Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 Print Edition

Proudly Serving Benton, Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln & Linn Counties and Crook, Lake, Harney and Malheur Counties as well. Since 2015

March

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The Journal for Business in Southern Oregon

Remembering Douglas County's Snowmageddon 1 year later.

SouthernOregonBusiness.com

A Few Words from Greg The easing of winter weather brings with it a sigh of relief. Shrouded in conflicting headlines about economies at every level and the projections on the near and distant term at once favorable and in the next moment dire, consumers have been dubious about so-called expert opinions. Disquieting anxiety may plague conversations in coffee circles, but also could serve as distractions to inconveniences of high housing costs and unanswered expenses in education and health care, politics notwithstanding.

Overwhelming stresses may dull the senses for many of us unable to sort the priorities of what should be worrying us. It depends on the individual, but sometimes having too much stress becomes no stress at all. Rather than losing sleep and fingernails we can shrug our shoulders and just wait until the problems solve themselves, not a commonly recommended management tact, but sometimes useful.

There are social media disagreements that are causing severing of long-time friendships and divisions between family members. If differences cannot affect the issue because opinions will change nothing, except to lose a friend or family relationship, then I urge everyone to find ways to keep those important people as close to you as in the best days of your lives.

If compromise or peace is possible, embrace it.

Greg Greg@SouthernOregonBusiness.com

2 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

The Southern Oregon Business Journal extends sincere thanks to the following companies for their continued presence as important cogs in the wheels of industry in southern Oregon.

A Few Words from Jim I bring 30 years of tech entrepreneurship to this journal that Greg started 5 years ago. I have a lot of knowledge, wisdom and guidance to share to the southern Oregon business community. Being an innovative entrepreneur also means I can be stubborn, tenacious, direct, and laser-focused at times and I can be a challenge to partner with. Just ask my wife. She and I run several businesses together.

I am not a journalist. I’m a small business owner with a quirky voice. I use it in my speaking and writing. It’s who I am. Telling your business story is personal to me. It’s raw and emotional.

Greg is both a seasoned speaker and writer/ publisher and I am not. So we have clashed at times. But those clashes will make this journal better in the end. It already has.

I want the journal to be a “journal” and Greg wants the journal to be professional. We will get there, but it will take us a little time, to learn how to work together and how to create something we will both be proud of.

This month we focused on the Douglas County Snow Storm one year later. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Are you ready to run your business if you have no power and no internet?

Jim Jim@SouthernOregonBusiness.com

Connect with us on Instagram.

A JOURNAL FOR THE ECONOMICALLY CURIOUS, PROFESSIONALLY INSPIRED AND ACUTELY MOTIVATED

5350 HWY 66, Ashland, Oregon 97520

www.SouthernOregonBusiness.com

541-315-6127

March 2020 - Table of Contents Inside This Issue

Entrepreneur To Entrepreneur - Bioskin - Page 16 Housing - 63 Million Households Are Unable To Afford A $250,000 Home - Page 17 Housing - Homeless In Oregon - Page 18 Innovation - RCU Campus Branch Receives Business Innovation Award - Page 22 Population Trends From 1980 To 2017 In The Counties We Serve - Page 21 Grants Pass Housing Market Quick Look - Page 23 Management - Creating Business Goals That Stick - Page 24 Soil - It’s About Dirt And A Whole Lot More - Page 26 Rogue Valley Labor Market Info - Page 28 Energy Trust - Manufacturers Control Energy Costs Through

Remembering Douglas County's Snowmageddon - 1 year later.

What would you do if your business lost all power and internet for an extended period of time? Like over 2 weeks?

We remember the storm that brought Douglas County down last year.

Intro - Page 4 Dealing with the Storm - Page 6 SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

The Black Box of Incident Management - Page 10

Staff Stories - Page 12 Photos - Page 14

Strategic Energy Management - Page 30 Oregon Agriculture Facts And Figures - Page 32 First Person - Stumbling Upon The Smart Help Store - Page 34 Community Banking - In The Midst Of Growth: Choose Kindness - Page 36 7 Ways Organization Leaders Can Increase Their Likability And Effectiveness - Page 38

Cover Photo courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

FEATURE

BY JIM TEECE

Remembering Douglas County's Snowmageddon - 1 year later.

Photo courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

Greg Henderson (Southern Oregon Business Journal Founder and Co-Publisher) and I met with Todd Way, CEO and GM of Douglas Fast Net (DFN) and Keith Brooks, General Manager of Douglas Electric Cooperative (DEC) in the DFN board room, on a nice clear 4 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

and cold winter day 11 months after the storm.

I wanted to do an anniversary story on the Douglas County Snow Storm of 2019 that took at least 10 thousand people and businesses offline in some cases for up to three and a half weeks.

I wanted to tell the story from the point of view of the power company and internet company.

Can you imagine not having power or the internet for weeks?

No power. No Internet. No way to do business. What would you do?

It was a fascinating interview because I was asking two business leaders to relive the stress and pressure of the event that would last over a month until 100% of their customers were back online.

They sat across from us and calmly relived the harrowing and stressful weeks that followed the storm.

One thing that was clear was the feeling of brothers-in-arms they have for each other and their teams. The respect they had for their teams and their community was clear, but so was the respect they had for each other that came from how they helped each other work insanely long days for many weeks to restore service to their customers. Many times their job was driving pizza out to crews that were out in the field. Keith told a story about having to drive 3 miles in reverse because he couldn’t turn the truck around.

Because of social networking and the electric co-ops use of it during the storm, we have an added bonus. We have a detailed breakdown of communication that we will include so you can see the actual communication they shared with customers.

We also have photos. They documented everything. For the education aspect of it and also the insurance aspect of it.

In the end, this is a lesson learned article, for all of us.

What are our business contingency and continuity plans? What are our plans to house the contractors that show up to help, feed our troops, keep everyone safe and still do our jobs?

What we do in a crisis is defined by not only our preparation but also our character. How we respond and how we handle insurmountable odds is a test of human strength to work together and overcome the crisis.

I also own a company in Roseburg as well.

Umpqua Broadband is a small ISP that serves the rural customer with wireless highspeed internet. We also had outages and I’ll share a small sidebar on what that was like for my team as well.

Greg lives north of Roseburg and was personally affected as well.

After you read through and for some relive the storm and the long weeks that followed, let us know what you think. How are you prepared to handle long term outages.

