 300

SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention 1312 Bay St., Bellingham

738-3886/733-2532 sparkmuseum.org

50

Tana Granack 2005

4,000 s.f. / 2

Capacity of up to 250 people, banquets, weddings, concerts.

714-9600/714-9601 springhillbellingham.com

NEW

Keith Coleman 2013

3,500 s.f. / 4

Accommoding up to 150 people. 4th floor Mt. Bakerview Terrace-Bellingham's only rooftop venue. Ideal for business or leisure with style, luxury, and function. Food & beverage available.

Windows on the Bay 2625 Harbor Loop Drive, Bellingham

220-0731/398-2933 windowsonthebay.us

115

Tom Kilpatrick 2009

3,200 s.f. / 1

Waterfront banquet facility, in-house catering for 150+ guests

Mt. Baker Lodging Inc. 7463 Mt. Baker Hwy., Glacier

599-1000/(800) 709SNOW (7669) mtbakerlodging.com

DNR

Dan Graham 1989

3,000 s.f. / 2

Private vacation home rentals and adjacent meeting room space, copr retreats, family reunions, weddings

Lairmont Manor 405 Fieldston Rd., Bellingham

647-1444/647-9223 lairmontmanor.com

200

Susan Bjorklund 1964

2,000 s.f. / 1

Weddings, receptions, dinner parties, recitals, business meetings, concerts

The Leopold 1224 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

733-3500/641-5444 leopoldretirement.com

250

Mike Cornelison 1996

2,000 s.f. / 3

Elegant historical bldg, suitable for weddings, dances, meetings, celebrations, seminars, 2 breakout rooms

Squalicum Boathouse 2600 Harbor Loop, Bellingham

676-2500/594-4409 portofbellingham.com

212

Ally Vincent 2000

1,577 s.f. / 2

Capacity for 130 people, internet connectivity, fireplace, bayside view, kitchen

Company, address

Mariott Springhill Suites 4040 Northwest Ave., Bellingham

Services/Specialties

Large double gymnasium, health/ed room, multiple renues available

13 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| BOAT SALES & SERVICES | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/CEO/ Manager

Year Established Locally

647-0080/647-8886 pugliaengineering.com

150

Neil Turney

2002

New 400' submersible barge, 3,200-ton drydock, 800' pier

733-0250/733-7180 reddenmarine.com

52

Allen Chiabai

1959

Retailer and wholesaler for commercial fishing industry

Seaview North 2652 N. Harbor Loop Drive, Bellingham

676-8282/676-8285 seaviewboatyard.com

20

Phil Riise

2002

All types of boat repair, 165-ton and 35-ton lift

Lake Union Searay 2121 Roeder Ave., Bellingham

671-5560/255-2964 lakeunionsearay.com

10

Kevin Roggenbuck

2008

Retail sales/service

715-1000/715-1097 landingscolonywharf.com

8

Rieker Sternhagen

1982

Boat storage and repair, 25-ton lift

Top to Bottom Inc. 2620 N. Harbor Lp Dr, # 16, Bellingham

671-7022/738-4977 toptobottominc.com

7

Roger Schjelderup

1986

Boat cleaning and repair, wood work and haulouts

West Marine Products 3560 Meridian St., Bellingham

650-1100/650-0911 westmarine.com

7

Russ Goforth

1996

Recreational boating products

West Coast Marine Services Inc. 1200 C St., Bellingham

676-8020/738-6002 wcmarine.us

7

Jamie and Pete Foti

1986

Engine parts and repair

Walsh Marine Inc. 218 McMillan Ave., Blaine

332-5051/332-5506 N/A

6

Normal Walsh

1990

Marine repairs and construction

Bellhaven Charter Yacht Sales 714 Coho Way, Bellingham

733-6636/647-9664 Bellhaven.net

6

Garry Brock, Sandy Brock, Curt Bagley,

1982

Used boats and charters

647-5117/647-5220 clearwatermarine.com

5

Richard Clark

1997

Retail sales and service

Leeper's Marine Inc. 1627 Valencia St., Bellingham

671-3103/671-3231 N/A

5

Larry Leeper

1985

Service and cleaning, parts, storage for trailerable boats

B&J Fiberglass 4905 Guide Meridian Road, Bellingham

398-9342/398-9342 bjfiberglass.com

4

Keith and Donna Olsen

1975

Fiberglass repair and supplies, paint

Sterling's Kayaks and Fiberglass 5426 Guide Meridian, Bellingham

398-2410/DNR sterlingskayaks.com

4

Sterling Donalson

1998

Fiberglass repair for kayaks and recreational boats

734-6326/738-9616 bellinghammarinerepair.com

3

Gordon Lavigueure

1979

All types of boat and engine repair

Precision Machine & Manufacturing 733 Van Wyck Road, Bellingham

734-1081/734-1081 N/A

3

Myrna Peters

1986

Machining and welding

Bayview Marine 3275 Bennett Drive, Bellingham

738-8460/734-0459 bayviewmarinerepair .com

1

Russ Osborn

2005

Outboard repair and service

Company, address Fairhaven Shipyard 201 Harris Ave., Bellingham Redden Marine Supply 1411 Roeder Ave., Bellingham

The Landings at Colony Wharf 1001 C St., Bellingham

Clearwater Marine 4041 Home Road, Suite C, Bellingham

Bellingham Marine Repair Inc. 907 W. Holly St., Bellingham

Services/Specialties

Bellingham’s Friendliest Marine Facility — When you need us ... We’ll be there • Self & Full service Boatyard

• Storage & Repair Facility • Pressure Washing • Inside Repair Space

• Over 20 Marine Professionals • Load/Offload Barges • Haul Out to 25 Tons

• Propeller Repair

• Land/Building Rent

(360) 715-1000 (800) 742-4262 1001 C Street — On the Whatcom Creek Waterway

www.landingscolonywharf.com • amber@landingscolonywharf.com

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 14

| BUILDING SUPPLY | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/Manager Corporate Headquarters

Year Established Locally

Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse Inc. 1050 E. Sunset Drive, Bellingham

734-2659/671-1835 lowes.com

150

George Guevara North Wilkesboro, NC

2002

Home and commercial sales

The Home Depot 420 Telegraph Road, Bellingham

715-0090/752-4416 homedepot.com

130

Deanne Clawson Atlanta, GA

1998

Home improvement center, specialty services including financing, installations

Hardware Sales Inc. 2034 James St., Bellingham

734-6140/734-0069 hardwaresales.net

125

Jerry McClellan, Ty McClellan, Ladonna George Bellingham

1962

RE Store 2309 Meridian St., Bellingham

647-5921/715-8434 re-store.org

50

Kurt Gisclair Bellingham

1993

Commercial and residential hardware, office furniture, rental equipment, cabinets, bath Salvage and deconstruction crews, two retail stores, pick-up, resale used materials

Western Forest Products 2192 Division St., Bellingham

733-5474/733-5494 N/A

30

Terry Dawn Bellingham

1981

Commercial, contractor and retail sales, wholesale appliances and cabinets

354-5617/354-4427 westsidebuildingsupply .com

25

Jayson and Bernie Bovenkamp Lynden

1959

Retail and contractor supplies, install services, cabinetry, insulation, overhead doors

Vander Griend Lumber Company Inc. 8461 Depot Road, Lynden

354-2155/354-6664 N/A

14

Gary and Tad Vander Griend Lynden

1939

Retail and commercial sales, complete line of doors, garage doors, insulation and windows, free delivery in Whatcom County

CB Wholesale 1991 Division St., Bellingham

738-8404/647-9589 cbwholesale.com

14

Mike Madan Bellingham

1991

Drywall and roofing wholesale supply

734-5700/734-0847 bellinghammillwork.com

13

Dick Campbell Bellingham

1993

Windsor Plywood 1208 Iowa St., Bellingham

676-1025/676-4357 windsorplywood.com

12

Ken Asp Bellingham

1970

Retail moblings, trim, doors, hardwoods, plywoods, decking, flooring

Construction Supply Inc. 201 York St., Bellingham

733-1621/733-1634 cscbellingham.com

7

Bill Eiford

1957

Industrial and contractor sales and rentals

Pacific Trim & Floor Supply Inc. 2208 Queen St., Bellingham

671-0880/738-6923 pactrimfloor.com

2

Russ Westhaver

1976

Retail and wholesale floor supplies

Company, address

Westside Building Supply 8353 Guide Meridian Road, Lynden

Bellingham Millwork Supply 3879 Hannegan Road, Bellingham

Services/Specialties

Retail sales for contractors and home owners, specialty orders for windows, cabinets, doors, flooring

RESIDENTIAL & INDUSTRIAL BUILDING-SUPPLY & RENTAL CENTER CutQuick Saws Service is our Specialty

Certified Dealer Chainsaws

“We Got It”

360.734.6140 2034 James St. Bellingham, WA

Trimmers Yard Boss

• Huge Power Tool Selection • Huge Hand Tool Selection • Work Wear & Safety Supplies • Huge Fastener Selection • Hardware & Building Supplies • All Kinds Of Paint & Finishes • Plumbing & Electrical Supplies • HVAC & Wood/Gas Stove Pipe • Lawn & Garden • Rope, Cable & Rigging • Office Furniture - New & Used • Rental Department • Closeout Center • Delivery Available

And REAL More VALUE Generators

Tillers Lawnmowers

.

Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. & Saturday 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. . Local Website: www.HardwareSales.net - OR - Shop Online: www.HardwareSales.com

15 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| BOOKSTORES | Ranked by number of books Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees/ Books

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Services/Specialties

Henderson Books 116 Grand Ave., Bellingham

734-6855/N/A N/A

5 300,000

Robert Henderson, Barbara Myers

1986

Used books, out-of-print, rare and collectible books, antiques, buyer of used books

Michael's Books 109 Grand Ave., Bellingham

733-6272/351-2711 michaelsbooks.com

3 250,000

Michael Elmer

1983

Buy, sell, trade used, rare and out-of-print books on almost all subjects

Barnes & Noble 4099 Meridian St., Bellingham

647-7018/647-7974 bn.com

35 200,000

Lori Guccione

1995

New and out-of-print books, gifts and games

Village Books 1200 11th St., Bellingham

671-2626/734-2573 villagebooks.com

28 110,000

Chuck and Dee Robinson

1980

New and used books, author events, special orders, print-on-demand books

Katz! Coffee and Used Books 515 Front St., Lynden

354-2471/N/A katzlynden.com

3 80,000

Ken and Sherri Stap

1947

Used bookstore and coffeehouse, roast own coffee in-house

Cozy Corner Books & Coffee 3094 Northwest Ave., Bellingham

647-1747/N/A cozycornerbooksandcoffee.com

4 60,000

Chris and Cindy Callow

2004

Coffee, books, wireless Internet

Family Christian Stores 1712 W. Front St., Lynden

354-5960/354-8741 familychristian.com

10 47,000

Bill Harmon

1994

Christian products including books, music, Bibles, toys and cards

Eclipse Books 1104 11th St., Bellingham

647-8165/N/A N/A

3 60,000

David Carlsen

1989

Used books

College Store 320 36th St., Bellingham

650-7420/714-0631 thecollegestore .com/wwu

10 DNR

Dalynn Liptic

1997

University textbooks

Rank

Company, address

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Book NOW for 2015 Book of Lists & Receive

25% OFF!

When you Mention This Ad. Call for Details.

(360) 647-8805

This comprehensive Business Directory enables Bellingham business professionals to look at the overall picture of their local area and industry. There are lists of a variety of industries including: Accounting firms, lawyers, largest employers, fastest-growing companies, home builders, and many more!

