Vancouver Business Magazine - May Edition

VANCOUVER THE VOICE OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON BUSINESS

BUSINESS LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED | MAY 2021 | $15.00

SPECIAL EDITION:

BU SI NE SS GR OW TH

BUSINESS GROWTH AWARDS

AWARD WINNERS AND FINALISTS FEATURED INSIDE PAGES 6-17

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Heejin Jung VP, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager 360.600.7717 hjung@watrust.com

Steven Horrax VP, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager 503.778.7072 shorrax@watrust.com

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2 VBJ MAGAZINE MAY 2021

WORK THAT MATTERS

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1605 Officers Row, Vancouver, WA 98661 360.695.2442 • FAX 360.695.3056 • www.vbjusa.com

VANCOUVER BUSINESS

Magazine

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Associate Publisher smcdonagh@vbjusa.com

John McDonagh ext. 6007 Associate Publisher jmcdonagh@vbjusa.com Managing Editor List Research

EDITOR’S NOTE

Joanna Yorke ext. 6019 jyorke@vbjusa.com Melissa Woster-Million ext. 6010, mwoster@vbjusa.com

Circulation Dominique Starks ext. 6021 Coordinator dstarks@vbjusa.com Director of Marketing Irene Pettengill ext. 6013 and Advertising ipettengill@vbjusa.com

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Web Developer Kris Small

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Design Editor and Ted Perkins Production Manager

NEWS SUBMISSIONS The Vancouver Business Journal welcomes the submission of news tips, press releases, column ideas, letters to the editor and opinion pieces relevant to Southwest Washington business communities.

NEWS TIPS, PRESS RELEASES Email your information news tips and story ideas to the editor.

LETTERS Email letters to the editor. Letters should be no more than 150 words and should include your full name, address and telephone number for verification purposes. Your name and city of residence will be published with your letter. Anonymous letters or letters missing the information described will not be published.

Letters are published based on their relevance to immediate news and then in the order received.

OPINIONS Email longer opinion pieces to the editor. Opinions should be no more than 550 words and should include your full name, address and telephone number for verification purposes. Opinion writers may be asked to provide headshot photos to run with their submissions, as well as brief biographical information. Opinion pieces should argue for or against an issue rather than give advice.

DEADLINES VBJ publishes every Friday. Submission deadlines are 10 days prior to the publication date.

Publication of submissions depends upon available space and the discretion of the editor.

CONTACT Managing Editor; 360-448-6019; editorial@vbjusa.com.

The Vancouver Business Journal reserves the right to accept, reject and edit news and editorial submissions. Opinion pieces and letters are edited for style, grammar and length but not content.

Vancouver Business Journal is a locally owned and operated publication of Brown Warrior Publishing LLC, John McDonagh General Manager.

Vancouver Business Journal (ISSN #1534-2956) is published weekly by Brown Warrior Publishing LLC, 1605 Officers Row, Vancouver, WA 98661. Annual subscription is $149.00 a year. © 2020, Vancouver Business Journal. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited without publisher’s written approval.

Periodicals Postage paid at Vancouver, WA. POSTMASTER Send address changes to Vancouver Business Journal, 1605 Officers Row, Vancouver, WA 98661.

4 VBJ MAGAZINE MAY 2021

W

ell, we’ve made it to our May edition of the Vancouver Business Journal’s Vancouver Business Magazine! I have no idea how it’s already May, but I’m definitely excited about all of the great businesses that are featured in this edition of our magazine!

This edition of the Vancouver Business Magazine focuses on our annual Business Growth Awards finalists and winners. We are so excited to be back to holding the Business Growth Awards again this year after we had to cancel last year due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Obviously, the pandemic is not over yet but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t recognize those Southwest Washington companies who finished 2020 strong!

This year, we looked at a number of different areas of growth when selecting the BGA finalists and winners. You will see as you read through the blurbs about each company that there were some that didn’t experience huge revenue growth in 2020, but instead experienced a noticeable increase in their client base or saw substantial growth in another area of their company. These companies that not only made it through 2020 still standing but did so while experiencing growth in any area of their business deserve to be recognized.

In addition to the profiles on the BGA finalists and winners, you will also find in this edition of the Vancouver Business Magazine a Women in Business feature, a profile and update on one of our Accomplished and Under 40 Class of 2020 honorees, as well as a couple of profiles on our 2020 Best in Business winners.