REACH

YOUR TARGET THROUGH

ADS 17,000+ Business People get a chance to see your ad in the monthly Business Journal.

Send your ad copy to: Greg@SouthernOregonBusiness.com Greg Henderson, Co-Publisher

541-315-6127

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 5

FEATURE

Remembering Douglas County's Snowmageddon - 1 year later.

BY JIM TEECE

Photo of Todd Way, CEO and GM of Douglas Fast Net (DFN) and Keith Brooks, General Manager of Douglas Electric Cooperative courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

On February 24th, 2019, a

and that rain was forecasted

engineer, GIS Analyst, IT

snowstorm started around 1:30

and not to worry.

manager and moved his way

pm. Keith Brooks had some texts with Phil Bigler, his Assistant General Manager and right-hand man. Keith sent some concern about the storm and Phil replied with some reassuring texts about the temperature being too high

6 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

Keith had just taken the job as General Manager at the Douglas Electric Cooperative 14 months prior. He worked for

up to Assistant General manager before leaving for the opportunity to run the operation in Douglas County.

the Kootenai Electric

An electric Cooperative is a

Cooperative in Hayden, Idaho

non-profit version of the

for almost 22 years prior to that

electric company. They exist in

and had experience as a field

rural areas all across the

country and were created by

This was his first storm of the

11:39 PM 100% of his

the communities they serve to

year and he was right to be

customers were offline.

bring electricity to the

worried about it.

Bonneville & Pacific Power also

community. In 2019 there were

lost power and they feed all of

900 Electric

the co-op substations as

Cooperatives serving 40

well as hundreds of

million Americans.

thousands of other customers.

West Douglas Electric Cooperative began

In the end 407 poles were

supplying power to 209

down and it took weeks to

members in 1939 and

restore service.

merged with North

Welcome to Roseburg

Douglas Electric

Keith.

Cooperative supplying power to 125 members

In 2015, a drought in the

in 1942 to form the

area dried out the

Douglas Electric

capillaries in the trees and

Cooperative. Today the

most died or became very

cooperative has 9,014

fragile. As the wet snow

Services (Meters). These

accumulated, the weight

members own and

of it would bring the tree

manage the co-op and

down. Trees would hit

receive electricity at a

other trees and in many

reduced rate when

cases, the domino effect

compared to other

would happen.

communities (no profit).

Rural areas are served by

The co-op gets it’s

overhead electricity. It’s

power from Bonneville

the most cost-effective

and Pacific Power and

way to distribute power

redistributes it to their members.

Screen capture of Keith’s Phone the night of the storm courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

Members are made up of small businesses, rural municipalities, and people’s homes and farms.

Keith has an app on his phone that shows him the service status of his customers. At 4:23 pm the first pole was down. By

and internet. When the trees came down next to a road, most of the time

they would snap the electric line on their way down. Many trees would weigh the wire Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 7

down and pull on power poles

other areas all across the nation

They averaged 17 hour days for

and snap the them as well.

to help out. This created

27 days and the co-op recorded

logistical problems as well. How

more overtime during that

do you house 100 workers that

period then it had in the 10

are on their way in? How do

years prior.

Keith called this the 81-year storm because a storm like this hasn’t happened for 81 years.

In fact the co-op

you feed everyone? How do

It took Pacific Power

has never had

and Bonneville over 3

100% of its

days to get power

members offline in

restored back to the

its history. This was

sub-stations. The

unprecedented.

roads were clogged with trees. A state of

In the end, they

emergency was

reported that over

declared and the

2,200 square miles

Douglas Forest

of wire were

Protective Association

affected. The

(DFPA) activated

damage was

chainsaws to come in

greater than 400

and help clear roads.

broken poles with over 105 miles of

It was a logistical

wire on the ground

nightmare but Keith

and more than 300

was ready.

poles standing

He had enough cash

with damage.

reserve and foresight

Keith had to act

to know that this was a

fast and manage

FEMA scale event that

the restoration

required deep

process.

documentation and Photo courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

The co-op has 35

you have the inventory you

full-time employees. How do

need to successfully rebuild.

you make sure your people are

Poles, wire and other parts are

safe and accounted for and

required for a massive rebuild

bring in help? Over 100

like this.

linemen were brought in from 8 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

the methodical

mindset to breakdown the magnitude of the problem and deal with the logistical nightmare in front of him.

All while they maintained open

Many times, the fiber survives

During the interview, Todd told

communication channels with

the fall. It works even though

story after story about the

their customers and the

it’s laying on the ground. It’s not

people in the community doing

communities they served.

ideal, but it works. The part that

what they could to help.

At one point 4 linemen were stuck on the highway for 24 hours, sleeping on the floorboards of their truck for safety, in case another tree

doesn’t work are the switches and equipment used to connect the fiber to the internet. The batteries that keep equipment going only run a few hours.

came down on them while they

The generators will run until

slept.

they run out of fuel and you

The storm caused $30,000,000 damage in 5 counties in the state and $10,000,000 of that was in Douglas County.

Another interesting fact about the co-op is that they own a forprofit internet provider, Douglas Fast Net (DFN).

Todd Way is the CEO and GM at DFN. He grew up in Pleasant Hill, Oregon, graduated from PHHS and then went to Oregon State (CEM 94' MBA 95').

Douglas Fast Net supplies highspeed internet via fiber to all of Douglas county and beyond.

They are not only partners with the co-op but they were affected as well. When a tree takes down a pole, the electricity and the internet are

cant get to the generator to refuel it if the roads are closed.

So eventually the internet goes down as well. There is nothing you can do.

Cell towers also failed.

Rectifiers melted. Buildings with equipment in them collapsed by the weight of a falling tree.

Todd supported Keith by letting him know he had trucks and people that can help. Todd even created a daycare center for all of the co-op employees and DFN employees that had

In the end, they did it. They restored 100% of their customer’s service. It was hard.

It was exhausting. Customers understood for a while but they got frustrated as well.

Many lessons were learned.

DFN now has onsite fuel storage, because they couldn’t get fuel without power during the outage.

They learned a lot, especially about their people, their community and themselves.

No one wants to have to go through an outage of service to 100% of your customers for any period of time, especially an extended one, but it happened in Douglas County and they survived it, together.

children. The schools were closed so parents needed to stay home to take care of the kids. Todd created an Adhoc daycare center which allowed the employees to get back to

Jim Teece owns Project A as well as Ashland Home Net, Rogue Broadband and is a partner in Art Authority and CoPublisher of the Southern Oregon Business Journal. JimTeece.com

work.

both affected.

