Southern Oregon Business Journal - May 2022

Proudly Serving Benton, Coos, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln & Linn Counties Since 2015

The Journal for Business in Southern Oregon OREGON’S INNOVATION PLAN PAGE 18

May 2022

DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON CREATES $28M ECONOMIC IMPACT WITH FIBER EACH YEAR - PAGE 12

Meet Local Hero Jim Wright.

Born in Ashland, ran LTM (now Knife River), Served on several local non-pro t boards and is retiring off The People’s Bank Board after 19 years Page 6 fi

Sponsored by

SouthernOregonBusiness.com

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.

A Few Words from Jim It’s what you do in Southern Oregon. Raise a Family, Grow a Business and Give Back where you can.

Thank you for all the wonderful feedback about last months journal. I’m blown away at how the stories I have published and/or written have impacted you and helped you.

This month I want you to meet another dear friend of mine.

Jim Wright is retiring off The People’s Bank Board after 19 years and I interviewed him to get some background for the story. Yet again we have an amazing leader in the community that was born and raised here. His story is incredible. His contributions are felt deep and wide throughout all Southern Oregon. Truly an amazing human. Story starts on page 6.

It’s been fun for me to interview my friends and share with you their stories as well as why I appreciate them. If you are a small business owner and you need inspiration look no further. This is a great story.

Also in this issue I am sharing with you 3 different but interrelated goals of the state. I attended several meetings last month and all of them were driven by these state-wide plans that I didn’t even know existed.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AMERITITLE - PAGE 4 PEOPLE’S BANK - PAGE 38 PROJECT A - PAGE 30 MANAGED HOME NET - PAGE 31 SOU - LEADERSHIP BEGINS HERE SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY PAGE 33 UMPQUA BROADBAND - PAGE 36

The key here is that the state has plans. We business owners need to know what they are and how they impact us or better yet, how they can impact us if we allow them to, if we embrace them, if we become part of the future that the state is working on.

If you only have time for one, read the executive summary of Oregon’s Innovation Plan starting on page 18 and ask yourself, how does your organization t into the future plans of the state?

Thanks for reading.

Looking forward,

Founder Greg Henderson ghenderson703@gmail.com Greg started the Southern Oregon Business Journal in 2015 and retired in 2020.

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Jim Jim@SouthernOregonBusiness.com

Cover photo of Jim Wright provided by People’s Bank of Commerce

5350 HWY 66, Ashland, Oregon 97520

www.SouthernOregonBusiness.com

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

MAY 2022 - TABLE OF CONTENTS

Hunter Participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program - Page 5

Meet Local Hero Jim Wright.

Born in Ashland, Ran LTM (Now Knife River), Served on Several Local Non-Pro t Boards and Is Retiring Off The People’s Bank Board After 19 Years - Page 6 Douglas County, Oregon Creates $28M Economic Impact with Fiber Each Year - Page 12 Oregon Higher Education Statewide Snapshot - Page 14 Oregon’s Educational Attainment Goals - Page 16

Oregon’s Innovation Plan

- Page 18

SBDC - Beginning with the end in mind - Page 26 Lithia and Driveway 1st Qtr Earnings Results - Page 28 Medford district, SOU sign agreement to increase college access - Page 32 A Fine Line - Wars, Pandemics, and Recessions - Page 34

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PBCO Financial Corporation Reports Q1 2022 Earnings -Page 39

BROADBAND By press release https://hunter ber.com/hunter-participates-in-the-affordable-connectivity-program/

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is the FCC’s new program to help lowincome households gain access to broadband in order to work, learn, and get healthcare.

Replacing the Emergency Broadband Bene t (EBB) program, ACP is the long-term fund for internet affordability provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. While ACP uses a similar framework to EBB, both the eligibility and the discount have changed. Here’s what you need to know: 1. To qualify for ACP, households must have an income 200% below the

Hunter Participates in the Affordable Connectivity Program

federal poverty level or receive other assistance programs. For a full list of qualifying criteria, visit the FCC’s website.

2. Quali ed EBB participants who want to transition to ACP can visit the FCC website for more details.

3. Households currently receiving a Lifeline bene t automatically quality but will need to opt-in with their service provider.

4. ACP eligible households can receive up to a $30 per month discount on their internet bill. The discount will show on your bill from your service provider. If your internet plan costs more than

$30, participants are responsible for the remainder of the bill.

5. Before claiming your ACP bene t with your internet provider, you must apply rst to ACP directly. Applicants may have to show proof of income (i.e. tax returns or pay stubs) or proof of participation in an assistance program (i.e. letter or of cial document).

Current and new customers are eligible to participate. To apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program, visit the ACP website. Once applied, participants should contact their provider to have the discount applied to their bill.

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Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 | 5

LOCAL HERO’S

Jim Wright was born in Ashland, ran LTM (now Knife River), served on several local non-pro t boards and is retiring off The People’s Bank Board after 19 years.

By Jim Teece

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When the zoom interview with Jim Wright started he asked me the rst question, which is unusual since I’m the one interviewing him.

and strong. I smiled at his cheerful face and took in this moment.

for one of several non-pro t boards he has served on. He was there.