Our next publication will print in July and will feature our annual Top Projects Awards. Look for information coming up about that publication and details about our Top Projects Awards event!

In addition to these quarterly magazines, we will continue to bring you Southwest Washington business news on our website, vbjusa.com.

Joanna Yorke, Editor

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2021BUSINESS GROWTHAWARDS 2020 FASTEST GROWING COMPANY 1-5 YEARS WINNER: ENVIRONMENT CONTROL GREATER VANCOUVER AND PORTLAND Although the company itself has been around for more than 30 years, current Environment Control Greater Vancouver and Portland Owner Harry Alicea made some substantial and notable changes to the company when he took over in 2017. Alicea said he brought in new follow-up programs, inspection protocols and more. He also said that he lives in and runs the company here in Vancouver, which is another change the company has seen as well.

Since Alicea took over the janitorial service company three and a half years ago, Environment Control has seen a steady revenue increase each year. The company also went from two employees in 2017 to about 60 total employees currently, adding a number of jobs from human resources, accounting, sales, operation manager, area managers and supervisors. The company has also expanded over the years from only servicing Vancouver to now servicing all of Clark County, Multnomah County, Beaverton, Gresham and Tigard.

“I am very excited to be a finalist with you all,” Alicea said. “I’m grateful to God for our growth as a company and the fact that our clients are greatly satisfied with our service and growth in the city.

We as a company are working as a team and are excited to continue to grow this company and all that we do to care for our customers.”

FINALIST: MCKEAN SMITH

Since its first full year in business in 2016, Portland/ Vancouver law firm McKean Smith has seen substantial growth within all facets of the company – expansion, job creation, profitability and revenue.

First starting out with the 2,600-square-foot Portland office in 2016, McKean Smith quickly expanded over the years, adding a co-use Vancouver location in 2017 and 2018, then expanding into a 3,800-square-foot space in Portland in 2019 while also adding their 3,700-square-foot space on Columbia Way in Vancouver. In 2020, the law firm initiated a purchase of a larger 5,200-square-foot space in Portland while also maintaining the Vancouver location.

Since 2016, McKean Smith has grown from nine employees to 25 in 2020, and the company’s revenue has increased steadily year over year.

BUSINESS GROW TH AWARDS: See page 8

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2021BUSINESSGROWTHAWARDS “McKean Smith is honored to be considered as a finalist for the Business Growth Awards with the Vancouver Business Journal,” said Collin McKean and Annelisa Smith, McKean Smith founding partners. “Our business success is a reflection of the success stories of individuals, families and small businesses that we have helped through difficult legal transitions and also helped to create business opportunities in Clark County and Southwest Washington. We are very proud of our attorneys, our staff and all of the team members at McKean Smith that help us provide superior legal service and to generate positive outcomes for our clients.”

tough year globally, I have been blessed to live in a great community that supports small-business owners like myself, who are willing to work hard to deliver skilled and professional services.”

2020 FASTEST GROWING COMPANY 6-10 YEARS WINNER: RJL BUSINESS SERVICES

PAUL MONTAGUE TAX PREPARATION Based in Vancouver, Paul Montague Tax Preparation, LLC, provides a full range of tax preparation and advisory services. Services offered include tax return preparation, tax audit representation, strategic tax planning & consulting, and business consulting.

Paul Montague Tax Preparation first open its doors in 2017 and has seen tremendous growth since then. The company experienced a year-overyear revenue growth of 158% in 2020 and also experienced a customer growth of 119%.

Paul Montague, owner and operator of Paul Montague Tax Preparation, said his goal is to achieve another year of 100150% growth and then maintain the business at that level, which will enable him to be large enough to meet revenue goals but still provide a level of personal and responsive service for his clients.

“I am honored to have been selected as a finalist for the VBJ’s Business Growth Awards,” Montague said. “While 2020 was a very

RJL Business Services, owned by Jennifer Loftin, provides interim CFO services, accounting and bookkeeping, payroll and lastly, tax preparation – a service that the company just started offering this year.

Although the company has continued to grow each year since first starting out in 2012, RJL’s profitability did drop in 2020 due to hiring at the beginning of 2020, to get ready for another great year, pre-COVID. They continued to pay their contractors and keep them busy with the growth that they did see and also increased employee salaries. Loftin said they had anticipated another great year, but COVID shutdown their networking and forced them to adapt and search for other non-traditional ways to reach potential clients.