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 9

FEATURE

Remembering Douglas County's Snowmageddon - 1 year later.

BY JIM TEECE

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS - The Black Box of Incident Management Thanks to the use of social media during incidents, we have a running account of communications from events to review after the fact. If done properly, client communication is critical and important not only as a form of customer service but also as a black box to study after the incident. Below is the chronological series of posts from Douglas Electric Cooperative as they posted updates on the night of the storm. The full transcript of their posts are available online at SouthernOregonBusiness.com - I encourage you all to read it. It’s a real-world example of fantastic reporting to customers as you deal with their service outage.

5:18 pm – February 24 We are currently experiencing outages in the Melrose, Yoncalla and Scotts Valley areas of our service territory. Crews have been dispatched to all areas. In north county, damage caused by trees falling through the power lines will take approximately three additional hours to repair. The extent of damage and time of restoration in Melrose and related areas has yet to be determined.

Anyone without power is encouraged to call 1-888-420-8826.

10 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

More updates as we make progress. Thank you for helping us get the word out!

6:15 pm – February 24 We have just lost the Lookingglass feeder and the total members without power is now 1,600. We are still hoping to restore power in the north county area around 8:00 pm, but damage (broken poles) in the Melrose area is making it difficult to give a time.

I will provide more information as it becomes available.

7:15 pm – February 24 We have just lost Scottsburg as the number of members without power is now 2,000.

Regardless of where outages may be, consumers should make preparations to be without power late into the evening... if not all evening.

Crews are working as safely and efficiently as they can, but the weather continues to cause additional outages for both us and Pacific Power.

I will provide additional updates

called in to assist with clearing

meantime, our crews continue

as information becomes

downed trees, allowing our line

to work as long as it is safe to

available.

crews access to the affected

do so.

8:00 pm – February 24 Just to recap...

There are a total of over 2,200 members without power in the Lookingglass, Melrose, Umpqua, Yoncalla, Scottsburg, and Elkton areas. Crews are doing their best to keep up but power may be out for many areas throughout the night. We will do our best to keep you updated as information

areas. Many roads are becoming impassable.

without power, to please call 1-888-420-8826.

Thanks again for your efforts as well!

9:00 pm – February 24 There are now over 4,800 members without power throughout the Douglas Electric system but primarily those affected are north and west of Roseburg. Crews are working as quickly and safely as they can to

members to be on the safe side

Members need to prepare to

and prepare to be without

be without power through the

power through the evening,

evening. If our consumers are

into tomorrow and possibly

without power or would like

longer. As the weather turns to

updated information, we

rain, conditions will remain

encourage them to call

difficult as crews continue

1-888-420-8826.

efforts to restore power. For

We thank everyone for their patience... and you for helping us keep our members informed.

outage information as it is available, we encourage members to call 1-888-420-8826 or visit our website at www.dec.coop

becomes available. We encourage members who are

Again, we encourage our

11:15 pm – February 24 – This will be the last update of the

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.

evening.

Essentially we have a systemwide outage, and with the exception of our members on the coast, there are approximately 8,700 folks without electricity. If you include Pacific Power, there are

The full transcript of their posts up to 10:30am - Friday March 22, 2019, nearly a full month since the day of the storm are available online at SouthernOregonBusiness.com

about 25,000 consumers without power in Douglas County.

get power restored but the

We have engaged some of our

weather conditions are only

contract right-of-way crews, and

making things worse. Tree

additional resources will be on

trimming crews have been

hand in the morning. In the

Jim Teece owns Project A as well as Ashland Home Net, Rogue Broadband and is a partner in Art Authority and CoPublisher of the Southern Oregon Business Journal. JimTeece.com

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 11

FEATURE

Remembering Douglas County's Snowmageddon - 1 year later.

BY JIM TEECE

We asked the team at

at work due to either fallen trees

blankets, over the pot. This

UmpquaBroadband how they were

busting through houses and

woman was in her 80's and had a

impacted by the storm personally

smashing our CPE's, or moving

lot of "life experience" as she

and professionally.

them out of alignment. I would roll

called it.

Nick

up to a house and see the CPE dangling from the Ethernet line

How were you affected

because of hundreds of pounds of

personally?

snow sliding off the roofs, busting

We were without power at the house for about 5 days in total.

Fortunately, we have a wood stove which we could use for heat as well as cooking on. I also had a generator so we could run the refrigerator, among other things. I am an outdoors person, and as a youth participated in cub & boy scouts. As a teen I served as a squad leader for Douglas County Search and Rescue, and later, as

the facia boards and carrying the device with it. I did help out where I could, such as using my chainsaw and snowmobile to clear driveways of fallen timber, for people who were stuck. But for the most part, rescue operations were carried out by the professionals, as it should be. Where it couldn't be, there were plenty of people in our community to lend a helping hand.

I did make several trips over the course of the "snowpocalypse" to many of our tower sites to try to restore services, but virtually all of our towers were hard down due to fallen trees on power lines. This required the various utility companies to fix in order to restore services. Their priorities were not in line with our priorities though, so it took much longer to get our services back online than I and our clients cared for. They focused mostly on restoring power to local infrastructure rather than communications equipment and

an adult, served in the Army. So I

Any stories that stood out

towers. Which, given the " needs

was probably a bit more prepared

for you?

of the many, over the few "

than most, for this type of

There was one neighbor of a

emergency.

friend of mine, who was stuck in

How were you affected

their house for several days, until

professionally?

we cleared their driveway of all the

From what I can recall, most of my time was spent in a "hurry up and wait" type of status, personally as well as professionally. Most of our efforts came during the aftermath with cleanup and restoration efforts. I had a lot of repairs to do

12 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

fallen timber, which was about 1/4 mile long. Fortunately, she was quick witted and managed to stay warm by placing candles under terra cotta pots to act as a heater.

She then made a "tee pee" in their house by bundling under

viewpoint, does make sense. I recall that they did bring in crews from out of the area to help, but due to the extensive damage, and the sheer amount of area being affected, still took a very long time to resolve. This storm was pernicious in it's after effects, and had a very devastating economical impact on not only us as a company, but as a community as well.

On the plus side, this year we

ended up having to stay in a hotel

How were you affected

have an abundance of firewood

because it was too cold in our

professionally?

readily available!

house. Finding a hotel was

Lessons Learned?