I met Jim decades ago.

“I have a question for you.

What do you see?”

Whenever I attended a

And when I joined the People’s Bank Board in 2016, he was there as well.

That question took me aback a little. I wasn’t prepared for it. I stared at my screen and thought about what I was seeing.

He had already been serving on the bank board for 13 years at that point.

Month after month, I would see him sitting in board meetings and asking great questions, sometimes pushing back if something seemed off to him but most of the time, he was praising staff with kudos when things went right.

“I see a bedroom, a bed and a closet. I see a dog on the bed and a shirt hanging in the closet. I also see you. You’re looking good.

Your hair is combed. You’re wearing a clean blueish aquamarine polo shirt.”

Jim is a perfect board member for the bank.

The man brought decades of Jim and Judy Wright and two of their sons and daughter-in-laws enjoying time outdoors - Photo provided by Jim Wright That’s all I said experience on out loud to him, running large but I made a businesses to the community event, he was there. mental note that I also saw his board and he knew everyone It didn’t matter if it were a eyes. They were looking back in Southern Oregon.

Chamber of Commerce event, at me through the camera as or a Friends of the Fair event he smiled. His hair is thinning As we ended the last board with his good friend Lee and mostly white to match his meeting upon his retirement Johnson, or a fundraising event eyebrows. His voice is gravely from the board after 19 years

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Cover photo of Jim Wright provided by People’s Bank of Commerce

Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 | 7

Jim and Judy Wright and some of their family including grandchildren - Photo provided by Jim Wright

of service, I looked around the room as everyone applauded Jim and I re ected on the last 100 or so meetings I attended with him in the bank’s meeting rooms and how much he helped shape the bank and how much he cared about the community and how much I admired and respected him.

Jim Wright was born in Ashland, Oregon in 1940 and attended all the Ashland schools and even went to college at Southern Oregon State College as Southern Oregon University was known back then. He graduated SOSC and met his future wife, Judy, in1963.

He also scanned the room. His eyes fell on each of us as we thanked him for his service.

It was a very special moment.

The Vietnam war was going on and after he graduated he was ready and wanted to be drafted to serve.

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One problem though. Jim has a rare, inherited degenerative eye disease called Retinitis pigmentosa. It causes severe vision impairment over time and he was not drafted.

He was diagnosed with it when he was 12.

He could still drive (he drove himself until 1987) and see pretty well at the time, so undeterred he left Southern Oregon and headed to the San Francisco Bay Area to get a job.

He interviewed with three companies and got a job with Bank of America in their management training program.

He was in his rst training session and his boss pulled him out and told him that he couldn’t work for them anymore because he didn’t pass his physical because of his eye disease. Jim remembers the moment fondly. “He took me to lunch and was very nice about it.”

Feeling the wind knocked out of sails he headed back to Ashland and got a job as the night manager at the bowling alley.

His cousin reached out to him and asked if he wanted to work in the family business.

Jim’s grandfather on his mother’s side was M.C. Lininger and he was an entrepreneur.

M.C. came to Ashland in 1904 as a telegrapher for the railroad. He got involved in the Ashland cannery with his eldest son Bruce in 1919 and then he started a hardware business.

He noticed that no one was providing plasterers with materials, so he found a location out by Jackson Hot Springs to begin making plaster sand and by the late 1930s they were in the sand and gravel business. When

Camp White was being built, they opened M.C. Lininger and Sons in Central Point.

Jim worked there in the summers from the time he was 12 until he graduated from Ashland high school, so when his cousin Gregg Lininger asked Jim if he wanted to work for the company he jumped at the chance.

That was 1964 and he also married Judy that same year.

Jim spent the rest of his working career working along side his brother and 4 cousins.

In 1982 Jim was made president of the company and they merged with True Mix in 1988 which they branded LTM (Lininger True Mix) and then turned around and sold the combined company to Knife River in 1990. Knife River is one of the largest construction materials and contracting companies in the United States and LTM was one it’s 80 acquisitions. LTM was a $30 Million company with 240 employees when they sold to Knife River. Jim stayed on as President until he retired in 2000, taking it to $90 Million and 400 employees during its peak.

His sight worsened to the point of not being able to read indoors (bright sunlight was required to see) by then and even through the company

supplied a driver, he was getting to the point of not being able to see at the job sites, so he knew it was time to retire.

By 2008 Jim became pro cient at using a screen reader software and hardware setup and his sight was mostly lost by 2013.

Jim was asked to join the board of the newly formed People’s Bank when it was founded in 1997 but couldn’t due to his workload at the time.

Then in 2003, the freshly retired business leader decided to join the board when a seat became available.

In the 19 years of Jim’s board service the bank has grown from $53 Million in total assets to $910 Million today. He brought with him to every board meeting his experience in running a large scale construction supply company and a passion for serving the community.

It was always amazing to me how prepared he was in board meetings. I had all the board documents in front of me on my iPad so I could review them on the y and remind myself what my questions were, but Jim just had his memory. Board meetings can be several hours long and 3 or 4 hours in, he would bring up important questions to a spreadsheet we

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Jim Wright and other bank board members and team at the People’s Bank Klamath Falls Branch Ground Breaking Ceremony - Photo provided by People’s Bank

were all working through together based strictly on his memory of the document he received only the day or two before. It was always impressive.