Bellingham Bay, photo by Evan Marczynski

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 16

| CATERERS | Ranked by number of events catered in 2013 Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/Manager Year Estd. Locally

Number of Events Catered in 2013

647-4325/647-4325 marketstreetcatering.com

39

Steve Hanft 2001

5,491

Full-service, on-the-go catering, online ordering, wedding cakes, floral décor

384-1702/312-9087 kellysodelicatering.com

11

Dianne and Ron Blakesley/1985

1,751

Full-service caterer, special events

Lakeway Inn 714 Lakeway Dr., Bellingham

392-6530/676-8519 thelakeway.com

80

Larry McDonald 1975

516

Full service catering plate or buffet at any venue up to 500 people

Cafe Akroteri 1219 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

676-5554/676-1143 cafeakroteri.com

17

John Kotsogeanis 1989

450

Full-service meals and setup, Greek dishes, lunches to weddings

738-2090/DNR oldworlddeli1.com

12

Anna and Christos Adams/2007

300

Box lunches, large selection of party platters, full-service private parties, delivery

Hilltop Restaurant 5645 Guide Meridian, Bellingham

920-1372/398-2933 hilltopcooking.com

37

Tom Kilpatrick 1959

274

All occasion catering for social and business affairs

Giuseppe's 21 Bellwether Way, Suite 112, Bellingham

714-8412/DNR giuseppesitalian.com

25

Giuseppe Mauro 2002

150

Full-service caterer, events planning, banquet facilities

Jalapenos Mexican Restaurant 501 W. Holly St., Bellingham

778-2041 bellinghamjalapenos.com

59

Jesse Cantu 1999

150

Mexican food catering

920-1372/398-2933 windowsonthebay.com

18

Tom Kilpatrick 2008

115

All occasion catering for social and business affairs

India Grill 1215 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

714-0314/714-0313 indiagrill.us

4

Santok Tumber 1996

15

Full-service caterer, Indian cuisine

Fool's Onion Restaurant and Catering 5305 Northwest Drive, Bellingham

815-7380/647-2800 foolsonion.com

15

Kristine Kager and Lance Bailey 2002

DNR

Full-service caterer, fresh, local, seasonal Northwest cuisine

Northwood Hall 3240 Northwest Ave., Bellingham

671-8311/671-6924 northwoodhall.com

10

Steve, Shannon Rohrbacher DNR

DNR

Catering, personal chef services, meeting hall, banquet facility

770-7427/DNR www.doublebarrelbbq.com

2

Jim Lee DNR

DNR

Southern Style Pit BBQ Catering

714-1886/714-1772 www.portofsubs.com

DNR

Gurpreet Dhillon DNR

DNR

Catering, personal chef services, restaurants, clubs

Mount Bakery 308 C W. Champion St., Bellingham

715-2195 mountbakery.com

20

Vince Lalonde

DNR

Full Café , Dessert catering and special events

Milano's 9990 Mount Baker Highway, Glacier

599-2863/DNR milanorestaurant.us

10

Tom, Jeannie DeBari 1990

DNR

Italian catering services, homemade pastas and bread

Company, address Haggen Market Street Catering 210 36th St., Bellingham Kelly's O'Deli 5506 Nielsen Ave. Unit C, Ferndale

Old World Deli 1228 N. State St., Bellingham

Windows on the Bay 2625 S Harbor Loop Drive, Bellingham

Double Barrel BBQ 6819 State Route 9, Sedro-Woolley Port of Subs-Lakeway 1068 Lakeway Dr., Bellingham

Services/Specialties

Grow your business!

Whether you’re building, investing, expanding, or just getting started, we’ve got a business loan to meet your needs.

Call 676-1168 ext 7320 to speak with our Business Services team today!

Federally insured

by NCUA.

17 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| CREDIT UNIONS | Ranked by value of assets Phone/Fax Web

Local Assets

Number of Local Branches

Owner/ Top Executive

Number of Employees

Number of Members

Whatcom Educational Credit Union 600 E. Holly St., Bellingham

676-1168/733-5443 wecu.com

$710,000,000

11

Wayne Langei

266

63,700

Industrial Credit Union P.O. Box 1767, Bellingham 98227

734-2043/671-0975 industrialcu.org

$188,000,000

7

Terri Salstrom

90

22,000

North Coast Credit Union 1100 Dupont St., Bellingham

671-8235/733-3982 northcoastcu.com

$167,761,740

2

Terry Belcoe

37

15,000

GaPac Community Federal Credit Union 2501 James St., Bellingham

734-5790/734-9249 gapaccfcu.org

$50,600,000

1

Katie Zowada

16

4,300

Pacific Northwest Credit Union 3250 Northwest Ave., Bellingham

647-0560/647-0713 pacificnwcu.com

$20,000,000

1

Karin E. Pelan

8

2,200

Rank

Company, address

1 2 3 4 5

Diverse… just like our membership You shouldn’t fit an account or loan, it should fit you.

Find solutions, not excuses, at WestEdge Credit Union.

Join us at westedgeCU.org OR call (360) 734-5790 to learn more

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 18

| ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Manager

Year Established Locally

734-0730/734-0194 millselectric.com

100

John Huntley

1911

Electrical contractors for commercial and industrial

671-0113/671-0221 expresselectrical.com

68

Dan Altman, Roger Anderson

1992

Residential, commercial, industrial and home theater systems

Dale's Electric 8645 Berthusen Road, Lynden

354-2130/354-2255 daleselectric.com

12

Dale Vander Giessen

1963

Industrial, commercial and residential

Elite Electrical Contractors 2122 Queen St., Bellingham

647-8050/647-0050 eliteelectrical.net

12

Don Cummins

1996

Electrical, telecommunications and marine wiring

354-4811/(866) 432-8804 lightningelectricllc.com

12

Rob VanDiest

2001

Commercial, residential and agricultural

Sail Electric 911 Slater Road, Bellingham

383-0911/383-9911 sailelectricinc.com

10

Reid and Shawn Barton

1994

Traffic signals and street lighting

Bode's Electric & Plumbing 7666 Woodland Road, Ferndale

384-4087/384-0524 bodes.biz

9

Terry Bode

1961

Plumbing, electrical and septic work

F & V Able Electric 2422 Jess Road, Custer

366-4777/366-9133 N/A

6

John Ficken

1987

Residential, commercial and industrial

AA Anderson Co. 1409 N. Forest St., Bellingham

734-7710/714-9577 N/A

5

Dave and Sharon Wendling

1948

Residential, commercial, industrial, remodels and solar

734-6530/734-6575 macandmacelectric.com

5

Eddie Goodsir

1948

Industrial motors, electric car conversions, solar and wind generators

Excel Electric 8727 Weidkamp Road, Lynden

354-6873/354-2232 N/A

4

Greg Van Dyken

1993

Residential, commercial and remodels

Solutions Electrical Contracting, Inc. 8010 W Orchard, Bellingham

738-7833/527-9622 solutionselectrical contracting.com

4

Susie Betts

2007

General electrical contractor

Local Electric 510 Chuckanut Drive, Bellingham

734-3465/734-3221 localelectric1.com

3

Aaron Williams

2001

Electrical contracting

Dundas Electric & Mechanical 3620 Irongate #117, Bellingham

733-9007/738-1190

3

Rob Kruzich, Mark Bolinski

2006

Commercial, residential and industrial

Company, address

Mills Electric Co. 4430 Pacific Highway, Bellingham Express Electric 1354 Pacific Place, Suite 101, Ferndale

Lightning Electric 1262 E. Smith Road, Bellingham

Mac & Mac Electric 1410 Iowa St., Bellingham

Services/Specialties

On Target 100% Local Business News We keep you covered.

19 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| ENGINEERING FIRMS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Anvil Corp.

1675 W. Bakerview Road., Bellingham

671-1450/671-1697 anvilcorp.com

477

Jim Wakefield

1971

Engineering consulting for oil refineries and heavy industry

CH2M HILL 21 Bellwether Way Unit 111, Bellingham

676-1500/734-7022 ch2mhill.com

200

David Boyer

1975

Engineering, procurement and construction management

Fiberglass Structural Engineering 455 Stuart Rd., Bellingham

734-7040/733-7905 fse.com

30

Chris Renoud

1970

Engineering consulting for composite materials

Geotest Services 741 Marine Drive, Bellingham

733-7318/733-7418 geotest-inc.com

30

Julie Richardson

1993

Geotechnical, environmental services, construction, inspection, testing, lab services

733-6100/647-9061 wilsonengineering.com

23

Margaret Curtis, Andrew Law

1967

Waste water treatment, roads, parkways, parks, trails, stormwater management, surveying and site planning and structural engineering

GeoEngineers 600 Dupont St., Bellingham

647-1510/647-5044 geoengineers.com

15

J. Robert Gordon

1993

Geotechnical engineering, ecological site assessment and remediation, permitting and planning

Bayside Engineering Group 6982 Hannegan Road, Bellingham

354-7980/354-8246 baysideeng.com

15

Guy Maakad

1997

Engineering, procurement, construction management, and total project management

Devine Tarbell & Associates 1111 N. Forest St., Bellingham

671-1150/671-1152 hdrinc.com

10

Gabriel Copp

2003

Environmental consulting and engineering specializing in hydropower and renewable energy

Marlin Engineering Inc. PO Box 29768, Bellingham

305-0139/671-7543 marlinengineer.com

9

Martin Spencer

DNR

Civil, environmental, mechanical and consulting, manufacturing-manufacturers representatives

Associated Project Consultants 1401 Astor St., Bellingham

671-1146/671-1169 apcengineers.com

8

Douglas N. Campbell

1978

Land-use feasibility, street and utility infrastructure, municipal projects, water and sewer system design, environmental permitting

733-8888/DNR jonesengineers.us

7

Darcy Jones

1964

Land development, civil engineering, land surveys, structural engineering, hydrology services

733-5760/647-8939 jepsonengineering.com

6

Ronald Jepson

1968

Engineering consulting, land surveying, project management and development

671-2020/671-0322 2020engineering.com

5

Mark Buehrer

1995

Sustainable and LID site designs, civil engineering, water treatment design

650-1408/650-1401 freelandengineering.com

5

Tony Freeland

2002

Civil engineering, landscape architecture

671-2600/671-0122 N/A

1

Tom Bennett

2003

Civil engineering and environmental monitoring

Company, address

Wilson Engineering 805 Dupont St., Suite. 7, Bellingham

Jones Engineers 4164 Meridian St., Suite 200, Bellingham Ronald T. Jepson & Associates 222 Grand Ave., Suite c, Bellingham 2020 Engineering 814 Dupont St., Bellingham Freeland & Associates 220 W. Champion St., Suite 290, Bellingham Bennett Engineering 2324 James St., Bellingham

Services/Specialties

Reach Bellingham’s Top Decision Makers.

Place your ad today with The Bellingham Business Journal.

Tony Bouchard Advertising Sales Manager (360) 312-4380 tbouchard@bbjtoday.com

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 20

| FINANCIAL ADVISORS | Ranked by number of advisors Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Advisors/ Employees

Owner/Manager Top Local Executive

Year Established Locally

Moss Adams 2200 Rimland Drive, Suite 300, Bellingham

676-1920/671-5411 mossadams.com

20 70

Mark Thoma

1976

Taxes, audits and consulting

Waddell & Reed 4164 Meridian St., Suite 104, Bellingham

734-4728/671-0518 waddell.com

15 20

Timothy Goering

1987

Mutual funds, life insurance, retirement funds

734-1494 edwardjones.com

15 18

John Meno

N/A

Retirement, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life and long-term care insurance, CDs.