Overall, people in general were woefully under prepared for this type of catastrophe, and Emergency services were quickly overwhelmed with the amount of assistance that was being called on for the first few days.

Fortunately we have a great community of dedicated, hard working individuals, that stepped up to the plate and helped each other in their time of need. It certainly didn't hurt that our community is comprised of a lot of loggers and truck drivers! I think it was a good lesson all in all on preparedness, and we have

difficult as they were all full. One hotel that I went to was full, but as I was talking to the lady at the counter, the person behind me was cancelling their reservation due to power returning at their home. The hotel wouldn't cancel theirs. They were very kind and let us stay in their room tied to their credit card. We paid them for what they paid, but they still held responsibility for the room. We were very appreciative of this. We

prepared if it happens again.

We lost almost all our refrigerated food and all of our frozen food.

the future. I'm sure the hardware

We had to pay to have it removed

stores aren't hurting though, with

completely.

How were you affected personally?

We were without power at our home for 4 days. We used our gas stove/to boil water to try to get some heat. On the 3rd day we

13 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

were able to get power to was back up after 2 days. The next few took 9 - 12 days for power to return to them. The power companies had trouble getting up the mountains to restore power.

The last 2 towers couldn't have power restored for 17 days total

to close the office and go home because we could not drive home safely due to road conditions and the continuance of snow. I forwarded all billing calls to my cell phone, however had little to no phone service. In some areas phone lines were completely

We had to replace our roof about

down, including cell service. In

1 1/2 years earlier than expected

other areas it was limited.

and get rid of our awning in our back yard due to it starting to

Chauntell

our towers. The first tower we

The first day of the storm we had

luckily it did not fall on the house.

too.

We were without power to all of

last summer so we will be better

we can be if we are unprepared in

economic impact in that regard

day.

due to downed trees.

A tree in our front yard broke, but

probably sold! So, there's an

office, but power returned that

had a wood stove installed this

certainly learned how vulnerable

the amount of generators they

At work we lost power at the

collapse under the weight of the accumulated snow.

I broke down on the side of the freeway on my way to work due to the road conditions and a nice

Any stories that stood out for you?

One of our towers we were able to get back up because a customer kindly lent us a generator.

mechanic stopped to try to help.

Lessons Learned?

Robert had to come get me.

This storm was very costly, both personally and professionally.

Photo courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

Photo courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

14 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

Photo courtesy of Douglas Electric Cooperative

Welcome to Umpqua BroadBand!

High Speed Internet for Rural Douglas County.

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Southern Oregon Business Journal February 2020 | 15

ENTREPRENEUR TO ENTREPRENEUR

BY THE SOUTHERN OREGON ENTREPRENEUR TO ENTREPRENEUR GROUP soe2e.com

The Southern

products based on his

street and try on all the

Oregon Entrepreneur to

knowledge of physiology and

devices before they buy.

Entrepreneur group met at

movement. He wanted to

BioSkin in Medford for their

develop a brace that was not

February meeting.

made from latex or neoprene.

BioSkin was started over 25

Tanner and his brother Taylor

enough to see if there is a

years ago by Dean Cropper.

started working in the

model for it in the near future.

They manufacture and sell

company at a young age and

hypoallergenic, breathable,

have slowly started to take

lightweight and comfortable

over, making BioSkin a

medical grade braces and

multigenerational company

compression devices based

which has many challenges as

on a patented material

well as rewards.

created by Dean.

Tanner presented to the E2E

They have grown to 40

group about the history of the

employees in Southern

company and its recent move

Oregon and 60 employees in

into retail with the one retail

Mexico where most of their

store in downtown Medford.

manufacturing takes place.

More and more people are

Dean started in the medical device field as a sales rep for total joint replacement over 40 years ago. That is where he developed his appreciation for the regenerative powers of the human body. He developed the BioSkin

16 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

20% of the company’s sales are online and they hope to grow the retail operation

Their mission is to decrease pain and increase human performance. They sell through distributors in 17 countries and they sell directly to sports teams as well.

Tanner feels good about the future of the company, “We’re actually making a difference in people’s lives”

paying high deductibles and

The Southern Oregon Entrepreneur to Entrepreneur

have a desire to learn about

group meets once a month at a different host

their own health care options before seeking help from a physician. There are 25,000 ankle sprains a day in the US alone. The retail store allows people to come in off the

business to hear the owners story with Pizza and Beer (Sponsored by People’s Bank). The group was founded over 3 years ago by Cynthia Scherr and some friends and has over 150 “members”. There are no dues or any real structure to the group. You can find them on facebook and at soe2e.com. They currently cover Jackson County and would love to see an E2E group formed in every county of Southern Oregon.

HOUSING

63 Million Households Are Unable to Afford a $250,000 Home

BY PAUL EMRATH ON FEBRUARY 6, 2020 REPRINT BY PERMISSION

In January, NAHB released its

households have enough

shows, 7.2 million households

new Priced-Out Estimates for

income to afford a home at

have enough income to buy a

2020. A previous post

various price thresholds. The

$850,000 home, and 2.2 million

discussed the often-cited

result is a housing affordability

even have enough for a home

estimate that a $1,000 increase

pyramid like the one shown

priced at $1,550,000. But

in the price of a median-priced

below:

market analysts should never

new home will price

focus on this to the

158,857 U.S.

exclusion of the wider

households out of

steps that support the

the market for the

pyramid’s base.

home. A second

Adding up the bottom

post discussed the

three steps shows that

related estimate

there are 63 million

that a quarter point

households (out of a

increase in the

total of roughly 120

mortgage rate will

million) who are

price out 1.3

unable to afford a

million.

$250,000 home. This

The priced-out

At the base of the pyramid are

estimates require a household

25.4 million U.S. households

concerns into perspective and

income distribution along with

with insufficient incomes to be

goes a long way toward

some standard assumptions

able to afford a $100,000

explaining the result published

about the cost of a mortgage,

home. The pyramid’s second

in last September’s post, that 49

property taxes and property

step consists of 20.0 million

percent of home buyers are

insurance. NAHB then judges

with enough income to afford

looking to by homes priced

affordability by applying the

$100,000 but not $175,000,

under $250,000.

conventional underwriting

and so on up the pyramid.

standard that these costs should not exceed 28 percent of household income. Among other things, the calculations can be used to count how many

It is often interesting to look at the high end of the market— and a high end certainly exists.

