Restoring Lives

t The Graham Family: Tammy, Josiah (15), Jaylee (17),

Joshua (13), and Justin.

u President Smith was able to visit with Justin and

Tammy and their daughter Jaylee at the YU Comes to Pacific Northwest event in September.

Sixteen years ago, Justin ’99 and Tammy (Adamson ’00) Graham took a leap of faith that would not only change their world, but of those that they touched. It was a decision they made together, but also one that Justin had been inching towards for many years.

At a young age, Justin knew he didn’t want to just get a job—he wanted to work for himself. In fact, there was never a time in which he considered being an employee of an organization. As a business management major at York he recalled learning about the franchise model of entrepreneurship and was intrigued by the concept. His business classes affirmed his desire to be selfemployed.

Shortly after graduating, he found his way to business ownership. That experience and drive led him to invest in starting his own franchise of Paul Davis Restoration. After being in business for three months he hired his first employee and began to patiently grow the business.

Today, Justin’s company Paul Davis Restoration of Portland / Vancouver has 103 employees and is the market leader in a five-county area, serving a population of 2.8 million. As you might know or guess by the name, Paul Davis restores property that has been damaged by fire, flood, mold, storms and other disasters. They perform emergency services and general construction services on commercial and residential property.

For many, Justin is one of those contacts in your phone that you don’t want to “have to” call, but if things go suddenly awry, you’re so glad you have his number.

“I am so incredibly proud of Justin in every area of his life,” said Tammy. “He is the Godly leader of our family and at Paul Davis. He intentionally leads our family with humor and models God’s intent for our family life with integrity. He has worked very hard to build a successful business, and by doing so, has gained his peers’ deep respect and admiration.”

While Tammy lends a helping hand whenever needed with the company, her focus has leaned heavily to the home. As an elementary education graduate, she taught 1st and 2nd grade for several years until their first child, Jaylee, was born. While Justin grew the business, she was able to be a stay-at-home mom.

When all the kids entered school, instead of returning to full-time teaching, Tammy used her time, talents, and resources to support their local public school district, consistently working in classrooms, serving on multiple committees, including curriculum review, and becoming a dyslexia advocate. She partnered with their district to help make some vital

Paul Davis Restoration of Portland / Vancouver

Vision: Provide Extraordinary Care while Serving People in their Time of Need

Mission: Provide Opportunities for Great People to Deliver Best in Class Results

Values: Deliver what you promise, Respect the individual, Have pride in what you do, Practice continuous improvement, Have fun on purpose

• Considered a “Lighthouse Office” by the Paul

Davis organization. • 15 years of profitable growth—never experiencing a down or flat year. • Ranked #4 of 340 franchise locations across

North America. • Received Paul Davis People Grower award in 2021.

"I CONSTANTLY WEAVE SCRIPTURE AND PRAYER INTO THE VISION OF THE COMPANY, AND ANY CIRCUMSTANCE OR CHALLENGE WE FACE IS APPROACHED FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE." — JUSTIN GRAHAM

LISA SMITH

improvements in teaching reading to all students and ran a dyslexia parent support group. Most recently, she served as a director on the school board.

“I am constantly amazed by Tammy!” said Justin. “As my bride she has been so graceful! She is tremendously diligent and accomplished. Tammy patiently loves people in such ways that every person she interacts with is honored by her. She affirms, trains, instructs, prays with, laughs with, cries with and cheers for our 3 kids no matter what they are doing. Our children are blessed beyond words to have Tammy as their mother.”

When asked how they maintain a good balance with obligations to family, work, church, community, etc., Justin commented, “I calendar everything! Priority management is a critical skill to finding balance in all the balls I need to juggle. Put the important things in the calendar first and then fill in the rest of the calendar with secondary priorities and leave space for urgent issues that arise daily. If I need to leave the office at 3:30 to be present at the kid’s events, then it goes in the calendar. If I need to be home for dinner by 6, then it goes in the calendar.”

Then he added, “If I am being honest, I struggle with this. I am constantly asking for forgiveness when I overpromise and underdeliver with the many commitments I make to people.”

It is obvious when you visit with Justin and Tammy that their faith is at the core of who they are. This year Tammy is co-leading a weekly women’s Bible study group, and together, she and Justin host a community group in their home. In January, their family had the experience of a lifetime, taking an 11day trip to Israel.

“Our family now reads scripture in full color!” exclaimed Justin. “We witnessed the archeological, historical, and biblical elements of the Holy Land come together in a beautiful experience. I never would have imagined that a pilgrimage would have such a deep impact on my faith, and I would encourage every Christian to make that trip a priority. It’s one of those lifechanging experiences.”

And those core beliefs extend into Justin’s company. “I have always allowed my faith to be known throughout my career. When the people working for our organization know and understand that we are a “Christian company” the expectations and alignment on our core values are much less of an issue versus non-Christian companies. I constantly weave scripture and prayer into the vision of the company and any circumstance or challenge we face is approached from a Christian perspective.” n

UNIVERSITY PRESS

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES GENEROUS EQUIPMENT DONATION

There is a story behind every gift to York University, and a couple of recent gifts-in-kind to YU's Science Department, worth a total of about $100,000, reflect a mini-series of most interesting stories.

York University recently received a "used" mass spectrometer, valued at minimally $60,000, from SCIEX, a biotechnology company that provides assistance to scientists and laboratory analysts on complex analytical challenges.

Another recent gift to the YU Science Department includes about 50 pieces of science laboratory equipment from the York branch of Green Plains, a leading ag-tech company that owns and operates 11 biorefineries in six states, including Nebraska, with an ethanol plant in York.

