October 2023 - Southern Oregon Business Journal

The Southern Oregon Business Journal extends sincere thanks to the following companies for sponsoring the journal. Without their support we could not produce a FREE resource for Southern Oregon businesses.

This is the special Broadband Edition of the Southern Oregon Business Journal. I started producing this special edition for the Oregon Connections Conference a couple of years ago to provide stories about broadband in Oregon to all of you readers as well as the attendees of the conference. It’s been well received and I always look forward to publishing this edition.

Pages 4 to 16 are dedicated to Broadband. Even the book review (“Breaking the Internet: How One Community is Working Toward Digital Equity“ on Page 4) this month is relevant and inspired from last years OCTC conference.

This is the 27th annual Oregon Connections Conference and it will be held in Ashland this year on October 26 and 27th. Our keynote speakers are Senator Ron Wyden and Adam Geisler, President/ COO of Tribal Ready PBC and former Division Chief Tribal Connectivity at the National Telecommunications & Info Administration (NTIA). The conference is filled with topics that range from the fun “Broadband 101” to deep dives on funding and overbuilding. Over 200 attend each year including service and technology providers, community leaders, as well as state and federal government politicians and employees charged with deploying broadband in Oregon.

With over $689M in BEAD funds coming to Oregon to help deploy broadband, the conference aims to focus the conversation for the next couple of years on funding Broadband(people, projects and progress).

Find out more at https://oregonconnections.info/.

It’s also the first year of the conference under the newly formed Oregon Connections Telecommunications Conference 501(c)3 nonprofit that I currently serve on as president of the board.

The entire conference is volunteer run and our chair this year, Krystal Stone, is amazing.

It takes about 10 months of work to pull off a conference of this size and importance and a lot of time from volunteers. I’m always impressed with how much passion they bring to the project. It takes a lot of work to pull off a conference and it’s exhausting but very rewarding. If you want to get involved and serve on the board or help put on the conference next year please fill out the application on the website.

Speaking of putting on a conference, I attended the Global RedwoodJS conference in Grants Pass last month and Trever did an amazing job. I learned a lot and was moved by the science behind internet & loneliness. Read about it on page 18.

Thanks for reading…

Jim

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS

PEOPLE’S BANK - PAGE 28

MANAGED HOME NET - PAGE 20

SOU - LEADERSHIP BEGINS HERE

SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITYPAGE 23

PROJECT A - PAGE 21

ENERGY TRUST OF OREGON - 17 & 31

PEAK INTERNET 11

HUNTER COMMUNICATIONS 15

PROVIDENCE HEALTH PLAN 5

Founder Greg Henderson ghenderson703@gmail.com

Greg started the Southern Oregon Business Journal in 2015 and retired in 2020.

Cover Photo by Umberto on Unsplash

A JOURNAL FOR THE ECONOMICALLY

Breaking the Internet: A Beacon of Digital Equity

“Breaking the Internet: How One Community is Working Toward Digital Equity” is a compelling narrative that chronicles the journey of a community in West Texas striving to bring highspeed internet service to every household. Authored by Terrence Denoyer and with a foreword by Lauren Tavarez, this book is an essential read for community leaders grappling with the digital divide and seeking viable solutions.

The Story

The book paints a vivid picture of the broadband problem in Ector County, Texas, amidst the pandemic. It follows Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri and Dr. Kellie Wilks as they respond to the shutdown of schools in 2020. They form a task force of local government and business leaders and seek credible data to understand which neighborhoods and areas in their county were without broadband service.

The Leadership

The story is about Kellie and Scott’s exemplary leadership in the face of crisis and the choices they made, not only for their students but for the longterm prosperity of their entire community. Their efforts are a testament to selfless leadership, as they navigate through challenges to break down barriers to equitable broadband access.

"Scott and Kellie model selfless leadership while Terry expertly weaves their local broadband story against a national and historical backdrop." Dr. Robert Avossa, former Superintendent

of Palm Beach County Schools and Fulton County Schools

The Significance

Denoyer leverages his background in systems, data, user experience, education, and government to narrate a story that is local in scope but global in its significance. It’s an origin story about breaking down barriers to equitable broadband access.

Conclusion

“Breaking the Internet” is more than just a book; it’s a call to action for communities worldwide to address digital equity. It serves as an inspiration for other communities facing similar challenges and provides a roadmap for achieving digital equity. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the digital divide and how one community is making strides towards bridging it.

https://www.amazon.com/BreakingInternet-Community-Working-Digital/ dp/0578941929

“Breaking the Internet: How One Community is Working Toward Digital Equity” by Terrence Denoyer

By Pam Berrian

The Fiber is Coming! The Fiber is Coming!

When the ink dried on the 1996 Federal Telecommunications Act, local governments braced for what they believed would be a heavy influx of providers seeking out their communities for infrastructure installations in order to market new and competitive services. Governments reviewed their public rights of way permitting and management codes, their land use cell tower zoning and site review criteria, and standards for permitting private use of municipal property such as buildings and land for public benefit. Procedures are pretty clear about infrastructure placed in public rights of way (streets, sidewalks, alleys). Questions still arise today about how to respond to private telecommunications service providers seeking commercial use of municipal property.

The City as a Landlord - Fair Consideration of Incoming Requests

Eugene, Oregon staff found successful methodologies to respond to requests to use City-owned property in a fair and standardized way, even where siting requests are extremely varied. Company A might need a street light pole one instance and a rooftop in another. Company B might want parkland in two different locations, one

Private Telecommunications Use Of

Municipal- Owned Property Sharing Public Assets For Community Benefit

designated as a ballfield site and the other as passive ridgeline.