Jim has also served Southern Oregon as a volunteer board member on several local nonpro ts.

He served on the Asante board and was Chairman of the Board for several years.

I reached out to Roy Vinyard, Past CEO of Asante Health System and current Board Chair of People’s Bank and asked him what he thought about Jim retirement from the board.

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“No one is a bigger advocate and cheerleader for their community than Jim Wright.

Jim is all about working together to make southern Oregon better in every aspect.

His involvement has impacted so many organizations: Asante, CASA, Rotary, Hearts and Vines, and People’s Bank, to name just a few. His leadership at LTM (now Knife River) during his career left a lasting legacy.

Jim has been a great friend, colleague and mentor to me since I arrived in Medford in 1999. He freely shared his wisdom and energy with me and does so with every person and organization that is fortunate enough to know him. He connected me

to so many community groups in the Valley and encouraged me to get involved.

As a long-time member of the People’s Bank board of Directors, Jim has helped guide PBOC during both good and dif cult economic periods.

He has de nitely contributed much to the growth and success of the bank. He has left an indelible mark on PBOC and will be greatly missed as he terms off the board this year.

Thank you, Jim, for all you have done for our bank and our community, and for all you will continue to do in the future.”

Over the years Jim Wright has served on many boards in the community besides the boards of People’s Bank and Asante.

I asked Jim about what it was like growing up in Southern Oregon through all of its changes.

I agree with Jim. I have lived here for only 30 years and it’s a better place today then when I got here.

Oregon Colombia Chapter Associated General Contractors-President 1982 Medford Rogue Rotary President 1990-91 Friends of the Fair Foundation SOU Foundation President City of Ashland Planning Commission 1976-79 Raider Athletic Association OSF 1996-98 Rogue Valley Manor Board Asante Foundation

“When I was growing up, Ashland was a timber town.

There were 10 saw mills in the city limits.”

In large part to amazing community leaders like Jim Wright. They were born here and ran companies here.

“Ashland morphed into a college town.”

Jim’s a natural leader both in the board room and in the community. He served all of us with his heart, his passion and his knowledge.

And let’s not forget that he also served on the following committees:

“When the mills closed, Ashland started changing into a tourism driven economy.”

• • • • • • • •

Trustee-AGC/Local 701 Operating Engineers Pension, Health & Welfare Trusts for Oregon and SW Washington, Oregon Economic Development Dept., State of Oregon Finance Committee, National Associated Contractors of America(AGC) Board of Directors(Life Member), National AGC Committee Chair for Airports Development Committee, and, National AGC Construction by Contract Committee Chair., Oregon Concrete and Aggregate Producers Association President 1980.

Angus Bowmer was a professor at the college and he created the Shakespeare Festival in 1935 by presenting two plays on the 4th of July after the parade.

People came to watch the plays as the theatre company grew into a 9 month operation and fell in love with the community and started to move here.

“You have to have four cornerstones for a community to be successful: Industry, Culture, Education and Healthcare. Ashland and the rest of Southern Oregon are just remarkable how it transformed to provide all four cornerstones.”

“Southern Oregon's a better place than it was when I was a kid. I miss what it was, but it’s a better place now.”

He has served on many, many boards in the community.

It’s what you do in Southern Oregon. Raise a Family, Grow a Business and Give Back where you can.

I have studied under Jim for the last 6 years on The People’s Bank Board. I have watched him and learned from him every chance I could. I have nothing but deep respect for his leadership, humor, passion and skills. He served on the bank board for 19 years and now he is of cially retired.

I’ll miss working with him, but I know he will be “watching” from the sidelines, smiling and cheering us on as we continue the work to make Southern Oregon a better place for the next generations.

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BROADBAND By press release https://www. berbroadband.org/blog/douglas-county,-oregon-creates-$28meconomic-impact-with- ber-each-year

Douglas County, Oregon Creates $28M Economic Impact with Fiber Each Year

Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today announced the rst of its Broadband Community Pro les designed to uncover the economic and societal impact that ber broadband is having on rural communities across North America. The research, conducted

by Futuriom Research, shows that Douglas County, Oregon, served by ISP Douglas Fast Net (DFN), has successfully leveraged ber broadband to create jobs, improve quality of living, invest in its future, and even ght forest res all while creating approximately $28 million in revenue or savings each year.

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“Fiber broadband was a game changer for our community. It has helped our customers reduce costs, our hospitals improve care, our city government reduce costs and enabled students of all ages participate in online learning,” said Todd Way, CEO of Douglas Fast Net. “We know that it’s also playing a key role in helping keep some of our largest employers in the area and attract new businesses and industries to our market.”