The SCIEX gift was facilitated by YU alumnus Paul Brown (AA '90, BA '96), who installs and repairs mass spectrometers for different companies and educational institutions in Nebraska and Iowa, and Paul's daughter, Riley, a senior biology major with a minor in chemistry, who plans to apply to medical school upon graduation from YU. While Paul, a senior field services engineer for SCIEX, held employee status with the company, it was Riley who encouraged the YU Science Department faculty, specifically Dr. Josephine (Josie) Schamp, assistant professor of chemistry, to follow up with a request to SCIEX for a mass spectrometer.

Dr. Bryan Kretz, head of the YU Science Department, said. "The mass spectrometer will allow students to learn more hands-on analytical techniques and identify chemical structures; determine purity/identity of samples that they have chemically synthesized in laboratory settings; and test unknown samples for identification."

Kretz added that this gift makes York University one of only a few NAIA schools to possess a mass spectrometer. "Knowing how to use this technique and instrumentation can be beneficial to students going into fields such as graduate studies in chemistry, biology, biochemistry, medical fields, laboratory settings, FDA/DEA, engineering, plant science, etc. This also enhances our ability for students to not just learn how to process the data and information but handson work in utilizing the instrumentation from start to finish and preparing samples, process and completing the laboratory procedure in full.” The gift from Green Plains York of numerous pieces of science laboratory equipment, such as microscopes, lab utensils, etc., stemmed from relationships formed between Dr. Kretz, assistant professor of biology, and two top employees of Green Plains York—Peter Drake, a microbiologist, and Dhawal Dhone, a chemical engineer and plant manager at the research-based ethanol plant in York. "Basically, they had extra equipment sitting around in storage and asked if we could use it," Kretz explained. "The answer was a no-brainer."

Kretz also noted that the Green Plains company would not "give away" the valuable equipment, but would be willing to sell it to York University for a total of $1. "That was another no-brainer," Kretz added. "If we had to pay fairmarket value for those pieces of equipment, the cost would have been between $20,000 and $30,000. "We had met through several professional and civic situations and discovered we had numerous mutual, academic and professional interests. They wanted their leftover equipment to be useful somewhere, and they were kind and generous to consider York University as a beneficiary of this unique gift-in-kind. "I would love to have more, similar $1 sale offers," he concluded.

Dr. Schamp also shared excitement about the two giftsin-kind: "I look forward to the expanded opportunities we can offer students to better prepare them for their scientific careers. Having first-hand experience with this instrumentation will help them stand out in their future endeavors. These donations will help set the new standards of excellence in the academics that York University provides."

p Science equipment recently donated to York

University is being put to good use. Scan to read more details on the story.

PBL BRINGS HOME THE HARDWARE AT STATE AND NATIONAL CONVENTIONS

p Chapter advisor Dr. Stacie

Turnbull stands with two-time

PBL National Champion Diego

Korol, National Runner-up Felipe

Venegas, and Moriah Toledo who took 4th in two events this summer in Chicago.

Fourteen students qualified for nationals after an impressive showing at the Nebraska PBL Leadership Conference last spring. Four students were recognized as Who’s Who recipients in Nebraska PBL: Kitra Cody (SR/ Cody, NE), Allison Myers (JR/Kansas City, MO), Josh Santiago (SR/Norfolk, NE), and Moriah Toledo (SR/Fruitland, NM). Cody, Santiago, and Toledo were also recognized for their service as State PBL Officers during the 2021-22 school year — Santiago serving as President, Cody as VP of Membership, and Toledo as VP of Communications. Stepping up in leadership, Giovanni Froldi (SR/ Campinas, Brazil) was elected as the State PBL Vice President of Finance for the 2022-23 term. The York University chapter was recognized as the largest Nebraska PBL Chapter at a 4-year college for the third year in a row. The Chapter also received a Gold Ranking, based on chapter activities in community service, leadership activities, and career readiness building. Dr. Stacie Turnbull was presented the Nebraska Advisor of the Year award.

At the National PBL Leadership Conference in Chicago, Diego Korol, a first-year graduate student from Santiago, Chile, became York’s first two-time national champion, winning Financial Analysis and Decision Making. Felipe Venegas (SR/Santiago, Chile) was national runner-up as he placed second in Sales Presentation. Venegas and Diego also teamed up in Business Sustainability and placed fourth. Toledo placed fourth in both Human Resource Management and Management Analysis and Decision Making.

“I am extremely proud of our students, who competed against the best of the best.” said Turnbull. “They worked hard to prepare for their events — demonstrating both their own personal leadership abilities and bringing in many years of business education received throughout their time at York.”

York University PBL will move to a new name, in step with the national membership and will now be known as Collegiate FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America).

“We are excited about this change and hope that it will clarify who we are as an organization, as well as connect high school FBLA members with their opportunity to continue growing their leadership skills on the collegiate level,” said Turnbull.

55 of 95

That's the number of fulltime YU employees who are alumni including the seven faculty and staff who joined us this year.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

ERVIN '76

Dr. Randy Ervin

Director of Counseling Services

MILLER '01

Pam Miller

Administrative Assistant for Advancement and Finance

MARTENS '22

Chris Martens

Enrollment Counselor

SMITH '22

Bryce Smith

GILCHRIEST '01

Brian Gilchriest

Associate Professor of Education

COOPER '02

Stephen Cooper

Director of Residence Life & Housing

PITMAN '22

Carys Pitman

Admissions Event Coordinator and Process Manager