Merrill Lynch 2950 Newmarket St., Suite 104, Bellingham

676-7800/676-7610 ml.com

15 19

Richard Rosbach

1980

Banking and investment planning

Morgan Stanley 2200 Rimland Drive, Suite 105, Bellingham

734-8500/788-7070 morganstanley.com

11 5

Steven J. Sutton

1972

Wealth management

Ludeman Capital Management 2115 Barkley Blvd., Suite 101, Bellingham

738-9600/738-1144 ludemancapital.com

6 9

Ben Scellick

1995

Retirement planning, investment services

Saturna Capital 1300 N. State St., Bellingham

734-9900/734-0755 saturna.com

5 58

Jane Carten

1989

Mutual funds, retierment plans, investment counseling, trust services, brokerage.

UBS Financial Services 104 Unity St., Bellingham

715-8939/715-9096 ubs.com

5 7

Stew Elison

1996

Financial planning, brokerage services

RBC Wealth Management 3101 Newmarket St., Suite 101, Bellingham

671-5900/738-0528 rbc.com

3 2

Scott Hume

DNR

Retirement investments, wealth management

Archer Halliday 1621 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

756-1010/756-1011 archergroup.com

3 12

Dennis Archer & Bernadette Halliday

1998

Estate planning, taxes, pension funds

Company, address

Edward Jones Bellingham, Ferndale and Lynden

Services/Specialties

You know it’s your people that make your company successful. They are the face your customers see. They are the architects who make your future a reality. They ensure your success. You have the vision to share the rewards of everyone’s work. Saturna Capital has the 401k plan to help make managing those rewards easier. Ask us how.

Please consider an investment’s objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. For free prospectuses and brochures that contain this and other important information on Saturna’s no-load mutual funds and other investment products, please visit www. saturna.com or call toll-free 1-800-SATURNA. Please read the prospectuses and brochures carefully before investing. Distributor: Saturna Brokerage Services, member FINRA/SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of Saturna Capital Corporation, 1300 North State Street, Bellingham, WA 98225.

1

$750 Annual Trust Fee (plus 0.25% of year end plan assets, with a 0.25% credit on year-end plan assets in Saturna-affiliated mutual funds). Self-directed brokerage accounts are subject to commissions on trades. Investments in mutual funds are subject to ongoing expenses. See prospectus for details.

21 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| GENERAL CONTRACTORS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Matrix Service Inc. 3810 Bakerview Spur, Bellingham

685-2000/671-2973 matrixservice.com

350

Jim Ryan

1984

Industrial construction

Haskell Corp.

1001 Meador Ave., Bellingham

734-1200/734-5538 haskellcorp.com

300

Fred Haskell

1890

Industrial/heavy commercial construction

Diamond B Constructors, Inc. 3436 Airport Drive, Bellingham

734-3600/733-2849 dbnw.com

250

Paul Johansen

1909

Mechanical, plumbing, oil-refinery work.

Providence Everett Medical Center, WWU Miller Hall

IMCO General Construction 2116 Buchanan Loop, Ferndale

671-3936/671-8808 imcoconstruction.com

150

Frank Imhof

1978

Wastewater treatment plants, utilities/ Truck crossing improvements.

Dawson Construction Inc. 405 32nd St., Suite 110, Bellingham

756-1000/756-1001 dawson.com

125

Peter C. Dawson

1967

Full-service general contractor/ KeyBank rebuild, Walton Place One, 1835 Barkley Blvd.

Exxel Pacific 323 Telegraph Road, Bellingham

734-2872/671-7616 exxelpacific.com

120

1989

Mixed-use, hotels, elderly housing, churches, schools, 523 Broadway St., Mercedes-Benz of Lynnwood

Andgar Corporation 6920 Salashan Parkway, A-102, Ferndale

366-9900/366-5800 andgar.com

115

Todd Kunzman

1935

Heating, ventilating and air conditioning, plumbing, metal fabrication

354-7602/354-8160 moncrieffconstruction.com

100

Sam Moncrieff, III

1990

Concrete construction, flatwork/ Peace Arch Border Crossing expansion, Fountain Bistro flooring

Boss Construction 4945 Guide Meridian, Bellingham

398-2300/398-2302 bossconstruction.biz

75

Tim Hart

1992

Heavy civil construction

Strider Construction 4721 Northwest Drive, Bellingham

384-8097/380-3456 N/A

65

Jim Gebhardt

1988

Heavy civil underground, environmental

752-0011/752-0099 razzconstruction.com

50

Don Rasmussen

2005

General Contractor/ Heavy civil construction, Monte Cristo Bridge, Brightwater substation

966-7252/966-2506 tigerconstruction.us

50

Ken Isenhart

1974

Heavy construction, site work, road work, utilities, subdivisions, grading

Company, address

Moncrieff Construction 8510 Guide Meridian, Lynden

Razz Construction 4055 Hammer Drive, Bellingham Tiger Construction 6280 Everson Goshen Road, Everson

Kevin DeVries, Bruce Eskeberg, Geoff Stodola

Services/Notable Projects

Overhead you can’t afford to cut

• Residential • Commercial • Industrial

Quality Intergrity, Stabilty: Since 1967 • Specializing in all types of commercial and residential roofing • Commercial repair and maintenance programs • Roof evaluations • Sustainable roof options • Sheet metal • Waterproofing • Design build Our goal is a COMPLETELY satisfied customer, therefore we stand behind our work 100%.

420 Pease Rd, Burlington • 800-735-7183 ESARYRS175KE www.esary.com • Facebook/Twitter • info@esary.com

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| GENERAL CONTRACTORS |

| 22

Ranked by number of local employees Rank

13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Faber Brothers Construction 131 E. Grover St., Lynden

354-3500/354-0335 faberconstruction.com

50

Rick Faber

1987

Colacurcio Brothers Construction 3287 H St., Blaine

332-4044/332-5079 colacurciobrothers.com

46

Dan Colacurcio

1984

Ram Construction General Contractors 4290 Pacific Highway, Bellingham

715-8643/715-0203 ramconstruction-wa.com

40

Mike Hammes

1992

Heavy-civil contractor, underground utilities, commercial/ Sunset Drive improvements, Boblett Street improvements

318-8982/318-8983 hbhansenconstruction.com

25

Bernie and Kristen Hansen

1991

General Contractor/ New & Remodel residental construction. Light commercial side work

733-2160/733-6102 pearsonconst.com

25

1927

676-1904/734-8525 credoconstruction.com

21

Clarence Kobes & Todd Lapinsky

2004

General contractor and home builder/ Community Food Co-op in Cordata, Bellingham Food Bank, Camp Firwood dining hall Commercial office buildings, industrial warehouses, steel buildings/ Cargill Building, Jimmy Johns Sandwiches

398-2800/398-2830 N/A

20

Roger Roosendahl

1979

Company, address

HBHansen Construction Inc. 8759 Guide Meridian, Lynden

Pearson Construction Corp.

2034 Franklin St., Bellingham Credo Construction 4174 Pacific Highway, Bellingham Roosendaal-Honcoop Construction Inc. 5977 Guide Meridian, Bellingham

Larry Pederson, Phil Hageman, Bob Griffiths

Services/Notable Projects Commercial construction, retail & multi-family residential, pre-engineered steel buildings/ Fraser Street Trail & Boardwalk, Coupeville Library, Star Rentals Ferndale Commercial building and commercial dirt work/ Shuksan Middle School, Sunnycrest Elementary

Commercial and residential

Attention Bellingham Business Owners Did you know you qualify for one free subscription (per business address) to The Bellingham Business Journal? You do if you own your own business and have a store front within Bellingham!

Call today!

Visit us online 24/7 for breaking business news at www.BBJToday.com.

At the BBJ, Your Business IS Our Business 1909 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham, WA 98225 · Phone: (360) 647-8805

| INSURANCE AGENCIES | Ranked by number of employees 2013 Premium Value/ Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Rank

Company, address

Phone/Fax Web

1 2 3 4 5 6

Rice Insurance 1400 Broadway St., Bellingham

734-1161/734-1173 riceinsurance.com

$36 million 57

Greg Gudbranson

1946

Insurance sales and service

The Unity Group 110 Unity St., Bellingham

647-9000/734-8496 theunitygroup.com

DNR 45

Barry Hanson

1929

Commercial insurance, employee benefits and personal insurance

Brown & Brown of WA Inc., dba Snapper,Schuler, Kenner and Balcos Insurance.

Bellingham/PO Box 551 Lynden

354-4488/354-1946 sskinsurance.com

$150 Million 32

1925

Commercial, personal, home, auto, boat, medical, life and long-term care

AAA Insurance 4280 Meridian St., #106, Bellingham Oltman Insurance Agency 2417 Meridian St., Suite 102, Bellingham

733-2740/ 647-0694 aaa.com

$3.1 million 13

Edward Torres

1960

Travel, home, life and car insurance

734-3960/671-4590 oltmaninsurance.com

$7.4 million 10

DNR

1932

Insurance sales and service

733-9354/424-5351 www.ebpllc.com

DNR 10

Rod Bring

DNR

Medical, dental, vision, life, disaster, property & casulty

Employee Benefits Planning 2400 Meridian St., Bellingham

Paul Kenner, Bobbie Green

Services/Specialties

23 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| INSURANCE AGENCIES | Ranked by number of employees Rank

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Phone/Fax Web

2012 Premium Value/ Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

734-5204/734-5207 bobwallin.com

DNR 8

Von Smith

1976

Personal and commercial insurance

734-5072/733-3023 dyrlandinsurance.com

$4.5 million 6

Erik Dyrland

1987

All lines of insurance, personal, and small business financial services

Jim Harber Insurance (Farmers) 3219 Meridian St., Bellingham

676-9343/738-8408 jimharber.com

$5 million 6

Maryanne Olson

1976

Financial and insurance services

Rollo Van Slyke Insurance (Farmers) 518 E. Magnolia St., Bellingham

676-7418/733-7238 farmersagent.com rvanslyke.com

$3.65 million 5

Rollo Van Slyke

1987

All lines of insurance

Country Financial 123 W. Kellogg Road, Bellingham

527-0205/527-0209 countryfinancial.com

DNR 5

Chris Cichanski

1925

Auto, home, life, disability, commercial and financial services

Magas Insurance Agency 2615 Meridian St., Bellingham

734-0416/734-4051 magasinsurance.com

$3.7 million 4

William Magas

1979

All lines of insurance

Duane Sammons Insurance Agency 1414 Broadway St., Bellingham

647-0090 / 738-0193 duanesammons.com

DNR 4

Liz Carson

1965

All lines of insurance

Blaine Isnurance 838 Peace Portal Dr, Blaine Digginger, McIntosh, & Associates 1738 Iowa St.,, Bellingham

332-7300/332-7293 blaineinsurance.com

DNR 4

Rod Bring

1969

All lines of insurance

733-7790/NA brunhaverinsurance.com

DNR 4

Kurt Brunhaver

1911

All lines

Whitfields Insurance Agency 108 Ohio St., Bellingham

676-1006/733-2140 whitfields.com

$8 million 3

Jeff Olsen

2000

All lines except health and life insurance

Insurance Now 1414 Broadway Ste A, Bellingham

676-4749 / 715-0390 insurancenow.com

$3.1 million 2

Bart Sproule

1985

High risk auto insurance

Aflac 589 E. Badger Road, Lynden Nancy Leavitt Agency (American Family Insurance) 3031 Orleans St. #202, Bellingham