The rst ber optic service connections were delivered to the local medical centers in Roseburg, including Mercy Medical Center and VA Roseburg Health Care System

at the end of 2000. By 2003, residential services were added and by 2005 DFN had laid ber optic links to most anchor institutions including schools, hospitals and government of ces in Roseburg. Fiber delivers bene ts to regional hospitals that help streamline the sharing of medical records and information to improve patient care. In schools, Fiber supports remote learning programs that proved critical for K-12 students during the pandemic and also enabled local community colleges to create online programs for continuing adult education. In one unique application, DFN

leveraging a ber backbone facilitated by the incumbent electrical service cooperative and was one of the rst ISPs in its state to offer Gigabit services and now on the path to 10G. This Broadband Community Pro le will serve as a great example for other communities looking to accomplish the same level of progress.”

To date, DFN has deployed 2,799 miles of ber in Douglas County to over 12,531 subscribers and nearly one third of the local population.

DFN plans to expand its network footprint signi cantly while offering 10G symmetrical services in the near term. It has spent the last two decades adding to its network through organic growth and acquisition, bringing ber broadband to more people in its region. The company leverages technology and services from industry leaders Ciena, Juniper Networks, Corning, Adtran and PLP.

DFN is a subsidiary of Douglas Electric Cooperative (DEC).

Since ber was rst deployed, DEC has taken full advantage of its ber infrastructure, equipping all its substations with supervisory control and data acquisition and advanced metering infrastructure technologies. These smart grid protocols automate control and monitoring of remote systems. They also are the precursors to more complete smart grid functionality in the future, which entails distribution automation, whereby the entire grid is automatically regulated by sensors and monitors. This is a planned next step that could substantially reduce the cost of offering electrical service across Douglas County.

“This is a fantastic example of one rural community leveraging ber to close the digital equity gap,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President, Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association.

“Douglas Fast Net has a deep history of innovation,

For more information about the FBA’s Fiber Advisory Program, or to inquire about becoming involved, partnering or sponsoring new research,

please contact Deborah Kish at dkish@ berbroadband.org.

About the Fiber Broadband Association The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete ber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of ber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities and policy makers make informed decisions about how, where and why to build better ber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal bene ts that only ber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in the Americas, LATAM, Europe, MENA, and APAC. Learn more at berbroadband.org.

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has provisioned ber to wild re command centers at local schools to support emergency-only and personal use by the re ghters. Wild re teams also used pole-top cameras that replaced older manned re towers when DFN strung ber. The cameras helped initially locate the res and track the progress of the battle against the ames.

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INNOVATION

By Biz Oregon and the Oregon’s Futures Commission https://www.oregon.gov/biz/Publications/InnoPlan2021Summary.pdf

Oregon’s Innovation Plan is built on the central premise that the continued vitality of Oregon’s economy and the state’s high quality of life rests on its ability to encourage innovation.

At a time when Oregon is faced with tremendous uncertainty driven in large part by a global pandemic, but also further complicated by political, natural, and socioeconomic challenges, there is an even greater need

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Oregon’s Innovation Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

to focus on innovation-based economic growth. By coming together around a common issue — innovation — Oregon has an opportunity to improve the livelihoods of its citizens across the state. Developing a robust, inclusive innovation ecosystem is at the core of Oregon’s ability to achieve broad-based economic vitality.

Innovation ecosystems consist of ve interconnected elements, each of which plays a vital role in developing new value-added products and

services that create strong economic impacts (Figure ES-1).

Supporting the elements of a robust, inclusive innovation ecosystem will drive economic development in Oregon in the coming decades.

While it is noted throughout the Innovation Plan that a robust innovation ecosystem will require dedicated efforts, ultimately, driving catalytic

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change in Oregon’s innovation economy will also require efforts to effectively address three critical dependencies to economic vitality (see Figure ES-2): • Pervasive, affordable, and accessible high-quality digital infrastructure (broadband).

• A thriving talent base with inclusive and accessible pathways to cultivate human capital.

• A robust industry- and academic- research and

development (R&D) enterprise that tackles our toughest problems

The Futures Commission, a public-private thought leadership group comprised of 31 members representing industry, academia, philanthropy, and government, engaged a wide range of innovation and entrepreneurship expertise over the course of its work with more than 125 stakeholders contributing to this strategic

effort. Figure ES-3illustrates the ve-part process that informed the development of Oregon’s Innovation Plan.

It is important to note that Oregon currently has multiple efforts in place to support innovation across the state.

Through its historic investments, Oregon’s state leadership has demonstrated an understanding that a vibrant and high-functioning innovation ecosystem is necessary for the state’s Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 | 19

• The lack of a statewide entrepreneurial culture stymies the innovation ecosystem and represents a limiting factor to Oregon’s ability to scale companies.

• The agglomeration of national risk-capital markets is threatening Oregon’s ability to nance its deal ow.

• While levels of R&D are quite high, and commercialization is growing, more can be done to ensure the pipeline of deal ow

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economy to reach its full potential. Even with these investments, however, Oregon faces signi cant challenges across a number of critical factors:

is robust and “sticky” to the Oregon economy.

• The lack of “buzz” or image regarding Oregon as a desirable location for innovative companies and investment is hindering the development of the ecosystem.

These challenges, however, are not insurmountable and, with a renewed and re-oriented focus toward addressing these barriers, the state’s innovation ecosystem can thrive. In the pages that follow, Oregon’s Innovation Plan lays out a series of recommended bold strategies and concrete actions that if undertaken will help

foster greater levels of economic prosperity for all Oregonians in the years to come.

