business pulse magazine: summer 2014

Summer 2014

M A G A Z I N E

Steve Cowden (left), President, and Brent Cowden, GM

No. 30 Cowden Gravel & Ready-Mix

The Publication of The Whatcom Business Alliance

AffordABle CAre ACt SolutionS, SeptemBer 24

The ‘Buzz’ about whale-watching

52 years in biz

How’s business? Industry reports on Tourism and Construction

WWU’s national-news plastic bottle ban: Does it really help?

OP 100TPrivate CompaniesTheme of the Year – Expansion Guess who’s the first-ever new No. 1

Whatcom County

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The campus bearing the brand Alpha on its main building near the airport in Bellingham serves as the centerpiece of a global enterprise that sits No. 1 among Whatcom County privately-owned businesses. (Photo courtesy of Alpha Technologies)

TOP 100: bundle Of business acumen TOP ($600m) TO bOTTOm ($5m)

Our annual Top Private Companies list starts with the conglomerate of allied companies that make up

the Alpha Group, which combined for over $600 million in gross revenues last year and employs more than 1,500 across more than a dozen countries. Alpha Technologies (engineering, marketing, sales) and Altair Advanced Industries (manufacturing) form the cornerstones. Haggen, which closed eight stores in 2013 and announced two more closings this spring, dropped to No. 2 for the first time in the history of Business Pulse listings.

HOuse-building PrOjecTs encOuraging

The crash of ’08 hurt severely. The bulk of residential builders and the commercial

contractors outside of heavy industrial who braved the fall, while certainly not booming again, have slowly crawled back to solvency. Still, permitting and other fees and rising land costs create reality checks, and indicators aren’t breaking the optimism meter.

cOncreTe and gravel sPecialisTs HOlding grOund

Caution flags wave around five WBA-member companies who have cemented

their business footprint by diversifying through hard times. Each comments on how they survived. One broke through, Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix, thanks mainly to gravel contracts for rail projects at the oil refineries of Cherry Point. The company more than doubled sales in 2013 over the previous year.

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His business isn’T gOing uP in smOke

Timothy Furre lit up an e-cigarette five years ago on a curious whim. The vaporous result led him to ditch his truck, invest

half in this chic new way of lighting up, and next thing you know he’s in Blaine, Wash. (moving at random from Ohio) and has 34 employees in a burgeoning company. Last year’s $5 million in sales landed ECX – EcigExpress – in the Whatcom Top 100 privately-owned companies, on track for a 60 percent increase this year.

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This month we have takes on water – both the ongoing conflicts over rights to usage countywide in a one-two combo of analysis (p. 84) and commentary (p. 87), and the banning of plastic bottles of H2O on the WWU campus (p. 76). A fascinating story of

SeaTac Airport’s transformation to world-class through Lean CSX appears on p. 80. Two new column entries spice things up – one on the use of Evernote, one a quiz to test your HR knowledge. Life in the Tech Lane talks travel app (p. 94), and that knotty problem of minimum wage holds some surprising insights (p. 74).

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Table of ConTenTs

14

Industry reports on the fIve-year dent In ConstruCtIon

42

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Managing Editor:Mike McKenzie

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Feature Writers:susan G. ColeKimberly Harrissherri HuleattCheryl stritzel McCarthyMike McKenzie

Special Contributors:Roger almskaar/CaPRTech Help/big freshRandall bensonbellingham/Whatcom County Tourism

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Business Pulse Magazine is the publication of the Whatcom business alliance. The magazine is published at 2423 e. bakerview Rd., bellingham, Wa 98226. (360) 671-3933. fax (360) 671-3934. The yearly subscription rate is $20 in the Usa, $48 in Canada. for a free digital subscription, go to businesspulse.com or whatcombusinessalliance.com. entire contents copyrighted © 2014 – Business Pulse Magazine. all rights reserved.

POSTMASTER:send address changes to Business Pulse Magazine, 2423 e bakerview Rd., bellingham, Wa 98226.

THe $574 milliOn PaylOad – TOurisTs

Tourism in Whatcom County abounds — from the waterways to the mountain top, and,

yes, camelbacks. The recreation and leisure-time dollars spent, and the taxes extracted from them, pack a powerful punch in real-time commerce, the job market, and the residuals of community services. (Photo courtesy of Camel Safari)

Table of ConTenTs

nOT yOur Ordinary farmers markeT

Typically, a farmers market conjures visions of healthy veggies, fresh from the earth,

and a multitude of other foodstuffs. Bellingham’s ever-popular, and ever-expanding version feeds the tourism coffers, too, and it took $1.7 million in sales to the bank in 2013 with its wide variety of vendor attractions.

THree businesses make fairHaven Terminal Hum

Three themes wrap around a people-moving Fairhaven Terminal as

part of the local touristy draw. San Juan Cruises that sets up watch-tours for whales and birds. Leap Frog Taxi makes shuttling easy around the islands. The MV Kennicott and the Malaspina ferried more than 26,000 to and from our 49th state last year.

6054

say iT all TOgeTHer nOW – ‘gOOey’-duck!a micrOscOPic lOOk aT enTrePreneur’s dream

Leah Paisano put her marine biology background to the test the last two years with a

startup of hatching geoduck and oyster seeds to sell to farmers who sell to the marketplace which sells to the foodie consumer. Lummi Island Shellfish doubled its harvest in Year Two, and there’s no end in sight to continued growth. A geoduck, by the way, evolves from a 50-cent commodity to a $300/pound gourmet delicacy.

63

48

PersOnally sPeaking – 52 years On THe WaTer

Seated in an office overlooking boat piers in the Bellingham waterfront, and decorated with dozens of photographs of every boat he’s owned or built – and a sketch of John Wayne – Terry Buzzard details his many water-business adventures that started when he had $8.32 in his pocket at age 20.

68


Your business success story starts here.

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In this edition we proudly highlight our annual list

of the top job creators of Whatcom County. We call them our Top 100 Private Companies. They must be privately-owned and their corporate office must be located in our community.

The backbone of the U.S. econ-omy isn’t Wall Street, it’s “Main Street.”

Main Street is lined with the smaller private businesses. The Small Business Administration defines them as having under 500 employees. These businesses rep-resent 99.7 percent of all firms in the United States. They employ just over half of all private-sector employees, pay 44 percent of the total U.S. private-sector payroll, account for more than half of non-farm Gross Domestic Product, and have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the last 15 years.

The Whatcom County Top 100 companies account for more than $3.5 billion in annual sales locally and provide employment to more than 15,000 local families.

As you read through the list

you’ll recognize many of the busi-ness leaders who run the com-panies. Many have spent their professional lives building and run-ning their own business. It’s more than just their job, it’s their core family asset, their livelihood, and their retirement. In many cases, it defines them in our community. Thousands of employees and their families depend on the success of these businesses.

Our community depends on their revenue flows that fund schools, create new jobs, add sig-nificantly to the tax base, and form our economic backbone. When businesses like these shut down, the losses to the local economy can be lasting and profound. Employees may experience prolonged unem-ployment and costly relocation, and our economy and government revenues can be severely affected. History has shown that it can take decades for communities to recover. Some never recover at all.

That foundational concept led to our formation of the Whatcom Business Alliance (WBA). The WBA believes that without busi-ness success, there is no community prosperity.

WBA INITIATIVESI’m delighted to share a couple of

new initiatives the WBA is work-ing on that we believe will facilitate your business success.

In recent polling we identi-fied a primary concern of WBA members. The super majority are concerned about the rising costs of healthcare insurance and new government mandates as part of the Affordable Care Act. Many com-panies don’t know how they will comply, or exactly what they must comply with. Some are concerned because they’ve received notification of another significant increase in healthcare insurance costs for 2015.

At the beginning of this year, with guidance from the WBA’s outstanding board of directors, I began the process of developing a health-insurance product for WBA members designed to save signifi-cant money on premiums; to avoid the annual health insurance shuffle, and to stop the spiraling annual increases we have all become accus-tomed to.

The product is based on a very successful, innovative model that literally has saved one of our board-member companies more than $4 million in health insurance costs over the last several years. This year they actually have seen a reduction in their premiums.

We will launch this product at a

“main street”The primary driver of our community prosperity

– Whatcom’s Top 100

leaDInG off

Tony larson | President, Whatcom Business Alliance

The Whatcom business alliance is a member organization made up of businesses of every size and shape, from every industry. The Wba enhances the quality of life throughout Whatcom County by promoting a healthy business climate that preserves and creates good jobs.


breakfast meeting this Sept. 24 at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club – an Affordable Care Act Symposium focused on real solu-tions.

If you have 25 or more employ-ees, I strongly urge you to attend. This could be a very big deal for your business. We are testing the product with 20 local companies representing more than 2,000 employees, ranging from 25-to-300-plus employees. They come from a cross section of industries and, so far, the feedback has been exceptional.

Register for the event at www.whatcombusinessalliance.com, or give me a call if you’d like a pre-view.

R&E FUNDIn addition, the WBA is creat-

ing a Research and Education fund to generate revenue to conduct research, to commission studies, and to enlighten WBA members and the entire community as an honest, informed broker on issues that will impact local business and industry in significant ways.

Already under way is an econom-ic-impact study focused on existing industry at Cherry Point. The value and appropriateness of Cherry Point as a heavy industrial area has been questioned by a growing number of people, as reported in local publica-tions. Some suggest that industry at Cherry Point is not a job creator, but rather a job killer.

The WBA has teamed with economists from Western Washington University and the University of Washington to address this question. Contributions to this fund are strictly voluntary. If you would like to participate, or learn about some of the other R&E projects, please give me a call on my direct line, 360.746.0411.

If you are not a current member of the WBA, I invite you to learn more about our non-partisan mis-sion and how you can be involved. We have several opportunities com-

ing up for you to connect with our members and board of directors.

You can attend the WBA Night at the Ballpark with the Bellingham Bells July 17, or other events: mem-ber appreciation boat cruise Aug. 19; Affordable Care Act sympo-sium Sept. 24; Business Expo & Conference Oct. 23; Economic Forecast Breakfast Nov. 19, and the Christmas networking social Dec 17.

In addition, you can attend our upcoming Industry Tours and

board meetings that include a guest speaker.

To participate in these activities, go to www.WhatcomBusinessAlliance.com, or call me personally. And, as always, your input is very much appreciated and valued.

Enjoy this edition of Business Pulse Magazine.

Tony Larson

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WHaTCoMbUsInessallIanCe.CoM | 11

One word, signifying business successes,

jumps off the chart of this year’s Top Whatcom County privately-owned businesses: Expansion.

Several companies have opened new locations, grown through acquisition, and expanded their market reach.

The new leader on the list, Alpha Group, recently made two large acquisitions. (See story on page 15.)

Among others who expanded during the last 18 months:

• Birch Equipment owner Sarah Rothenbuhler announced plans to open two new stores to its chain that includes Bellingham, Anacortes, Mount Vernon, and Sitka, Alaska. Birch ranks in the Top 100 equipment rental compa-nies in the U.S.

• Hoagland Pharmacy opened a specialized facility in Sedro-Woolley last year to provide not only general retail, but also durable medical equipment and sleep apnea equipment, with a respiratory technician among four new jobs. Michael Hoagland, a finalist for our 2014 Business Person of the Year Award in March, revealed plans to add space to the company’s specialty services for long-term care in Bellingham’s Haskell Business Complex.

• Redden Marine Supply recent-ly opened a new store in Seattle, a combined retail (boating, recre-ational fishing) and distribution warehouse (wholesale commercial fishing) on Lake Washington Ship Canal. Redden started in Alaska in 1959, supplying commercial fish-

eries, and still has stores there in Anchorage, Homer, and Cordova.

• TD Curran became one of the fastest-growing companies in the listing, opening three new stores, giving them five. In March of ’13 Curran opened in Burlington, and this year in Issaquah and in Portland, Ore., just last month.

• The Woods Coffee added its 14th coffee shop, Lakeway in Bellingham, last year and recently grew the company’s scope by adding a roasterie and cupping lab to its Lynden headquarters location. The Woods began roasting its own cof-fee last year, and later this year will open business in Skagit County.

• Acquisitions – one buying, one selling – took Wilson Motors and Wood Stone Corporation in Bellingham large leaps forward. Wilson acquired King Nissan, add-ing 50 percent more jobs (total 90 now).

• And Wood Stone Corporation, the worldwide leader in stone hearth cooking equip-ment, agreed last December to a sale to Henny Penny in Ohio, a global leader in foodservice equip-ment solutions and the inventor of the first commercial pressure fryer. Wood Stone’s headquarters and leadership remained in Bellingham.

Those are the two criteria upon which our annual listing is built – privately-owned companies based in Whatcom County.

The companies in our listing primarily are those that confirmed their 2013 sales and employment numbers. But we also include some that we know from reli-able sources belong on the list, but either declined or did not respond to requests for their confirmation. (Some companies prefer not to dis-close their sales, even though we

hold specific numbers in confidence and use bracketing for the rankings within various ranges.)

Altogether the listed companies this year accounted for about $3.5 billion in gross revenues, and sup-port more than 15,000 employees.

Several industries showed some encouraging growth – not sharp, but steady – such as heavy commer-cial construction. Technology con-tinues to add jobs and automobile sales remains one of the main eco-nomic indicators around the nation, and by all accounts they have shown consistent gains during the last year – especially used vehicles.

We were pleased to discover some newcomers to the list this year, both at the top, Alpha Group (an expanded listing over last year’s No. 2, Alpha Technologies), and at the lowest qualifying sales range, $5 million. A profile of one of those appears after the listing – the remarkable story of EcigExpress growing from $4,000 to $5 million in just five years.