354-7733/354-5374 www.aflac.com

DNR 2

Larry & Candie Vanderpol

2000

Financial and insurance services

733-3626/527-1104 nancyleavittagency.com

DNR 2

Nancy Leavitt

2008

Auto, home, life and business insurance

752-3253/733-1246 mutualofomaha.com

DNR 1

Bill Tetreault

2003

Life and disability insurance

676-1822/671-2875 statestreetinsurance.com

$3.1 million DNR

Scott Richardson

1978

Multi-line insurance

Company, address Bob Wallin Insurance 1844 Iron St., Bellingham Erik Dyrland Insurance (Farmers) 2105 Park St., Bellingham

Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company 1200 Old Fairhaven Pkwy., Suite 302, Bellingham State Street Insurance (Allstate) 1901 N. State St., Suite A, Bellingham

Services/Specialties

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 24

| LARGE RETAILERS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Phone Web

Number of Employees

Owner/Manager

Year Established Locally

360-788-2900/ 360-676-1102 fredmeyer.com

720

Bill Pelan, Dan Miller

1973

Retail, Shopping Center

360-733-8720 haggen.com

528

Clarence Gabriel

DNR

Florist, grocery stores, pharmacies

360-676-9450 themarketsllc.com

319

Kevin Weatherill

2008

21 Grocery locations throughout the Northwest and Eastern Washington

Wal-Mart 4420 Meridian St., Bellingham

360-647-1400 walmart.com

300

Chris Perez

DNR

Retail, shopping center

Costco Wholesale Inc. 4299 Guide Meridian St., Bellingham

360-671-6947 costco.com

300

Keshara Marvin

DNR

Grocery stores, retail

Target 30 Bellis Fair Parkway, Bellingham

360-734-0220 target.com

250

Tracy Long

DNR

Retail shopping center

Safeway (Lynden) 8071 Guide Meridian Road, Suite 101

360-318-0688 safeway.com

145

Derry Blankers

DNR

Grocery, pharmacies, etc.

360-738-3260 thewoodscoffee.com

160

Wes Herman

2002

coffee, gifts, bakery/deli

360-715-0090 homedepot.com

130

Deanne Clawson

DNR

Home improvement retailer

360-734-7412 jcpenny.com

90

Annemarie Vinson

DNR

Retail Department Store

Company, address Fred Meyer 800 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham 1225 W. Bakerview Road, Bellingham Haggen Inc. P.O. Box 9704, Bellingham The Markets, LLC 1320 Commercial St., Bellingham

Woods Coffee 191 18th St., Lynden Home Depot 420 Telegraph Road, Bellingham J.C. Penny 10 Bellis Fair Parkway, Bellingham

Services/Specialties

| LAW OFFICES | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees/Year Estd. Locally

Belcher Swanson Law Firm, PLLC 900 Dupont St., Bellingham

734-6390/671-0753 belcherswanson.com

21 1994

Chet Lackey

Private law firm

Barron Smith Daugert PLLC 300 N. Commercial St., Bellingham

733-0212/738-2341 barronsmithlaw.com

20 1972

Sallye Nquinn

Estate planning, business and employment law, commercial litigation, and real estate

Zender Thurston PS 1700 D St., Bellingham

647-1500/647-1501 zenderthurston.com

19 1914

Laughlan Clark

Land use and development real estate, entities/transactions, creditor representation, business litigation/arbitration

Tario & Associates 119 N. Commercial St., Suite 1000, Bellingham

671-8500/733-7092 tariolaw.com

17 1980

Michael Tario

Personal injury, family law, criminal defense, general civil litigation

Chmelik Sitkin & Davis 1500 Railroad Ave., Bellingham

671-1796/671-3781 chmelik.com

16 1984

Frank Chmelik, Jonathan Sitkin, Richard Davis

Robinson & Kole PS 911 Dupont St., Bellingham

671-8112/671-1971 robinsonandkole.com

16 1979

David Robinson, Dennis Kole

Brett & Murphy 1310 10th St., Suite 104, Bellingham

714-0900/437-0623 washingtoninjury.com

13 2006

Dean Brett,John Murphy

Adelstein, Sharpe & Serka LLP 400 N. Commercial St., Bellingham

671-6565/647-8148 adelstein.com

13 1974

Steve Adelstein, Phil Sharpe, Phil Serka, Jeff Fairchild, Mitchell Saber, Ivan Stoner

Corporate business, personal injury/property damage, environmental/land use, employment law, wills and probate

Shepherd Abbott Alexander 2011 Young St., Ste 202, Bellingham

733-3773/647-9060 saalawoffice.com

10 1981

Douglas Shepherd, Joe Abbott, Edward Alexander

Personal injury, contract and commercial and property disputes, wills, wrongful death

Brownlie Evans Wolf & Lee 230 E. Champion St., Bellingham

676-0306/676-8058 browlieevans.com

6 2000

Simon Brownlie, Murphy Evans, Heather Wolf, Mark Lee

671-5945/ 676-5459 cascadiaimmigrationlaw.com

4 1979

Greg Boos

Company, address

Cascadia Cross-Border Law 1305 11th St., Ste: 301, Bellingham

Attorneys

Services/Specialties

Municipal governments, business & corporate law, construction law, litigation, real estate and land use, employment and labor law Workers' comp, Social Security disability, personal injury Personal injury and wrongful death

Real estate, business, employment law and litigation U.S. Immigration law specialists

25 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| MANUFACTURERS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Top Local Executive

Year Established Locally

BP Cherry Point Refinery 4519 Grandview Road, Blaine

371-1500/371-1450 bp.com

1075

Jeff Pitzer

1971

Oil refinery

Heath Tecna 3225 Woburn St., Bellingham

738-2005/N/A heath.com

600

Richard Ballantyne

1989

Airplane interiors

Alcoa Intalco Works 4050 Mountain View Road, Ferndale

384-7061/384-6185 alcoa.com

558

Mike Rousseau, plant manager

1966

Aluminum smelter

Cascade Dafo Inc. 1360 Sunset Ave., Ferndale

384-1858/384-1927 cascadedafo.com

275

Don Buethorn

1980

Dynamic ankle, foot orthoses durable medical equipment

ConocoPhillips 3901 Unick Road, Ferndale

384-1011/384-8344 conocophillips.com

270

Ryan Lance

1954

Oil refinery

Samson Rope 2090 Thornton St., Ferndale

384-4669/384-0572 samsonrope.com

250

Tony Bon

1878

Rope, cordage and twine mills

Trans-Ocean Products Inc. 350 W. Orchard Drive, Bellingham

671-6886/671-0354 trans-ocean.com

195

Yasuaki Kawakita

1985

Seafood processing

Nature's Path Foods 2220 Natures Pathway, Blaine

603-7200/603-7201 naturespath.com

150

Ratana Stevens, Arron Stevens

1999

Organic foods and cereals

966-2188/966-5024 terminalforestproducts.com

150

Asa Johal

1972

Custom sawmill

733-3960/733-0803 mtbakerproducts.com

140

Rod Remington

1993

Softwood veneer and plywood

733-1916/733-5299 yamatoengines.com

138

Asiff Dhanani

1990

Gasoline engines, transmissions, and engine parts

Andgar Corporation 6920 Salashan Parkway, A-102, Ferndale

366-9900/366-5800 andgar.com

115

Todd Kunzman

1935

Commercial industrial contracting, food and industrial processing equipment

Ershigs, Inc. 742 Marine Drive, Bellingham

733-2620/733-2628 ershigs.com

110

Steve Hettick

DNR

Fiberglass reinforced plastics

Grizzly Industrial 1821 Valencia St., Bellingham

647-0801/ 800-225-0021 grizzly.com

100

Shiraz Balolia

1983

Woodwork and metalwork machinery

Peak-Ryzex Group 4600 Ryzex Way, Bellingham

715-2000/676-1842 ryzex.com

60

Christian Glennon

1989

Technology solutions provider

Specified Fittings, Inc. 164 W. Smith Road, Bellingham

398-7700/398-7051 specfit.com

DNR

Greg Gundel

1997

Metal valves and pipe fittings

Company, address

South Everson Lumber Co. Inc. (Selco) 1615 Mission Road, Everson Mt. Baker Products 2929 Roeder Ave., Bellingham North American ATK Corp. dba/Yamato Engine Specialists 2020 E. Bakerview Road, Bellingham

Services/Specialties

Did we miss you on a list?

Visit our Website at

www.BBJToday.com

to make sure we catch you next year!

1909 Cornwall Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 647-8805

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| MEDICAL SUPPLIERS |

| 26

Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Company, address Cascade DAFO, Inc. 1360 Sunset Ave., Ferndale Hoagland Pharmacy 2330 Yew St., Bellingham Custom Prescription Shoppe 1313 E. Maple, #101, Bellingham Bellevue Healthcare of Whatcom County 1025 N. State St., Bellingham Lincare Inc. 809 W. Orchard Drive, #7, Bellingham Next Medical Products Company 774 Marine Drive., Bellingham HealthMart Supply P.O. Box 1067, Ferndale Cornerstone Prosthetics & Orthotics 800 E. Chestnut St, #3C, Bellingham Stanford Dosimetry 1204 Raymond St., Bellingham

CPAP Blowouts

PO Box 2067, Bellingham Apria Health Care 709 W. Orchard Drive, #7, Bellingham

Phone/Fax Web

Number of employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Services/Specialties

384-1858 / 384-1927 dafo.com

275

Don & Candace Buethorn

1982

Domestic and international manufacturer of pediatric custom and prefabricated braces for the foot & ankle

734-5413/734-1454 hoaglandpharmacy.com

62

Mike Hoagland

1981

Compounding, durable medical equipment, supplies

685-4242/685-4243 crxshoppe.com

30

Kevin Faris

2003

Retail, long-term care, compounding & free delivery

527-0475/527-0477 bellevuehealthcare.com

9

Zeb Donlan

2008

Home medical equipment

671-3813/671-6685 lincare.com

7

Mike Watkins

1995

Respiratory care, oxygen services, CPAP supplies

671-9121/671-9024 magnaflux.com & sonotech.com

6

Julia Jacobson

1987

Manufacture and sell ultrasound gel

800-628-0707/800-384-2472 health-mart.com

5

Diane Gascon

1992

Manufacturer of syringes and scientific glass supplies

734-0298/734-9679 cornerstonepo.com

4

Tom Broselle

1994

Prosthetics and orthotics

733-7367/933-1794 stanforddosimetry.com

3

Neill Stanford

1988

X-ray badges

224-3131 / 425-460-8488 cpapblowouts.com

1

Rob Meredith

2008

Durable medical equipment (pme) purchase and sales. CPAP, BIPAP Machiines, oxygen concentrators, etc.