In 2019, RJL had created five jobs and created eight jobs in 2020. Also in 2020, RJL was able to expand outside of the Vancouver/Portland area to reach Northern Washington BUSINESS GROW TH AWARDS: See page 10

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2021BUSINESSGROWTHAWARDS FINALIST: RIVERSIDE PAYMENTS

to Southern Oregon and East to Montana. The company is actively looking at expanding into and targeting Central Oregon. RJL expanded its client base by 41% in 2020.

“Wow! We feel so honored and grateful to be selected by the VBJ for this special recognition,” Loftin said. “What an incredible experience this is to be included in a finalists list along with these other growing companies. Our growth in 2020 is a result of a combination between our dynamic team at RJL sticking together during all of the many changes we all experienced due to the pandemic, as well as the outpouring of support by our community and valued clients.”

FINALIST: GINN GROUP Ginn Group is a Vancouverbased company involved in all aspects of residential real estate, including development, building, sales and property management. Ginn Group is made up of five divisions – Ginn Development, Ginn Homes, Ginn Multi Family, Ginn Realty Group and Ginn Property Management.

Prior to starting Ginn Group, CEO Patrick Ginn got his start in the real estate industry in 2006 as a real estate broker and transaction coordinator. The company saw growth in all areas in 2020, including revenues in sales of finished homes, sales of multi-family assets, sales of developed lots and more. All divisions are currently working on numerous active projects around the area.

“We are honored to be a finalist for the VBJ’s Business Growth Awards Fastest Growing Company 6-10 Years,” said Patrick Ginn, CEO of Ginn Group. “It is exciting to be recognized by the community that has helped support our growth through the years. We are looking forward to this event and wish all the finalists the best of luck – it is humbling to be in such great company.”

Vancouver-based Riverside Payments started out 2020 “fantastically” and business was booming, according to the company’s BGA submission. However, once COVID hit, it became a year of many unknowns and changes. The merchant service provider downsized at first for a few months but was quickly able to hire back all of the laid-off employees and then additionally expanded their staff by 20%.

Riverside Payments also expanded to Canada in 2020 and now has clients in all 50 states and four provinces in Canada.

The company also grew its inside sales department from two employees to 30 employees.

Even with the challenge that COVID-19 brought to businesses, Riverside Payments was still able to show a solid net profit margin and were able to stay on trend to boost profits by a 10% net profit margin annually.

In addition, Riverside Payments places an emphasis on giving back and sponsoring organizations that contribute to the community, including Dollar for Dollar, which is a Portlandbased nonprofit that aids local families with overwhelming medical expenses, and the local Susan G. Komen affiliate.

BUSINESS GROW TH AWARDS: See page 12

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2021BUSINESSGROWTHAWARDS 2020 FASTEST GROWING COMPANY 10+ YEARS WINNER: OPSAHL DAWSON

very grateful for all of our hardworking employees, our faithful clients and our supportive growing community. We are very proud to serve the business and personal tax needs of Southwest Washington. I am very proud of our management team and fellow shareholders, Jen Dawson, Matt Lee and Sierra Eckman!”

FINALIST: ADVANCED ACUPUNCTURE AND CHINESE HERBAL CLINIC

Opsahl Dawson has been built on the mission to be their clients “Most Trusted Advisor,” according to Aaron Dawson, president and CPA at Opsahl Dawson. The tax preparation firm was was purchased by Aaron and his wife Jen in 2009. The company quickly grew from a Longview-based firm with 18 employees to a leading-edge firm in Vancouver that today has 70 employees.

From 2019 to 2020, Opsahl Dawson experienced a 33% increase in revenue and as the company has grown, many jobs have been created to support the growth. The company has experienced growth at both the Longview and Vancouver locations, and has added remote workers as well.

Opsahl Dawson currently has four owners/shareholders – Aaron Dawson, Jen Dawson, Matt Lee and Sierra Eckman.

“We take pride in our relationships we have with our clients, it is very gratifying to help them solve business and personal financial challenges,” Aaron Dawson said. “This year has been a perfect example of how beneficial it is to have a business advisor in your corner. We have helped many small businesses navigate through a variety of stimulus opportunities. I am proud of the growth of Opsahl Dawson. Our firm was founded by George Opsahl in 1979 and our current team has elevated our firm to become regionally known and a leader in our industry. I am

Now with two locations – one on Highway 99 in Vancouver and one in Lake Oswego – Advanced Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Clinic has continued to see growth see the business was first launched in 1999.