Enjoy the read.

ToP 100 PRIVaTe CoMPanIes

The Trend of the year: expansionBy the Business Pulse Staff

Grace Borsari, CEO and Chair, spends a great deal of time in the last half of her company’s name, Altair, part of the Alpha Group in Bellingham and Suwanee, Ga. She’s an accomplished pilot, and she loves to go places in her company helicopter – a Colibri, which translates to “Hummingbird” in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. (Photo courtesy of Alpha Technologies)


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WHaTCoM ToP 100: neW no. 1


New No. 1 corners its world market at more than $600 million, providing 450 jobs locally

Article by Mike McKenzie, Managing EditorPhotos courtesy of Alpha Technologies

The massive Alpha manufacturing plant in Suwanee, Ga.

The Alpha of County private business


The new No. 1 listing belongs to an

international-enterprise company headquartered near the entrance to Bellingham International Airport named – simply, and so apropos – Alpha.

The Alpha Group, consisting of multiple allied companies in beaucoup locations and providing services all over the globe, accu-mulated sales in excess of $600 million last year, employing more

than 1,500 in 13 countries. The home base, a sprawling complex on its own street, Alpha Way, provides more than 450 jobs in Whatcom County.

During the last few years we have listed Alpha Technologies – it was No. 2 last year at $250 million-plus. It is the foundation upon which Alpha Group grew. But further research, and information provided by company co-founders Grace Borsari and Fred Kaiser revealed the even-broader scope of the unique business that they start-ed 38 years ago as a manufacturer of power-supply backup systems to cable TV providers.

That industry remains alive and well, commanding an estimated 80-85 percent of the worldwide market (Alpha’s branded power supply box is visible on nearly every cable power pole you see). From a humble beginning of hand-made backup units in Canada, three core companies grew, and grew, and grew.

Alpha Technologies Ltd. 1. came first in 1976 in Burnaby, B.C., with the original cable power-supply backups.Altair Advanced Industries 2.

Inc. started in 1978 at the Bellingham site. With Borsari as its CEO and chairwoman, Altair is the only contract manufacturer of the thousands of Alpha products in the U.S.Alpha Technologies 3. Inc. formed in 1980 in Bellingham as the market-ing, sales, and engineer-ing component in the U.S. Kaiser serves as CEO and chairman.

The first three companies remain the cornerstone of the Alpha Group, which is an alliance of eight independent companies that stand (as stated on its website) “…united by a common goal: the development and manufacturing of total power solutions.”

Alpha Group has seven other facilities in Australia; Brazil; Canada; Germany; Phoenix, Ariz.; Russia, and Suwanee, Ga. They also do business around the world with offices in, to name a few, the Bahamas, Belgium, Cyprus, England, Hong Kong, India, and Mexico.

The business blankets five major product and services areas – cable and TV broadband, industrial

WHaTCoM ToP 100: neW no. 1

In all the years of Business Pulse Publication's listing of the highest-produc-ing companies in the region, one company has had a lock on the top spot: Haggen, the family grocery empire.

until now.

At the grand opening ceremony of an Alpha acquisition, Outback Power Technologies in Arlington, Wash., Alpha co-founder Grace Borsari’s scissors didn’t work, and here she displays her substitute ribbon-cutter – the Swiss Army knife that she carries at all times. As CEO/Chair of Altair Advanced Industries, Borsari participated along with Gov. Jay Inslee (far left) and Alpha Technologies Co-founder/CEO/Chair Fred Kaiser, and President/COO Drew Zogby (far right).(Photo courtesy of the Marysville Globe)


power, renewable energy, wire-less power, and security systems. Beyond that, Alpha Group prod-ucts cover industries like WiMAX, headend, utilities, medical, park-ing, traffic control, communica-tions, and data.

Satellite and solar have become Alpha buzzwords. During 2013, for example, expansion included the acquisition last November of the solar-specialty firm NavSemi Energy in Bangalore, India.

Last August a grand opening took place in Arlington, Wash., of the Alpha Group acquisition of Outback Power Technologies that specializes in solar and renewable energy for products known for backup support in harsh environ-mental conditions.

Furthermore, Alpha has designed, furnished, and com-missioned a large number of solar systems up to 1 megawatt (1 mil-lion watts). Numerous systems have been built and operated under power purchase agreements (PPAs) across the entire U.S.

During the first half of this year, as Alpha continues to grow like wildfire, headline accomplishments include:

Emergency response by •Alpha Technologies in aid-ing Missouri and Chicago regions during an April storm crisis. The company’s services division that centers on maintenance and repairs stepped in when utilities and transportation hubs, such as O’Hare International Airport, became disabled.Introduction to the market •of an emergency backup por-table generator for cable TV, broadband and telecommu-nications applications.A major firmware upgrade •for its massive Alpha Net family of status monitoring cards.

Alpha leaves no room for debate over its rightful place in the lead-off spot of the Top 100.

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2013 Rank

2012 Rank Company Location Founded Employees:

Region Total Top Executive

More than $600 million

1 2 The Alpha Group Power solutions for Broadband, Telecomm and renewable energy sectors

Bellingham 1976 450 1,500 Grace Borsari/Fred Kaiser

More than $450 million

2 1 Haggen Inc. Supermarkets and pharmacies

Bellingham 1933 762 2,098 John Turley/Clements Stevens

$145 – $175 million

3 4 Exxel Pacific Integrated design and general contractor

Bellingham 1989 120 150 Kevin DeVries

4 7 Haskell Corporation Large-scale construction

Bellingham 1890 150 300 Fred Haskell

$100 – $125 million

5 NL McEvoy Oil Company Agricultural, marine, and fleet fueling

Bellingham 1932 25 25 Tim McEvoy

6 3 The Markets LLC Supermarkets

Bellingham 2008 323 515 Kevin Weatherill

7 9 Dawson Construction Inc. Large-scale construction

Bellingham 1967 75 145 Pete Dawson

8 6 LTI Inc. Transport of dry and liquid bulk commodities

Lynden 1947 110 570 Brad Williamson

9 5 Grizzly Industrial Inc. Manufacture and sell woodworking and metal-working machinery

Bellingham 1983 100 350 Shiraz Balolia

$85 – $90 million

10 8 Samson Rope Technologies Inc. Synthetic rope manufacturer

Ferndale 1878 200 320 Tony Bon

$70 – $75 million

11 11 Whatcom Farmers Coop Convenience stores, energy/propane and agronomy sales

Lynden 1941 200 200 Don Eucker

12 10 IMCO General Construction Heavy construction

Bellingham 1978 72 206 Frank Imhof/Tyler Kimberley

13 NL Bornstein Seafoods Inc. Seafood sourcing, sales and distribution

Bellingham 1934 100 300 Colin Bornstein

14 NL ELP Feed LLC Ag feed and nutrition

Sumas 2011 45 60 Rex Warolin

Since late 2011, the company HQ’d in Sumas (formerly Elenbaas Feed for 65 years) has grown as part of a feed manufacturing joint venture with Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC (Minnesota-based, w/4,535 co-ops/partnerships). ELP specializes in com-mercial dairy nutrition, management, and consulting, and includes LOLPF plants in Everson and Othello, Wash.

$60 – $65 million

15 12 Barlean's Organic Oils Creates/distributes flaxseed, Omega 3, and other supplements

Ferndale 1989 190 200 Bruce Barlean/John Puckett


2013 Rank



16 16 Wilson Motors New and used car dealerships

Bellingham 1960 120 120 Rick Wilson/Julian Greening

A big year (about 20% increased sales) included not only the purchase of the Nissan brand, but also from exceptional used-vehicle sales and from a booming service department, according to company president Julian Greening. Rick Wilson was a finalist this year for Whatcom Business Person of the Year.

17 14 Anvil Corporation Engineering and procurement solutions

Bellingham 1971 384 512 Gordy Lindell

$50 – $60 million

18 15 Mt. Baker Products Inc. Manufacturers of plywood veneer, lumber and plywood

Bellingham 1993 130 130 Rod Remington

19 17 Keith Oil Co Wholesale petrolium bulk station

Ferndale 1980 7 7 Sam Boulos

20 18 Absorption Corp. Pet litter, bedding & food; spill cleanup & indus-trial products

Bellingham 1985 72 122 Ted Mischaikov

21 13 Diamond B Constructors Commercial and industrial contractors

Bellingham 1909 225 325 Pete Chapman

$40 – $45 million

22 21 Logos Bible Software Computer software

Bellingham 1992 350 378 Bob Pritchett

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2013 Rank



23 20 Saturna Capital Mutual funds manager and investor

Bellingham 1989 61 77 Jane Carten

24 22 Smith Gardens Wholesale producer of garden plants, nursery, and garden center supplies

Bellingham 1901 200 600 Eric Smith

25 19 Seafood Producers Cooperative Fishery, processor and marketer of premium seafood

Bellingham 1944 9 120 Tom McLaughlin

$35 – $40 million

26 23 Walton Beverage PepsiCo beverage distribution

Ferndale 1931 135 135 Ford Carothers

27 28 Superfeet Premium insole designer, manufacturer, and wholesaler

Ferndale 1977 68 116 Scott Dohner

This worldwide leader in its 37th year of producing podiatry-designed insoles is sponsoring the Michael Koenen Foundation summer football camp, hosted by professional football players Michael Koenen and Jack Locker from Ferndale, on July 20 at Ferndale HS for youths in 3rd-9th grades.

$30 – $35 million

28 24 Hardware Sales General hardware, cabinets, office furniture, and B-to-B industrial sales

Bellingham 1962 123 123 Jerry McClellan/Ty McClellan/LaDonna George

29 27 Farmers Equipment Company Berry harvesters, farm & construction equipment

Lynden 1935 35 74 Ken Stremler

30 50 Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix Provider of gravel, concrete, and insulated con-crete forms (ICFs)

Bellingham 1946 85 85 Steve Cowden/Brent Cowden

31 NL Hempler Foods Group Meat processor

Ferndale 1934 80 80 Richard Hempler/Stephen Bates

32 NL Redden Marine Supply Marine and commercial fishing supplies

Bellingham 1959 55 158 Randy Chiabai

One of several companies opening new locations recently (Seattle), Redden is a commercial fishing gear distributor and supplier of recreational boat parts. Also it operates Redden Nets that covers barrier nets, and netting for golf courses, driving ranges, batting cages, stadiums, landfill trash barriers, aviary netting, and environmental apps.

33 34 Dewey Griffin Suburu GMC Buick New and used car dealership

Bellingham 1967 50 50 Dick Meyer

34 25 Flora Inc. Manufacturer/Distributor of organic oils, teas, tonics, and supplements

Lynden 1987 82 118 Gerardo Quiroz

35 26 Kam Way Full-service transportation brokerage

Blaine 2008 29 35 Kam Sihota

36 31 Tiger Construction Ltd. Excavating and commercial building contractor

Everson 1974 30 35 Ken Isenhart



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LITIGATION | BUSINESS | MUNICIPAL | ENVIRONMENT | LAND USE | REAL ESTATE | DEVELOPMENT

Seven for Seven

It Takes a Team


2013 Rank



37 NL Rice Insurance Full-service insurance agency

Bellingham 1946 49 53 Greg Gudbranson

$25 – $30 million

38 33 Family Care Network Family practice, clinics, community connections

Bellingham 1999 312 360 Dr. Marcy Hipskind

39 45 Western Refinery Services Industrial maintenance and construction

Ferndale 1990 225 250 Bill VanZanten

40 30 Sound Beverage Distributors Inc Wholesale beer, wine, and distilled beverage

Bellingham 1950 80 85 Dean Shintaffer

Expanding its reach with craft beers in surrounding Skagit, San Juan, and Island Counties, Dale and Elaine Shintaffer started as what an industry publication described as, “…Distributors of an undistinguished wine and nondescript beer. Their modest down payment also purchased two broken-down trucks and an antique soft-drink bottling operation.”

41 37 Bellingham Cold Storage Full-service public refrigerated warehousing

Bellingham 1946 185 225 Doug Thomas

42 39 Mills Electric Co. Electrical contractor

Bellingham 1911 120 150 John Huntley

43 53 Wood Stone Corp. Wood- and gas-fired pizza ovens/commercial and home-cooking equipment

Bellingham 1990 130 130 Kurt Eickmeyer/Wade Bobb


2013 Rank



44 NL Brooks Manufacturing Distribution cross-arms and transmission framing components

Bellingham 1935 55 55 John Ferlin

45 48 TD Curran Apple specialists

Bellingham 1992 28 42 Troy Curran

One of the fastest-expanding businesses around, a new store opened in Portland recently (see p. 12). The business moved up two categories in sales from 2012 with more than 50% gains, and owner Troy Curran (left) said he expects a similarly strong 2014 report.