738-8300/647-7045 apria.com

DNR

Mel Lamphiear

DNR

Medical supplies, oxygen, CPAP supplies

| NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS | Listed alphabetically Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Phone/Fax Web

Director/Manager

Year Established Locally

671-3316/715-9940 www.alzsociety.org

Kathy Sitker

1984

To reach people and families affected by Alzheimer's and other dementing illnesses with support, knowledge and resources

733-3290/DNR www.mtbredcross.org

Stacy RIce

1917

Humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies

738-2803/647-3695 assistanceleaguebellingham.5 0webs.org

Diane Michael

1982

It is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization dedicated to community enrichment through community service

Bellingham Childcare and Learning Center 2600 Squalicum Parkway, Bellingham

676-0950/DNR bellinghamchildcare.com

Karen Ekdahl

1968

In partnership with the community, BCLC provides the highest standard and most affordable childcare

Bellingham Food Bank 1824 Ellis St., Bellingham

676-0392/DNR bellinghamfoodbank.org

1972

Bellingham Food Bank, Whatcom County’s largest emergency food provider, provides free groceries to Bellingham's hungry families and distributes food to small, rural food banks throughout the county

Bellingham Goodwill 1115 E. Sunset Dr., Bellingham

752-2080/752-2178 www.seattlegoodwill.org

1997

To help low-income and disadvantaged people in our community prepare for and secure jobs so they may achieve self-sufficiency for themselves and their families We have a BIG dream of transforming our communities, our state, and eventually our nation through a mentoring movement that brings a caring, supportive adult mentor into the life of every child who needs and wants one To raise hope and self-esteem by sponsoring enrichment programs and other essentials for homeless, low-income and foster children in Whatcom and Skagit Counties

Company, address Alzheimer Society 1308 Meador Ave. #C-1, Bellingham American Red Cross 2111 King Street, Bellingham Assistance League of Bellingham 2817 Meridian St., Bellingham

Big Brothers Big Sisters of NW WA 4204 Meridian St., Suite 101, Bellingham Blue Skies for Children 2505 Cedarwood Ave, Suite 2, Bellingham Boys & Girls Clubs Whatcom County 1715 Kentucky St., Bellingham

Mike Cohen Michelle Tomasch

DNR 671-6400/671-3832 www.bbbs-nw.org

1987

756-6710/DNR www.blueskiesforchildren.org

Julie Guay

1997

738-3808/733-8078 www.whatcomclubs.org

DNR

1946

Focus/Mission

"To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens”

27 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS | Listed alphabetically Rank

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Company, address Brigid Collins Family Support Center 1231 N. Garden St., Suite 200, Bellingham Brigadoon Service Dogs 4759 Mission Road, Bellingham Communities in Schools of Whatcom County 1323 Lincoln Street, Suite 203 Bellingham Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services 1407 Commercial St., Bellingham

Phone/Fax Web

Director/Manager

Year Established Locally

734-4616/734-1763 www.brigidcollins.org

Byron Manering, Executive Director

1990

733-5388/DNR www.brigadoondogs.org

Denise CoStanten

2004

778-3759 / 738-2750 www.ciswhatcom.org

Dennis D'Amelio

2008

Focus/Mission Brigid Collins' mission is to break the cycle of child abuse in Whatcom County With the help of the Youth of the community, we train dogs to provide assistance to veterans, adults and children with physical and developmental disabilities Communities In Schools is a non-profit that helps kids graduate high school. We do this primarily by brokering existing resources into schools The mission of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (DVSAS) is to support individuals affected by domestic violence and sexual assault and to lead the community towards ending these abuses of power

671-5714/647-6015 www.dvsas.org

Karen Burke

1979

Interfaith Community Health Center 220 Unity St., Bellingham

676-6177/671-3574 www.interfaithchc.org

Desmond Skubi

1984

Junior Achievement 119 N. Commercial, #110, Bellingham

715-1132 / 676-3308 www.jawashington.org

Gretchen Pflueger

-

685-4201 / DNR www.bellinghamkiwanis.com

Jim Carney

-

733-5120/733-7158 www.thelighthousemission.org

Ron Buchinski

1923

We are dedicated to helping those who have not been able to help themselves. Our emphasis is on helping people come to know the difference that God can make in their lives

671-7663/DNR www.lydiaplace.org

1989 Emily O'Conner

Lydia Place provides a multifaceted program that supports women and their children in transition from homelessness to independence

Kiwanis Club PO Box 902, Bellingham Lighthouse Mission 910 West Holly St., Bellingham Lydia Place P.O. Box 28487, Bellingham Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood 1509 Cornwall Avenue, Bellingham North Cascades Institute 810 SR 20, Sedro Woolley

We believe in the benefits of prevention, early detection and treatment, health education, and the value of helping our patients make informed health care decisions Junior Achievement is a non-profit organization providing a series of business, economics and life skills programs to enhance the education of young people Kiwanis is a worldwide service organization whose main focus is serving children ages prenatal to l8 years

734-9095/715-8416 www.plannedparenthood.org

Linda McCarthy

1969

Primary and reproductive health care; health and sexuality advocacy

360-854-2599www.ncascades.org/rentals

Saul Weisberg

1986

At Diablo Lake in the North Cascades National Park, the NCI Learning Center is a one-of-kind sustainable venue for your next conference, retreat, wedding, reunion or special event

1965

To act as a catalyst for positive change, both in the community and in the lives of the people we serve

734-5121/DNR www.oppco.org

Dave Finet

671-8848/671-0479 www.psbc.org

Jason Hess, Supervisor

1996

Saving lives through research, innovation, education and excellence in blood and tissue services in partnership with our community

671-3349 / 715-6496 www.stlukesfoundation.org

Sue Sharpe

1983

We provide grants for educational programs and capital projects to health-related non profit organizations in Whatcom County

United Way of Whatcom County 1511 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

733-8670/733-8674 www.unitedwaywhatcom.org Find us on Facebook

Peter Theisen

1956

To increase the organized capacity of people in Whatcom County to care for one another

Visiting Nurse Home Care 1405 Fraser St. Ste 1, Bellingham

734-9662 / 752-1092 vnhomecare.org

Terri Briant Booth

1984

Provider of health care and home care services

788-6594 / DNR www.whatcomalliance.org

Larry Thompson

-

676-2220/DNR whatcomcounseling.org

Jan Bodily

1959

Serves those with severe and persistent mental illness with emphasis on under-served populations

733-8630 / DNR whatcomymca.org

Dan Powell

1890

Building the foundations of community through programs for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility

733-4030/DNR wccoa.org

Mary Carlson

1964

Provides nutritional, social, educational, and recreational programs that promote wellness of mind for community members as they age

312-1103/647-7952 whatcomday.org

Gina BarrieauGonzales

1988

Pre-school through middle school programs

671.6463/DNR whatcomcf.org

Mauri Ingram

1996

Community foundations (CFs) provide convenient bridges between donors and charities. They act as catalysts for community improvement by working with a wide variety of partners

734-3055 / DNR www.whatcomvolunteer.org

Angela Murray

1971

One-stop center linking people of all ages who want to contribute their talent and time to directly assist 175 organizations in meeting community needs

Opportunity Council 1111 Cornwall Ave., Suite C, Bellingham Puget Sound Blood Bank 1125 E. Sunset #105, Bellingham St. Luke's Foundation 800 E. Chestnut, Bellingham

Whatcom Alliance for Healthcare Access 800 E. Chestnut, Lower Level, Bellingham Whatcom Counseling & Psychiatric Clinic 3645 E. McLeod Road, Bellingham Whatcom Family YMCA 1256 N. State St., Bellingham Whatcom County Council on Aging 315 Halleck St., Bellingham Whatcom Day Academy 5217 Northwest Road, Bellingham Whatcom Community Foundation 119 Grand Ave., Suite A, Bellingham Whatcom Volunteer Center 725 N. State St., Bellingham

WAHA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to connect community members to health care services, promote system improvements and foster public engagement to develop sound health care policies

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 28

| PUBLIC RELATIONS/GRAPHIC DESIGN | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

676-9275/N/A toolhouse.com

18

Rand and Elizabeth Lien, Chance Martenson

1995

Digital marketing agency: websites, Web tools and Web campaigns

738-1280/738-0864 copysource.com

13

1990

Websites, branding, graphic design, complete offset printing, full color, black & white digital printing, bulk mailing

Varvid 1319 Commercial St. #201, Bellingham

360-738-7168 varvid.com

12

Aaron Booker

1993

Film/video production, Web site and graphic design, branding, direct marketing, packaging

Big Fresh Media 1344 King St., Suite 202, Bellingham

752-3304/N/A bigfresh.com

10

Mark Lee and Doug DeVries

2002

Web development, custom programming, web and print design

Blu Sky Creative Services 1221 Harris Ave., PNB 30, Bellingham

527-9111/(800) 867-0473 bluscs.com

10

1999

Advertising, web site and graphic design, search engine optimization, online and direct marketing

Net Solutions North America 1855 Main St., Ste 201, Bellingham

738-8188/(888) 220-5124 netsolutionsna.com

9

2003

Graphic design, Web application development, search engine and internet marketing, hosting

Print & Copy Factory 4055 Irongate Road, Bellingham

738-4931/734-6264 printcopyfactory.com

8

1992

Graphic design, website development, direct marketing, offset and commercial printing, digital copies,sign & banners

733-9377/N/A peterjamescreative.com

7

2003

Web design and development, commercial photography, landscape and local stock photography

647-7470/(707) 221-0553 mindfly.com

6

1999

Advertising, website design, branding, graphic design, search engine marketing

384-4640/384-4650 iocreative.com

6

Seth Murphy and Tim Cathersal

2000

Advertising, website design, public relations, branding, graphic design, direct marketing, custom signage and radio

671-8708/647-5351 baronandcompany.com

5

Jason Glover, Chris Bothel

1982

Advertising, Web development, PR, branding, graphic design, video production and research

961-3547/N/A flircreative.com

2

Jason Lee and Scott Friesen

2007

Branding, website and graphic design, direct marketing, advertising

Tom Hovde Inc. 1814 Broadway, Bellingham

676-0667/676-0667 hovdegraphics.com

2

Tom and Miki Hovde

1977

Advertising, website design, logo design, graphic design, mapping and brochures, makers of natural wood originals

Copylicious 1410 Girard St., Bellingham

650-0775/650-9716 N/A

1

1992

Home of the 5 cent copy, color printing, business flyers, business cards, graphic design

Webefx 114 W. Magnolia St., #400, Bellingham

527-0400/407-3408 webefx.com

1

2007

Web site design and web site application development

756-0868/N/A gbadesign.com

1

1970s

Branding, website and graphic design, advertising, public relations and marketing

671-0156/N/A rcburton.com

1

756-7929/937-6985 studiohatch.com

1

360-739-3559 jodi.sipes@comcast.net

1

Company, address Toolhouse Inc. 11 Bellwether Way, Suite 207, Bellingham Copy Source 1122 N. State St., Bellingham

The Peter James Creative Studios 314 E. Holly St. Suite 208, Bellingham Mindfly 114 W Magnolia Street, #504, Bellingham ioCreative 2013 Main St., Ferndale Baron & Company 1410 Harris, Ste. 310, Bellingham FLIRCreative 3111 Newmarket St., #105, Bellingham

GBA Design Group 1440 10 Street, #313 Bellingham

Roderick C. Burton - Art & Design 238 N. Forest St., Bellingham

Studiohatch 203 W Holly St., Suite 330, Bellingham Sparkplug Promotions & Events 4022 Cedarbrook Ct., Bellingham

Phone/Fax Web

Nadeem Israr

Rick O'Connor

Patrice Valentine Becky and Larry Raney

Peter James

Rusty Swayne

Michael Battaglia

Daniel Satake, Zi Krostag

Rodney Zeiler

Graphic design, illustration and marketing consultation

Rod Burton

2001

Green marketing, brand development, print/website design, specializes in identities, capital campaigns

DNR

New Business Launch Strategy, Promoter, Consultant, Community Connections--30+ years successful collaborative local promotions

Jessica Renner

Jodi Sipes

Services/Specialties

29 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| PUBLIC-SECTOR EMPLOYERS | Ranked by annual operating budget Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Phone/Fax Web