A key success factor can be the use of consistent staff to respond to incoming requests—a simple approach that can reduce the likelihood that a facility manager will find it easier to say ‘No’, than arrange their workload to accommodate the work involved in negotiating the placement, construction conditions, and contract for use of City property. Staff can develop a transparent and fair response while ensuring the public interest remains protected. How?

1. Policy Statements: The City of Eugene developed nine policy statements relating to telecommunications operations within the community. Three of them are specifically considered in responding to requests for use City-owned property:

Policy #2. The City shall receive fair compensation for the use of City property by telecommunications providers.

Policy #7. The City shall have access to reliable, flexible telecommunications services.

Policy #8. Similarly situated telecommunications providers shall be treated in a similar manner.

Staff can shepherd a request to the contract stage for review by a municipal

attorney to signatures, then leave the oversight of the contract to the facility Manger.

2. Criteria for Fair Rent:

a. Market Forces: A City can develop agreements which allow it benefits as favorable as other cities have with the same provider in similar situations. However, if the provider locates at another, less desired site at the City’s request, a City may offer lower rent amounts. An example is relocating from a City property in a residential viewshed to City property adjacent to a cemetery.

b. Precedents: A City seeks consistency in developing agreements, within their own jurisdiction or compared to similar jurisdictions. Precedents should consider that ‘fair rent’ at least covers the full cost of negotiating and managing the agreement, and any increased costs associated with the presence of telecom equipment on City property.

c. Potential to Reduce Burden on Viewshed: A City can accept lower-thanmarket rent to provide incentives for providers to use existing City assets rather than erect new structures. A monopole, while permitted in a residential area was renegotiated to a ball-field light attachment. In another case, a monopole was renegotiated to a rooftop structure.

Partnerships: A City may reap benefits by sharing the share the expense of building a structure which could hold both the private and public telecommunications equipment. Joint trenching and shared conduit are examples.

Simple and standardized guidelines convey to telecommunications companies that municipalities are amenable to the use of City property for services important to the community, whether above ground or underground, wireline or wireless, using land or buildings. Last but not least, a City’s response can be transparent to inquiring residents and its elected officials. They will want to know that the use of City property does not conflict with any local, state, or federal laws that govern that use. They will want to know if sharing resources protects the viewshed. They will want to know how shared use benefits service delivery to the community.

“Planning is not about predicting the future. Planning is not about controlling the future. Planning is about handling what the future brings.

” Judith Umbach, Civic.Com

Author’s note: While involved in telecommunications policy and program work at the City of Eugene before retiring in 2023, this article is the opinion of the author.

By Edwin B. Parker

Broadband may be the most important infrastructure needed to future-proof Oregon’s economy and quality of life. That will take more than capital investment. Yes, we should take advantage of all the subsidies currently available but that won’t be enough.

What broadband Oregon will need can be summarized in one word: more. Futureproofing is not a once and done proposition. Oregon’s current economic advantage over other states because of past broadband investment could quickly dissipate as other states use available subsidies to catch up.

Current broadband investment will not reach every nook and cranny of Oregon. In future, we will want to get broadband service to every home, business and traveling resident or tourist. Beyond reaching all of Oregon’s farmland for agricultural applications, think of monitoring Oregon forests for fires, fire risks, pests and other hazards as climate changes. Think of reaching Oregon’s most remote locations for emergency

Future-proofing Oregon's broadband future

services including search and rescue.

Do you think current predictions of needed broadband capacity will survive a decade? If so, you are wrong. We will need more. My retirement community has secure, private broadband WiFi in each apartment with inapartment fiber optic connections on an all-fiber route to the internet with reliable, symmetric 100megabit connectivity. That service requires scalable multiple gigabits of connectivity from our building to the internet. How many of you would have predicted that requirement for an old folks home 10 years ago? Just expect that however much capacity is provided, entrepreneurs will develop applications that will use it all and ask for more.

Will current broadband providers be able to offer the security, reliability and resilience that will be needed? Can they keep improving their security to stay ahead of bad actors using artificial intelligence to find network flaws to exploit? The best providers have trouble

meeting a 99.99% availability standard. Do they have a way to improve by a further order of magnitude to meet a fivenines instead of a four- nines standard to serve future telemedicine applications? Do they have a resilience plan that permits quick restoration of service after the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake that is a certainty in Oregon’s future? Broadband availability will be critical to support every aspect of the recovery of Oregon’s economy and social services after the Big One.

So, how can broadband help future-proof Oregon’s economy and the quality of life for people here? Maintain a competitive broadband ecosystem and culture of continuous improvement. Competition was how Oregon became a national leader in providing broadband. If any current broadband provider develops a once and done mentality like the former monopoly providers they outcompeted, they need to feel the hot breath of competition on their necks to keep them racing forward into a world of accelerating change.

A culture of continuous quality improvement should permeate all aspects of the business. Like other information technology businesses, broadband uses costdeclining technology. Consequently, staying competitive and satisfying customers requires constant focus on operating more efficiently while improving the quality of service. However, for long-term success, resilience after inevitable harmful events is more important than shortterm efficiencies.

The bottom line: Future-proofing broadband to best serve the economy and quality of life in Oregon will require a competitive telecommunications ecosystem filled with resilient and continuously improving businesses.

By Amanda Scherer, Adtran

Douglas County, Oregon: situated just two hours from the rocky coast and cold but beautiful Pacific Ocean, the community boasts all the benefits you might expect from small towns in Oregon—winding rivers, towering mountains, lush greenery, and a tight-knit community that looks out for one another.