As the top of the pyramid

helps put affordability

For a more complete description of the methodology underpinning NAHB’s latest priced-out estimates, please consult the full study published in HousingEconomics.com.

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 17

HOUSING

BY PAUL EMRATH ON FEBRUARY 6, 2020 REPRINT BY PERMISSION

Homelessness in Oregon

Solutions to inadequate housing supply, rising rents, a lack of public services and shelter space must be approached collaboratively by public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors Affordable housing and

The report shows that Oregon

First, an inadequate housing

homelessness together

has a disproportionately large

supply and rising rents that is

represent a statewide crisis that

population of homeless people

leaving tens of thousands of

must be tackled by all levels of

when compared to other states:

Oregon children and families at

government, philanthropy,

while Oregon’s population

risk of becoming homeless, and

nonprofits and businesses

represents 1.3% of the total

second, the persistence of a

working together on

U.S. population, Oregon’s

smaller population of

collaborative solutions, says a

homeless population represents

chronically homeless people in

new report by economic

2.6% of the total U.S. homeless

need of intensive social services

research firm ECONorthwest

population. The report suggests

as well as specialized housing.

and commissioned by Oregon

that the state’s homelessness

Community Foundation.

and housing dilemmas are the result of two converging crises.

18 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

“Communities across the state are experiencing dramatic impacts of homelessness. In

Jackson County, the homeless

and nonprofit agencies and

launched in 2018, has become

population hit a seven-year

private sector entities that work

a source of growth capital for a

high. In Central Oregon, the

on homeless issues and those

range of organizations such as

number of adults living on the

that delve into broader

REACH Development, NOAH,

streets, under bridges, or in

housing and land-use

CASA and the Portland

cars increased by 25.8% in

regulatory policies; federal

Housing Center, all working to

2017 - 2018. Conditions faced

partners willing to invest in

expand affordable housing and

by Lane County’s growing

rental assistance; state

supportive services for

unsheltered homeless

policymakers who can address

children, families and veterans.

population triggered the threat

state housing policy;

of a lawsuit,” notes the report’s

universities leading in policy

author, John Tapogna,

innovation, and business

President of ECONorthwest.

Similar challenges surface from Astoria to Ontario The report outlines a

recommendations with proven track records of success to address these twin crises, from increasing housing supply at all price points to increasing affordable housing units to strengthening the system of permanent supportive housing for people needing social services and support to remain housed.

“Solving a crisis like this one — not seen here before — requires more than just good data. It requires collaboration by a range of actors: public

grantmaking and loans, volunteerism and nonprofit

"In Jackson County, the homeless population hit a seven-year high."

range of policy

of a scale, duration and reach

A snapshot of OCF donor

leaders providing leadership and a clear voice about the importance of affordable housing as a critical element to our local economy and to our ability to grow,” says Max Williams, President and CEO, Oregon Community Foundation.

Williams notes that over the past few years, OCF donors have contributed on average $6-8M a year in grants towards organizations that serve the homeless and help people with affordable housing. In addition, a $20M Oregon Impact Fund,

support across the state illustrates the complexity and diversity of need for Oregonians experiencing homelessness: • OCF 2018 grantmaking

throughout Southern Oregon included nearly $675K to support projects serving people experiencing homelessness or near homelessness in Jackson County. Grants include a range of financial and service supports, such as a recent effort by all-volunteer organization St. Vincent de Paul that is purchasing footlockers where people can store their belongings, enabling them to seek employment without fear of losing their items.

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 19

•

In Eugene, a 3-year,

•

In Milton-Freewater, a

statewide report to help fill

$500,000 loan to Sponsors, Inc.

pastor and community

information gaps and inform

of Eugene is supporting the

volunteer who essentially

ongoing, community-based

first “Pay for Success” project

serves as a one-women social

work on housing and

in Oregon. Sponsors, Inc., in

service agency, works with OCF

homelessness. OCF shares

collaboration with Homes for

donor support to – among

comprehensive data about

Good and Lane County Parole

other things - install the only

housing and homelessness with

and Probation, provides

free shower for homeless in

a cross-section of groups. Work

wraparound services aimed at

Milton-Freewater in the

is ongoing to build

keeping people in stable

basement of a local church.

collaborative frameworks to

housing as part of their successful return to the community after release from incarceration.

20 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

Oregon Community Foundation first commissioned a Portland Metro region assessment, followed by a

further support research, policymaking and philanthropic giving toward promising solutions.

“Rising housing costs, driven

stronger economy and

between the affordable

primarily by an undersupply of

healthier people.”

housing and homeless services

housing stock, have pushed many people across Oregon into greater financial instability,” says Williams. “We know that housing instability and homelessness are linked to other issues facing families and children across the state— success in school and in employment, the ability to afford the basics like food, transportation and day care, and physical and mental health. Solving the housing crisis could unlock the potential of tens of thousands of Oregonians, creating a

The report also examines the relationship between high housing costs and homelessness, as well as the high rates of homelessness in communities across Oregon

sectors, identifying the appropriate scale of the emergency shelter system and providing intensive social services for people most at risk for chronic homelessness.

and among specific

OCF will continue to explore –

populations, including people

through research and

of color, veterans and children.

convening of partners and

It also provides data and

donors – these policy, program

information about four key

and service areas to enhance

policy areas and specific

ongoing philanthropic

solutions showing promise.

investment in housing and

These include a continued

homelessness solutions.

focus on increasing the supply of market rate housing and affordable housing, strengthening the connections

Population Trends from 1980 to 2017 in the Counties we serve in the Southern Oregon Business Journal

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 21

INNOVATION

BY TONI CLOUGH CHAIR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, BUSINESS

RCU CAMPUS BRANCH RECEIVES BUSINESS INNOVATION AWARD

The Rogue Credit Union (RCU)

In October 2019, the credit

also work in the Roseburg

branch at Umpqua Community

union opened its second

branches.

College (UCC) recognized with

campus branch at UCC, the first

Business Innovation award.

being at Southern Oregon

ROSEBURG, Oregon – Rogue Credit Union (Rogue) has been recognized with the Business Innovation award by the Roseburg Chamber of Commerce due to its partnership with the new campus branch at Umpqua Community College (UCC).