OREGON’S 10-YEAR INNOVATION PLAN If Oregon’s economy is going to prosper in the coming decades, it must ensure its competitive position through four means: • Oregon must have traded sector industries that constantly innovate, not only the products that they make but also the technological processes that they use to make them.

• Oregon must have nancial capital markets receptive and prone to investing in innovative rms and entrepreneurs that are developing and applying cutting-edge technologies to products and processes.

• Oregon must promote itself as a place to start and grow an innovative company.

Oregon’s 10-year innovation vision is captured in the

following statement, which is both bold as well as realistic.

philanthropic partnerships that:

VISION

• Create and promote a diverse and inclusive innovation ecosystem that cultivates inventors, entrepreneurs, and leaders of innovation-driven enterprises.

In 10 years, Oregon is globally known as a model for a diverse, inclusive, and resilient economy: a place where innovative people solve the greatest challenges of our times to create novel, sustainable products, processes, and companies that drive economic growth. To achieve this Vision, Oregon, serving as a steward for all its citizens, will support investments and policies through public-private-

• Intentionally ensure that historically underserved groups are fully integrated into the innovation ecosystem and have an equal opportunity to lead and prosper.

• Strengthen Oregon’s unique industrial and natural resources.

• Create an unparalleled quality of life by supporting citizens Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 | 21

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• Oregon must foster a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem that ensures support services are available that address the continuum of needs from earlystage startups to scalable enterprises.

and businesses striving for economic, societal, and environmental resilience.

By achieving this 10-year innovation vision, Oregon will help ensure the state’s future economic vitality. Examples of anticipated economic and societal impacts that will be realized through the successful implementation of this 10-year Innovation Plan can be found in Figure ES-4.

Strengthening an innovation ecosystem does not happen on its own, but rather through a series of intentional, strategic, 22 | Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022

and proactive decisions.

Oregon’s Innovation Plan has been designed to be driven by public-private partnerships that capitalize on Oregon’s comparative advantages while ensuring that future investments are focused on building the innovation, knowledge, and capital that will help ensure Oregon’s economic vitality for all people in all places (Figure ES-5).

It is proposed that Business Oregon and its strategic partners initiate a set of four strategies and an associated set of 10 actions to leverage

and complement existing efforts while seeking to overcome existing innovation/ entrepreneurial challenges and help catalyze long-term economic growth across the state (Figure ES-6). To guide investments, this Innovation Plan is intended to be both an actionable but amendable document, with a wide range of proposed short- and longterm actions to address gaps in Oregon’s innovation ecosystem.

The details regarding each strategy and subsequent action are outlined in the narrative that follows.

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SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

By Marshall Doak, SOU SBDC Director

Beginning with the End in Mind

26 | Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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t has been a number of years since I’ve read Steven Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, but the title of Chapter Two I recall to mind oftentimes to help me think through what might be needed in a particular situation. Starting with a picture of what the end result looks like in your imagination can inform you of what potential pathways to build to get there.

To ‘get there’ one must know what the endpoint looks like.

An analogy is to climb a mountain and expend all the effort to arrive at the peak only to discover that the mountain was shielding a taller peak from view and is now revealed.

Not knowing the endpoint can lead to frustration at not being able to achieve it.

Diverging into goal setting is a logical extension of what we have started building in this article, but goal setting is predicated on the assumption that your business is resilient and capable of dealing with all of the rough times you may experience. What if this is not the case?

I am speaking directly to your ability to recover from a disaster should it befall your business. I know I am singing to the choir, as I seriously doubt there is a business in Southern Oregon unaware that one disaster or another is

possible and able to adversely affect your business. Think about the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdowns, the yearly smoke season that suffocates the tourist industry here, the South Obenchain and Almeda res that almost wiped the Southern Oregon area off the map in 2020 and most recently, the Paci c Pride re in Medford that devastated many businesses located near the facility. Up to 20% of these closed or burned-out businesses won’t reopen at all.

As I write this article, I am lea ng through the “Disaster Recovery Guide for Business” developed by the Oregon Small Business Development Center Network for use by all businesses. This is much less a “How-To” book and much more a workbook for documenting key aspects of your business and its relationships to vendors, customers, accounting, facilities leasing or ownership, funding, employees and many other aspects of owning and managing a business. If a person was to use this guide or like instrument for recording vital information, a recovery from a disaster will be much quicker, cheaper and faster than without a systematic cataloging of all of the important elements. Why don’t you contact the SBDC to get a free copy or the link to print your own book so you have a

handy recovery guide in case of disaster? They can be reached at: 541-552-8300 or sbdc@sou.edu to give them your request for a copy.

These past two years have taught me that disasters are more common and more personal than I ever imagined and more likely to happen than I ever realized. What was once just a vague concept of thinking about disasters as being someone else’s problem, I now realize how important it is a person takes stock of their business before taking additional steps to ‘Begin with the End in Mind’. Let’s make a plan to get the disaster preparedness piece out of the way this year so the fun work – the goal setting – can begin so we can concentrate on moving forward with assurance that our hind ends are covered. Now, THAT is a good ending to keep in mind!

—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 ve 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.