But there’s one feature notoriously common to small Northwestern towns that this one lacks: painfully slow internet. Much of the county is connected by a cutting-edge fiber network, built and serviced by Douglas Fast Net, a local internet service provider.

Roseburg High School first received a fiber connection in 2005. Before that, education followed a fairly traditional format as students and teachers alike worked within the limitations of little to no internet access.

Asthika Welikala, Chief Information Officer of Douglas ESD, remembers those days all too well. “I started 20 years ago when all the state testing went online,” he recalls. “When it came down to testing, everyone had to stop what

Fiber Provider, Douglas Fast Net, makes impact on community and schools with reliable broadband coverage

they were doing online so the testing could go through. We had to do one thing at a time.”

Some schools were working with as little as 1 Mbps. That’s 1/1000th of the bandwidth individual residential homes can enjoy with fiber today. “This area is very sparsely populated,” explains Welikala. “A lot of service providers didn’t expect to see a return on their investment, so they didn’t put any capacity for the people to use.”

Fortunately, Douglas Fast Net was not like those other service providers. Launched in 2001, the company provides residential internet, business internet, managed services, and voice services (both residential and hosted PBX). It took nearly twenty years before COVID pushed the digital divide into the public consciousness and sparked a flurry of broadband funding. By that time, Douglas Fast Net had already laid 2,300 miles of fiber throughout the community, connecting many schools, hospitals, government buildings, and residences.

“Before we had the access that we have today, the teacher was

the keeper of the knowledge, but now kids have immediate access to knowledge,” explains Dr. Weber. “We’re now teaching kids to think critically and deeply about things because we can get answers in a few clicks of a button, but thinking critically and applying knowledge is a shift in education. We have to help them develop the way that they think about things.”

Whatever challenges the future may hold, Douglas Fast Net will be there with cutting-edge technology to keep their community connected and equipped—and the people who call this rural county home take pride in that. “Kids are proud to say, ‘My daddy works there,’ or ‘My mommy works there,’” observes Douglas Fast Net CEO Todd Way. “You can’t go anywhere in this town without hearing, ‘Oh, you work for DFN! I love your service.’”

Bridging

THE POWER OF LOCAL

Trusted Provider

Customer Connection

Civic Involvement

Local Jobs

Regional Investment

Community Engagement

Living Where We Work

OUR MISSION

Connecting communities to the world through innovative solutions and an exceptional customer experience.

By Hunter Communications Press Release https://hunterfiber.com/news/

Hunter Communications Launches Hunter Shield in Alignment with National Bullying Prevention Month

The internet has become more than just a convenience; it's an essential part of our lives. But as our dependence on the internet has grown, so have the threats and dangers associated with its use. Recognizing this challenge, Hunter Communications, the fastestgrowing internet provider in the northwest, is going beyond delivering top-notch internet service. To ensure the digital

safety of the communities they serve, they are introducing Hunter Shield: a comprehensive package of internet security solutions.

Michael Wynschenk, CEO of Hunter Communications, passionately expressed, "This is very personal to me, my family, my employees, and our customers. There is nothing

more important for parents and grandparents than keeping our children safe no matter where they are.”

Here's a closer look at what’s included in Hunter Shield: HunterIQ App: Bundled with Hunter Wi-Fi and a provided router, this app lets users easily

manage their Wi-Fi, view connected devices, set up guest networks, run speed tests, and change passwords.

Hunter Protect: Available with HunterIQ, this feature boosts home network security by blocking viruses, malware, and harmful websites.

Hunter Control: For $5/month, customers can enhance their network security. Set rules, create profiles, filter content, block apps or sites, and set time limits for devices.

With October being National Bullying Prevention month, the introduction of Hunter Shield couldn’t come at a better time. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, studentreported cyberbullying has risen 55% since 2015 and tripled since 2007. Almost half of middle and high school students have been cyberbullied, with female teens three times more likely to be targeted than males.

done for him and his family. “I've had a great experience with Bark. My child has received a few unwelcomed messages, and Bark notified me right away. It's been a reliable ally against cyberbullying, giving me alerts that we can address quickly as a family.”

Bark Parental Control App: In partnership with Bark, Hunter offers this essential tool for parents. For just $14/month, Bark monitors digital content, alerts for bullying and online threats, manages screen time, filters websites, blocks specific content, and tracks child location.

Reiterating Hunter's dedication, Wynschenk continued, "If we are going to provide internet to the communities we serve, then it is our responsibility to help our customers keep their families safe. That is why we have also made Hunter Control and Bark available to our employees at no charge, because this isn’t just a business decision for us, it’s a personal one."

For more information on the Hunter Shield suite of internet security products, please call 541-772-9282 or visit HunterFiber.com/HunterIQ.

Hunter employee Lane Yerman explained what the Hunter Shield security products have

By Hunter Communications Press Release https://hunterfiber.com/news/

Hunter Communications Acquires InfoStructure

Acquisition allows Hunter to further its mission of delivering world-class telecommunications services to businesses and communities throughout Oregon.

Hunter Communications, Oregon's largest privately owned fiber-optic internet provider, announced the acquisition of Origin Networks LLC, the parent company to InfoStructure.

“This acquisition is an important step in the success of our communities, as it allows us to continue bringing better internet service to businesses throughout Oregon,” said Michael Wynschenk, CEO, Hunter Communications. “The

employees of InfoStructure compliment Hunter in ways that will help us serve more customers with efficiency and reliability. We want to attract new businesses to Oregon and encourage current companies to stay here. This acquisition demonstrates that we are committed to supporting the ongoing technological development of our region.”