22 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

University (SOU) which opened in 2015. This full-service campus branch provides financial services in a convenient location for students, faculty and staff. The branch also provides valuable work experience and education to the student employees who

“We are honored to be acknowledged with this award,” Rogue President/CEO Gene Pelham said, “It is really an award for both Rogue and UCC and reflects a great partnership that has been created. We are delighted that our commitment to the Roseburg community and UCC was recognized with this award.”

The campus branch is

professionals who understand

partnered with UCC’s Business

customer service, teamwork,

Technology department to

initiative, accountability, and

offer a one-year Financial

dedication. Students’ lives are

Services certificate. Students

truly being transformed as a

who complete the 26-credit

result of Rogue’s investment,

certificate program may

and UCC is thankful for their

transfer to SOU where those

partnership.”

credits can be applied toward a bachelor’s degree.

Additionally, a student who participates in the Rogue branch at UCC can transfer to the other Rogue campus branch at SOU.

In addition to receiving the Business Innovation award, Rogue’s board member Alex Palm was also recognized with the Citizen of the Year award.

Alex is president of the UCC Foundation Board and has

“When Rogue Credit Union

been instrumental in helping

first approached UCC to place

the credit union achieve its

a campus branch here, I

success.

thought our employees and students would simply enjoy a convenient service,” UCC President Dr. Debra Thatcher said. “And while the campus has enjoyed new services, ‘convenience’ is a woefully inadequate word to describe the real benefit. Rogue Credit Union’s presence is educational; they have provided our students with real world experience while helping them financially. As a result of training and assuming responsibility, the student employees have quickly matured into young

About Umpqua Community College Nestled in the beautiful North Umpqua River Valley, Umpqua Community College is the regional center for higher education in Douglas County, Oregon. UCC provides high quality college degree programs, workforce development, and community learning opportunities.

Toni Clough Chair, Associate Professor, Business

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 23

MANAGEMENT

BY JAMES C. PRICE

Creating Business Goals That Stick Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

Every year when the calendar

a place for large-scale,

small attainable tasks that feed

turns over from December to

grandiose goal-setting that

into the end goal. This

January, leaders across every

ignites your employees and

technique will help your

industry and business sector

rallies your company around

organization create business

turn over a new leaf on a new

results-driven success. However,

goals that stick.

year. And while most embrace

these types of goals tend to

this opportunity as a chance to

focus on the big picture without

Input vs. Output Goals

build upon the success

giving employees the tangible

experienced in the previous

guidance needed to reach

From George Doran’s

year, they also see the need to

them. This year when creating

create strategic goals that

goals for your organization, it’s

create sustainability and focus

important to embrace both the

within the organization. There is

big-picture while also creating

24 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

development of S.M.A.R.T. goals to Franklin Covey’s Wildly Important Goals, organizational consultants have focused on making goal-setting more

effective for leaders and

Before determining the

developing a goal that hasn’t

businesses alike. And while

behavioral tasks you and your

been a focus in the past, e.g.

both techniques are incredibly

employees can start to work

moving into a new business

useful and successful, one

toward your annual vision, you

sector or developing a new

issue that can materialize

first need to create the right

service line, the goal can be

during the process of setting

output goals for the

more straight forward. Using

goals is the convolution of the

organization. In a previous

the S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting

goal itself. Creating goals that

Refresh Leadership post, we

formula is a highly effective

are too complex and abstract

explained the importance of

technique when creating

can lead to the organization or

creating the right goal for your

output goals, as is Franklin

employees’ abandonment of

company. With the past year

Covey’s Wildly Important Goal

the goal. One way to avoid

behind us, analyze what

method.

this fate is to focus on input

successes your company

and output goals.

experienced, what growth you

Input goals are basically behavioral goals that help the person or team work toward a results-driving, big-picture goal—or an output goal. For instance, if a leader wants to increase customer social

opportunity exist for

Creating Input Goals that Align with Output Goals

improvement. Understanding

Once the output goals have

observed, and which areas of

the baseline will help you create realistic, attainable, yet still audacious, goals to strive for this year.

media engagement by 5%

When developing output

over the previous year (output

goals, it is important to find

goal), then they could create

the sweet spot between

manageable tasks for their

shooting too low and aiming

employees to work on that will

too high for a specific area of

help the organization reach

focus. If applicable, look at the

the goal, e.g. engage with

data points over the past few

three customers per day on

years to help determine a

Instagram or Facebook, utilize

healthy growth percentage.

an “influencer role” and

You want to be aggressive and

comment on five posts per

competitive with your

day, etc. (input goal).

approach, while still

Creating the Right Output Goals for Your Organization

maintaining a conservative understanding of what realistically can be achieved. If

been developed, you can start to create the input goals and tasks that help drive your team toward the output goal. This technique is the secret sauce that will help the goal stick and create buy-in among team members. While lofty, bigpicture goals can help drive overall success, the breakdown of individual tasks is what creates employee engagement and ensures all parties feel a sense of contribution to the organizational goal.

Consider a funnel. The input goals are each daily/weekly task that goes into the top of Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 25

the funnel to help deliver the

engagement, it also helps with

single end result from the

the morale caused by

smaller end of the funnel. Each

completing specific tasks

person on your team can have

along the way. Allowing

specific input goals separate

tangible ways to align with the

from one another that all

output goal is imperative to

contribute to the

moving the goal Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash

output goal.

forward.

New year, new goals.

For example,

It's About Dirt… and a Whole Lot More OSU Soil Science professor, James Cassidy (and founder

here is what

With the year

of the OSU student farm)

an input/

and new

spoke at a Farmer Luncheon

output Goal

decade already

at Eugene’s Hummingbird

can look

underway, now

Wholesale. His presentation

like:

is the time to

SOIL: What It Is and How It

start looking

Works, was music to the ears

toward the

of the many farmers and

future and

employees in attendance.

developing

James also spent some time

input/output

talking about the student

goals that will

farm and pitched some

Output Goal • Grow our annual gross margin by X% or $X

Input Goals • Conduct X amount of sales calls per week

help you and your

funding opportunities for the

organization succeed in the

club. Please support the

‘20s. By focusing on the big

student farm at OSU!

picture, while funneling attainable goals that drive your team, you can ensure not just

Buy a SOIL t-shirt (100% of profits go to the student farm

• Develop X amount of

success for your organization,

fund) – Soilforward.org

content marketing campaigns

but also for you and your

Help them buy a new

• Advertise in X more markets Each person can participate in the goal by contributing with their own input goals. Not only does this create buy-in and 26 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

employees.