$20 – $25 million

46 36 Cascade Dafo Inc. Designer, manufacturer of dynamic orthoses and pediatric bracing

Ferndale 1982 260 262 Cheryl Persse

47 NL Edaleen Dairy Plant for processing and distributing milk and ice cream from 2,500 Holsteins, plus 3 retail stores

Lynden 1975 92 92 Mitch Moorlag

48 32 Specified Fittings HDPE & PVC pipe fitting manufacturer

Bellingham 1997 140 170 Kathleen Gundel

49 29 Andgar Corporation Residential heating/AC; metal fabrication; archi-tectural metal; biogas digester technology

Ferndale 1973 102 121 Todd Kunzman

50 47 Diehl Ford New and used car dealership

Bellingham 1908 60 60 Mike Diehl

51 35 Blue Sea Systems Design and manufacturer AC/DC electrical prod-ucts for marine and specialized vehicles

Bellingham 1992 75 78 Scott Renne

52 41 Mt. Baker Imaging Radiology, image interpretation, and imaging during low-invasive surgery

Bellingham 1965 100 100 Dr. Peter Buetow

53 40 Vital Choice Wild Seafood Web-based wild seafood and organic products

Ferndale 2001 30 30 Randy Hartnell

$15 – $20 million

54 38 Scholten's Equipment Agriculture and construction equipment sales

Lynden 1980 31 31 Duane Scholten

55 42 Dealer Information Systems Producer of business info systems for ag, con-struction equipment, and lift truck dealerships

Bellingham 1980 88 125 Randy McIntyre

56 54 Tri Van Truck Body Manufacturer of custom-designed, specialty commercial-use truck bodies

Ferndale 2006 110 110 Cason VanDriel/Marty VanDriel

57 43 Hoagland Pharmacy Retail pharmacy, medical equip, special services

Bellingham 1981 76 76 Mike Hoagland

58 44 Moncrieff Construction Concrete Construction

Lynden 1992 22 100 Sam Moncrieff


2013 Rank



59 46 Anderson Paper & Packaging Paper and packaging solutions

Ferndale 1991 41 49 Rick Anderson

60 49 ALRT Corporation Logging and road construction

Everson 1990 60 60 Bill Westergreen

$12 – $15 million

61 50 Birch Equipment Rental & Sales Equipment and tool rental

Bellingham 1972 48 80 Sarah Rothenbuhler

62 58 Barron Heating and Air Conditioning Heating, air conditioning, and ventilation sales and service

Ferndale 1972 75 77 John Barron/Bill Pinkey

63 52 Roosendaal-Honcoop Construction Full-service general contractor providing con-struction and pre-construction services

Bellingham 1979 25 25 Gary Honcoop

$10 – $12 million

64 55 Dickerson Distributors Inc. Distributors of beer, wine, and spirits

Bellingham 1984 39 47 Kevin Dickerson

65 56 Elenbaas Company Inc. Fertilizer and horse feed supplier

Lynden 1951 22 22 Dennis Elenbaas

66 63 Northwest Health Care Linen Health-care laundry management services

Bellingham 1993 125 125 James Hall

67 57 Western Forest Products Commercial distributor of lumber products

Bellingham 1981 18 25 Jon Maulin

68 59 Management Services Northwest Inc. General building maintenance and landscaping

Ferndale 1995 116 124 Janelle Bruland

69 61 Pro CNC Engineering services, contract assembly, vertical-ly-integrated CNC machine shop

Bellingham 1997 75 75 Noel Murphy

After another banner year, the company sold to Trulife out of Dublin, Ireland, last January. Co-founder Paul Van Metre stayed on as VP/Sales & Marketing, and his partners started a different business. Most recent manufacturing products: metal door parts for Boeing 787s, and top-end saxophone parts.

70 66 Barkley Company Developing and leasing commercial and residen-tial properties

Bellingham 1990 10 10 Jeff Kochman

71 69 Bramble Berry Inc. Soap-making supplies

Bellingham 1998 43 75 Anne-Marie Faiola

$8 – $10 million

72 NL Vander Yacht Propane Inc. Commercial and Residential Propane

Lynden 1989 12 12 Bryan Vander Yacht

73 64 Bellair Charters & Airporter Shuttle Bus transportation for airports and charter

Ferndale 1985 65 78 Richard Johnson

74 62 All American Marine Builder of high-speed, passenger, aluminum cata-marans, survey craft, research vessels

Bellingham 1987 45 45 Matt Mullett

75 60 Lister Chain and Forge Manufacturer of ships anchor chain, navigational buoy chain, anchors & fittings

Blaine 1911 28 28 Michael Stobbart



2013 Rank



76 68 The Woods Coffee Coffee shops and bakery

Lynden 2002 170 170 Wes Herman

77 65 Larson Gross PLLC Certified public accountants & consultants

Bellingham 1949 69 74 Aaron Brown

$5 – $8 million

78 NL Bellingham Travel and Cruise Full-service travel agency

Bellingham 1958 11 11 Frank Zurline

79 NL Dick Bedlington Farms Potato farming

Lynden 1972 35 35 Scott Bedlington

80 67 Samuel's Furniture Retail and interior design services

Ferndale 1981 34 34 Elie Samuel

81 NL G.K.Knutson Inc. Drywall, cold formed metal framing

Bellingham 1997 15 45 Greg Knutson

82 NL Comphey Co. Home bedding products

Ferndale 2004 22 25 Pamela "Mia" Richardson

83 74 Erin Baker's Wholesome Baked Goods Wholesale baker and distributor

Bellingham 1994 40 40 Erin Baker

84 ECX LLC (E-Cig Express) Web based retailer of smoke products

Ferndale 2009 34 34 Timothy Furre

85 70 Signs Plus Inc. Full-service sign manufacturer, installation and maintenance

Bellingham 1992 28 28 Jim Sutterfield



Making the leap to your next adventure can be scary. What will happen to

your business? Can you afford your bucket list? When it comes to business

transition and personal financial planning services, we’ve got your back.

Bucket list item no. 7

360 734 4280

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larsongross.com

Whatcom

Skagit

Bellingham

Burlington

Lynden

Company Location

Unconfirmed

Allsop Inc. Bellingham

Bellingham Marine Industries Ferndale

Builders Alliance Bellingham

Enfield Farms Lynden

Fast Cap Inc. Bellingham

Maberry Packing LLC Lynden

Nuova Simonelli Ferndale

Pioneer Foods Inc. Bellingham

Sanitary Service Company Bellingham

Silver Reef Hotel Casino Spa Ferndale

Sterling Life Insurance Bellingham

Strider Construction Bellingham

Totally Chocolate Blaine

Trans Ocean Products Bellingham

Westside Building Supply Lynden

At the time of publication our staff had not confirmed sales numbers or groupings for the privately-owned companies listed below. Through information from other sources, we believe they meet our criteria for the Top 100 Private Companies —privately-owned and headquartered in Whatcom County. We list them alphabetically. If you are aware of any company not listed that you think meets our criteria, please email your tip to [email protected].

86 – 100


WHaTCoM ToP 100: no. 84 eCX

Article and Photos by Mike McKenzie

Vapor Vroom:With a back-story as a smoker and respiratory therapist, Furre’s inspiration for

EcigExpress soared from $2,000 start-up to $5 million in 5 years

ECX owner Timothy Furre (left) and his brother, company VP for marketing/sales/business strategy Ivan Furre


Five years ago Timothy Furre sold his ’98

Chevy Silverado extended pickup truck for $4,000. He invested half of it in inventory of a product that had caught his eye on the Internet: electronic cigarettes and flavored vapors.

His interest stemmed from two personal experiences. He’d been a smoker many years, and he was working in a hospital with patients who had respiratory problems. “I stumbled upon an article and thought, ‘Oh, what’s that?’ I’d never heard of e-cigarettes. I bought one, thought it was really cool, and sent to China for my first order.”

Using a website and shipping out of a small laundry room in his house, Furre sold his initial sup-ply quickly, and he reinvested in more. “Sales basically doubled month-over-month for a year,” he said. That led him to undertake the business full-time, and to move to Whatcom County from Ohio.

Today his company, EcigExpress, employs 34 and is on track for $8 million in retail sales this year. New to the Whatcom Top 100 Private Companies, EcigExpress does about 90 percent of its sales through e-commerce. The rest comes from its three retail outlets (downtown Bellingham, Seattle’s Pioneer Square, and suburban Lynnwood).

The company operates out of two warehouses, a lab, and an office on the southern fringe of where Ferndale blends into rural Bellingham. The warehouses stocks about 1,200 flavors – both import-

ed (mostly) and created (relatively few) in the home lab. Do-it-yourself buyers can select from more than 4,000 products on EcigExpress.com.

“We’ve been kinda lucky, I guess,” Furre said. “I didn’t have a business plan or anything. I just went with a feeling.”

What he had was motivation from having tried “probably 10 dif-ferent times” to stop smoking, and from working as a paramedic, and then at a VA hospital in Cleveland as a respiratory therapist, a career field he earned a degree in from the University of Akron. He took inter-est in some research that indicated electronic cigarettes could support breaking the nicotine habit.

The company website also offers a long list of other possible benefits of “vaping,” as the industry calls it (vapor, instead of smoke), starting with the total control the user has over nicotine dosage – ranging from none to strong.

Furre had no past experience in business, other than attempts to sell homemade soap more as a hobby than a business that, he said,

Though most products come from abroad, ECX creates some e-cigarette flavors in its home lab, such as these casks of Peach Fusion.

“We’ve been kinda lucky… I didn’t have a

business plan or anything. I just went with a feeling.”

–Timothy Furre, Owner, EcigExpress


basically broke even. Because his wife, Grace, is a pharmacist reg-istered in Canada, they sought a place to live near a northern border. In November of 2010 they found Blaine randomly on a map, moved, and Furre set up shop. “It was by the ocean,” he said, “so we figured it must be nice.”

After a year in Custer, the com-merce moved to the downtown Bellingham location that now is a retail store, and soon outgrew it. They moved to the expansive ware-houses off Slater Road. Prideful of operating as a “green” company, EcigExpress handles all of its own packaging and shipping.

Their largest building, 6,400 square feet, contains the office, customer service phone center, ship-ping, lab, and hundreds of shelves lined with vapor f lavors. The smaller warehouse contains 2,400 square feet of inventory that arrives frequently in fully-loaded semi-

trailer trucks. Materials come from all over the world, mostly China by boat, but also Germany, Italy, and Poland from among thousands of f lavor companies.

Ivan Furre, Timothy’s brother, serves as a vice-president in the company and oversees marketing, sales, and business strategy while continuing work on a PhD. “I help grow the business and open new stores,” Ivan Furre said. He also manages social media, especially in tracking developments in regula-tions.

The company’s growth strat-egy is “diversification,” Timothy Furre said. “We have to ensure a variety of resources, in case one of our retail stores goes belly up. The strategy for the retail is that every new store supports two other stores.”

In a burgeoning young industry that already faces serious overhaul-ing because of proposed federal regulations, EcigExpress distin-guishes itself, Furre said, by having the widest variety of f lavors and other materials and, through mass purchasing power, lower pricing.

Rose Vogel, director of human resources for 34 employees at ECX, presents workshops on HR topics around the area. She also is a new guest columnist for Business Pulse on behalf of Mt. Baker Chapter of the Society of Human Resources Professionals (page 78).


“(Regulations) probably will change the way we all

do business… The little guys will get pushed out. But I’m not so worried as most others… because

we don’t make our living manufacturing. We have a

(flavors) niche.”–Timothy Furre


The company website blog tracks updates on proposed legislation, studies and research, and ground-swell movements by the petitioning Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA).

“It probably will change the way we all (in the industry) do business over the next two to four years. The little guys will get pushed out,” Timothy Furre said. “Big tobacco companies will buy everything out. But I’m not so worried as most oth-ers in this business.”

Why isn’t Furre overly con-cerned? “Because we don’t make our living manufacturing the products,” he explained. “We have a niche. We keep adding more f lavors and more products in a wider variety, and that creates a high demand. Especially with other (e-cigarette) businesses, where we make about half of our sales wholesale.”

Although EcigExpress offers all products – the base, the stem,

An e-cigarette gets loaded with a liquid flavor, such as the Tiger’s Blood shown here, which then becomes an inhalable, natural ingredients vapor when heated – free of tar and other menacing chemicals, and with or without nicotine.

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etc. – its core product remains vapor f lavors. “The hobbyist isn’t our customer,” he said. “We’re not the place for hardware. We’re all about consumable goods, the largest selec-tion of f lavors.”

As a smoker who switched to e-cigs, and a purveyor of the prod-ucts, Furre wants to keep users and

prospective users well-informed about the possible upsides to vapor over smoke, with, of course, no guarantees that anyone might break the smoking habit or cut down on nicotine.

“Even if they don’t quit, most

people don’t realize there are more than 4,000 chemicals and addi-tives in tobacco cigarettes. There’s no combustion, so no tar that scars lungs. E-cigs are simple – the base, the f lavor, the nicotine, and the e-cigarette. You know your ingredi-ents, choose the amount of nicotine, or none, and the f lavors are food grade.”

Detractors, i.e., consumer groups, counter that a non-smoker will become a smoker and nicotine user through the popular appeal, the “cool” factor, of e-cigarettes. Timothy Furre doesn’t go there for debate, but as father of a 2 ½-year-old daughter, Samantha, he shows emotion in talking about protecting children.

He operates from his own expe-rience, having cut the tobacco and nicotine habit. “I started smoking at age 15,” he said. “I just know that I now breathe better, and feel better.”

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The Furres, Ohioans, picked Blaine at random. “It was by the ocean, so

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business bOX scOreECIG EXPRESS

business: Online retail, storefront retail, and B-to-B wholesale electronic cigarettes and flavored vapors

locations: Bellingham (hq), and retail in Bellingham, Seattle, and Lynnwood

founded: 2009

Owner: Timothy Furre

no. of employees: 34 (all in Whatcom County)

economic indicators: $5M in sales 2013; projecting $8M for 2014; opening new store; annual sales roughly doubled year-over-year since startup with personally-funded $2,000 investment.


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WHaTCoM InDUsTRY RePoRT: ConsTRUCTIon

Recovering steadily from Recession’s punchContractors adjusted to survive, jobs rose by 700 countywide last year

By Cheryl Stritzel McCarthy Six years ago, the global downturn

in the economy hit the construction industry like a tsunami. What does Whatcom County’s construction industry look like today? What’s expected for it in the future?