Advanced Acupuncture has been able to hire three more staff members and one more practitioner since mid 2020. The business also saw an increase in patients, going from an average of eight patients per day prior to June of 2020, to an average of 14-16 patients per day from June forward. Since June 2020 the company has seen a 40% increase in revenue.

Founded by Nikki Medghalchy, Advanced Acupuncture treats many patients who came to the business after giving up on traditional methods used by many doctors today.

Medghalchy has a unique background in medicine. She was a dental hygienist and trained in nursing school in Iran. She moved to the United States in 1976. She was trained in dialysis as a patient care and equipment technician at the Diagnostic Clinic of Houston, with certification from Seratronics for the successful completion of the DRS4 Dialyzer Reprocessing System in Advanced Course. She trained in Biomedical Engineering at Texas Southern University of Houston until 1986, then moved to Vancouver to continue her profession in home and center dialysis at Good Samaritan Hospital.

BUSINESS GROW TH AWARDS: See page 14 • OFFICE SUPPLIES AND ACCESSORIES • OFFICE FURNITURE • PROCUREMENT CONSULTATION • ERGONOMIC TRAINING & EVALUATIONS • COMMERCIAL OFFICE MOVING • OFFICE AUTOMATION (COPIERS/PRINTERS)

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2021BUSINESSGROWTHAWARDS “We thrive to educate our patients as well as (the) public to be proactive on preventive medicine by promoting their wellness on physical, emotional health and wellbeing,” she said. “Our goal is to educate them how to promote their diet and engage in healthy living style.”

FINALIST: MY BUSINESS PARTNER According to their website, My Business Partner was founded in 2005 by Sharon Batten, a seasoned bookkeeper who decided it was time to step out on her own and build a bookkeeping business that embraced her core values. She also recruited her son Bradford Batten, another skilled bookkeeper, to join as her partner. As the team at My Business Partner has grown, Sharon and Brad have assembled a highly skilled and educated group

of bookkeepers and financial accounting professionals.

My Business Partner offers bookkeeping services, payroll services and Emergency SBA Loan Preparation.

In 2020, My Business Partner added one full-time senior bookkeeper position and two new part-time data entry positions.

The company also saw an increase in revenues from 2019 to 2020.

“We are honored to be named as a finalist this year,” Bradford Batten said. “Our mission at the onset of the COVID pandemic was to help any of our business neighbors who needed it apply for and receive federal assistance. In a year that saw too many businesses ruined, My Business Partner has been blessed with growth. We are humbled and grateful to all of our clients, friends and business neighbors.”

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR WINNER: NAVIGATE LAW GROUP When COVID-19 first hit last year, any and all of the in-person free legal clinics in the community were forced to shut down. Because these legal clinics were how numerous people in the community accessed legal help, these shutdowns created a dire situation.

One of Navigate Law Group’s attorneys, Eli Rushbanks, also does software development and immediately jumped into BUSINESS GROW TH AWARDS: See page 15

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all industries, keep a handle on the business financials.

With our year-round bookkeeping and accounting, AR and AP management services and CFO Consulting, your business will shine! Overworked and tired of operating your business blindly because you lack metrics and reporting to help you make business decisions? RJL offers a unique combination of business consulting and interim CFO services that equips you with tools and meaningful data to provide insights into your business. You will receive guidance on how to use financial metrics and information to make wise business decisions. We work with local clients from Portland/Vancouver area as well as nationally. Geography is no barrier.

2021BUSINESSGROWTHAWARDS action. He built an online legal clinic platform that Navigate Law Group sponsors and hosts, which provides a free virtual legal clinic to the community. Navigate continues to host this virtual clinic weekly, and the public can sign up at https://lawchat.navigatelawgroup. com/.

Through this clinic, Navigate Law Group has so far assisted hundreds of individuals and it is still going strong. The firm is a huge proponent of legal tech and the firm’s innovative legal clinic has been able to help a lot of people in very dire situations during a time of world unrest.

“Navigate Law Group is very honored to receive the nomination for Innovator of the Year,” said Amber Rushbanks, attorney/co-owner at Navigate Law Group. “Our free virtual legal clinic has been hugely successful, in part because of the strong community support with getting the word out! Thank you to everyone who has participated in this weekly event.