Hunter is consistently striving to fortify its core services, enhance its performance in emerging markets, and provide the best service for its customers. The acquisition of InfoStructure presents an opportunity for Hunter to better support the economic growth and success of Oregon businesses. Additionally, both

organizations share a common commitment to delivering exceptional service and customer care, ensuring a seamless alignment of values.

“This is more than an acquisition- it’s an alignment around a shared vision,” said Speck Hansen, CEO, InfoStructure. “Like InfoStructure, Hunter Communications believes in empowering their employees, customers, and communities through with new opportunities and expansion. Together we will be able to serve our customers better, bringing the fastest internet and voice services to businesses in the markets we serve. In today’s world, the most successful businesses are

the ones who utilize the best technologies. Hunter Fiber is undoubtedly the best, and we are excited about what this will mean for the future.”

About Hunter Communications

Hunter is headquartered in Medford, Oregon, where the company has established a legacy of service excellence and commitment to local communities. With multi-gig speeds, no data caps, competitive pricing, and customer service representatives who genuinely care, Hunter’s 3,000-plus mile fiber network is nationally

recognized for performance and reliability.

In 2022, PC Magazine recognized Hunter as the top internet service provider for gamers in the Northwest. In 2020, BroadbandNow recognized Hunter with four Internet Service Provider Awards, including for fastest business internet speeds in Oregon and among the top ten nationwide.

To learn more, visit hunterfiber.com or call us at 541-772-9282.

About InfoStructure

InfoStructure is a new generation

telecommunications provider. The company began as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the college town of Ashland, Oregon in 1994. The strategy of InfoStructure can be encapsulated in one word –scalability. As a full-service provider of mission critical voice, data, and cloud services, committed to helping your business take advantage of best-in-class communication and collaboration technology.

By Paul Recanzone beaconbroadband.com

One of the many promises of expanded broadband is the opportunity for economic development. One of the many ways better broadband can contribute to economic development is through workforce development. We’d like to highlight the efforts one southern Oregon broadband provider has undertaken to proactively contribute to workforce development.

Beacon Broadband is a new broadband provider in Coos and Curry Counties on the beautiful

southern Oregon coast. Beacon Broadband’s mission is to bring the high-speed fiber experience where no one else will go. That doesn’t only mean up the southern coast’s wild rivers but also into the lives of the coast’s residents and into the businesses that help the region thrive. As part of this mission, Beacon Broadband strives to contribute to the development of a highly skilled workforce drawn from local residents.

This philosophy began in action early in the project. When

Beacon Broadband was first conceived, they recognized they may have a negative impact on some of the existing businesses. One such business is Southern Sky. At the time, Southern Sky installed satellite dishes for internet and television service.

Beacon Broadband feared that the all-fiber network being deployed through most of Southern Sky’s territory would have a significant impact on business. Beacon Broadband and Southern Sky met and decided that they could work together to

The promise of expanded broadband is the opportunity for economic development

help Southern Sky retool and retrain to complete fiber drop installs.

As construction got under way, Beacon Broadband sought ways to bring more of the construction dollars and job training back to the south coast. They were fortunate to meet with Key Line Construction. Key Line Construction (a local company out of Myrtle Point) focusses primarily on electric builds. However, they started doing make ready work for the Beacon Broadband project and through that experience determined they could build capacity to complete full implementation of fiber networks. Key Line entered into an agreement with the IBEW to build fiber networks using young men and women from the area

who were hoping to get electric lineman apprenticeships. Key Line trains these young men and women and helps them gain experience that makes them more appealing lineman apprenticeship candidates. Building and supporting an allfiber network requires significant skillsets not readily available on the south coast. Beacon Broadband has been able to take advantage of the services of the Southwestern Oregon Workforce Investment Board to help otherwise excellent candidates gain the skills needed to support the project.

Helping young people gain workforce skills brings value to Beacon Broadband. To support young men and women interested in technology fields

Beacon Broadband has created two programs. First, they have a paid internship program for recent high school graduates. These interns provide support to Beacon broadband’s teams and are exposed to a wide variety of technical tasks. Second, Beacon Broadband teaches an IT Essentials class at the BrookingsHarbor High School. This class helps introduce high school students to the skills needed to provide IT support and lays the foundation for more in depth technology-oriented opportunities.

Southern Oregon’s broadband providers not only believe broadband can contribute to economic development, they are directly engaged in making it happen.

We are a “craftsmanship first” kind of an operation, so it’s important that we build our products in a well-lit environment. When we needed to update our lighting, we turned to Energy Trust of Oregon for an energy efficient LED system, and frankly, we’ve seen a positive difference in our shop. See what a lighting update can do for your business at energytrust.org/for - business.

OUR LIGHTING UPDATE IS GREAT. WE’RE SAVING MONEY AND WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON.

By Jim Teece Publisher

My thoughts from the Global RedwoodJS Conference held in Grants Pass

Iattended the RedwoodJS conference in Grants Pass last month.

RedwoodJS is a relatively new OpenSource JavaScript full stack platform formed and run in Bay Area Silicon Valley roots. RedwoodJS is the latest open source project of Tom PrestonWerner, the Founder and former CEO of GitHub.

So it’s a big thing and it has the potential to be a huge thing.

Trever from Zeal hosted the conference at his Hivve (https:// www.thehivve.com/) space in downtown Grants Pass because the founders of the project wanted to host an event that was small, intimate and super cool.

I met developers and “entreprenusers” (it popped into my head as I met so many of the platform users and dreamers in attendance) over the 2 day conference from as far away as Egypt, Singapore, England and Alaska. It was all of their first time to Oregon.

This was the first in-person conference for the platform and there were about 100 in attendance. I was the oldest person there.