Both the commercial and resi-dential sectors of the industry rolled with the punch, getting smaller, leaner, more efficient. “Our local contractors amazed me during the recession,” said Liz Evans, the Northern District manager for Associated General Contractors of Washington, which primarily rep-resents commercial contractors.

Though some AGC members went out of business “…the num-bers were relatively low,” Liz Evans said. “I saw most local contractors making adjustments to survive: tak-ing little to no profit to keep people working, cutting costs, expanding traditional markets, going where the work was.”

WHAT IT’S lIKE TODAyIn 2007, the construction indus-

try overall employed about 270,000 workers statewide, comprising 11.2 percent of the state’s private sec-tor. In 2012, the industry employed 195,000 statewide, or 8 percent of the private sector, as reported by a University of Washington study contracted by AGC.

The number employed in con-struction locally increased by 700

Pictured: Houses in a subdivision on yew Street in Bellingham by builder Greenbriar Construction. (Staff photo)


people in 2013, compared to 2012 (Washington State Employment Security Department). Job income in Washington state grew in 2013, led by the construction and retail industries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Another barometer for the indus-try is membership in the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County, founded in 1978. BIAWC primarily represents homebuilding, remodeling, and associated busi-nesses. In 2007 and 2008, member-ship was 650. In 2009, it dropped to 550 members. As the recession deepened, falling membership reflected it:

2010, 450•2011, 350•2012, 340.•

WHAT’S AHEADThose years are past. Brian

Evans (no relation to Liz Evans), executive officer of BIAWC, expects membership to rise faster than the rate of homes now going up in Whatcom County. Increased recruiting and communication locally about BIAWC member benefits, such as health options and industrial insurance, is expected to raise membership numbers to its goal of 380 this year.

Likewise, the commercial con-struction association AGC “is growing its membership,” Liz Evans said.

“A building permit with fees in Bellingham costs

$25,000, three to four times more than 20 years ago. lot prices are five to six times higher than 20 years ago, while wages

have not even doubled.”– Mark Schramer, Owner, Schramer

Construction Company

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Reports from vendors at the 35th annual Whatcom County Home and Garden Show in March indi-cated that housing sales remain strong, and consumers seem ready to invest in homes again.

“That’s a good indicator (of industry health),” said Linda Twitchell, public affairs coordinator for BIAWC. She said that during the years before 2008 the market moved up and down faster.

“Expect slow, steady growth for the next 10 years in residential housing,” Brian Evans said. “People realize home values are coming back, it’s OK to invest in real estate again, and interest rates are still historically low. The consumer has woken up and said, ‘Maybe I do want to build that addition, upgrade my kitchen, build that new home.’

“Financing is difficult. That will temper the growth, (yet) banks are

cautious about who they’re lending to, and how much they’re lending. That’s different than it was 10 years ago.”

IT’S All ABOUT AVAIlABlE lAND

The homebuilding industry is tremendously impacted by land-use regulation, Brian Evans said. Fewer residential builders take on the majority of new single-family construction now, because they hold an existing supply of buildable land. “After that land is developed we don’t know what the marketplace will look like,” he said, “because so few new subdivisions have been approved in the last three or four years.”

Neighborhood pressure in Bellingham results in subdivi-sions not receiving approval, or the removing of buildable land from

inventory. “Everybody says we need affordable housing,” Brian Evans added, meaning affordable on the free market, not government-sub-sidized. “But to be affordable, you have to have supply. You have to be able to build, and build continually.”

An example is the Hundred Acre Wood, also known as Chuckanut Ridge, in south Bellingham. Voters recently decreed it should become parkland. “That was planned for residential building,” Twitchell said, who added that no provision has been made yet to replace those buildable lots elsewhere in the city.

Other solutions carry other problems. Higher-density, in-town housing draws neighborhood pro-tests. Designated “urban growth areas” include areas that will fight annexation.

“My concern locally is that the cost of homeownership is likely to

BUIlDING TOGETHER – linda Twitchell, the director of Government Affairs, Education and Built Green, and Brian Evans, the executive officer, oversee activities of the local chapter of the Building Industry Association with headquarters in the industrial Irongate area of Bellingham. The organization is a private nonprofit that serves the interests of builders, remodelers and other businesses related to the home building and construction industry. (Photo by Mike McKenzie)


skyrocket based on lack of afford-able building sites,” Brian Evans said. “Bellingham won’t attract new businesses if their employees can’t afford to live here.”

Jeff Thomas, the director of planning and community develop-ment for the City of Bellingham, said the city is updating its growth management plan now, and must finish by mid-2016. The update will reconcile recent changes and “provide additional accommodation for future open-space acquisition,” he said in an email response to questioning.

Bellingham is accommodat-ing less single-family construc-tion per capita than Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine, and unincorporated Whatcom County, according to Brian Evans at the BIAWC. In 2011 Ferndale issued one single-family-dwelling permit per 130 res-idents; Lynden issued one per 141 residents; Blaine issued one per 238 residents; unincorporated Whatcom County issued one per 668 resi-dents, and Bellingham issued one per 1,100 residents.

With a tightening supply of buildable land, the cost of a home lot becomes a larger percentage of the total home sale price, so the builder has to deliver a bigger home to make the project pay. Also, the builder pays the same impact fee (for parks, schools, traffic) whether

the new house is small or large, which likewise encourages expen-sive homes.

A building permit with fees in Bellingham costs $25,000, three to four times more than 20 years ago, said Mark Schramer, owner of Schramer Construction Co., Inc. “Lot prices are five to six times higher than 20 years ago, while wages (of the average citizen) have not even doubled.”

The recession meant fewer build-ing projects, so builder competition for those projects increased, driving

down profit. Some laid-off laborers worked “under the table,” lowering construction companies’ prices fur-ther yet.

Though building has improved recently, the local construction industry is not back to pre-recession levels, Schramer said. “I think of my children: Will they have to leave Bellingham to afford their first home? A healthy community needs an entry-level housing market, and Bellingham doesn’t have that at this point. Bellingham is a desir-able city, and the dream is to have a

“My concern locally is that the cost of

homeownership is likely to skyrocket based

on lack of affordable building sites. We won’t

attract new businesses if employees can’t afford to

live here.”– Brian Evans, Executive Officer, Building

Industry Assn. of Whatcom County (BIAWC)

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house, rather than an apartment.”In Schramer’s view, the solution

includes keeping a lid on fees, and changing regulations to allow more building in the city. Also, neighbor organizations have to realize, he said, “You can’t close the gates of Bellingham once you arrive.”

The good news is that 2013 saw many more houses built than in the previous two years. “We hope that trend will continue,” said Liz Evans at AGCW. “Residential con-struction in Whatcom County is a complex issue involving zoning, land supply, financing and risk, and market conditions.”

Permits issued for single-family homes in the city of Bellingham show 2009 as the low point, with 57 permits issued. That climbed to 72 in 2010, and 80 in 2011. Recovery got a toehold in 2012 with 104 permits issued, and grew to 149 permits in 2013. That jump shows builders are faring better, Brian Evans said.

Research shows that two-thirds of Americans prefer a single-fam-ily house with a yard, rather than multi-level or multi-unit housing structures. Bellingham is directing growth toward urban villages such

as Downtown, Barkley, Old Town, Fountain District, Samish Way, and Fairhaven. Twitchell at the BIAWC said, “If buyers can’t get what they want in Bellingham, they do go out

of town. That’s a concern for people who want to keep growth in the city.”

THE MUlTIPlIER EFFECTA strong building industry leads

to growth in general, Twitchell said. More new homes means more jobs for banks, accountants, and companies including security, inspection, insurance, and title transfer. Home construction jobs multiply into revenue for archi-tects, designers, furniture stores, landscapers, car and appliance dealerships, as well as jobs for cabinet-makers, door and window companies, concrete and roofing companies, plumbers, electricians, insulation and drywall, painters, pavers, excavation, and suppliers of environmental protection.

New home construction in Washington in 2011 created 41,000 jobs, generated $3.1 billion for local economies, and raised $729 mil-lion in state and local taxes (source:

“Commercial construction companies are optimistic. Projects that were put off during the recession are

coming online now.”– Liz Evans, Northern District Manager,

Associated General Contractors of Washington

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U.S. Census, and Building Industry Association of Washington).

WHERE THE CRANES ARECommercial construction com-

panies remain optimistic, Liz Evans said. “Projects that were put off during the recession are coming on line now. We are fortunate to have four refineries that spend an enor-mous amount of capital and main-tenance dollars to keep facilities in compliance and running safely. Bellingham passed a school bond last year. The new jail… will be a huge project for our area. We’re also hopeful the waterfront redevelop-ment will move forward, and pro-vide public/private opportunities for our local contractors.”

In residential construction, Greenbriar Construction Corp. is building 23 single-family houses on Yew Street; EverKept Construction is building single-family houses in the Cordata area, with a goal of building 50 homes

This home in southeast Bellingham is part of a cluster called Highlands II and Hannah Creek contracted by Skeers Construction, which has two more projects going, as well. (Staff photo)

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in Whatcom County this year; Skeers Construction, Inc. is build-ing homes in the Hannah Creek and Highlands subdivisions near Lakeway and Yew, with plans underway for two more projects in Bellingham. Roosendaal-Honcoop Construction is building on 16 lots off Smith Road.

Custom home building, though stymied by the costs of lots and permitting, is seeing volume slowly increase due to pent-up demand, according to Schramer Construction Co., Inc.

A spokesman at Landmark Enterprises, Inc. said they are likely to have the best year since the downturn. Hudson Remodeling has projects underway at Gooseberry Point and Point Roberts. Rose Construction, Inc. is doing addi-tions and “aging-in-place” remodels.

“Construction is always going to be cyclical,” Liz Evans said. “Luckily, our contractors are built to endure the changing market.”

Robin, a professional interior designer, and Mark Schramer co-own Schramer Construction Company in Bellingham.(BElOW) This is the model show home among the 23 single-family homes going up in (name) subdivision on yew Street, a major project for Greenbriar Construction. (Photos by Mike McKenzie)



WHaTCoM InDUsTRY RePoRT: ConCReTe & GRaVel

Since reeling in ’08 rocky business now rolling forwardBy Kimberly Harris

English Naturalist Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest of the

species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

The concrete and gravel industry in Whatcom County bears testament with its ability to respond to the decline of business in that construction sub-industry that has helped their businesses survive since the 2008 economic downturn.

The United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the private construction industry has grown by a modest .04 percent from the

third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013 with job gains taking a slight dip during this same time peri-od. Business Pulse Magazine spoke with five Whatcom County concrete and gravel business owners to take the pulse of how business has fared for them since 2008. A majority of the private Whatcom County construc-tion and gravel industry leaders concurs with the U.S. Bureau of Labor report: Four out of the five executives reported modest growth in sales for their businesses in 2013. Most local construction and gravel business own-ers referred to the 2008 economic downturn as “hor-rible” and all agreed that business has been growing slowly since then.

Brent Cowden (lower left) explained how he tests the quality of product at one of Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix’s rock quarries near Deming by kicking it. (Photo by Mike McKenzie)


CONCRETE NOR’WEST“The shock and awe is over and

we’re trying to recover,” said Brad Barton, general manager and vice president of Concrete Nor’west. His company responded to the 2008 economic downturn by streamlin-ing operations and trying to recu-perate from the 30 percent decline in business since then. Concrete Nor’West’s workload now consists of approximately 40 percent public works projects and the company has seen a modest 1.5 percent growth year-over-year since 2008.

FERNDAlE READy MIX & GRAVEl

Ferndale Ready Mix & Gravel has plodded along steadily and is still recovering from the 2008 downturn. “The recession hit hard and people were cautious on investing in real estate and busi-ness,” said Keith Korthuis, general manager. Korthuis indicated that in 2008 things began to get bad and between 2009-2011 “things tanked,” he said. Sales are still recovering from those lows and they have invested into further gravel

operations at their newly acquired North Star facility west of Ferndale. Ferndale Ready Mix & Gravel works indirectly for the government as a subcontractor through other agencies.

lEN HONCOOP GRAVElLen Honcoop Gravel has also

responded to the economic down-turn by diversifying their services. “We intend to continually diversify because construction is constantly changing and every site is differ-

ent,” said President Len Honcoop. The company has expanded from agricultural, commercial and resi-dential developments, septic systems and gravel sales in 2008 to adding government contract work, environ-mentally sensitive work, and assist-ing customers with basic permit assistance to their current services. His company currently has approxi-mately 30 percent government con-tract work though they are seeing a trend this year in more private

Brad Barton

Keith Korthuis

Continued on page 46



CONCRETE NOR’WESTTop executive: Brad Barton, VP / GMlocation: Everson (4 County locations)year started: 1942 (Everson opened in 1996)aggregated 2008 and 2013 sales figures or percent of year to year growth: 1.5% per yearno. Whatcom county employees in 2008: 25no. Whatcom county employees now: 20

FERNDAlE READy MIX & GRAVElTop executive: Keith Korthuis, GMlocation: Ferndaleyear started: 1945aggregated 2008 and 2013 sales figures or percent of year to year growth: Sales are downno. Whatcom county employees in 2008 - Present: No change

lEN HONCOOP GRAVElTop executive: Len Honcoop, President / Ownerlocation: Lyndenyear started: 1975aggregated 2008 and 2013 sales figures or percent of year to year growth: $6.1 millionno. Whatcom county employees in 2008: 13no. Whatcom county employees now: 20

STREMlER GRAVElTop executive: Lane Stremler, Presidentlocation: Lyndenyear started: 1984aggregated 2008 and 2013 sales figures or percent of year to year growth: $13 millionno. Whatcom county employees in 2008: 20no. Whatcom county employees now: 30

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Leonard Cowden, back in the mid-1940s, restarted the family business his father had begun but had ceased with his father’s passing. From the humble beginnings of shovel-ing gravel by hand from the nearby Nooksack River bed, Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix has grown into today’s 400 or so acres of numerous rock quarries, gravel pits, and con-crete batch plants.