Countless lives have been helped as a result. This has been a critical innovation to allow the public to receive legal help during the pandemic and its aftermath.”

START UP OF THE YEAR WINNER: CHAMP PIZZA Champ Pizza first opened its doors the Friday after the Super Bowl in February of 2020, which was closely followed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has built its foundation on creating a crust that has flavor and superior to all other crusts, while also using top quality ingredients.

Champ Pizza is 100% locally owned and operated and currently has three locations that all opened in 2020 – Salmon Creek/West Vancouver that opened in February 2020; East Vancouver that opened in March 2020; and Camas/ Washougal that opened in October 2020. The business has grown its customer base week over week by continuing to invest in data and technology. The company is 100% debt free and continues to reinvest all earnings in technology to improve customer experience and data.

BUSINESS GROW TH AWARDS: See page 16

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2021BUSINESSGROWTHAWARDS Some goals for the company include opening two additional Champ Pizza locations in 2021, rolling out Champ Pizza Experience Kits by July 2021 and rolling out Champ Pizza Fundraiser pizza kits by July 2021.

“This is only the beginning for Champ Pizza,” said Tyson Cook, owner/CEO of Champ Pizza (TRGT Enterprise, LLC). “We have big plans and have enjoyed the journey so far but realize we have a lot to accomplish and big goals. Customers deserve quality pizza every time! We realize there is a lot of opportunity for us as we continue to focus on being the best at custom service, quality and technology. We see that current pizza joints only focus on one or maybe even two areas and are not willing to sacrifice and continue to reinvest and focus on all three areas.”

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WINNER: EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES (EOCF) Educational Opportunities for Children & Families (EOCF) is in their 52nd year of operation, founded in February of 1967.

The organization is the “leading provider of comprehensive early childhood education and family support programs in Southwest Washington,” according to the EOCF website.

EOCF is one of the largest social service organizations in Southwest Washington and is the second largest social service nonprofit organization in Clark County, with an annual operating budget of more then $15 million and 270 employees.

In 2020, the organization had 1,100 volunteers, for a total of 55,551 volunteer hours. EOCF also added seven new programs in 2020. Also in 2020, EOCF increased their funding on top on their base budget; started their ECEAP Summer Grant program offering family services and direct financial support to families; started their Head Start Cohort Summer program offering additional help and support to enter kindergarten in the fall; and they also established a food program that to date has delivered more than 400,000 meals.

“We are honored to be recognized as a finalist for the VBJ’s Business Growth Awards,” said Rekah Strong, EOCF executive director. “Confronting COVID has created significant

challenges for our agency and I’m incredibly proud of our EOCF team. We have seen firsthand how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted the children and families we serve.

EOCF has gone above and beyond to offer additional support and programs to meet the needs of the children and families in our community that are furthest from opportunity.”

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION FINALISTS NORTHWEST ASSOCIATION FOR BLIND ATHLETES (NWABA) The Northwest Association for Blind Athletes, founded in 2007, is a “national leader dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, youth and adults through participation in sports and physical activity in communities across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana,” according to the NWABA website.

NWABA’s programs and services serve individuals of all ages and abilities with visual impairments. The organization’s programs offer opportunities from teaching children to swim for the first time to providing competitive team-based sports.

BUSINESS GROW TH AWARDS: See page 17

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In 2020, NWABA had a total of 400 volunteers, creating 2,000 total volunteer hours. Also in 2020, the organization added nine programs. NWABA also grew by launching their new Video Resource Library at youtube.com/nwaba1 – the channel saw a 350% increase with more than 70,000 impressions across 40 countries. The channel offers daily, virtual workouts that helped participants stay active and connected during an isolating year. The organization also launched the Homerun program, a pre-employment transition course for teens and young adults, serving 15 individuals to date.

By the time NWABA fiscal year 2020 ended June 30, 2020, NWABA served 1,441 individuals and the organization delivered 83 events (compared to 90 events in their fiscal year 2019), with 59 events canceled due to COVID-19.

“Northwest Association for Blind Athletes is honored to be a finalist for this year’s Business Growth Awards,” said Billy Henry, founder, president and CEO of NWABA. “With support from our athletes and families, volunteers, program partners and our community, NWABA is continuing to scale programs, implement new virtual services and expand opportunities to improve the quality of life for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.”