Operating Budget

Number of Employees

Year Established Locally

City of Bellingham 210 Lottie St., Bellingham

778-8000/778-8001 cob.org

$238.1 million (citywide)

860

1903

Government

Whatcom County 311 Grand Ave., Bellingham

676-6700/676-7727 whatcomcounty.us

$171,492 million

781

1854

Government

Bellingham School District 1306 Dupont St., Bellingham

676-6400/676-2793 bellinghamschools.com

$114,226 million

1,066

late 1800s

Education

650-3000/DNR wwu.edu

$111.7 million

2,196

1893

Education

City of Lynden 300 4th St., Lynden

354-4270/354-5749 lyndenwa.org

$57,400,230

75

1891

Government

Ferndale School District 6041 Vista Drive, Ferndale

383-9200/383-9201 ferndale.wednet.edu

$54 million

475

1941

Education

City of Blaine 344 H St., Blaine

332-8311/332-8330 cityofblaine.com

$36 million

55

1890

Government

City of Ferndale 2095 Main St., Ferndale

384-4302/384-1163 cityofferndale.org

$27.7 million

61

1907

Government

Lynden School District 1203 Bradley Road, Lynden

354-4443/354-7662 lynden.wednet.edu

$25,843,915

365

1911

Education

Company, address

Western Washington University 516 High St., Bellingham

Sector

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 30

| PUBLIC-SECTOR EMPLOYERS | Ranked by annual operating budget Rank

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Phone/Fax Web

Operating Budget

Number of Employees

Year Established Locally

Mount Baker School District 4956 Deming Road, Deming

383-2000/383-2009 mtbaker.wednet.edu

$25 million

300

1941

Education

Whatcom Transportation Authority 4111 Bakerview Spur, Bellingham

676-7433/715-4518 ridewta.com

$25 million

220

1983

Government

676-2500/676-6411 portofbellingham.com

$24.9 million

103

1920

Government

Blaine School District 765 H St., Blaine

332-5881/332-7568 blainesd.org

$22,750,376

266

1905

Education

Whatcom Community College 237 W. Kellogg Road, Bellingham

383-3000/383-4000 whatcom.ctc.edu

$21,376,660

425

1967

Education

Nooksack Valley School District 3326 E. Badger Road, Everson

988-4754/988-8983 nooksackschools.org

$18,038,000

220

1941

Education

Bellingham Technical College 3028 Lindbergh Ave., Bellingham

752-7000/676-2798 btc.ctc.edu

$17.3 million

288

1957

Education

Meridian School District 214 W. Laurel Road, Bellingham

398-7111/398-8966 merdian.wednet.edu

$17,207,230

214

1924

Education

City of Sumas 433 Cherry St., Sumas

988-5711/988-8855 cityofsumas.com

$6.6 million

15

1891

Government

Lummi Indian Business Council 2616 Kwina Road, Bellingham

384-1489/380-1850 lummi-nsn.org

DNR

DNR

1942

Tribal government

Nooksack Indian Tribe 5016 Deming Road, Deming

592-5176/592-2125 nooksack-tribe.org

DNR

DNR

1973

Tribal government

676-2772/N/A nwic.edu

DNR

DNR

1979

Education

Company, address

Port of Bellingham 1801 Roeder Ave, Bellingham

Northwest Indian College 2522 Kwina Road, Bellingham

Sector

Follow The BBJ onon Facebook and Twitter.

Follow The BBJ Facebook and Twitter.

Follow The BBJ on Facebook and Twitter.

THE INTERNET ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE. THE INTERNET ISN'T WHAT USED BE. THE INTERNET ISN'T WHAT IT IT USED TOTO BE.

The information superhighway is now also a social gathering place for information superhighway is now aare social gathering place millions of people around the world— people who talking about your TheThe information superhighway is now alsoalso a social gathering place for for millions of people around the world— people who are talking about business.

Don't miss your chance to participate in the conversation.

And millions of people around the world— people who are talking about youryour business.

Don't chance to participate inThe the conversation. stay updated on the latest business news by following Bellingham business.

Don't missmiss youryour chance to participate in the conversation.

AndAnd facebook.com/bbjtoday stay updated on the latest business news by following The Bellingham Business Journal. facebook.com/bbjtoday stay updated on the latest business news by following The Bellingham facebook.com/bbjtoday Business Journal.

Business Journal.

twitter.com/bbjtoday twitter.com/bbjtoday twitter.com/bbjtoday

1909 Cornwall Ave. 1909 Cornwall Bellingham WA, 98225 1909 Cornwall Ave.Ave. Bellingham WA, 98225 Ph: (360) 647-8805 Bellingham WA, 98225 Ph: (360) 647-8805 FaxPh: (360) 647-0502 (360) 647-8805 (360) 647-0502 www.bbjtoday.com FaxFax (360) 647-0502 www.bbjtoday.com www.bbjtoday.com

31 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| REAL ESTATE COMPANIES | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Phone/Fax Web

Company, address

Owner/ Number of Agents/Brokers Top Executive

Year Established Locally

Services/Specialties

738-7070/738-9321 kw.bellinghamcom

203

Marsha Lockhart

2000

Residential, land, commercial and business real estate

Windermere-Whatcom Realty 515 W. Bakerview, Bellingham

734-7500/676-4694 windermerewhatcom.com

130

Dan and Ross Washburn

2000

Residential, land, commercial, business and rental real estate

RE/MAX of Whatcom County 913 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham

647-1313/671-8022 nwhomes.net

90

Dean and Lori Reece

1991

Full-services residential and commercial, in-house mortgage company

Muljat Group 510 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham

733-3030/671-4124 muljatgroup.com

60

Frank Muljat

1988

Residential and commercial sales and appraisals

Coldwell Banker 3610 Meridian St., Bellingham

734-3420/734-6879 coldwellbankerbain.com

55

Gregg Miller

1907

Sales and appraisals

John L Scott Real Estate 315 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham

734-6050/671-9647 johnlscott.com

43

Micheal X. Ford

1995

Residential resale and new construction

Home4Investment (Keller Williams branch) 2211 Rimland Dr., #124, Bellingham

738-7070/738-9321 home4investment.com

30

Ben Kinney

2005

Residential, luxury properties, condominiums, business sales, land developement and commercial real estate

Hammer Properties NW 1419 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

756-6500/738-0828 hammerproperties.com

25

Mike Hays

1993

Residential, land/lots, commercial, condos, property management

Muljat Group North 505 Front St., Lynden

354-4242/354-6033 muljatgroupnorth.com

22

Jerry Blankers

1926

Residential, relocation, commercial, farms, condos

Sterling Real Estate Group 2011 Young Street, #101, Bellingham

756-0021/756-2475 sterlingrealestate.biz

20

Phil Dyer

2001

Eco-brokers, green real estate, healthy and energy-effcient homes

Fairhaven Realty (Branch of Lakeway Realty) 1100 11th St., Bellingham

676-8990/734-5109 fairhavenrealty.com

17

Dave Hansen and Gloria Calderhead

1972

Residential, commercial, waterfront, view homes, multifamily

Century 21 Bay Properties 8045 Birch Bay Drive, Blaine

676-0210/371-3522 century21bayproperties.com

15

Carl and Diane Dufton

1986

Real estate brokerage, resort/planned communities, commercial

Pacific Continental Realty 114 W. Magnolia St., Suite 302, Bellingham

671-4200/647-0894 pacificcontinentalrealty.com

14

Jim Bjerke

1992

Commercial sales, leasing management of office, retail and industrial properties, business opportunities

671-7677/671-0168 rjrre@aol.com

12

Julie Carney

1995

Real estate brokerage, resort services

Sun-Mark Properties 1200 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham

650-1010/650-1020 sunmarkproperties.com

8

Azam Nader

1973

Whatcom County residential homes sales, Sudden Valley location

Misty Mountiains Realty 8193 Kendall Road, Maple Falls

778-3823/599-2200 mistymtsrealty.com

6

Tyrel Jackson, Bret VanLant

1990

Commercial and residential property management

756-6600/756-6634 premierpropertiesnw.com

4

Larry Humes

2005

Residential, multi-family, land, commercial property, sales, representing sellers and buyers

Keller Williams Realty 2211 Rimland Dr. #124, Bellingham

RJR Real Estate 2500 Elm St., Suite 15, Bellingham

Premier Properties NW 1135 Ellis St., Bellingham

A place to call home, since 1917.

1500 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham 360-733-3050

Susan Templeton

Josh Guthrie

NMLS 94045

NMLS 624026

Asst. Branch Manager

o: 360-756-2570 susan.templeton@wafd.com

VP/Branch Manager o: 360-756-2584 josh.guthrie@wafd.com investedhere.com

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 32

| SIGN COMPANIES | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

CDI Custom Design Inc. 423 Kentucky St., Bellingham

650-1150/650-0599 signawn.com

25

Loren DeMuth

1989

Design theming, fabrication, installation and service work, business ID signs, casino signs, mill work

Applied Digital Imaging 1803 N. State St., Bellingham

671-9465/647-5498 applieddi.com

20

Steve, Donna Edquist

1987

Specializes in full color, photographic banners and signs

Sign Design & Fabrication 766 Marine Dr., Bellingham

671-7165/671-0144 signsplusnw.com

20

Dale Gravning

1992

Sign designs and fabrications, custom electric and LED signage, banners, vehicle lettering and awnings

The Sign Post 2019 E. Bakerview Road, Bellingham

671-1343/671-1900 the-signpost.com

18

Ray & Glorene George

1979

Design, manufacture and installation, service and repair

Special T Signs & Graphics 2206 Pacific St., Bellingham

734-7617/734-9416 specialt.com

7

Tim Donnelly

1979

Signs, graphics, window tinting, safety film for commercial and residential, 3M paint protection

Bay Trophies & Engraving Inc. 1833 Humboldt St., Bellingham

676-0868/676-8598 bayengraving.com

7

Kurt Den Adel

1972

Custom awards, ADA and architectural signage, sand carving and laser engraving, industrial engraving

Signs By Tomorrow 2001 Iowa St., Suite B, Bellingham

676-7117/676-8771 sbtbellingham.com

6

Dave Koehler

2003

Eco-friendly sign options,digital graphics, large format, banners, logo design, vehicle wraps, real estate, construction signs

Company, address

Services/Specialties

| SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established

Logos Bible Software 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham

527-1700/527-1707 logos.com

347

Bob Pritchett

1992

Makes software and digital libraries for scriptural research

Dealer Information Systems 1315 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham

733-7010/647-6921 dis-corp.com

134

Bob Brim

1980

Provides software and systems to the agricultural, construction and truck equipment dealership industries

Vitech Business Group 4164 Meridian St., Ste.200 Bellingham

647-1622/647-1684 vitechgroup.com

36

Heath Batt

1992

Software for warehouse distribution centers

647-6003/676-7128 emergencyreporting.com

32

Dave Adams

2003

Record management systems for fire departments and EMS agencies

MGM Solutions 2125 Humboldt St., Bellingham

738-6940/738-3048 mgmsolutions.net

25

Shad Malone

2001

Value-added resale of point-of-sale products

Attachmate 2925 Roeder Ave., Ste. 300, Bellingham

715-1170/715-1270 attachmate.com

22

Jeff Hawn

1982

Host connectivity solutions including terminal emulation, application integration, and secure communications

Toolhouse Design 12925 Roeder Ave., Ste. 200, Bellingham

676-9275/676-8976 toolhouse.com

20

Rand and Elizabeth Lien, Chance Martenson

1995

All things mobile, digital marketing agency, interactive tools and Websites for fortune 500 companies

AIS Software 901 Harris Ave., Bellingham

676-0866/676-1551 softwareais.com

9

Brad Rose

1997

Custom business application development, process facility software

Cadalog Inc. 1448 King St., Bellingham

647-2426/647-2890 cadalog-inc.com

6

David Wayne

2001

software development, plug-in software programs

Engineering Design Automation 5747 Hannegan Road, Bellingham

398-1319/398-1320 edainc.net

5

Hiroshi Takaki

1992

Custom software, website development

Company, address

Emergency Reporting 851 Coho Way, #301, Bellingham

Services/Specialties

33 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

| TOP PRIVATE EMPLOYERS | Ranked by number of local employees Rank

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

734-5400/DNR peacehealth.org/whatcom

2,751

Nancy Steiger

1891

Medical center

371-1500/371-1450 bp.com

1075

Jeff Pitzer, Stacey McDaniel

1971

Oil refinery

733-8720/DNR haggen.com

765

DNR

1933

Florist, grocery stores, pharmacies

676-1102, 788-2900/DNR fredmeyer.com

720

Bill Pelan and Dan Miller

1973

Grocery stores, retail

Alcoa Intalco Works 4050 Mountain View Road, Ferndale

384-7061/384-6185 alcoa.com

605

Mike Rousseau

1966

Aluminum smelter

Aramark Higher Edu. 516 High St., Edens Hall Suite 109, Bellingham

650-2970/650-7743 aramark.com

600

Stephan Wadsworth

DNR

Catering and food services at WWU and WCC

738-2005/N/A heath.com

600

Richard Ballantyne

1989

Airplane interiors

Anvil Corp.