Leonard Cowden’s son, Steve, leads the company with three sons – Brent as general manager, Deryk as manager of pits, quarries and facilities, and Ryan as manager of ready-mix production and technology. Also, Steve’s son-in-law, Darrell Visser, works in the accounting department.

Having roughly doubled its sales during 2013 (and mov-ing up in the Whatcom Top 100 Private Companies listing), Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix has responded to the econom-ic downturn by diversifying in the marketplace.

The business’s gross sales have increased steadily through acquisitions and a broader scope of work – freight hauling, concrete pumping, and quarry rock supply, which supple-ment their baseline products of concrete, sand, and gravel.

The gravel carried much of the load last year, mainly due

to extensive demands of the railroad installation projects by the industries at Cherry Point. “That will level back out this year,” Brent Cowden said. He added that the company does between 15-25 percent of its work on government-related contracts in any given year.

The multiple acquisitions during the last five years enabled Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix to increase gross sales by more than 50 percent between 2008 and 2013.

The Cowdens operate the fourth-generation business as one of just two fully-dedicated concrete and gravel sup-pliers in the county, and the only one that is 100 percent locally owned. The other full-supplier company is Ferndale Ready Mix & Gravel, and it is owned by Lehigh Hanson of the Heidelberg Cement Group out of Germany.

Len Honcoop Gravel Inc. and Stremler Gravel Inc. oper-ate under local ownership, but their core business cov-ers broader contracting services than just gravel supply. Concrete Nor’West, owned by the Miles family of Puyallup, and the Canadian company Aggregates West deal only in gravel sales in Whatcom County.

business bOX scOreCOWDEN GRAVEl & READy MIX

Top Executive: Steve Cowden, presidentLocation: Everson (four County locations)

Year Started: 1945Aggregated 2008 and 2013 sales figures or percent of year to year growth: $43 million

Number of Whatcom County employees in 2008: 50Number of Whatcom County employees now: 90

The Cowden Concrete & Ready-Mix family team (from left): Owner/President Steve Cowden, sons Deryk (pits/quarries/facilities), Ryan (ready-mix production and IT), Brent (GM), and Steve’s son-in-law and accounting manager Darrell Visser. (Staff photo)

it all started in a river bed for the cowdensBy Kimberly Harris


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work becoming available. “Overall, despite the economic challenges presented to the construction indus-try as a whole Len Honcoop Gravel Inc. has been able to enjoy moderate growth over the last six years,” said Honcoop.

STREMlER GRAVElLane Stremler, president of

Stremler Gravel credited diversi-fication as the key to his business surviving the economic downturn. Stremler called 2009 a “reaction year” from the 2008 downturn and his company diversified in two ways: by increasing public and government contract work bidding and by adding concrete work to the existing services of water, sewer and storm drain work. Stremler Gravel has increased its government con-tract work from 30 percent in 2008 to 75 percent in 2013. His company has seen a 62 percent increase in sales when comparing their 2008 and 2013 sales figures.

Whatcom County’s concrete and gravel industry provide an example of how businesses need to be able to respond and adapt to changing market conditions by doing more with less, diversifying, considering strategic acquisitions and partner-ships and by expanding services when the instinct is to cut back. Perhaps lessons that can be modeled on surviving the tough times that all business owners face.

Kim Harris is a freelance business writer and a diversity trainer for Distinctive Voice Consulting in Bellingham

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The price (and tax benefits) of fun: $575 million in ‘13Tourists watch whales, set sails, ride a camel’s back

SPECIAl REPORT for BUSINESS PUlSE

In order to offset the loss of jobs associated with

a stagnating economy over the past six years, elected officials and economic development agencies throughout the United States urgently compete to attract new businesses to their communities.

Business recruitment tactics most often lead with tangible motivators such as a skilled workforce, business incentives, low taxes, and available facilities. Very quickly, however, they blend in quality-of-life intan-gibles that include recreation ame-nities, art and cultural attractions, parks and trails – many of which are created or supported by visitor-generated revenues.

This link between business

recruitment and tourism is just one of the benefits that comes from a vibrant local travel and tourism industry. Although the communi-ties throughout Whatcom County show a consistent pattern of modest population growth, many of the new or expanding retail and tourist-related businesses cite visitors as a primary factor in their decision to come to the Bellingham area.

According to Rene Morris, the general manager of Bellis Fair Mall, “Bellis Fair retailers do their homework before locating in the mall. They look at both the primary and secondary trade areas when prospecting for the right location.” (Example: lower British Columbia)

Recently, Bellis Fair has attracted numerous popular national retail brands, such as Sports Authority, H&M, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Chipotle, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Big Orange (from Canada). “Bellis Fair is in the perfect location to

capture both local and tourist mar-kets,” Morris said.

The mall and other appealing top-brand stores attract new cus-tomers and slow the “leakage” of retail shopping to other communi-ties – such as when Sears departed – which supports jobs here and keeps tax revenues in the local tills.

In addition to attracting busi-ness, travel and tourism help boost the entrepreneurial spirit. “Often a creative idea will germinate when a local resident visits elsewhere and notices a niche or unmet need being met,” said Loni Rahm, the president & CEO of Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism. “Then they bring the idea home to start a new business.”

Rahm cited an interesting exam-ple: Camel Safari – a Whatcom County-based, organic agricultural farm that recently added camel-ride experiences. “Camel experiences are now integrated into individual

A pod of Orcas splashes past the light-house on Patos Island. (Photo courtesy of San Juan Cruises)


leisure plans, and convention and group itineraries, which adds to the region’s unique destination quali-ties,” Rahm said.

Ed Bennett, owner of Boundary Bay Brewing, relies on a loyal, local customer base. Family-friendly special events augment his bustling beer and food service. Yet Bennett, who has served many years on the Bellingham Tourism Commission, does not discount the importance of expanding his clientele.

Bennett partners with San Juan Cruises on a seasonal weekly “Brews Cruise” that introduces Boundary Bay and other local beers to a predominately visitor-based customer. Many of these out-of-towner cruisers become new devotees and convert into repeat customers during subsequent visits.

The travel industry has a far broader economic footprint than many realize. More than just trans-portation and lodging, travelers generate spending at restaurants, museums, parks, and other destina-tions while vacationing or traveling on business.

In 2013 direct county-wide •traveler spending reached $573.9 million, ranking Whatcom County No. 5 in the state in visitor spending revenues.

Visitors generate substantial local

The wish list of business recruiters generally factors into consideration:

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A high quantity of jobs •with growth potential;

A fairly predictable •generation of state and local tax revenues, and

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and state taxes, much of which become reinvested in the communi-ty in services and amenities enjoyed by residents. The U.S. Travel Association (USTA) estimates that without the taxes generated by visitors, each American household would pay nearly $1,000 more in annual taxes just to maintain exist-ing services.

“One of the misconceptions about the travel and tourism indus-try is the predominance of entry-level, low-paying jobs,” Rahm commented. “In reality, this is an industry that generates many first-time jobs, which in turn creates opportunities and launches careers.”

Starting in 1979 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracked more than 5,000 American work-ers for 30 years, interviewing them every year between 1979-1994, and every two years between 1994-2010. The report summarized labor force data on how careers in the travel industry progress over time compared to workers who began in other industries.

The BLS report indicated •that two out of five work-

ers who start their careers in the travel industry go on to earn more than $100,000 a year. It further showed that the average maximum salary for employees who start their career in the travel industry reached $81,900.

According to the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) data, the travel industry is America’s sixth-largest employer, directly employing more than 7.5 million Americans and supporting more than 14 million

American jobs. Unlike many industry jobs,

American travel jobs cannot be shipped overseas. USTA research shows that firms outsourcing busi-ness activities to companies abroad in the information sector account for 20 percent of total industry sales, 22 percent in manufactur-ing, and 25 percent in finance and insurance. By contrast, firms out-sourcing jobs abroad in leisure and hospitality account for a mere 3.6 percent of industry sales.

For many young workers, a travel job means the first foothold on the career ladder. Travel industry jobs provide the f lexibility for students to pursue education and training while gaining the benefit of on-the-job experience. For workers at all stages of life, travel and tourism provides a path to upward mobility.

Greg Hansen of Ferndale is an example of professional growth opportunities within the tourism industry. He began his career in hospitality 27 years ago as a part-time busser at Semiahmoo Resort. Throughout the next two decades he broadened and developed his

The Bellingham/Whatcom County Tourism staff photo (from left): larry Manley, Concierge Services Manager; Angie Wrzesinski, Executive Assistant; Cheryl Collins, Visitor Services Manager; Annette Bagley, Marketing Director; Amber Vinup, Marketing & Social Media Coordinator; loni Rahm, President & CEO, and Mike Mors, Member Services Manager.


Recently Boundary Bay Brewery became partners

with San Juan Cruises on seasonal weekly “Brews Cruises” that

introduce Boundary Bay and other local beers to a predominately visitor-

based customer.


skills in the restaurant sector – including serving on the opening staff at Bellingham’s Red Robin and Anthony’s Home Port, and eventually returning to Semiahmoo as the Golf and Country Club’s director of food and beverage.

Hansen’s experiences with a variety of ownership and manage-ment companies, as well as his involvement in culinary, lodging, and recreational aspects of the industry, have provided him with a unique, first-hand understanding of hotel openings, re-openings, re-concepting, human resources, and workplace culture.

Since 2006, he has shared his knowledge with hundreds of Whatcom Community College students where Hansen serves as program coordinator and instruc-tor for the Hospitality and Tourism Business Management associate degree program. Many of those stu-dents in the WCC program work part time in jobs very similar to the one that started Hansen down the hospitality career path.

The USTA reports that •one-third of the 5.6 million Americans who work part time to support themselves while they further their education work in the larg-est component of the travel industry: leisure and hospi-tality.

Washington’s tourism industry took a hit in 2011 with the closure of the state’s tourism office, earn-ing notoriety as the only state in the U.S. without a tourism marketing

program. “The results were pre-dictable,” said a USTA report titled, “Washington State – Competitors Cannibalize Travel Market.”

As the private sector mobilized to maintain a minimal market-ing presence, neighboring states increased their promotional budgets – siphoning off much of Washington’s visitor base. Industry representatives from across Washington supported the formation of Washington Tourism

•

•

•

•

•

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In 2013, direct county-wide traveler spending reached $573.9 million,

ranking Whatcom County 5th in the state in visitor

spending revenues.

Greg Hansen is a case study in the tourism industry career track, having started as a busboy at Semiahmoo and progressed to head of the Hospitality & Tourism Business Management program at Whatcom Community College. (Photo courtesy of B/WCT)


Alliance (WTA) to eventually fill the marketing void.

While WTA gains momentum, Rahm praises the individuals within the industry for their strong collab-orative spirit. “We work extremely well together,” she said. “We share information about our triumphs so others can emulate them, and we share the lessons learned from our mistakes so others can avoid them.”

The director of sales and mar-keting at the Best Western PLUS

Lakeway Inn, Christine Jenkins, echos this sentiment by regularly reaching out to peers who other industries might perceive as direct competitors. Jenkins said her 15 years in tourism and hospitality have contributed as much to her personal growth as her professional growth. “Every day presents new interactions, situations and chal-lenges that contribute to my ability to effectively listen, communicate, be f lexible and solution-oriented,”

she said. Travel and tourism have emerged

as a key driver of economic vital-ity, a leading employer and a highly efficient, proven revenue generator for state and local governments. Residents rely upon tourism to sup-port basic services and build addi-tional infrastructure and amenities.

Whatcom County, the City of Bellingham, and the cities of Lynden, Ferndale, Sumas, and Blaine invest annually in tourism products, destination marketing, and promotion activities through the strategic utilization of lodging taxes generated by overnight visi-tors.

Rahm believes that tourism impacts everyone in Whatcom County. “The infusion of nearly $574 million into our community on an annual basis cannot be dupli-cated with any other industry,” she said.

According to a Dean Runyan Associates County Travel Impacts report, if every resident household in Whatcom County encouraged one additional overnight visitor this year, it would generate 205 addi-tional local jobs and pump an addi-tional $15.7 million into our local economy.

“Everyone can contribute to economic growth this year,” Rahm concluded. “Just invite someone to visit you.”

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Washington’s tourism industry took a hit in 2011 with the closure of the state’s tourism

office, earning notoriety as the only state in the U.S. without a tourism

marketing program.