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By LithiaDriveway.com Press Release https://investors.lithiadriveway.com/press-releases/l28wnyhw5ul8y

LITHIA & DRIVEWAY 1st Qtr Earnings Report

LITHIA & DRIVEWAY (LAD) INCREASES REVENUE 54%, EPS 99%, AND ADJUSTED EPS 103%, RECORD FIRST QUARTER PERFORMANCE

MEDFORD, Ore., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lithia & Driveway (NYSE: LAD) today reported the highest rst quarter revenue and earnings per share in company history.

First quarter 2022 revenue increased 54% to $6.7 billion from $4.3 billion in the rst quarter of 2021.

First quarter 2022 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share was $11.55, a 99% increase from $5.81 per diluted share reported in the rst quarter of 2021. Adjusted rst quarter 2022 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share was $11.96, a 103% increase compared to $5.89 per diluted share in the same period of 2021.

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SOUTHERN OREGON’S PUBLIC COMPANIES

First quarter 2022 net income was $344 million, a 120% increase compared to net income of $156 million in the same period of 2021. Adjusted rst quarter 2022 net income was $356 million, a 125% increase compared to adjusted net income of $158 million for the same period of 2021.

As shown in the attached nonGAAP reconciliation tables, the 2022 rst quarter adjusted results exclude a $0.41 per diluted share net non-core charge related to a non-cash unrealized investment loss and acquisition expenses, partially offset by a net gain on the sale of stores. The 2021 rst quarter adjusted results include a $0.08 per diluted share net non-core charge related to a non-cash unrealized

investment loss, a net loss on the sale of stores, insurance reserves, and acquisition expenses.

First Quarter-over-Quarter Comparisons and Operating Highlights: •

Revenues increased 54.4%

•

New vehicle retail revenues increased 39.6%

•

Used vehicle retail revenues increased 65.2%

•

Driveway reached 1 million monthly unique visitors

•

Driveway achieved 3,100 transactions in March, quarterly

•

Driveway Finance (DFC) became #1 lender to LAD customers with 6.2% penetration rate

•

F&I per unit increased 28.6% to $2,260

•

Service, body, and parts revenues increased 55.4% Total vehicle gross pro t per unit increased 55.4% to $6,825

•

Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of gross pro t improved by 550 basis points from 62.6% to 57.1% "Our teams delivered another record quarter with strong results across all channels," said Bryan DeBoer, Lithia & Driveway's President and CEO. "Our highly adaptable model generated signi cant free cash ows and Driveway and DFC each achieved impressive milestones. Combined with our teams' unique ability to quickly integrate acquired businesses, our path forward to being a diversi ed, omni-channel retailer has never been clearer."

•

Corporate Development LAD recently acquired three Stellantis stores in Las Vegas, diversifying our brand mix in that growing market.

Collectively the stores are expected to generate $400 million in annualized revenues.

Year-to-date, LAD has acquired $1.1 billion in annualized revenues and since the announcement of the 2025 Plan in July 2020, we have acquired $11.5 billion in annualized revenues.

"Our recent strong performance has provided signi cant optionality in our execution of the 2025 Plan," said DeBoer. "We have deployed incremental capital to Driveway and DFC while maintaining our accelerated acquisition cadence and providing immediate shareholder return through opportunistic share repurchases. These actions are transforming LAD and bringing us closer to the day when each billion dollars of revenues produces signi cantly more than a dollar of EPS." Balance Sheet Update We ended the rst quarter with approximately $1.6 billion in cash and availability on our revolving lines of credit. In addition, our un nanced real estate could provide additional liquidity of approximately $1.1 billion.

Dividend Payment and Share Repurchases Our Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.42 per share related to rst quarter 2022 nancial results. We expect to pay the dividend on May 27, 2022 to

shareholders of record on May 13, 2022.

Year-to-date, we have repurchased 515,130 shares at a weighted average price of $292.80.

Approximately $572 million remains available under our authorization.

First Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Updated Presentation The rst quarter 2022 conference call may be accessed at 10:00 a.m.

ET today by telephone at 877-407-8029. An updated presentation highlighting the rst quarter 2022 results has been added to our investor relations website. To listen live on our website or for replay, visit investors.lithiadriveway.com and click on quarterly earnings.

About Lithia & Driveway (LAD) LAD is a growth company focused on pro tably consolidating the largest retail sector in North America through providing personal transportation solutions wherever, whenever, and however consumers desire.

www.lithia.com

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Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 | 29 fi

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transaction volumes increased over 1,000%

30 | Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022

Southern Oregon Business Journal October 2021 | 31

HIGHER EDUCATION

Medford school district, SOU sign agreement to increase college access

By Press Release https://news.sou.edu/2022/05/medford-district-sou-sign-agreement-increase-college-access/

A new intergovernmental agreement between Southern Oregon University and the Medford School District (MSD) will be “a game-changer for college awareness and access,” providing the basic contact information of MSD high school students so the university can offer them timely enrollment guidance and opportunities.

“What this will do is allow us to promote college attendance to all of the Medford School District’s students,” said SOU Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Neil Woolf, who described arrangements of this type as rare.