Founded in 1980, the North County Community Food Bank has been “uniting community members to build stronger families in the greater Battle Ground area,” according to the NCC Food Bank website.

Serving an average of 650700 families monthly – nearly 11,000 clients in total – the NCC Food Bank is an affiliate of the Clark County Food Bank and one of the only local distributors of USDA commodities.

NCC Food Bank also does more than feed people – the organization offers a number of services and resources to clients across the country.

In 2020, the NCC Food Bank saw a total of 75 volunteers, totaling 10,949 volunteer hours. New client enrollment for 2020 brought more than 850 individuals and families to the organization that were impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and job loss. In order to serve this dramatic increase of clients the organization built their donor base, establishing more partnerships with corporations that could help them in their mission to serve those in need.

“North County Community Food Bank is absolutely over the moon to be selected as finalist for the Vancouver Business Journal’s Business Growth Awards,” said Elizabeth Cerveny, executive director of the NCC Food bank. “In a community of outstanding nonprofits, we feel very humbled and grateful for the selection. COVID-19 is a year none of us will ever forget and for our organization, like so many other nonprofits we learned how to be more flexible, creative and nimble and forever grateful for the dedicated frontline volunteers who joined us in staying the course to offer emergency food services and connections to other social service needs for every client who came to us.”

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360.695.2442 www.vbjusa.com 18 VBJ MAGAZINE MAY 2021

WOMENINBUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

AREA HEATING & COOLING IS ‘AHEAD OF THE CURVE WITH AIR QUALITY, ENERGY EFFICIENCY’ Tina Blackmore, Swaran Battan are unique in owning an HVAC company in a predominantly male industry Vancouver-based HVAC company Area Heating & Cooling, Inc. was first started by Marlin Tillman back in 1975. At the time, Tillman had about nine employees and hired Tina Blackmore as his first secretary. Blackmore had just finished Executive Secretary Trade School at 19 years old and started working as a secretary for Area Heating & Cooling in 1988.

After about a year, Blackmore said the business started growing and Tillman asked her to hire another office person to help with phones and scheduling. She hired Swaran Battan at the end of 1988. Years later, when Tillman was ready to retire, he sold the business to Blackmore and Battan in 2010, who are now the current owners of Area Heating & Cooling.

“Swaran and I are very unique in owning an HVAC company,” Blackmore said. “It is a predominantly male industry. My father was a farmer and road construction (worker). I was very used to working around hardworking men and have never been afraid to work hard, so it was always a very comfortable environment for me.”

Area Heating & Cooling was founded in the Clark County area after Tillman had followed his wife to the area from Colorado. Blackmore said she was raised in Clack County, and Battan came to Clack County from the Fiji Islands and attended Washougal High School.

Since purchasing the business from Tillman in 2010, Blackmore said they have increased the business about 25%.

She also said that the last two years they have grown the Remodel Retrofit Division by 40%.

HEATING & COOLING: See page 23

Tina Blackmore (right) and Swaran Battan have been the owners of Area Heating & Cooling since they purchased the company from Marlin Tillman in 2010.

MAY 2021 VBJ MAGAZINE

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BESTINBUSINESS WINNER PROFILE

CHAPELLE’S TOWING

Over the last few months business has started to pick up again at Chapelle’s Towing.

Every year, the Vancouver Business Journal opens up nominations and voting for our annual Best in Business Awards.

Readers are able to vote for and help recognize their favorite companies in a variety of categories, ranging from food and drink to credit unions and commercial printing, and more.

Here is a brief update from the business that was voted Best Towing Company in the VBJ’s 2020 Best in Business Awards, Chapelle’s Towing. This information was provided by Ambra Peters, operations manager at Chapelle’s Towing.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Peters said Chapelle’s Towing had to layoff several drivers and reduce their office staff. It was a very tough time for the company – the owners even had to jump into trucks to run calls and they were all running very thin.

Business slowed down for Chapelle’s when everyone was on lockdown as people were working from home, staying home and no students were in school. All of this created a situation where not many drivers were on the road.

“Thankfully, the stimulus package for businesses came out

and we were able to qualify for some of those, which kept us afloat,” Peters said. “As things started opening back up, business slowly picked back up and we were able to hire back our drivers. Over the last few months, we have noticed business is picking up even more, as more drivers are out and about and on the road. It was a tough year for all of our towers, as with many other businesses. However, we survived and were able to keep the doors open.”