I found the conference enlightening and inspiring. I loved the rapid format of each session running 30 to 45 minutes each and in rapid succession.

Trever and his whole family (Trever’s “Wonder Woman” wife

as well as his awesome Mom and Dad were proudly running around handling all of the details while he worked the streaming system) did an amazing job hosting. Trever leveraged his years of experience and skills from hosting live music events and streaming as well as his innate ability to provide cool experiences that developers crave. He also created a pop up coffee-shop slash eatery with affordable yummy gourmet dishes and a shuttle service to get folks around Grants Pass with ease, because “there are only 4 Ubers in the valley”.

There were sessions on the platform, security, and some deep dives on code as you would expect but there were about equal in number sessions on success, design theory, marketing, mentoring and leadership.

I used to love going to DreamForce in San Francisco every year (until Covid) because even though it was a platform conference and techie, it was also about mission, education, healthcare, IOT and music.

Where 100,000 suits show up for Dreamworks, these 100 were learning, inspiring and hanging out in a much smaller, more intimate version.

technology we develop and use everyday, somehow leading to increased loneliness.

How can we develop all of this networking and yet how can humanity feel alone?

I can’t stop thinking about it. I have since found hundreds of scientific articles about the effects of the internet and loneliness that date back up to 20 years.

How is it that we can share so much, to so many and yet feel alone?

How is it that we are empowered to voice our opinions on any subject, at anytime and find like minded people to share all of these thoughts with and yet feel so lonely?

I will deep dive on this over the next year and share with you several other topics that were shared at the conference because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you are a developer, entrepreneur or designer/podcaster/supermom you need to keep learning a mix of the topics presented to be successful in your business and find ways to connect with others.

I left wanting to learn more about everything that they touched on.

One topic that was mentioned a couple of times was the negative aspect of all this amazing

And you just need to follow Trever, he’s the one ahead holding the brightest flashlight pointed at a disco ball and leading the way.

Making sure none of us feel alone on this journey.

541-488-1702

By SOU News

https://news.sou.edu/2022/12/sou-alumnus-andfoundation-board-member-inducted-into-inventorsacademy/

SOU alumnus and Foundation Board member inducted into inventors’ academy

Election as a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors is the highest professional distinction for academic inventors.

Henderson has founded numerous technology companies and was formerly with IBM Corporation. He is also an artist, and has had many public exhibitions of his large scale stone sculpture in the United Kingdom, China, the New Jersey Institute of Technology and at SOU’s Schneider Museum of Art.

Daniel A. Henderson, a 1984 graduate of Southern Oregon University and emeritus member of the SOU Foundation Board of Trustees, is among 169 innovators worldwide who have been inducted in this year’s class of fellows in the National Academy of Inventors.

Henderson is best known for his patented invention of wireless picture and video messaging used in every cell phone in the world. He has received a total of 31 U.S. patents and his prototypes for wireless picture and video messaging are part of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2011 and was featured as a mobile technology innovator in a 2012 Super Bowl commercial for Best Buy.

“It is a true honor to be selected as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors,” Henderson said. “I am proud to be included in an elite group of distinguished colleagues, scientists and inventors that are so impactful on the great challenges of our time.”

Members of this year’s class of NAI fellows come from a total of 110 research universities, governmental and non-profit research institutes worldwide. They hold more than 5,000 U.S. patents combined, and include Nobel laureates, members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon publicly congratulated Henderson in 2003, when his contributions to wireless communications and computing technologies were acknowledged by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. “I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first commercial use of cellular phones than to recognize you, a developer, an inventor and an Oregonian,” Wyden said. Then-Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon added praise of his own in 2007.

and Medicine, and other prestigious organizations.

“This year’s class of NAI Fellows represents a truly outstanding caliber of inventors,” said NAI President Paul R. Sanberg, Ph.D. “The breadth and scope of their inventions is truly staggering. I am excited to see their creativity continue to define a new era of science and technology in the global innovation ecosystem.”

The 2022 class of fellows will be honored and presented their medals at the 12th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Inventors next June in Washington, D.C.

“Ever since the days of the early pioneers, Oregon has been a magnet for innovators and trail blazers, and there can be no doubt that you have truly blazed new trails in the fields of wireless technology and digital convergence,” Smith said. Henderson served as a member of the SOU Foundation Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2014, and has been a permanent, emeritus member of the board since 2018. He also serves on the Board of Overseers, the Dorman Honors College Board and several other boards at New Jersey Institute of Technology, and is engaged in fostering innovation, creativity and diversity in STEM education to benefit society.

Henderson is best known for his patented invention…used in every cell phone in the world.

The Responsible Middle

Several years ago, we started hearing the term “dumpster fire” to describe a situation that is out-of- control. It’s a good thing we have the phrase today because every source of new information, true or not –important or trivial – makes full use of the handy description. From national and international politics to neighborhood conversations “dumpster fire” is a label we think we understand. Keep in mind that what I think is a dumpster fire may not be something you believe is a dumpster fire, whether there’s an actual dumpster involved or not. Some people exaggerate and think everything is a ‘dumpster fire’.

Let’s look at the responsible reality of it. Who’s the one ultimately responsible enough to put the fires out? Divide the earth’s population into three groups, Top – Middle – Bottom. Of the three groups, which one will, in the end, truly take care of whatever it is that needs attention, not as a planner, but as a doer? The one in the middle, right? These are the workers, the ones you can count on. Every single time.

Got a war to fight? Look at the population for the best to serve in the battles. The middle is where you look. A foxhole is a good

place to discover who will watch your back while you are watching theirs. Someone who will take a bullet for you before they would leave you alone. “I’ve got your back” can apply in almost any situation, including putting out dumpster fires.