“This will help with improving access to and awareness of college possibilities for all students,” Woolf said. “It will improve access to college for underrepresented students in a number of ways, and it’s a testament to the good working relationship the Medford School District and SOU have built together.”

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32 | Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022

Medford School District Superintendent Bret Champion said the goal of the new intergovernmental agreement is to give students in the district access to information that may help them discover life-changing academic pathways. The arrangement is intended to increase college attendance among Medford students.

“In the Medford School District, we have a shared vision: ALL are learning and learning is for ALL,” Champion said. “This partnership helps bring that shared vision to life for our students.

SOU plays a key role in providing options for our students that are open and hopeful, in addition to guiding students to own their present and future. We are grateful for their partnership.”

SOU President Rick Bailey echoed the appreciation. “We are very excited about this new agreement, and are grateful to Superintendent Champion and his incredible team,” President Bailey said. “I am con dent that

this will become the new statewide role model for collaboration between public and higher education.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the school district will provide basic “directory information” about its students – name, school, mailing address, school email address, phone numbers and grade level or expected year of graduation.

The document speci es that the district and university will comply with all federal and state privacy laws, and that no information will be provided about students whose parents have asked their schools not to disclose the information.

The agreement says the school district and university recognize the importance of “seamless transitions from secondary to postsecondary institutions,” and both are “committed to improving the options for K-12 students to succeed in college and be careerready.”

“SOU gave me the opportunity to grow and to change my life and to help change the lives of other people.”

ANGELICA RUPPE MS ’86

sou.edu • 855-470-3377 Southern Oregon Business Journal November 2021 | 33

by Greg Henderson

34 | Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022

Wars, Pandemics, and Recessions

Photo by Gian Cescon on Unsplash

T

hree years in and the Covid 19 pandemic with its variants weighs on minds around the world. To the public of the 21st Century connected by digital communication technologies seemingly everywhere, thoughts, news, ideas, and rumors spread faster than any pandemic in the history of our shared planet. That could be good or bad, depending on the individual interpretation of the message received. And how it is shared. And to whom.

Shaded by our learning and the in uencers in our lives we can interpret sounds and images in an unlimited number of ways. Based on those learned behaviors and our responses to them we can help or harm the world around us. If I were the solitary responder to a piece of false information correcting my mistake is easily done.

Unfortunately, the worldwide use of light- speed technology is in the hands of everyone, the wise geniuses, uneducated hobbyists, scientists, political zealots, and reactionary fools.

All with the same ability to share their newly “learned” wisdom with every connected citizen of the world. It is both frightening and amazing.

The misinterpretation of information – and the response to it – can be more dangerous than the information itself. The children’s game of ‘Gossip’ with whispered information passed from one child to the next has proven the frequent error of rumors. Yet we now engage in the habit of believing unvetted information on an incredible scale. Some of it sounds so believable. The phrase ‘Unintended Consequences’ must have evolved from the frequent misinterpretation of new information.

In an age where nancial impacts to large scale panics can rapidly grow to multiple trillions of dollars it is more important than ever to validate the accuracy of information we receive. To do that effectively we must select our in uencers carefully. Who do you believe?

Why do you believe them?

Reactions to events by our leaders and in uencers are dependent on the in uencers of our in uencers. If I accept the opinions of my in uencer as valid, it is paramount that I know who my in uencer depends on to validate his opinions. Are beliefs and values of those sources in alignment with my own? Its

hard to keep up with the thoughts and mindset of the people I trust the most, and nearly impossible to keep up with whoever it is they rely on.

At best it will be a gamble.

Whether we want to admit it or not we fall prey to another common in uencer, The Wisdom of the Crowd.

If 100,000 fans cheer for a particular sports team, does the shear number of them (lets assume they are in the local majority) tell you their loyalty is to be adopted by us, you and me? The same question can be asked of followers of a political candidate, or a medical advisor, or an economist, or a military general. This is where the gamble is played.

Our greatest responsibility can be the selection of our in uencers, those mentors who help us navigate intelligently and responsibly through life. Who should we trust? If we are in uencers to others, are we deserving of that responsibility?

Greg Henderson is the retired founder of the Southern Oregon Business Journal. A University of Oregon graduate and a six year U.S. Air Force veteran. Contact him at ghenderson703@gmail.com

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Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 | 35

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By Press Release https://www.peoplesbank.bank/about/press-release---april-20-2022

PBCO Financial Corporation (OTC PINK: PBCO), the holding company of People’s Bank of Commerce, announced today its nancial results for the 1st quarter 2022. As a result of the PBCO Financial Corporation reorganization and merger effective February 28, 2022, the current period nancial discussion and summary balance sheet and income statement in this release re ect PBCO Financial Corporation on a consolidated basis, while the comparative prior periods are People’s Bank of Commerce results only. As the results of operations presented are substantially from the performance of People’s Bank of Commerce, management believes there is not a material difference related to disclosing the current and comparative results as presented.