WHaTcOm TOurism evenTs

JUly5-20 Bellingham Festival of Music at the Performing Arts Center, Western Washington University, Bellingham11-13 Everson-Nooksack Summer Festival18-19 Northwest Raspberry Festival in Lynden19-20 Birch Bay Discovery Days24-27 Old Settler’s Picnic in Ferndale

AUGUST(July) 30-(Aug) 2 Puget Sound Antique Tractor Show and Threshing (Pull) in Lynden2-3 Drayton Harbor Days & George Raft Race in Blaine9 Lummi Island Reefnet Salmon Festival9-10 Civil War Reenactment in Ferndale11-16 Northwest Washington Fair in Lynden Fairgrounds16-17 Muds to Suds in Ferndale

SEPTEMBER13 Whatcom County Farm Tour20 Bellingham Traverse Races through Bellingham, Boulevard Park, Fairhaven, Lake Padden, Lake Samish, and Marine Park14 Chuckanut Century Bike Ride from Bellingham

OCTOBER4-5 and 11-12 Whatcom Artist Studio Tour in Bellingham4-5 Cloud Mountain Farm Fruit Festival in Everson

Fall Craft & Antique ShowThe Craft and Antique show during the Fall is at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds. Over 100 artisans. Enjoy shopping for that special handcrafted gift or unique vintage treasure for your home. Have lunch or a latte in the cafe while enjoying ongoing entertainment. Lynden

Handler and rider take a pause at Camel Safari on Beldar farm where two dozen Bactrian camels entertain visitors in the foothills of Mt. Baker, along with alpacas, hors-es, goats, and dogs. (Photo courtesy of Camel Safari)


bellInGHaM/WHaTCoM ToURIsM: faIRHaVen TeRMInal

bellingham cruise Terminal serves as launching pad for business successArticle and photo by Sherri Huleatt

The Bellingham Cruise Terminal located on Harris Street in Fairhaven not only serves as a cen-tral ground transportation hub for Amtrak and Greyhound lines, it’s perfectly poised to operate as the launching pad for exploring the Salish Sea and beyond.

Built in 1989, the Bellingham Cruise Terminal serves thou-sands of people every year through charter and foot ferries. Currently, there are three core businesses operating at the terminal — San Juan Cruises, Leap Frog Taxi and the Alaska Ferry. Each business excels at reaching their niche, and each one benefits from their ideal location at the terminal, which connects people by land and sea, and is just 10 miles from the Bellingham airport.

SAN JUAN CRUISES

One of the most varied and popular services at Bellingham Cruise Terminal is San Juan Cruises. Founded in 1987 in Blaine by Drew and Nancy Schmidt, San Juan Cruises moved from the Semiahmoo Resort to the Cruise Terminal when it opened in 1989. In 2011, when business began drying up because international crossing became too costly, Schmidt redefined his businesses by ending services

to Victoria, B.C. to focus solely on sightseeing tours around the Pacific Northwest. “After 20 years of building an interna-tional service to Victoria, the passport requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative cost us about 50% of our ridership,” said Drew Schmidt. “In 2011 we began offer-ing new cruises focusing on Bellingham and the San Juan Islands, no longer crossing the border.”

San Juan Cruises now employes 25, serves about 12,000 customers a year and operates three passenger vessels dur-

San Juan Cruises offers 11 different excursions, including cracked crab and wine cruises. Their whale watching tour has a 90% success rate for spotting whales. (Staff photo)

Built in 1989, the Bellingham Cruise terminal offers beautiful San Juan cruises, quick trips to secluded islands and ferries all the way to Alaska. (Staff photo)


ing peak season (June-September): Victoria Star, Viking Star and Salish Sea. They’ve expanded their excursion menu to suit any whim (or palette). Customers can choose from their popular Chuckanut Bay Cracked Crab dinner cruise, Bellingham Bay Brewers Cruise (which offers locally-brewed beer), Sucia Island Picnic Cruise, pri-vate charters and more.

Their popular whale watching tour, which accounts for about half of their business, takes people on one of the largest whale watching vessels in the region and has a 90% success rate for spotting whales. Such success may seem shocking, but according to Schmidt all the credit is due to team work: “We work together with all the other whale watching companies in Washington and British Columbia, forming a spotting network, to ensure every person that wants to see a whale gets to. For us, competition ends once the customer is on board. Once we leave the dock we all work together.” There are 32 other whale watching companies in Washington and western Canada and they all work alongside each other, using hydro-

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business bOX scOre:SAN JUAN CRUISES

business owners: drew and nancy schmidt

start-up date: 1986

Passengers served in 2013: 12,000

no. of employees: 25 (all live in Whatcom county)

no. of ships: 3, including the victoria star, viking star and salish sea

Price range for cruises: $20-$99

Outlook for company: full speed ahead!

competition: less about other boats and more about other ways people spend their recreational dollar


Opened just three years ago, leap Frog Taxi is one of the most efficient ways to travel to secluded San Juan Island destinations. (Photo courtesy Leap Frog Taxi)

[ v i s u a l e x p o s u r e ]photography that captures a sense of place

d i a n e p a d y s p h o t o g r a p h y. c o m

bellInGHaM/WHaTCoM ToURIsM: faIRHaVen TeRMInal

business bOX scOre:lEAP FROG TAXI

business owner: bill mcgown

start-up date: august 2011

growth rate: Their best indicator is passenger count — in 2012 they served about 1,500 passengers, and in 2013 they served 2,600

no. of employees: One

no. of ships: One—a custom 32-foot aluminum boat named “andiamo,” —italian for “let’s go”

Price range: $35-$85 (one-way) or $70-$170 (roundtrip)

Outlook for company: light, fast and lean operations that strive to deliver the best quality safety and service to our customers


phones to find whales.More than anything, Schmidt says

he’s most proud of the “smiles from departing passengers and repeat cus-tomers.”

lEAP FROG TAXI

Across the hall at the Cruise Terminal is Leap Frog Taxi, a passenger ferry that represents the other side of the water tourism spectrum — they operate solely for transportation. The bulk of their customer-base is trans-porting people to secluded islands, like Eliza, Sinclair, Crane, and Waldron Islands, and they’re making a name for themselves as the best way to access State Park Islands. “In many cases I’m the fastest and most efficient way to get to the islands if you’re traveling from outside the state,” said owner Bill McGown. “The speed and effi-ciency of our boat is key and we can land almost anywhere which gives us access to even remote locations.”

With just one employee — McGown — and one boat, a custom 32-foot aluminum boat made by All American Marine, Leap Frog taxi can cruise

around at speeds of 18-20 knots and carry up to 12 people.

“I love it when we pull into a remote beach and lower the bow ladder down to drop off someone whose never been here before,” said McGown. “They’re always amazed and excited about this area and it reminds me what a special place I live in. This place is transformative!”

Founded in August 2011, McGown has already seen his passenger count increase by over 70% — going from 1,500 passengers in 2012 to 2,600 pas-sengers in 2013. But instead of massive growth, McGown has set his sights on continuing his original vision for the company: “Light, fast and lean

operations that strive to deliver the best quality, safety and service to our customers.”

After spending time with thousands of customers over the last few years, McGown has too many favorite stories to describe, but his favorite experience is seeing customer reactions to the Willows Inn on Lummi Island. “They arrive on this beautiful beach at sun-set, walk up and have the most sur-prising meal of their lives, then I pick them up and deliver them back deep into the islands. Universally, they’re totally blown away by the experience. I tell you, we don’t even know what an amazing place we live in and how we’re surrounded by world class cre-ative resources.”

AlASKA FERRy

One of the steadiest sources of revenue and traffic at the terminal comes from the Alaska Ferry located at the southernmost port of the Alaska Marine Highway System. The ferry departs Bellingham every Friday morning, taking passengers through the nation’s first marine scenic high-

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“(Visitors) are always amazed and excited about this area and

it reminds me what a special place I live in. This place is transformative!”

– Bill McGown, Leap Frog Taxi


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way to Alaska.The Alaska ferry moved from Seattle

to Bellingham in 1989, and has been operating in Washington State nearly 51 years. Although now a staple of Bellingham, when first proposed, the Alaska Ferry received a considerable amount of resistance from a local envi-ronmental group and had to undergo a $10 million environmental impact study. Now it brings in over $3 million a year, $93,000 in state and local taxes, supports 32 direct jobs, and serves about 27,000 passengers annually.

The Port of Bellingham has been an integral part of keeping all three businesses afloat. “They saw value in what I was bringing to the city from day one,” said McGown. “They made every possible accommodation to get me settled into my location and listen to my needs.” When first proposed, the Port of Bellingham’s Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a lease and operating agree-ment for Leap Frog.

Schmidt agreed, saying, “The Port of Bellingham has been a supportive partner and good landlord to us for 23 years now. I think they understand tourism is an important part of the local economy while also helping to maintain the economic strengths of a good working waterfront.”

DOUBlING UP – During summer months each year a second Alaska State Ferry runs through Bellingham’s Fairhaven Terminal every other Saturday. The MV Kennicott runs the Alaska Marine Highway to south-central Alaska and through the Aleutian Islands. last year the two Alaska ships ferried more than 26,000 passengers from all 50 states and from many countries. (Photo courtesy of the Port of Bellingham)


It’s a Bellingham Farmers Market tradition on

opening day: a longtime vendor is selected to catch the tossed cabbage. This April, the young woman on the receiving end exemplified the Market’s hoped-for success cycle. Selling handmade jewelry there since she was in grade school, her creative pieces caught the eye of a customer, who rewarded her with a contract for additional orders. Local crafter, local product, customer following, expanding sales. In a nutshell, that’s the essence of the Market. Behind the casual low-key atmosphere, real business is transacted.

This is serious business conduct-ed with a firm eye on profitability. In 2012, the market boasted $1.7 million in gross sales from their 140+ vendors. Farmers make up about 35% of the total, contributing about $800,000.

“The Market provides small businesses and farmers with a venue to connect directly with custom-ers,” Caprice Teske, market direc-tor, said. “The businesses are able

to keep their profits and to develop personal relationships. Consumers benefit from learning more about the items they are purchasing and how the items were grown or pro-duced. The bottom line is the more money that is spent locally, the more that will stay local.”

It’s no surprise that Bellingham’s farmers market is in the top five, sales-wise, out of 125 markets in Washington. Whatcom County, after all, is one of the earliest com-munities to embrace the buy local/eat local movement. The Market broadens its appeal with crafters, food providers, buskers and even a few service vendors, enough variety to capture both locals and tourists.

On a typical summer Saturday in downtown Bellingham, the Market hums with over 100 different ven-dors in the bustling open air venue. Young couples escorting babies in strollers, college students dancing to live music, and fleece-clothed seniors inspecting tomato plants create a festive vibe.

From cooking shows and cut-throat competitions on the Food Network, to high-strung celebrity chefs, traveling food trucks, craft beers and mash-ups like cronuts (a cross between a croissant and a doughnut), the culinary world is having a moment. The Bellingham market is right in step, spotlight-ing local foods and producers in an old-school setting that encourages conversation and connection.

Conversation about various ways to prepare ubiquitous kale,

yes, but solid business takes place as well. Teske estimates each cus-tomer spends about $40 per visit. Customers come to buy.

“Most people purchase some-thing. Most are carrying a canvas or grocery bag with at least half a dozen items, not including the sandwich or lemonade they might consume on the spot,” she said.

Vendors nurture a clientele by being visible each weekend, with customers often following them to other places where their products are sold. One of the most fruitful aspects of the Market has been as an incubator for small businesses. Starting at the Market, some ven-dors have spun off into bricks and mortar locations.

Bellingham Pasta Co., for exam-ple, opened The Table restaurant following sales success. Another local restaurant, Brandywine Kitchen, began by selling tomatoes and garlic. Texture’s popular com-fort clothing is featured in a retail outlet. For farmers, crafters, and hopeful restaurateurs, this can be a cost-efficient way to test, refine, and determine if their f ledgling businesses can grow. Even as their businesses thrive in other locations, many return each season, a key piece of their sales strategy.

Familiar names are here, like Dashi Noodle Bar or Mount Bakery Café. “Our prepared foods showcase local restaurants and chefs,” Teske said. “It’s another way to get people to stick around. If their stomachs growl, we don’t want

bellInGHaM/WHaTCoM ToURIsM: faRMeRs MaRKeT

'demand for local' drives sales at bellingham farmers marketSmall Businesses find profits in popular venueBy Susan G. Cole


them to leave for somewhere else to eat. We want to capture our audi-ence for a little while longer.”

The Market hosts local chefs for free cooking demonstrations through the summer. Chef in the Market highlights in-season foods, encouraging customers to try some-thing new at home, using what’s on offer that Saturday. Demo Days teach the basics: dressing a simple salad, cutting up a thick-skinned squash, keeping greens fresh.

The food demos, crafts, and entertainment add appeal for out-of-town visitors. As a tourist destination, the Market is get-ting more traction. Despite a small promotional budget, it hosts lots of Canadian visitors, according to Teske.

“Canadians coming through here seem to know about us,” she said, “and our location is a good combi-nation with Boundary Bay (Brewery & Bistro) right across the street.” Word of mouth, mentions in travel articles and blogs, plus advertising to locals hosting guests, all build traffic from outside Whatcom County.

Last year, the Market used a modest city of Bellingham tourist grant to purchase advertising for its inaugural winter market, target-ing the lower Mainland of British Columbia and Snohomish County.

“Our message was ‘you can find something local here, even in December,’” Teske said. Social media was especially effective in reaching visitors.

Drawing more visitors and their dollars is well underway, with Market information on ferries and at tourist centers. A new mobile app helps track down favorite vendors and see what products are available.

Agritourism, or any activity con-necting people with agriculture, is increasingly popular, and farm-ers markets, from Hilo, Hawaii to Santa Monica, Calif., are solid attractions in their own right.

“We’re a great destination for visitors,” Teske said, “because items

sold here must be local to Whatcom or Skagit County. Finding some-thing unique is ingrained in the tourist culture. But even though we attract tourists, we have grown due to our local community.” The Farmers Market board is beginning to examine the question of growth. How much to grow while keeping the iconic Market atmosphere is the challenge. But the focus of the Market remains simple.