If you’re the least bit pessimistic you might think the whole country is a dumpster fire. Maybe you’re just watching too much television or reading way more than you should on the internet. Or, just perhaps, the information is at least somewhat accurate. The problem is not the news it is the frequency of times people who will never in their lives be the first person available to actually put the fires out that are sounding the alarms. They don’t live on our streets, where the middle folks live, the ones who actually do the hard work. But, they think they can solve problems by telling us there is a problem and that we (the middle) need to fix it, while they take credit but never the blame for the end result. Leaders need to let the workers work – assign the task and get out of the way. But the workers also have a responsibility; not to be the leader, but to fulfill their responsibility to do the work.

We know we need more of us, you and me, the people in the middle if things are ever going to

get better by getting done. But we don’t want to be in that top, “I have all the answers and you don’t, smarty pants, can’t seem to get anything right, group”. No thanks, we’d rather not be hypocrites who tell people how things should be done then do the opposite ourselves. Doing the actual work requires a discipline those at the top don’t understand. Until you’ve raised a family with no money in your bank account, or hauled hay off the field racing ahead of a thunderstorm, or worked two jobs so you could pay the rent you will never ‘get it’, you won’t understand the middle. And no one will ever want you in their foxhole. Experience matters.

To get things done, and done correctly, we in the middle must put our feet on the ground and go but only after we have the skills training needed to complete the task in a satisfactory manner.

A Fine Line By Greg Henderson

Greg Henderson is the retired founder of the Southern Oregon Business Journal.

Photo by Stephen Radford on Unsplash

by Greg Henderson

A Primer on Partnerships

By Marshall Doak, SOU SBDC Director

There are a number of inherent problems that small businesses face which can be extremely difficult to remedy. One of the most difficult areas is scalingup, or growing the business from a small core of talent, business volume and market reach into a larger, more resilient entity. There may not be a more frustrating issue than not being of sufficient scale to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. How does a business figure out how to scale in rapid fashion when all the elements needed are in short supply?

Typically, the first thing to look at is: How do I obtain the funding necessary to grow my business quickly to take

advantage of the opportunity I recognize? This often entails having a business plan and forecasting revenue streams to make the case for funding through the commercial banking industry or private investors. A business person needs to ‘make the case’ to be funded, which takes preparation lead time and considerable effort to achieve. The obvious answer is to have a perpetual business plan in hand and with a quick update of that plan with accompanying financial information with forecasts becomes a light lift to prepare for financing.

A second remedy is to form partnerships with other businesses and share talent, resources and information

between the two or more partners in order to take advantage of each other’s strengths. These can range from being temporary for a project or joint venture all the way through a formal business structure that is registered as a partnership. Between the two ends, any combination of sole proprietors and LLCs or LLPs, outside investors and other sources of equity or owned capital can be de facto partnerships as well.

Partnerships can be with partners sharing equally or unequally according to investment. They can have active and passive partners –those who own and operate and others which may be silent, or funding sources only as investors expecting a return

on the invested capital. They can be between competitors or are alliances between noncompeting entities. The creativity in partnership formation, ownership privileges and responsibilities to clients and each other is endless.

When considering whether to form a partnership, oftentimes outside advice is utilized to help flush out issues and opportunities and through an iterative and collaborative process, arrive at a rough agreement as to how the partnership will function, how the proceeds will be split among the parties, the duration of the partnership from a temporary project through a perpetual entity among the topics. An operating agreement is written, a formal partnership agreement is written and all parties eventually execute the agreement on their own behalf. Spelling issues out in advance, especially how a partner may withdraw or how additional partner(s) can join, is critical to the success of the partnership being formed. The last step prior to signing any document is the critical step for each partner to seek their own legal counsel to review the agreements with the rights and obligations spelled. If a potential partner is not invested enough into a potential partnership, even if it

is between family members or friends, to seek out independent counsel, then if a problem is experienced in the future, there is no one else to blame than themselves. Protect yourself from the start and encourage your partners to do the same for an enduring partnership. Qualified legal counsel will also explain the risks involved in forming partnerships, which can be extensive between partners, so that when a partner executes an agreement, the downside risks are known and accepted in full in advance.

In the public sector, partnerships take a different form. Partnerships are oftentimes formed to achieve common goals for promotion, for collaboration and extension of market reach, and for achieving projects that can benefit the community at large where each entity operates. On occasion, Memorandums of Understanding are formed to guide the actions of the partners for inclusion and avoidance of disputes and overlaps in duties. These are most always temporary in nature and are time or funding-based alliances for convenience and service.

One last area of public partnerships are referrals from one to another on a casual basis, according to client and

community needs, with each partner organization providing the services they were chartered to provide.

This discussion of partnerships is a starting point to investigating the attributes inherent in forming relationships between entities at many levels through casual to formal arrangements. Once entered into a partnership agreement or if parties represent themselves as partners without any agreements in place, public and case law helps form the relationship and how disputes will be settled. Be aware of how casual alliances can become formal legal obligations in advance of representing yourself as a partner in any endeavor.

Marshall Doak is the Director of the Southern Oregon University Small Business Development Center and a huge supporter of innovation and the community that forms around innovation in the economy. In private practice, he works with businesses that plan to transition to new ownership within the next five years, assisting them to build value that can be converted to retirement income when the business sells. He can be reached through: mdoak06@gmail.com or 541-646-4126.