1675 W. Bakerview Road., Bellingham

671-1450/671-1697 anvilcorp.com

477

Jim Wakefield

1971

Engineering consulting

Alpha Technologies Inc. 3767 Alpha Way Bellingham, WA 98226

647-2360/671-4936 alpha.com

400

Fred Kaiser

1976

Matrix Service Inc. 3810 Bakerview Spur, Bellingham

685-2000/671-2973 matrixservice.com

350

Jim Ryan

1984

Industrial construction

Logos Bible Software 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham

527-1700/527-1707 logos.com

347

Bob Pritchett

1992

Makes software and digital libraries for scriptual research

Company, address PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center 2901 Squalicum Parkway, Bellingham BP Cherry Point Refinery 4519 Grandview Road, Blaine Haggen PO Box 9704, Bellingham Fred Meyer Lakeway Drive and W. Bakerview Road, Bellingham

Heath Tecna 3225 Woburn St., Bellingham

Thank You

to our caregivers and the physicians of Northwest Washington

Type of Business

Alpha designs and manufacturers power solutions for the cable/broadband, telecommunication, renewable energy and

PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center is ranked among the

TOP 5% IN THE NATION FOR CLINICAL EXCELLENCE

Thanks to the dedication of all caregivers, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center is one of only five hospitals in Washington state to receive the 2013 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™. PeaceHealth St. Joseph received 5-Star ratings in 19 areas of patient care. HealthGrades® is the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings organization—www.healthgrades.com.

www.peacehealth.org/whatcom

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| TOP PRIVATE EMPLOYERS | Ranked by number of local employees

Rank

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

| 34

Phone/Fax Web

Number of Employees

Owner/ Top Executive

Year Established Locally

714-9797/DNR themarketsllc.com

319

Kevin Weatherill

2008

Grocery Stores, Retail

Whatcom Educational Credit Union 600 E. Holly St., Bellingham

676-1168/733-5443 wecu.com

311

Wayne Langei

1936

Credit union

Haskell Corp.

1001 Meador Ave., Bellingham

734-1200/734-5538 haskellcorp.com

300

Fred Haskell

1890

Industrial/heavy commercial construction

Wal-Mart 4420 Meridian St., Bellingham

647-1400/DNR walmart.com

300

Chris Perez

Premier Graphics 2000 Kentucky St., Bellingham

733-1212/756-5515 premiergraphics.biz

275

Robert Lynch

1994

Commercial printing, student agendas

ConocoPhillips 3901 Unick Road, Ferndale

384-1011/384-8344 conocophillips.com

270

Ryan Lance

1954

Oil refinery

Cascade Dafo 1360 Sunset Ave., Ferndale

384-1858/384-1927 cascadedafo.com

270

Don Buethorn

1980

Dynamic ankle, foot orthoses and durable medical equipment

Diamond B Constructors 3436 Airport Drive, Bellingham

734-3600/733-2849 dbnw.com

250

Paul Johansen

1909

Mechanical, plumbing and oil refinery work

734-0220/DNR target.com

250

Tracy Long

354-4044/354-7263 peoplesbank-wa.com

223

Charles LeCocq

1921

Bank

CH2M HILL 21 Bellwether way Unit 111 Bellingham

676-1500/734-7022 ch2mhill.com

200

DNR

1974

Engineering consulting

Sterling Life Insurance 2219 Rimland Drive, Bellingham

647-9080/392-9074 sterlingplans.com

187

Hassan Rifaat

1989

Medicare-related products and services

Trans-Ocean Products Inc. 350 W. Orchard Drive, Bellingham

671-6886/671-0354 trans-ocean.com

182

Yasuaki Kawakita

1985

Seafood processing

676-1800/734-1616 bellinghamathleticclub. com

80

Cathy Buckley

DNR

Athletic Club

733-3050/733-7019 washingtonfederal.com

61

Tom Kenney

2010

Bank

671-6947/DNR costco.com

DNR

Keshara Marvin

1984

Grocery stores, retail

Company, address The Markets 1323 Commercial, Bellingham

Target 30 Bellis Fair Parkway, Bellingham Peoples Bank 418 Grover St., Lynden

Bellingham Athletic Club 4191 Meridian, Bellingham 1616 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham Washington Federal Savings Bank 1500 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham Costco Wholesale Inc. 4299 Guide Meridian St., Bellingham

TRENDS| FROM 7 including an increasing number of mergers and consolidations.

PeaceHealth, the Catholic health care provider that operates St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham (Whatcom County’s sole hospital and largest employer), has announced several new partnerships over the past year, including ones with Skagit Regional Health and UW Medicine. A separate plan by PeaceHealth to enter a joint venture with CHI, a nationwide Catholic provider

based in Colorado, was suspended last April.

PeaceHealth’s recent expansion efforts have sparked controversy among health advocates who want to preserve patients’ access to abortion, birth control and doctorprescribed lethal medication under Washington’s “Death with Dignity” law. Those advocates worry that increasing collaboration between public hospitals and health providers run by religious organizations, particularly ones that do not offer such services due to faithbased objections, could hurt patients’ access to care.

Type of Business

Retail shopping center

Retail shopping center

Pot stores coming soon Marijuana has now been legal in Washington state for more than a year. Yet as 2014 begins, businesses licensed to grow and sell pot are still months away from opening.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board has received thousands of applications from businesses seeking to enter the new market. The board continues to release lists of current applicants. Actual licenses are not expected to be issued until spring, as regulators work to vet each applicant and ensure all will be able to

operate within the law.

As of Jan. 7, 2014, nearly 300 business entities seeking to grow, process or sell marijuana in Whatcom County have submitted applications to the liquor board. Washington regulators announced last September that they will allow six retail marijuana stores in Bellingham, and 15 total across all of Whatcom County.

They are also capping the statewide total of recreational pot farms and gardens at 2 million square feet, although there is no limit on the number

See TRENDS, Page 35

35 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

TRENDS | FROM 34 of actual growers.

With more than 70 applicants seeking to open pot stores in Bellingham, the liquor board plans to use a lottery system to determine which stores will receive licenses.

Just how much authority local city and county governments will have to regulate where, or if, marijuana businesses can open remains under scrutiny after Bob Ferguson, Washington’s attorney general, issued a formal opinion Jan. 16 saying that Initiative 502, the measure that legalized marijuana in the state, included no clear indication that preempts local authorities’ ability to regulate such enterprises.

Several municipal governments in Washington have placed moratoriums or outright bans on marijuana business within their jurisdictions. Bellingham city officials say they are moving forward with plans to implement local regulations to allow pot growers and sellers, after the City Council lifted a short-lived moratorium last year.

Sharon Foster, the chair of the state liquor, said that Ferguson’s opinion “will be a disappointment to the majority of Washington’s voters who approved Initiative 502. We’re not yet sure how this opinion will change the implementation of the initiative. If some local governments impose bans it will impact public safety by allowing the current illicit market to continue. It will also reduce the state’s expectations for revenue generated from the legal system we are putting in place.”

Travel on the rise Hundreds of new hotel rooms are slated to enter the Bellingham market over the next couple of years. Likely a prime component of the increasing demand for hotels,

With a master plan to redevelop Bellingham's waterfront moving forward, the historic Granary Building has attracted several renovation proposals. EVAN MARCZYNSKI PHOTO | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL the Bellingham International Airport is set to finish a multiyear expansion of its commercial terminal in 2014.

Most of the hotel development is occurring around the airport and close nearby around Bakerview Road and Northwest Avenue.

360 Hotel Group of Lynnwood, Wash., opened a 122-room Marriott SpringHill Suites on Northwest Avenue last November. The company has also started construction on an attached 83-room TownePlace Suites, also a Marriott brand.

Just about one block away, on Bakerview Road, a La Quinta Inn opened in January 2014.

Additional developments nearby include a four-story, 105-room Home2 Suites by Hilton at 805 Home Lane, and a five-story, 99-unit Oxford Suites hotel at 4051 Meridian St. Across the street from the airport, the Port of Bellingham has approved plans by Hotel Services Group of Mount Vernon, Wash., to build a Holiday Inn Express on about 3.77 acres of port-owned property

on Mitchell Way, just south of the Pacific Cataract Laser Institute.

The 156-room hotel will include a full restaurant with its own separate entrance, an indoor pool, underground and surface parking, as well as about 7,000 square feet of conference rooms and meeting space, which will range from smaller board rooms up to a full-scale ballroom capable of hosting larger events, according to Dan Mitzel, chairman and managing member of Hotel Services Group. Construction should start in May. Outside of Bellingham, the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine re-opened last August. The resort’s hotel and two golf courses, the Semiahmoo Golf and Country Club and Loomis Trails, were bought for $19.5 million in June by Resort Semiahmoo LLC, a partnership whose managing member is Wright Hotels Inc. of Seattle.

Coastal Hotel Group, also of Seattle, is Semiahmoo’s new manager.

Waterfront approved Local leaders approved guiding framework to redevelop

237 acres of shorefront property along Bellingham’s city center last December.

The port and the city are working together to direct planning, cleanup and development of the property.

Development plans present a five-phase scheme with initial stages focusing on site cleanup and establishing a new commercial and residential area connected to the city’s downtown. Later phases include building a new public park at Cornwall Beach to the south, rejuvenating a marinetrades area and building the new marina to the north, and relocating a BNSF Railway line that bisects a portion of the site.

The port is already seeking developers for about 11 acres of property that surrounds Bellingham’s historic waterfront Granary Building. That process includes selection of a “master developer,” who will guide the first commercial development on the site.

The first construction on the site is not expected to begin for several more years.

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 36

Five ways to make your 401(k) plan work for you as 2014 rolls forward Take the free money Make sure you are taking advantage of your employer match. They have been increasing, with most offering a dollar-for-dollar match for the first 6 percent of employee deferrals (up from $0.50 per $1), according to a 2013 survey from the AON Hewitt consultancy.