Currently, Peters said Chapelle’s is partnering with AAA of Washington, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Washington State Patrol (WSP), Clark County Fire District 6, TLC Towing, Triple J Towing and Speeds Towing on a Slow Down Move Over campaign. One of Chapelle’s drivers was hit on I-5 in January and lost a leg because of a distracted driver.

“We are on a mission to bring awareness to Slow Down Move Over to avoid what has happened to our driver happening to others,” Peters said.

Chapelle’s Towing is also working right now on hiring drivers to keep up with the call volume and get back up to full capacity.

Chapelle’s Towing currently has two locations – one in Vancouver at 4915 NW Fruit Valley Road and one in Battle Ground at 1115 SE Grace Ave. Voting for the VBJ’s 2021 Best in Business will open in November and winners will be announced in the December issue of the Vancouver Business Magazine, as well as online.

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Courtesy of Chapelle’s Towing 20 VBJ MAGAZINE MAY 2021

BESTINBUSINESS WINNER PROFILE

SALSBURY & CO.

Internal goals for 2020 included improved software integrations and workflow automation processes

Every year, the Vancouver Business Journal opens up nominations and voting for our annual Best in Business Awards.

Readers are able to vote for and help recognize their favorite companies in a variety of categories, ranging from food and drink to credit unions and commercial printing, and more.

Here is a brief update from the business that was voted Best Business Consulting in the VBJ’s 2020 Best in Business Awards, Salsbury & Co., LLC. This information was provided by April Salsbury, CEO of Salsbury & Co. Salsbury & Co. grew “by leaps and bounds in 2020 and continues growing in 2021,” according to CEO April Salsbury.

Salsbury said the primary internal goal of the company in 2020 was establishing improved software integrations, workflow automation processes and other mechanisms that save staff time in routine tasks. Secondarily, she said they focused on education and staff training, and a majority of the staff acquired new certifications or enrolled in refresher college courses to ensure that the company continues to provide the most relevant support to the local business community.

“The long-term effects of COVID for Salsbury & Co. is that we are more streamlined and efficient than ever,” Salsbury said.

“Our revenues increased by 76% in 2020. Our client acquisition grew by 35% over 2019. We added three staff positions in 2020 and are adding two more staff positions this spring.”

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Salsbury said that they were fortunate in that all employees at Salsbury & Co. were already well established for working remotely. The company has cloud-based systems with client portals, VOIP telephone/SMS/fax lines, postage services, video conferencing and operates essentially paperless in all activities.

“These practices established early really enabled us to pivot quickly,” Salsbury said.

Salsbury said the biggest difficulty the company faced was that they had to hire three employees within a month of the COVID shutdowns and needed to develop strong training and collaboration tools for the new employees to continue learning with access to mentors. She said that the unknowns of what would happen to the business and their clients’ businesses weighed heavily on their minds and the company allocated all of their resources to ensure they could move quickly with the most recent information to support their clients in extraordinary and innovative ways.

April Salsbury, CEO, Salsbury & Co.

“During this time we were looking at our clients’ finances and projections on a daily basis and guiding them in ways to promote company stability as much as possible,” Salsbury said. “We are pleased to say that although some of our clients experienced a minor setback between March and May of 2020, event client was able to make it through the year with a profit. Guiding diversification of revenue streams for a few clients even helped them increase 2020 revenues over what they experienced in 2019.”

Salsbury & Co. is located at 1353 Officers Row, in Vancouver.

Voting for the VBJ’s 2021 Best in Business will open in November and winners will be announced in the December issue of the Vancouver Business Magazine, as well as online.

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MAY 2021 VBJ MAGAZINE

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ACCOMPLISHEDANDUNDER40 PROFILE

CHERISH DESROCHERS-VAFEADOS Back in December, the Vancouver Business Journal announced our Accomplished and Under 40 Class of 2020. Here is a brief profile on one of the honorees, Cherish DesRochers-Vafeados, and a little update on what has been working on so far in 2021, and how the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected some of these things.

“A caring person and a diligent public servant” – this is how Mike Dalesandro (who nominated Cherish DesRochersVafeados for this recognition) describes his fellow BattleGround City Council member.

DesRochers-Vafeados is a customer service representative for C-TRAN, but her volunteer work in the community shows that she does so much more. Her service to the community includes being the president/founder of the nonprofit Food with Friends, which includes the Shower Outreach Project, Project Going Places and Emergency Weather Outreach.