“We market to everybody. Our

primary mission is to connect people to local agriculture. That’s the heart and soul of our mission.” Amidst the artisan goat cheese and lush verdant lettuces, the spice-filled gyros and ever-present espres-so, handmade greeting cards and delicate silvery earrings, the Market has enjoyed steady growth since its beginning, nurturing small busi-nesses and putting money back into the community. It’s quintessentially Bellingham, cabbage toss and all.

Fun for Kids of All Ages Come join the fun this summer! Photo Credit: Pacific Moon Photography

Drawstring Backpack Giveaway to first 750

fans sponsored by Charter College

For Tickets: www.bellinghambells.com or 360-527-1035

Friday, July 18

Jim Clem Bobblehead Giveaway to first 750

fans sponsored by Sound Beverage

Saturday, July 26

Home Season Finale and Post-Game Fireworks

sponsored by Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar

Wednesday, July 30


Interfaith Coalition of Whatcom County

delivers housing, shelter, health care, and hope to vulnerable homeless individuals and families, empowered by the free-market donation support of community businesses and individuals.

The nonprofit coalition oper-ates as an interdenominational organization on a foundation of a f lotilla of volunteers in support of a small staff. That support was emphatically underscored with the successful completion of Interfaith’s two-year fundraising campaign for the recently-completed Our House

in Ferndale.Community builders donated

labor and supplies to rebuild a single-family home into a triplex for sheltering homeless families. More than 600 donors – local businesses, congregations, foundations, and individuals – contributed $500,000, a milestone achievement for the coalition.

Construction donors included Birch Equipment, CB Wholesale, Jostens Roofing, Louws Truss, Cascade Engineering Group, Fuller Building Design, Kingworks Consulting Engineers, Jerry Potter/A Flying Painter, Favinger Plumbing, Cowden Gravel & Ready Mix, plus many more.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 191 donated all the electrical work and materials. Later this summer, Western Solar and Itek Energy will install solar panels at Our House, underwritten by a grant from St. James Presbyterian Church.

Whatcom North Rotary, the Lummi Indian Business Council, Chuckanut Health, and Jansen Foundations made significant donations, as did several Whatcom County church congregations.

Interfaith has a three-part focus: housing, healthcare, and shelter for all. The Coalition has eight homes in Bellingham, providing emer-gency and transitional housing for 30 homeless families each year. The families are able to stay together, with weekly case management to build accountability and to address the complex issues leading to home-lessness.

The program has proven effec-tive: 90 percent of the families, after leaving Interfaith housing,

move into their own homes and begin to turn their lives around.

Healthcare for all was a founding mission for Interfaith in the 1980s. The Coalition provides financial support to over 3,000 uninsured people to access medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare each year. And the Coalition established the independent Interfaith Community Health Center.

Interfaith Coalition operates two Severe Weather Shelters – one for men, another for women – offering a safe, warm place to gather, sleep, and receive two hot meals. An aver-age of 80 homeless people stay each night.

Laura DeRose Harker is the executive director of Interfaith, aided by three part-time employees, a 16-member board of directors, and the volunteer army.

Interfaith Coalition comprises 44 congregations of all faiths, plus PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, and hundreds of friends, all with clear-eyed focus on supplying a safe home, healthcare, and shelter.

To learn more about or vol-unteer with Interfaith Coalition, located on Cornwall Avenue in Bellingham, visit its website, www.interfaith-coalition.org, or call 360.734.3983.

Damien Fisher, electrician from IBEW local 191, performs volunteer work at Our House. (Photo courtesy of Jim Wright, Interfaith Coalition photographer)

PHIlanTHRoPY

interfaith coalition opens triplex home in ferndaleOver 600 Donors contributed a half-million dollars to build it

Special to the Business Pulse

Open House at Our House Triplex

july 13, 1-3 p.m.

Park at Ferndale High School (2083 Shuksan Street) or United Church of Ferndale (2034 Washington Street) and take shuttle from church. (No parking at the triplex.)


Their species has an odd spelling, these

thousands upon thousands upon thousands of tiny creatures in customized water-filled trays, stacked high toward the ceiling in a smallish, nondescript building on Lummi Island.

Geoducks. The pronunciation is even more

odd.Gooey-ducks.As she shows her mini-oceans

of geoduck babies to a visitor, Leah Paisano estimates about 50,000 of them in each tray. Across four rows and stacked five high, 20 trays contain upward to a million gooey/geoducks smaller than the nail on

your little finger.“And,” she says, laughing, “each

one is a hungry mouth to feed.”• • •

Feeding takes up an enormous amount of time, micro-algae, and precision monitoring in the pro-cesses at Legoe Bay Shellfish, the hatchery that Paisano founded three years ago on a foundation of her aquaculture background, confidence in a vision, an inspired mission, and the help of family, friends, inves-tors, and a business incubator.

Paisano starts with embryos bred from her cluster of 50-60 fully-grown geoducks, which can live 100-150 years, can grow to 3 feet long, and that weigh from 2-5 pounds. She grows, harvests, and sells the seedlings wholesale to geoduck farmers – one of just two sources supplying them from the

North Puget Sound region. “It’s more like ranching than farming,” Paisano said.

The harvest that is what she termed “the bread-and-butter of the hatchery” took place during April-into-June, funding most of the operations. “This is nail-biting time, feeling like a farmer wait-ing for the crops,” Paisano said. “Success is a function of volume, and how quickly you can get them out to the buyers.”

Geoduck farming, or hatching, includes her growing in large tanks of liquid the micro-algae the geo-ducks feed on. They eat 4-5 times daily, between 1,600-2000 liters and about 40 trillion cells of 10 dif-ferent species of algae each day.

Paisano started her business after obtaining a degree in marine biology from Western Washington

Article and photos by Mike McKenzie

Paisano hatched a ‘gooey’ start-up Geoduck seeds keep marine biologist in a feeding frenzy to supply farmers

enTRePReneURIsM

The breeding adult geoduck lives to 100-150 years.


As a marine biologist leah Paisano works what she calls the “art form” of hatching geoducks and oysters, as well as the science.

What’s in a name?

The ‘geo’ in geoduck has noth-ing to do with the root meaning ‘earth.’ Rather, geoduck (pro-nounced gooey-duck) – genus Panopea generosa -- is a word derived from Lushootseed, a lan-guage of the Nisqually, a Southern Coast Salish tribe in Western Washington.

enTRePReneURIsM


University in 2006, and working in the tribal shellfish hatchery for the Lummi Natural Resources Department. She also worked at the Willows Inn from 2004-’07, acquiring business acumen germane to her business now. “Restaurant experience,” she said, “provides understanding of the changes in the shellfish market – the desires and trends.”

She came to this area from McMinnville, Ore., after grow-ing up in northern Arizona. She is a registered member of the San Carlos Ndeh (Apache) Nation based in Arizona. “My grandfather,” she said, “was from the Laguna Pueblo of New Mexico. Paisano means Roadrunner in the local dialect.”

Leah has an uncle in Bellingham who has served as an engineer on the Lummi Shore project, her link to moving Southwest to Northwest to attend Western and to discover-ing Lummi Island.

The business idea hatched (forgive the pun) while she was on a road trip, a hike. She knew of a vacated facility – Leo’s Live Seafood where crab, spot prawns, et al, had been an island staple many years. “I know how to grow shell-fish,” she said. “And, I knew the market was strong. There’s capac-ity for selling 10 million geoducks a year to farmers in Washington state, because the few suppliers haven’t met the demand.”

Friends, like reefnet fisher Ian Kirouac and two other partners,

“There’s capacity for selling 10 million

geoducks a year to farmers in Washington state, because the few suppliers haven’t met

the demand.”– Leah Paisano, owner, Legoe Bay Shellfish leah Paisano carries the load at lummi Island Shellfish with one employee, and

part-time help during harvests. Investors helped fund her minority startup, i.e., she’s a woman, and she’s a registered member of the Apache Nation in Arizona, and she received mentoring from the Northwest Innovation Resource Center.


invested in her concept. Thus, she launched into what is estimated as an $80 million a year industry in the U.S. supplying almost entirely Asia – China (which recently lifted a temporary ban on importing geo-duck), Japan where it is a sashimi delicacy in high demand, and Korea.

As an end product, the geoduck seeds sell in a range of 30-50 cents apiece, and the adult product that farmers and divers supply bring from $10-$20/pound. The product on the table as a premium and often rare delicacy can go for, depending on quality, as much as $150/pound, and up to $300/pound for “prime.”

The Legoe Bay Shellfish startup took traction from Paisano’s back-ground and business-planning assis-tance from Northwest Innovation

Resource Center (NWIRC) in Bellingham, a nonprofit that helps guide entrepreneurs into business ventures.

“I went to them looking for advice,” she said. “Diane Kamionka (executive director) was invaluable in hooking me up with investors. I’m a scientist. I needed a business coach. Someone to say, ‘These are the ways professionals do things.’ We created a business plan that made us more marketable, a presen-tation to investors that wasn’t like a scientific paper.”

She also learned from geoduck farmers. “A small group who were willing to share tricks of the trade,” she said.

Meanwhile, NWIRC remains an important resource as Kamionka continues to mentor Paisano. “She helps me through the changes of a growing business,” Paisano said.

With one employee and part-

time assistance especially during harvest, the company grew 60 per-cent in its second year, and Paisano expected it to do the same this year. This spring she added oysters to the business, and future plans call for even more shellfish – “scallops, other species of oysters, and maybe shrimp.”

Her mission centers on more than business. “I love both the ecol-

ogy and the biology of it,” she said. She dons a white lab coat while mixing ingredients, utilizes micro-scopes, manages pH and ocean acidification and special lighting for growing algae, and yet says, “Sometimes it’s all more of an art form than a science.”

Going forward she’s going to yield virtually all of the daily operations to her employee, Adam

business bOX scOre:lEGOE BAy SHEllFISH

Location: Lummi IslandOwner: Leah Paisano

Founded: 2012Employees: 1, plus the owner, and seasonal part-time help

Growth: 60% in 2nd year, same expected this yearU.S. Market: $80 million a year

enTRePReneURIsM

Success is a function of volume, and how quickly you can get them out to

the buyers.

Geoduck seeds eat up to 2,000 liters and 40 trillion cells of the 10 species of lab-produced algae that grows in a variety of colors and density. leah Paisano keeps a journal on daily activities. “I’m passionate about this,” she said. I truly care about the animals…and treat them with respect.”


Childs, and she has moved more into growing the commerce and developing the business.

• • •The tour, captivating both visu-

ally and in fascinating facts, comes to an end. Leah had expounded on unique fatty aminos of algae, on the effects of LED lighting and main-taining 15-degree Celsius water temp, on how each algae species “grows its own way,” on forming culture starters just like in bread baking, on the importance of color and density.

She’d shown the beaker-to-jug-to-tank process of the micro-algae’s, and offered glimpses into the microscope. “There’s a lot to be coordinated, and a lot of room for error,” she says. She’d demonstrated the tedious, all-important labor of feeding, feeding, and more feeding. “Just like in ranching, getting the hay is often the hardest part.”

Her passion rises clearly to the top of her every conversation piece, her every effort in the chain of events for a million bitsy babies. “I’m passionate about this,” she says. “I keep a journal of observations. Not just anybody can do this. I truly care about the animals in my hatchery, and we treat them with respect.

“We’re proud to produce quality seafood, and to carry on the legacy of Leo’s live seafoods, and the mari-time part of the cultural heritage in the Puget Sound.”

business bOX scOre:lEGOE BAy SHEllFISH

Location: Lummi IslandOwner: Leah Paisano

Founded: 2012Employees: 1, plus the owner, and seasonal part-time help

Growth: 60% in 2nd year, same expected this yearU.S. Market: $80 million a year

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About 50,000 tiny geoducks fill a tray, and 20 trays equals about 1 million at the outset of hatching at lummi Island Shellfish. “Each one is a mouth to feed,” their grower said.


We visited Terry Buzzard on the

Bellingham waterfront to discover how a sole-proprietor entrepreneur stays afloat in business 52 consecutive years. Literally afloat. Buzzard started Island Mariner Cruises in 1962, at age 20, running mail routes, then a water taxi service, then whale-watching cruises, putting in an estimated 1 million

miles on the waters of the San Juan Islands. All this, in and around owning a shipyard, building boats, and buying a submarine that he tested in a motel swimming pool. He spoke to Managing Editor Mike McKenzie in Buzzard’s office, with Rusty VII, his trusty Airedale, listening in….

WATER-lOGGED GENES?In ’04 my grandfather Harry

started Lake Whatcom Motorboat

Club. He raced boats on the West Coast Circuit, from 1909-1913 – San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Lake Whatcom, and Vancouver, B.C., and won a few races on two-cycle, in-board engines.

My dad was a boat crank who loved boats and ran races as a kid. He had an 18-foot, 1929 Hacker, and for 30 years that was the fastest boat on Lake Whatcom.

But maybe I came to water by destiny. My great-grandfather was related to John Drake, a younger brother of Sir Francis Drake, the English privateer who was first to sail around the world on the Golden Hind in 1577.

PeRsonallY sPeaKInG

Personally Speaking…

with

Terry BuzzardInterview and Photos by Managing Editor Mike McKenzie


AND yOU?My father’s Hacker took a nose-

dive when I was 6 months old, and again when I was 3, and sunk both times. I often have laughed about it and wondered if they were try-ing to get rid of me. I was 3 when I started boating (with) a 12-foot skiff and 1-horsepower Briggs & Stratton in it and a tiller on the back. I sat on a horsehair cushion with Rusty II, our Airedale.