Ashland

Klamath

ENERGY

By Ashley Bartels

Energy projects bring relief to families, tribal elders in Klamath Falls

In 2012, Wanda Powless worked with a group of partners to refurbish the old Olympic Lodge Motel in Klamath Falls, with the goal of creating transitional housing. From there, Turtle Cove was born, with the mission of providing a safe, stable place for women transitioning from

abuse, places of poverty, addiction and crime.

The old motel was refurbished incrementally due to funding constraints. When the facility opened, none of the units had insulation and they relied on inefficient wall units for heat. Tenants even used their ovens for warmth, in some cases.

“The tenants were always cold. It was problematic and costly, and we saw no light at the end of the tunnel,” explained Powless, who is now the executive director of Turtle Cove.

While attending a local housing conference, Powless and her team connected with a representative from Energy Trust

of Oregon focused on supporting organizations and tribes in the Klamath Basin. The two organizations then started a journey toward making Turtle Cove more energy-efficient and comfortable for the families who live there.

“Having the Energy Trust folks out to inspect the property was extremely helpful. They showed us where to start and gave us steps, instead of starting with the hard part and working backwards,” said Powless.

When it came to heating and cooling, Energy Trust worked with local contractor, Seasons Change, to install new energyefficient ductless heat pumps (DHPs) in all 28 units at no cost to

Turtle Cove. DHPs can both heat and cool spaces using less energy. The project was possible through Energy Trust’s Community Partner Funding which offers higher incentives for affordable housing providers and community-based organizations that work with rural and BIPOC communities or communities experiencing lower incomes or disabilities.

“I can’t say enough about the professionalism of the Seasons Change folks. They worked steadily for two weeks in zerodegree temperatures while addressing all the questions from the tenants,” said Powless.

Tenants like Amanda and her 7year-old daughter are now able

to live comfortably. “We’re so grateful to have consistent heat in our apartment now. I’m also looking forward to the air purification during the inevitable summer wildfires, as I have severe asthma,” said Amanda.

For any organizations considering energy efficiency upgrades, Powless recommends starting with Energy Trust.

“They made it smooth and painless, while doing all the work behind the scenes. They came in and said: ‘let us help you so you can be successful.’ Then our whole world changed. It was probably the greatest gift we as an organization have received.”

Program helps tenants save money while living comfortably

Just to the north in the town of Chiloquin, the Klamath Tribes own an affordable multifamily property called the Congregate Building. The building consists of 14 two-bedroom rental units that primarily house tribal elders. With no forced-air heat or air conditioning, tenants in the building relied on inefficient baseboard heating in the winter and window AC units in the summer.

“During the winter, some of the tenants had to bring in several space heaters to heat their units,” said Ellsworth Lang with the Klamath Tribes. “When the tenants were hot this past

summer, they wanted to open their windows, but we were in close proximity to two major forest fires, so there were air quality issues.”

Lang had been working with Energy Trust’s tribal workgroup. Following a site visit and evaluation, Seasons Change with support from Energy Trust installed DHPs in all 14 of their units, with zero out of pocket costs to the tribe.

“Prior to the installation, many of the elders couldn’t afford to properly heat their homes,” said Matthew Johnson, owner of Seasons Change. “They’d set the heater at 60 degrees - which meant they weren’t comfortable, but they wouldn’t freeze to

death. After the project, they could afford to be warm. Now they can live comfortably at 70-72 degrees while seeing a significant decrease in their heating bill.”

Support from Energy Trust is available to residential and commercial customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas and Avistaincluding tribal families and businesses. If you are interested in learning how tribal communities can take advantage of similar energy efficiency programs, email existingbuildings@energytrust.or

For years, at Bailey Nurseries we worked under inefficient, outdated sodium vapor lights that were expensive to run and took forever to illuminate. With support from Energy Trust we were able to secure $340,000 in incentives to switch to LED lighting that saves us a ton of money and keeps work flowing. See how LED lighting can help your business at energytrust.org/lightinginstantdiscounts.

Serving customers of Portland General Electric and Pacific Power

WITH OUR NEW LED LIGHTS, WE USE LESS ENERGY, SAVE MORE MONEY AND START EVERY DAY WITH A BRIGHTER OUTLOOK.

By Chris Cook https://capiche.us/

Interview with Janet Troy, Executive Director, Ashland Community Health Foundation

programs at the Ashland Community Hospital. What are some of the projects that stand out most in your memory?

Janet: Through the generosity of our family of donors, we were able to touch every corner of the hospital. We were very involved in the renovation of the Emergency Department and the Family Birth Center, as well as the creation of the Chapel and Comfort Care Room. Our funding of equipment purchases allowed the hospital to have the state-of-the-art technology it needed to best serve our community. Our Foundation has supported the School Nurse Program for decades, ensuring that nurses are available when students need their care and support.

Founded in 1977, the Foundation was established to provide a way for community members to support the work of Ashland Community Hospital. Over the past 46 years, the generosity of its donors has had an incredible impact on the

variety and quality of health care services available in the community.

In 2021, the Ashland Community Health Foundation’s board of directors approved the expansion of its mission. Now, the Foundation supports community health and wellness initiatives in Ashland, Talent, and Phoenix.

Q: Between 1977 and 2021, the Foundation supported some innovative projects and

Q: I know your team was excited when the Foundation’s board of directors approved the expansion of its mission. Working with consultant Cynthia Scherr, of Scherr Management Consulting, you created a new strategic plan. What are some of the highlights of the new strategy?