As a current Battle Ground City Council member, DesRochers-Vafeados is the board chair of the LEOFF 1 (Law Enforcement Officers and Fire Fighters’ Plan 1 Retirement Board). She is on the Battle Ground Housing Action Plan Advisory Group, the Trueblood Taskforce, Urban County Policy Board and the Advisory Committee Air Force JROTC for Battle Ground High School.

“I don’t do things for the recognition, but boy does it feel good to be recognized,” DesRochers-Vafeados said. “A huge thanks to Mike Dalesandro for nominating me and to the Vancouver Business Journal selection panel for choosing my nomination.”

So, what has DesRochers-Vafeados been working on – both professionally and personally – so far in 2021, and how has the pandemic affected him in these areas?

“I have a few things going on,” DesRochers-Vafeados said.

“For my nonprofit Food with Friends, we are in the process of adding a shower/toilet pod at a local church who serves people experiencing homelessness. It will expand their ability to serve and host shelter. We are also finishing up a remodel of an older construction site shower trailer that will be parked at Living Hope Church’s Live Love Center on a long-term basis.

It has three showers, one ADA accessible. We are hoping to have these finished up before the start of summer. Once the remodel is done on the three-shower trailer, we will bring the two-shower unit (that has been set up at Living Hope Church since the start of the pandemic) back out to other sites. We will need to re-establish host sites when we do. For interested host sites, all that’s needed is volunteers, water spigot, power and a sewer clean out.”

“For me personally, COVID has given me more opportunities to participate in things I normally would not be able to due to time restraints,” she continued. “Being able to pop online for various meetings & trainings has been awesome and I hope it is part of the ‘new norm’ for 22 VBJ MAGAZINE MAY 2021

these sort of things.”

“Personally, I just launched my re-election campaign to retain a seat on the Battle Ground City Council,” DesRochersVafeados said. “I hope to retain my current seat and continue working on the City Visioning Process, The Parks Plan Update and the Housing Action Plan. I also hope to find a way to get an ADA accessible play structure at one of our local parks. Other than that, I re-did some landscaping in my backyard and started my garden.”

Nominations for the Accomplished and Under 40 Class of 2021 will open up this fall. Continue to check our website for updates regarding when nominations will open, our Accomplished and Under 40 event and more!

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HEATING & COOLING:

“The quarantine, travel and overall belief (emotional feelings) of it have made it challenging to schedule work, fill schedules and suppliers are suffering to get inventory to us in a timely manner.”

Continued from page 19

“Area Heating has always been ahead of the curve with air quality and energy efficiency,” Blackmore said. “We also specialize in difficult installations. We have many team members that have been employed with us for over 20 years. We are friends, family and part of this community.”

As a company, Blackmore said Area Heating & Cooling is very involved with the Clark Public Utilities Operation Warm Heart program, Special Olympics and the National Lung Cancer Association.

As far as the COVID-19 pandemic goes, Blackmore said that while the illness has not impacted the business, the regulations and mandates surrounding it have.

“The quarantine, travel and overall belief (emotional feelings) of it have made it challenging to schedule work, fill schedules and suppliers are suffering to get inventory to us in a timely manner,” she said.

Blackmore said that in the beginning after her and Battan purchased the

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business, they definitely face some unique challenges due to being women who were owners of an HVAC company.

“In the beginning when I would attend contractor events with my husband, my colleagues would naturally walk up to my husband and start speaking to him as (if) he owned the business,” Blackmore said.

“He would laugh and say, ‘you need to ask this one, you’re asking the wrong guy.’

Now Swaran and I are well known and don’t have this happen much anymore.”

“We have been in the industry for 30 years and worked our way up to learn the industry,” Blackmore continued. “When Mr. Tillman was ready to retire it was a

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Each year, the Vancouver Business Journal prints a publication that focuses on Women in Business that contains articles just like this one. The publication typically publishes in March, so be on the lookout for advertising opportunities and opportunities to have your women-owned business featured in an article.

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natural decision for us to continue doing what we had always done every day … work together with the team at Area Heating & Cooling. We are very blessed and grateful to Mr. Tillman for selling to us and mentoring us over the years.”

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– TINA BLACKMORE

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PROJECTS: MULTIFAMILY 26 PAGE

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