Highlights • First quarter net income of $2.4 million, or $0.47 per diluted share • Steelhead gross factoring revenue of $2.0 million, an increase of 53% over Q1 2021 • Holding company reorganization completed • Issued $25.0 million in aggregate principal amount of xed-to- oating rate subordinated notes • $22.5 million capital investment in People’s Bank of Commerce, increasing the Tier 1 Capital Ratio to 11.25% The Company reported quarterly net income of $2.4 million, or $0.47 per

PBCO Financial Corporation Reports Q1 2022 Earnings

diluted share, for the 1st quarter of 2022 compared to net income of $2.9 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, in the same quarter of 2021. Earnings per share for the trailing 12 months were $2.18 per share, up from $2.07 per share for the prior twelve-month period.

“Although earnings were impacted by the absence of income from PPP, the bank performed according to expectations during 1st quarter.

Steelhead Finance continued to demonstrate strong performance with $2.0 million in revenue during Q1 2022, versus $1.3 million in Q1 2021,” said Lindsey Trautman, Chief Financial Of cer. During the quarter, the bank made a provision for loan losses of $266 thousand. “The rst quarter of 2022 represents the rst time in two years that earnings are not materially impacted by PPP loans or merger related adjustments and more closely represent core bank earnings,” commented Ms. Trautman.

Deposits increased $33.9 million, a 4.4% increase from the prior quarter ending December 31, 2021. On an annual basis, deposits grew by $78.8 million, an annualized 17.7% growth rate. “Since the merger with Willamette Community Bank March 2021, People’s Bank continued to grow deposits with a strong focus on maintaining relationships with existing clients while increasing market share in our recently

acquired markets,” commented Joan Reukauf, Chief Operating Of cer.

“Core portfolio loan growth, excluding PPP, was down $1.0 million during the 1st quarter of 2022, compared to Q4 2021, due to several early payoffs, including a previously classi ed loan and a loan prepaid due to a business sale,” commented Julia Beattie, President. “We continue to see strong competition for loans in our northern market, with rate being the driving factor,” added Beattie. PPP loans outstanding at quarter end were $2.6 million, with only four loans remaining.

During the quarter, the bank experienced a decrease in classi ed assets, the result of a reduction in both Other Real Estate Owned and in classi ed loans. Total loans past due or on non-accrual increased, as a percentage of total loans, from the prior quarter to 0.21% versus 0.15% as of Q4 2021. During 1st quarter, the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) was updated based on changes in loans and updated economic expectations, which were factored into the bank’s analysis.

As of March 31, 2022, the ALLL was 1.03% of portfolio loans excluding PPP and the unallocated reserve stood at $620 thousand or 13.5% of the allowance.

First quarter 2022 non-interest income totaled $3.3 million, a decrease of $2.2

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Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022 | 39 fi

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COMMUNITY BANKING

PBCO Financial Corporation Reports Q1 2022 Earnings - Continued from Page 39 million from the 1st quarter of 2021.

This was largely attributed to a one-time bargain purchase gain of $2.3 million recognized in Q1 2021 resulting from the Willamette Community Bank merger that took effect on March 1, 2021. During Q1 2022, Steelhead Finance factoring revenue increased $693 thousand, a 53.0% increase over the same quarter of 2021. Conversely, mortgage income decreased $866 thousand, or 64.5%, from the 1st quarter of 2021.

Non-interest expense totaled $6.0 million in the 1st quarter, down $1.7 million from the same period in 2021.

During Q1 2021, the bank incurred $2.9 million in one-time transaction expenses related to the Willamette merger. “All anticipated merger expense saves have been realized as of the end of the rst quarter, 2022,” commented Ms. Trautman

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On March 11, 2022, PBCO Financial Corporation, the holding company for

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Southern Oregon Business Journal 5350 HWY 66, Ashland, OR. 97520 www.southernoregonbusiness.com

People’s Bank of Commerce, completed a private placement of $25.0 million in aggregate principal amount of xed-tooating rate subordinated notes. The proceeds will be used to support continued organic growth and strategic initiatives. The majority of the proceeds of the subordinated debt issuance, $22.5 million, was down streamed by PBCO Financial Corporation to People’s Bank of Commerce. This capital injection quali ed as Tier 1 capital at the Bank and helped to increase the Tier 1 Capital Ratio as of March 31, 2022, to 11.25%, up from 8.99% as of December 31, 2021.

portfolio, net of taxes, of $11.9 million, which is attributed to changes in market value in the current rising rate environment. The net unrealized losses in the investment portfolio resulted in the decline in Book Value Per Share and Tangible Book Value per share from the prior quarter.

As of March 31, 2022, the Tier 1 Capital Ratio for PBCO Financial Corporation was 8.76% with total shareholder equity of $71.3 million. During the quarter, the company was able to augment capital through earnings while assets also increased with our growth in deposits. The company also had unrealized losses on its investment

Founded in 1998, People’s Bank of Commerce is the only commercial community bank in Southern Oregon.

People’s Bank of Commerce is a fullservice, commercial bank headquartered in Medford, Oregon with branches in Albany, Medford, Ashland, Central Point, Grants Pass, Jacksonville, Klamath Falls, Lebanon, and Salem.

About PBCO Financial Corporation PBCO Financial Corporation’s stock trades on the over-the-counter market under the symbol PBCO. Additional information about the Company is available in the investor section of the Company’s website at: www.peoplesbank.bank.