Janet: Our new strategic plan guided our transition from a traditional hospital foundation to a community foundation

Interview With Janet Troy, Executive Director, Ashland Community Health Foundation, Conducted By Vicki Purslow, Capiche Research Analyst And Co-Founder Of Majoring In.

focused on supporting health and wellness needs in Ashland, Talent, and Phoenix. One of the most significant changes made as a result of our expanded mission has been an increased focus on our grantmaking and scholarship programs. We are now awarding grants to a more diverse group of local non-profits committed to building healthier communities. We have also broadened our scholarship program to support both nursing and allied health students interested in careers in the Rogue Valley. At the same time, we have the ability to offer our donors additional opportunities to make a meaningful impact in the community through their contributions to the foundation.

Q: Wow – that really broadens the focus of the Foundation! How wonderful to be able to reach further into the communities of Ashland, Talent, and Phoenix to help support community-based projects! What are some of the projects that you have funded?

Janet: We focus our grantmaking on projects that create or expand health and wellness services in

Ashland, Talent, and Phoenix. We tend to define health and wellness broadly, so we fund a wider range of projects designed to promote health in many settings. We value collaboration and partnerships and most of the projects we have supported involve organizations working together to create solutions. Our first round of community grants in 2022 supported La Clinica, Mercy Flights, OHRA, Rogue Valley Farm to School, Rogue Valley Mentoring, Talent Maker City, and the United Way of Jackson County.

Q: So far in 2023, ACHF has granted close to $510,000 to support health and wellness initiatives and scholarships. Please tell me more about the projects and programs you funded.

health services, promote prevention and inclusion, support nutrition and early literacy, and more. Addressing the shortage of health care professionals is an important goal of our Foundation, and our scholarship program continues to grow each year. We have awarded almost $192,000 to 43 local students attending nursing and allied health programs through September this year. We also continue to grant funds to Asante Ashland Community Hospital and have awarded more than $60,000 to support their school nurses and lab and engineering departments.

Q: Your nursing scholarships have been a hallmark of the Foundation for years and remain central to your mission. Tell me more about your nursing scholarship program.

Janet: This year, we awarded grants totaling $258,000 to 11 nonprofit organizations through our community grant process. These organizations are involved in innovative partnerships that provide medical and behavioral

Janet: The William G. and Ruth T. Evans Endowed Nursing Scholarship was established in 2002 by Ruth Evans. Mrs. Evans was a retired nurse and her husband, Bill, was a retired family physician. The scholarship was created to honor Bill after his death and help address the nursing shortage in the Rogue Valley. Since its creation, more than $1.2 million in scholarships have been awarded to over 300 local students attending nursing programs at OHSU Ashland Campus at SOU and RCC.

Q: Although the Foundation continues to support its original mission, it makes sense that an

ACHF TEAM: KATHLEEN MACKRIS, NICOLE GUTRICH, JANET TROY, STEPHANIE ROLAND

ACHF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

expanded strategic focus would lead to renaming the Foundation and creating a new brand. You hired Capiche Consulting to help guide you through this process and continued to work with Chris Cook, Capiche’s principal, during its implementation. Who was involved with the rebranding, and what did it consist of?

Janet: The decision to expand our mission led to our consideration of a new look and feel for our Foundation, in addition to the introduction of a new name that is a better representation of who we are today. It was not a decision that our board of directors and staff arrived at easily but we are pleased with the changes we made as we embarked on this new journey. The process that Chris guided us through was thoughtful and strategic. We learned so much about the importance of creating a brand that reflected our new identity and the pieces that are part of the brand puzzle. Developing our positioning statement, brand promise, key messaging, and more was very educational and insightful.

Q: What was the next step after landing on the brand messaging tool?

Janet: There is more involved in the development of a new brand than I ever imagined. It required us to take a fresh look at our website, newsletter, signage, and even our stationery. We debated about colors, fonts, and a new logo. It was a fascinating process, and I’m very happy with the outcome.

Q: You continued to work with Chris after developing your new brand. What else did Chris help you with during that time?

Janet: Chris was very helpful in teaching us how to spread the word about our work. Initially, she helped us develop a communication plan and assisted us by writing newsletter articles and press releases. She helped us develop a media strategy and contacts so we could share our story in the most effective way. Most importantly, she gave us the tools we needed to manage this activity independently. For me, that is one of the best gifts a consultant can give an organization.

Q: Looking back, what was the value in working with Capiche to complete your name change and rebranding?

Janet: We are well-versed in the field of philanthropy but not experts in brand development. Chris shared her expertise at a time when we were preparing to embrace an exciting new strategic direction that would shape our future for years to come. Her knowledge and professionalism were a real plus as we navigated unknown territory.

Q: How can people interested in community health partner with the Foundation?

Janet: There are so many ways that interested individuals and businesses can partner with us to build a healthier community. Our Patrons Campaign and Lights for Life are long-standing community traditions for giving. We accept gifts of all sizes and shapes, including donations of stock and vehicles. Some of our supporters prefer to give once or twice a year, while others prefer to set up monthly donations. Many community members have also included us in their estate plans. We now offer donors new ways to start their own named funds or endowments, and our expanded mission provides more opportunities to make a difference in our community. I encourage folks to visit our website (achfoundation.org) or contact our office (541-482-0367) to learn more about work.

PHOTO BY RUBY SLIPPER

Southern Oregon Business Journal

5350 HWY 66, Ashland, OR. 97520 www.southernoregonbusiness.com

Special Broadband Edition

Oregon Connections

Telecommunications Conference

Oct 26-27, 2023

OregonConnections.info

Book Review - “Breaking the Internet: How One Community is Working Toward Digital Equity” by Terrence Denoyer - Page 4

SOU alumnus and Foundation Board member inducted into inventors’ academyDan Henderson is best known for his patented invention…used in every cell phone in the world. - Page 22