If you aren’t participating in your employer’s retirement plan or maximizing the matching opportunities, you are drastically reducing your chances of success.

Think of it this way: If an employee is making $50,000 per year, contributing 6 percent for 35 years, receiving a full match on the first 6 percent and earning a 6 percent annual return, then that employee is not only missing out on the $357,958 from their contributions, but they are also missing out on an additional $357,958 from the matching contributions for a total of $715,916. Not bad considering this employee only contributed $105,000 of their own money.

Increase your savings The 401(k) contribution limits are set to stay the same in 2014, allowing employees to contribute $17,500 annually with an additional $5,500 “catch up” contribution for those turning 50 or above in 2014.

Not only will the increased savings increase your chances of retirement success, but qualified retirement plans receive tax deferral. This means that when you have dividends, interest and realized gains in

W. Devin Wolf On Retirement Savings your retirement account, you don’t owe taxes in the current tax year. By deferring the taxes until later, the money you would have spent on taxes is put to work increasing your nest egg.

It is always best to make your savings automatic, and some plans allow you to set up automatic annual increases to your contributions as well.

If you don’t have this luxury, make it a point to increase your contribution percentage every time you get a raise.

Use the proper account According to AON Hewitt, half of all plans now include a Roth 401(k) option. With the Roth option, you forego the immediate tax savings of the traditional 401(k), but in return receive tax-free growth.

The key to determining which account is right for you is understanding your taxes relative to the tiered-income tax brackets. If you think you will receive a greater tax

deduction now relative to your tax bracket in retirement, the traditional 401(k) may be best.

Are you uncomfortable predicting future tax brackets? Me too. One strategy to combat this is to diversify between Roth and traditional 401(k) accounts.

Let’s say you are in the 25 percent tax bracket by $10,000 of taxable income. In this case, you might want to save your first $10,000 to the traditional 401(k), locking in the immediate 25 percent tax savings, and the remaining $7,500 contribution to the Roth 401(k). By doing this, your tax rate on the Roth 401(k) contribution will be reduced to the 15 percent bracket.

For those really excited about the Roth 401(k) option, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 allows in-plan Roth conversions. Essentially, you are able to pay the tax and move assets from the traditional 401(k) to the Roth 401(k) if your plan supports this feature.

Reduce expenses Retirement-plan expenses have been a hot topic lately.

408(b)(2) regulations implemented in 2012 require that fee information be provided to each employee. While you may not be able to control plan expenses, you can review investment expenses and select more cost effective investments.

Use a free service like Morningstar to view the fund expenses and avoid investments with loads, 12b-1 fees or high administrative fees. These expenses have nothing to do with the actual management of

the investment, and you may actually be paying for more of the plan level expenses by using these funds.

Diversify Too often, investors feel like they are diversified because they invest in multiple mutual funds. Diversification is about what you own inside of the mutual funds and how diversified these holdings are.

You can use a free service like Morningstar’s portfolio x-ray to see how your portfolio looks as a whole. For stocks, review diversification between regions, market capitalization (Large Cap, Mid, and Small), valuations (growth versus value) and sectors.

Review your portfolio to make sure you are taking an appropriate level of risk and you are fully diversified. Company stock can increase risk and reduce diversification. If you hold company stock and the company folds, you lose both your job and your retirement.

Finally, once you have built the right portfolio, be sure to routinely rebalance the account. Many plans allow you to automatically rebalance, or buy and sell the funds in your portfolio to get back to your desired asset allocation, once per year.

W. Devin Wolf is a certified financial planner and a wealth manager at the feeonly firm Financial Plan Inc., in Bellingham.

He leads the company’s 401(k) branch and serves as chief investment officer, helping families, corporations and foundations make smart financial decisions. Financial Plan Inc. is online at www.financialplaninc.com.

37 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

If you own a small business, then you need a solid cash-flow model Most entrepreneurs know that ineffective cash management is one of the leading causes of business failure. It is also often the cause of hasty decisions regarding equity and debt — decisions they will often come to regret.

In good economic times and bad, cash flow is almost always an issue with small to medium sized businesses. Recent changes in our economy — including collateral damage from the federal government budget battles — are raising it to major headache level. Beyond this temporary situation, though, smaller companies are routinely horsed around by big corporations and government when it comes to paying their bills on time.

If you haven’t used your cash flow model recently, it should be dusted off, updated, and revalidated. If you don’t have a working cash flow model at all, this would be a great time to prepare one.

There are two kinds of cash flow that you should know about; one deals with the past and the other with the future. The first, the Cash Flow Statement, is one of the three essential parts of your financial statement and addresses two questions about your business: Where did the money come from and what did you do with it?

The other cash flow report is a model that addresses a different set of questions: how much money do we need to make payroll and our other expenses next month? It allows you to forecast the cash needs for

James McCusker On Business 101 your company — daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on your requirement. Because of the coming economic pressures on cash, forecasting your future needs should be given a high priority on your “to do” list.

The good news is that cash flow forecasts for smaller businesses are not that demanding in terms of accounting or math skills, and, even better, they are both informative and kind of fun. If you have never done one before, the Small Business Administration (SBA), through their Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), has some templates that you might find useful. Their 12-month cash flow forecast template may be found at www.score.org/sites/ default/files/12_Month_Cash_ Flow_0.xls .

Also, most accounting software packages for smaller businesses have a cash forecast report already built into their system and provide instruc-

tions on how to set it up.

The greatest value of a template, or a software package, is in getting you past the dreaded “Inertia of The Blank Page,” which often dooms projects undertaken by busy managers and entrepreneurs. As useful as they are, though, neither a template nor canned software will do your thinking for you.

There is no substitute for your knowledge of the business when it comes to cash forecasting.

It is probably best to start by taking a look at last month’s cash outlays. List the payments by type — suppliers, utilities, bank loans, taxes, payroll, and any other expenses that came up. You may find payments for non-expense items and for items paid for up front that are expensed over a longer time period. Use your common sense and your knowledge of the business when deciding which payments are one-time cash outflows and which ones come due periodically.

Your check register can be used to ensure that the cash outlays for the month, less the one-time payments, equals the amount shown in your cash flow statement. This validates your model initially and gives you a starting place for the forecast.

Using a spreadsheet such as Excel at this point will make the forecasting model easier to calculate as well as more useful. Last month’s cash outlays become the first data column in your spreadsheet. You can organize it to fit your business and your forecasting needs, but

initially, at least, you will find it useful to group your outlays into recurrent and non-recurrent payments.

You may find it useful to split up the recurrent expenses into monthly and non-monthly. Some taxes, for example, are recurrent but come due quarterly rather than monthly.

Others are due in a matter of days after payroll.

Taxes are often the source of cash flow problems for businesses, and making sure that they are included in your forecasting system can avoid a situation where you cannot make a payment on time. Unless you have borrowed money from the mob and can’t pay it back, nothing will get you into trouble faster than missing a payroll tax payment to the Internal Revenue Service.

Your knowledge of the business becomes they key to forecasting its cash needs.

That, along with the monthly, quarterly, and seasonal cycle information you can calculate from your payments history, will form a solid cash flow forecast. It is an important step in managing your business instead of your letting your business manage you — and it’s well worth the effort.

James McCusker is a Bothell economist, educator and small-business consultant.

He can be reached at otisrep@aol.com. His columns are also regularly featured in The Herald Business Journal in Everett, Wash., a partner publication of The Bellingham Business Journal.

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 38

Setting your new marketing budget As 2013 wound down, small businesses across the nation were looking ahead to 2014.

They were setting goals, making plans and working on budgets for the new year.

During this time, a question that often comes up is how much a mom-and-pop shop or local small business should spend to promote its products and services.

Have a plan, set funds aside for marketing Regardless of whether a company is marketing business-to-business services or business-to-consumer products, a basic marketing plan should be in place and funds should be set aside for marketing-related expenses.

Having a plan and budget on hand helps business owners make informed (not impulsive) decisions throughout the year. These documents can be referred to when decisions need to be made about buying advertisements, participating at events, ramping up networking activities or even outsourcing things like graphic design, photography and social-media tasks.

How much should be spent on marketing?

Industry experts are all over the board when it comes to how much a small business

restaurants and retail.

What's included in a marketing budget?

Patti Rowlson On Social Media & Marketing should spend on marketing.

Percentages range from 2 percent to more than 20 percent of gross revenues depending on the industry, size of the company and whether it’s a startup or established business.

Most businesses in Whatcom County fall within budgeting guidelines outlined by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The SBA suggests that established companies earning less than $5 million per year should allocate 7-8 percent of revenues toward marketing. That percentage increases if a business is in the startup phase, if it wants to launch new products or services, or if it is marketing in businessto-consumer industries like

Depending on target markets and what products and services are being promoted, marketing budgets may include the following expenses: digital and print advertising (think online ads, radio, and video production), participating in events and trade shows, networking-group memberships, social-media management, professional photography, graphic design, website maintenance, SEO or copywriting services, vehicle graphics, print materials like flyers and brochures, promotional items and even branded clothing items.

Ready to put together a marketing budget?

The first step is to obtain a detailed report that shows all marketing-related expenses from the past year (ask your bookkeeper for this information). Take time to review those expenses so you understand exactly where the money has been going.

Once you know how much was spent and what it was spent on, you can work to set a marketing budget for 2014 that is based on a percentage of projected revenues and your business goals for the new year. Remember, if you

want to aggressively grow your business or expand into a new market, you will need to consider increasing the percentage spent on marketing.

Next, think about your marketing plan and target market.

Do you feel last year’s marketing expenses helped reach those consumers?

If there are obvious items on your expense report that did, or did not, produce results, make plans to adjust the budget and reallocate funds accordingly.

Lastly, as you’re going through the process of setting up a marketing budget, try not to get stuck in the “that’s how we’ve always done it, and I don’t know what else to do” trap. New marketing and advertising options pop up nearly every day!

If you are unsure what direction to head in, take a look at what competitors are doing successfully or ask a trusted adviser for suggestions.

Patti Rowlson is a marketing consultant and social media manager at PR Consulting, Inc. She helps Whatcom County small businesses identify, implement and consistently maintain marketing-related programs. Learn more about smallbusiness marketing by connecting with PR Consulting on social media sites or by visiting www.pattirowlson.com.

Get your daily business news on the Web... ...including company profiles, breaking news reports, industry trends, commercial real-estate development, business-building advice from local experts, regularly updated business licenses, liquor licenses, building permits, bankruptcies, tax liens, judgments, local roadwork reports, major property sales and more...

...all online at BBJToday.com.

39 |

THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| FEBRUARY 2014

FEBRUARY 2014 | THE BELLINGHAM BUSINESS JOURNAL

| 40

What An SBA Preferred Lender Can Do For You. As an SBA Preferred Lender, we can initiate, process and approve your loan internally.

And about 95% of the time, that’s exactly what we do. That means less red tape and a lot less waiting for answers. In fact, most of our SBA loans take only a couple of weeks from application to being approved.

But quick approval isn’t the only thing appealing about our SBA loans.

They also offer very competitive interest rates, longer terms that

can lower your monthly payments, and no prepayment penalties.

If anything does arise during the loan process, the experienced staff in our SBA Loan Department can easily handle it for you.

Why not see if an SBA loan is a good fit for your business? Call or stop by and talk with any of our commercial lenders.

It just might be the most straightforward meeting you’ve had in quite a long time.

MEMBER FDIC

For more information, just call us at (360) 757-0170, or visit www.wibank.com