How do you create business goals that stick? What do you do to ensure buy-in from your team members?

greenhouse to keep growing the future! - OSU Organic Growers Club Student Greenhouse Fund GoFundMe - https://www.gofundme.com/ f/greenhouse-for-oak-creek

a DIY social experiment in agriculture that is working and I mean WORKING! Here’s 20 years of PROOF!!! - 10,000 students later, hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours later, 10’s of thousands of pounds of fruit and veggies later, 103 summer interns Oregon State University Student Farm Turns 20!

The student farm at OSU – the OSU Organic Growers Club – is turning 20 this year! The club was founded by 3 grumpy undergraduate students who felt that the classes they were taking didn’t include enough or any information on organic production methods and decided to start their own student farm on campus and teach themselves! As much a social experiment as a farming project, this 100% volunteer effort has held farm work parties every Thursday night (4:30-Dark – hot supper served at 7:30) spring-fall, and every Sunday morning (Sunday Skool 9-Noon) year-round since 2000! Dozens of students a week come out to the farm to produce veggies and fruit. The produce is sold in an on-campus CSA and at the Corvallis Farmers Markets which has funded the project with little or no support from the university but – that’s what makes it real! Not only are students teaching themselves about organic production, they are also learning about marketing,

later, 100’s of Service Learning Projects later, we’re STILL growing! …and the students are still LEADING THE WAY!!!

Growing their own futures!

Students have learned that with land and labor they can create value! That’s not something you learn in a classroom though this lesson makes their classroom work all the more interesting and real and as a result, they are better students! It’s a hands-on, supercharged education experience!

THE PITCH The OSU Organic Growers Club is expanding our propagation and teaching potential with a new propagation greenhouse at Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture in Corvallis. This will allow students to self-fund the next 10 years of students and learning!!! Our students go on to have real jobs in the organic industry, become LEADERS, start their own farms, change their degrees, and are work-ready.

Please help with any amount you can! GoFundMe right now!

Can you spare a few dollars for our Oregon students and their student farm? The OSU Organic Growers Club! We’re still here!

IT’S ALL ABOUT SOIL!!!

Just think, there are little kids out there right now who don’t even

And it ALL COMES FROM THE

know how much the student farm is going to impact them! They are

SOIL!!! The great giver of all.

Every beat of your heart is energy that was captured by photosynthesis from plants that live in SOIL!!! Every atom that is in your body dissolved out of a rock, was taken up by a plant, and then either you ate it, or your mom did and that’s why you are here, now, reading these words! Now that’s power! And these students get it.

It’s their Future, all we gotta do is help ‘em! Or at least get out of their way!!!

going to love learning about SOIL!!!, Growing Food, & Building the FUTURE!!! One seed at a Time!!!

Please go to our GoFundMe now and shake a little out!!! – ITS FOR THE KIDS!!!

Please help us help them!

FORWARD!!! TO THE FUTURE!!!

Soil!!! There’s no alternative!

SoilForward.org

certification, and business! This is

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 27

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Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 29

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Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 33

FIRST PERSON

Stumbling upon the Smart Help Store

BY JIM TEECE

I wandered through a mostly

apocalypse/) and

empty Rogue Valley mall the

the future of malls are.

other day. I saw boarded-up stores and bored shopkeepers.

A sense of dread and

wondered what

Then I stumbled up recently opened SmartHelp.

The store was empty of customers, but the enthusiastic owner, Todd Derek, was there providing customer service on the phone. I sat with

emptiness filled the

Todd for a few

gaps once occupied

minutes to find out

by people. I thought

about his new store

about the past

concept and how he

vibrancy of malls

stays in business

from my youth and

when there is hardly

then I started looking

any foot traffic in the

around and feeling a

mall.

sense of despair. I wrote about the retail Apocalypse in the November issue

He has been working with Apple for years in developing 3rd

(southernoregonbusiness.com/

party retail solutions

are-we-in-the-middle-of-a-retail-

and realized that there is a need to provide

34 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

Apple level genius support to

He also resells computers and

entire eco-system around those

Mac customers in tertiary

gear. He isn’t a discount

platforms as well as PC’s.

markets. Places Apple would

reseller like Best Buy or

never open an Apple store.

Amazon, so don’t go there

I asked him about the lack of foot traffic and he isn’t

The SmartHelp store is his

challenged by this at all. He

proof of concept. He took an

says he doesn’t need it. In fact,

old clothing store and

he is the reason for his

converted it into a cool space

customers to come to the mall

divided up into sections.

at all. If you have a computer that needs repair, or you want

In one section he has a smart

some one-on-one technical

home setup. He spoke to

support, he invites you to

Alexa, Siri and Google as we

make an appointment and

sat there and the devices each

come see him at the mall.

did what they were commanded. Alexa turned on

There is plenty of free and

the porch lights, Siri locked the

open parking.

deadbolt on the front door and Google turned on a fireplace. I was impressed. I

SmartHelp (in the Rogue Valley Mall)

read about these things and see boxes for sale in Home Depot and Costco but it’s actually a very cool thing to see them in action. He shows you how to set it all up as part of his service.

He has all the latest Macs and MacBooks and he does iPhone and iPad repairs too.

Todd has been doing this for years and has about 7,000 customers that he provides customer service for.

looking for the lowest price. He sells everything you need as a package of services on top of

1600 N. Riverside Ave. Upper level: Space 2109 Medford, OR 97501 (Next to Eddie Bauer)

the hardware. He helps you

support@smarthelp.store

install it, set it up to

(541)255-2310

automatically backup, makes protected and he provides

Open Monday ~ Saturday 10:00 AM ~ 9:00 PM, Sunday 11:00 AM ~ 7:00 PM

ongoing technical assistance

smarthelp.store

sure you are secure and

for a fee.

He focuses on Apple Computers but he provides support and service on the

Jim Teece owns Project A as well as Ashland Home Net, Rogue Broadband and is a partner in Art Authority and CoPublisher of the Southern Oregon Business Journal. JimTeece.com

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 35

COMMUNITY BANKING

BY OREGON PACIFIC BANK OPBC.COM

In the Midst of Growth: Choose Kindness

Relationship Banking Team Leader Vicki Gray displays a Choose Kindness sign at Oregon Pacific Bank’s Eugene branch. The Spreading Kindness Campaign is a grassroots initiative to create a culture of kindness, one small act at a time.

As president and CEO of Oregon Pacific Bank, Ron Green has guided the bank in ways that have fostered remarkable growth during his six years at the helm. But those who know him will tell you that his leadership has less to do with smart business decisions and more to do with how he operates. Kindness, he says, is the key to success.

“You don’t know how impactful it can be to simply smile at someone,” he says. “When I wake up and put my feet on the ground, I know it’s going to be a good day. And, I know that it’s another opportunity for me to make someone else’s day better.”

Founded in 1979, Oregon Pacific Bank is headquartered in Florence.

This month, the bank will expand its trust and wealth management office in Medford to include full-service banking for businesses and nonprofits, similar to its branches in Eugene, Coos Bay and Roseburg.

36 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

One of the bank’s biggest and most recent markers of growth, however, can be found in Eugene. Between May 2018 and December 2019, the bank financed $100 million in new business loans and recorded $75 million in deposit growth at its Eugene branch.

That growth came on the heels of expanding the Eugene team, which grew from five employees in early 2018 to 27 bankers—many of which were former employees of Pacific Continental Bank, following Columbia’s acquisition of Pacific Continental in 2017.

Green considered the buy-out as an opportunity. After the sale, he reached out and met with several bankers, lending officers and managers at Columbia and asked them if they were happy.

“He approached me in a way that was kind, understanding and in no way pushy,” says banker Vicki Gray, who

eventually made the leap to Oregon Pacific Bank. Several of her colleagues made the same choice, and with them came their business banking relationships.

Matt Sprick was one of the business owners who moved his banking business, drawn by Oregon Pacific Bank’s friendly customer service, which he always appreciated as a Pacific Continental customer. “I feel that OPB has that same environment,” Sprick says. “There is such a friendly, warm and inviting atmosphere from the moment you walk in the door.

That level of kindness is immediately noticeable.”

As CEO of Ancora Publishing, based in Eugene, Sprick does his best to walk the talk and strives to lead with kindness at his own organization, propelling its mission to produce practical, high-quality, researchbased books and programs to help educators create positive, productive

environments where children feel emotionally and physically safe and actively engaged in the learning process.

“We are all—our company, our employees, and our customers— working toward the same goal— providing a safe and civil school environment where all children are valued and taught the skills and behaviors they need to succeed in and contribute to our society.”

where some people have some and some don’t. It’s a resource that everyone has the same amount of and access to—spreading that understanding is so important, especially in our world today.

Everyone has an infinite capacity to

That all begins with kindness, Sprick says.

“Matt was the one who approached me about joining the kindness campaign committee,” Gray says.

“We are still in the input phase of developing the role of businesses, but we are excited about it and what it could mean for our community and other Oregon communities.”

As a business committee member for the initiative, she has helped make introductions and encourages other businesses to sign on and get involved.

She explains it in a way that only a banker can: “Kindness levels the playing field. It’s not like money,

The hiring of additional personnel has meant an investment in the bank’s payroll of over $1.8 million, annually, Green says. “That’s a big investment, but it’s one that we know will pay off ten-fold.”

Growing at such a fast rate also meant that the bank had to invest more in its systems and processes and double-down on its commitment to its “Deliver on the Promise” mission that is the basis of the bank’s culture and expectations of its employees.

As part of his own community involvement, Sprick leads the business committee arm of the “Spreading Kindness Campaign” in Eugene and Springfield, a grassroots citizen’s initiative to create a culture of kindness, with one small act at a time.

Anaheim, California, and other cities across the U.S. have served as models for similar initiatives. The campaign encourages random and intentional acts of kindness throughout all aspects of the community, including personal, family, neighborhoods, schools, government, policing, businesses and organizations. Its goal is to help Eugene-Springfield join other communities as “Cities of Kindness.”

Best Companies to Work for in Oregon this year. Rankings are based on the confidential feedback of employees who rate their workplace benefits, management and work environment.

“Our community, employees, clients and shareholders are the integral parts of our foundation, and our promise is to treat all equally and be mindful of our impact,” Green says.

“When we say we’re ‘Not Your Ordinary Bank,’ we really mean it.”

CEO Ron Green lends a a hand at one of Oregon Pacific Bank’s ice cream socials. He believes that creating a culture of kindness in the workplace, especially during rapid business growth, can go a long way in ensuring employee and customer satisfaction.

be kind. It’s what you choose to do with that capacity that distinguishes you from others.”

An avid community volunteer himself, Green applauds the kindness initiative and encourages everyone to get involved in the communities they serve. Being a community partner is part of the bank’s promise, he says, and it’s one that employees appreciate and embrace. To make it easier to get involved, the bank pays employees up to 40 hours a year to volunteer in their communities.

This culture of kindness and high level of employee satisfaction is reflected in the company’s mostrecent recognition as one of 100

Employees will tell you that culture of kindness comes from the top down.

“Ron is a walking billboard for Oregon Pacific Bank,” Gray says.

“He’s not a suit-and-tie guy. He is relaxed yet professional. He is approachable and visible. He still leads staff meetings, and he spends time in all of the markets we serve, making connections and building relationships. And above all else, he is a very cheerful person.”

Green appreciates the kind words but is quick to credit the person who shaped him into the person he is today—his mother.

“My mom was a single parent who had a very difficult life. Despite all that—and because of it—she showed me how to treat people with kindness and respect. I truly believe that we can change people’s lives through kindness.”

Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020 | 37

7 ways organization leaders can increase their likability and effectiveness

SouthernOregonBusiness.com

1. Be positive. If a leader is positive and optimistic, those feelings will spread to others.

Conversely, if a leader is angry or frustrated, those emotions also spread.

2. Display integrity. Leaders who keep their commitments and promises are trusted and more likable.

3. Cooperate with others.

Effective leaders unite employees to work together in a common purpose.

4. Be a coach, mentor and teacher. Most people have fond and positive memories of coaches and mentors. Helping others develop is a gift that is never forgotten.

5. Be an inspiration. The most successful leaders roll up their sleeves when necessary and pitch in with the team. They communicate powerfully. Leaders who inspire are more likeable.

6. Be visionary and futurefocused. Sharing a vision of the future and helping team members understand how to get there inspires confidence.

7. Ask for feedback and make an effort to change. Most leaders rate themselves more likable than their supervisors, peers and direct reports do. Feedback from others helps leaders to understand the impact (positive or negative) that they have on others.

Source: A Study on Likability Among Business Leaders, by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman.

38 | Southern Oregon Business Journal March 2020

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