I’d putt back and forth from our boathouse about 250 feet to the neighbor’s boathouse, going 2 miles an hour. They figured if I fell in, Rusty II was trained to grab my life jacket and pull me to shore.

My neighbor, Lloyd Austin, taught me to water ski when I was 4 with his boat called the Yardbird.

BEllINGHAM BOUNDMy grandfather had 12 mines

up on Vancourver Island, both gold and copper. He built a town there called Sicker with a hotel, church, and narrow-gauge railroad. He had this gal in Port Townsend and he invited her up to see it, but she wasn’t impressed.

So he sold out and went back to Port Townsend. He married that lady, my grandmother Belle. After selling, he retired and he was only 27. He’d come through Bellingham during a gold rush up on the Fraser River, and liked this area, so they set up a home here.

FAMIly OF BUSINESSESMy grandmother was a cranky

Scot lady. I don’t know if my grandfather chased her around the house too much or what, but she told him it was time to unretired and go get a real job.

In England he had been a leather case maker. But here he found this guy named Strathey who knew everything about heavy forging. They started Buzzard & Strathey Iron Works. After 4-5 years it burned to the ground.

Grandfather bought him out

while the coals were still hot, and went right across the street and built a new shop that ran into the late ‘60s on the corner of Maple & Cornwall – a machine and welding shop, but primarily heavy forging.

DAD TOOK OVERMy dad, Alan, who was born in

’02, took over the Iron Works out of high school. Grandfather had invented the Buzzard Hook – a choker hook and butt hook for log-

ging with big steam donkeys. They patented those hooks, and they got used all over the world for 25 years, including in logging with elephants in Africa.

INNOVATION SAVED TROOPSIn World War II, Henry Kaiser

was building victory ships and lib-erty ships to send our troops across the Pacific and the Atlantic. They were at risk because the steering kept breaking. Out in the middle


PeRsonallY sPeaKInG

of the pond with no steering, they were totally at the mercy of Japanese and German submarines.

The U.S. government put out an appeal across the nation and the U.K. and Canada to find a solu-tion. My dad figured out a way to forge a U-shaped bolt in one piece, called a spring bolt. He made the dies, forged, and built thousands of those hooks for the government and allies. They never had one break.

GETTING GOINGDuring my high-school years

I reef-netted on Lummi Island with Johnny Corcoran’s crew. As an Eagle Scout I earned the Silver Award and God & Country Award. After graduating from Bellingham High School (’60) I worked about six months at the Boeing Developmental Center on the Minuteman missile system built for underground silos.

A friend who worked at the Jack Connors Speed Shop in Ballard got me a job there. Connors was speed king of the Northwest. He built up Indy-car and dragster engines, and we even built one for Bill Muncey’s

hydroplane. It was great fun hang-ing with the guys who were going fast. I loved speed.

One night my roommate and I were lounging around, and holy cats, was it hot. I said, ‘What the hell are we doin’ here – let’s go home and water ski.’ We both quit our jobs, threw our junk in the trunk of my hot rod car, headed for Bellingham where we spent the next month water skiing.

FISHING lED TO THE STARTFinally I worked a couple of

years for Warren Hanson, a purse seine fisherman out of Blaine fish-ing Puget Sound and Alaska on The Liberty. Warren was an inter-esting soul, a big Norwegian fella, a chemical engineer who’d been a full commander in the Navy, and he started what’s now called the Navy SEALs.

In 1962 we weren’t going to fish in the fall, and I was what I call “homeless in the fish department.” I came to Bellingham, wandered around, fished with Louie Gazja on the Seabreaker, and Bob Glenovich on the seiner Zita, but knew very little about Bellingham Harbor.

I ran into a fella named Ed Schibig, a character, running the mail boat from Anacortes to the San Juan Islands. He showed me how to get a captain’s license, and I became his stand-in. The mail boat caught fire and burned to the

ground. So I bought that commuter boat, rebuilt it, and started Island Mariner Cruises.

That was the start in 1962. I ran the mail routes 36,000 miles a year.

ON THE WATER SINCE….Later I bought another com-

muter boat, the Island Mariner II. We operated from the old city dock by Georgia Pacific as a water taxi all through the islands. We charged $7 round trip to Friday Harbor, and $5.50 to Rosario Resort. We started scheduling Friday night dinner cruises to the resort owned by Gil and Gle Gleser, which had the best seafood buffet I’ve ever had. We also ran there for a Sunday brunch.

The chef was Ol’ Red, never did know his last name. He could really put on the grub. Round trip for that was $7.50. I got four bucks for the boat ride, he got three-and-a-half for the grub. A couple of years later we raised it to $9.50, and everybody thought we were a bunch of thieves. Today, the sales tax is more than that.

EARly BOAT BUSINESSESThat was 1964 or ’65. I acquired

a boat the Naiad, a 72-foot yacht, and did many charter trips with it up the B.C. coast and into Alaska. In 1967 I started a yacht brokerage and You-Drive Boat Rentals. We were the first to do those things in this area.

I also ran a log salvage business a couple of years…licensed by the state to pull logs off of beaches and sell them to sawmills. It was a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun, too.

Next, in 1970 I formed a part-nership and we bought Weldcraft Steel & Marine, a full-service shipyard that became a dealer for both power and sailboats. We also dealt in Scorpions, Intrepids, and Cigarettes – all off-shore racing boats. Later we bought a com-pany called Aquilo and renamed it Northwind, which is the meaning of Aquilo in Haida language.

We sold the shipyard, and built a

“Northwestern Commercial Bank gave me a loan for $4,000. It

was mainly on my family’s reputation because all I had was $8.32 cash

money in my pocket.”

Terry Buzzard and Rusty VII, his office-mate Airedale terrier, board the Caper for a weekend whale-watching cruise – the longest-running scheduled tour of its kind in Whatcom County.


thing called Hilton Harbor Marina that the Port of Bellingham now owns. The tours have been the main thing, though, all along.

THEN CAME THE WHAlESI bought an 83-foot boat the

Rosario Princess in 1978, and we took our first chartered whale-watching trip. We started schedul-ing those trips in 1980. For several years we were the only boat out there watching whales. There are probably 60 now.

In 1989 I took the Princess to Valdez and worked the oil spill. With the profits from that I went to Glouscester (Mass.) and bought The Caper. In January of ’90 Tom Walton and I brought it home.

Remember the film, “The Perfect Storm”? The Caper was tied up next to the Maria Gale at Rose’s Shipyard. It cost me $250,000. Now, to build that boat would cost about $3 million.

EVEN A SUBMARINE!One year a friend and I went to

Florida to pick up a one-man sub-marine I bought, called the Yellow Submarine. I’d had every kind of boat in the world, so I figured I ought to have a sub.

In Ft. Myers, we rented a motel’s swimming pool and tried out the sub in the deep end. We trailered it to Miami and flew it back to Seattle in a DC-10 freight space of a commercial f light. Sold it to a Canadian.

INVENTIONS, TOOOh, and also, I’ve got three or

four inventions in the works. I don’t care to talk about them in print. Actually, I probably have a couple dozen, but I forget what-all I’ve started; then I see something that reminds me, “I need to get back on that.”

NO WOODEN-lEGGED PIlOTSWe have a seaplane, too, for

our tour business. I’ve f lown one, but the FAA isn’t too crazy about

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FUNDING THE STARTNorthwestern Commercial Bank

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BEST BUSINESS DEAl EVER?Buying the Caper. It’s stable,

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lIVING WHAT yOU lOVEI remember once cruising out

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The question of whether to raise the minimum

wage is one of the nation’s hottest topics in business, especially among small companies.

Supporters of a minimum wage increase conjure up sympathetic images of single parents working two or three jobs and still not earn-ing enough to feed their children. They use the term “living wage” and say that a higher minimum is needed to lift families out of pov-erty.

The problem with this emotional image? It does not square with what research information shows as the profile of a typical minimum wage earner.

The average minimum wage earner is not a single mom or dad who depends on minimum wage earnings as the sole support of a family.

Just 3.2 percent percent of •workers in Washington earn the minimum wage, and the median age of a minimum wage worker is 24. The average family income •of a minimum wage earner in Washington is $47,540. Just 8 percent of minimum •

wage workers are single par-ents with children; the other 92 percent live with a family member, live with a spouse who also works, or have no children.

About 60 percent of all workers who earn minimum wage are in the retail and hospitality sectors, with the vast majority working in restau-rants and other food services. Tips often augment their wages; many receive an average $10 an hour in tips that get added to their regular hourly wages.

Nearly 60 percent of minimum wage workers are under age 25, and 68 percent have a high school education or less. About 96 percent do not have a college degree. These

figures show most minimum wage earners are young and working part-time while in school.

So while very few workers earn the minimum wage, the over-whelming majority of those who do are young and unskilled work-ers who work part time, live with older family members, or are second earners in a two-income household. Very few workers depend solely on minimum wage earnings to support a family or put food on the table.

THIS IS EXACTly HOW POlICyMAKERS DESIGNED THE MINIMUM WAGE TO WORK EFFECTIVEly:

The minimum wage policy never was intended to be the sole source of household income or to provide “livable” support for a fam-ily. Rather, policymakers wanted to ensure a reasonable wage for work-ers who cannot command higher pay in the labor market because they have little experience and few, if any, work skills (and for student and other part-time jobs).

As for lifting families out of pov-erty, the real problem is that two-thirds of adults living below the poverty line do not work. Of those that do work, only 9 percent work full-time and just 25 percent work even part-time.

GUesT ColUMn: sMall bUsIness

The truth about minimum wage: Who really earns it?

While very few workers earn the minimum

wage, the overwhelming majority of those who do are young and unskilled workers who work part-

time, live with older family members, or are

second earners in a two-income household.

erin shannon | Director, WPC for Small Business

erin shannon became director of the Washington Policy Center for small business during January 2012. she has an extensive background in small business issues and public affairs. The Center improves the state’s small business climate by working with owners and policymakers toward positives solutions.


People are not in poverty because the minimum wage is too low. People are in poverty because they cannot find enough work, or any work at all. More than anything else, poor people need jobs, not an increase in the minimum wage.

Advocates of increasing the minimum wage routinely claim that doing so will stimulate the economy and create those jobs, because when workers earn more they spend more, which in turn benefits employers. Everyone wins, they say.

NOT EVERyONE WINS. The money for a higher-mandat-

ed wage has to come from some-where. It’s a tradeoff—the workers who already have a job may or may not be better off; they might earn a much higher wage – but they risk losing the non-cash benefits many employers voluntarily offer.

These benefits often are popular, and a significant part of employ-ees’ total compensation (e.g., tips). Those who don’t have a job will have a harder time finding one, especially workers with little or no skills or work experience. If the law makes employers pay more, obvi-ously they will hire the more expe-rienced job applicant and leave the lower-skilled person unemployed.

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates support this logical and predictable conclusion. The CBO says increasing the fed-eral minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour would move about 900,000 people out of poverty. The tradeoff— CBO says it would result in the loss of 500,000 jobs by 2016.

WHICH IS THE BETTER OUTCOME?

When labor costs increase, employers find ways to reduce those costs. They may not always respond by eliminating positions; they might choose instead to cut hours, reduce the growth of their workforce, send work overseas, or substitute machines and technology for work-ers.

Service industry CEOs have cau-tioned that a higher minimum wage encourages automation, which can reduce the number of employees by 20-25 percent. Microsoft co-found-er Bill Gates warns that a higher minimum wage would “encourage labor substitution” and lead employ-ers to “buy machines and automate things” and ultimately “cause job destruction.”

He’s right. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of businesses seeking cost savings through automation has increased 23 percent over the last 10 years, while total employment at these businesses has decreased by 6 percent. The automation trend will get bigger, not smaller.

Starbucks recently announced an upcoming release of an app allow-ing customers to order and pay for coffee drinks from their smart phones. Such changes could mean fewer workers are needed. Starbucks is also one of the companies cau-tioning that a higher minimum

wage will likely result in cuts of employee benefits.

Free money does not magically appear when the government man-dates a minimum wage. If employ-ers are required to pay higher wages, then businesses rationally respond by cutting employment costs. The workers that the high wage is supposed to help thus bear the brunt of those costs.

INCREASING THE MINIMUM WAGE CREATES A JOB MARKET OF WINNERS AND lOSERS.

Some workers win by earning a higher wage, but far more lose because free money does not magi-cally appear when the government mandates a minimum wage.

If employers are required to pay higher wages, they rationally respond by cutting employment costs. The losers are the many workers who bear the brunt of those cuts, with reduced hours, benefits, and job opportunities.

GUesT ColUMn: sMall bUsIness

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Recently, Western Washington University

students decided to ban plastic water bottles on

campus in a move they claimed will help the environment. Like so many purported environmental causes these days, the policy actually substitutes feel-good rhetoric for real science and economics.

Advocates of the ban raised a couple of con-cerns.

First, they told The Bellingham Herald they were concerned about “water privatization and excessive extraction of water.” Part of the concern appeared to be taking water from other countries and bringing it to the United States. One of the advocates

said the ban wasn’t just about water, rather that “…

In a much larger picture, Western is actively standing up for the human

right to water.” The bottle ban itself does noth-

ing for that, however, and may actually harm those efforts.

Water shortages, whether in the United States or around the world, often arise from poor governance. For example, some ‘greens’ are upset that Americans can buy Fiji Water while many Fijians don’t have easy access to clean water.

The problem, however, is not a lack of water, but a lack of infra-structure. Eliminating a profit-able bottled water business on Fiji would only mean fewer jobs and less funding for local government to

build needed infrastructure. In Fiji, poverty, not water quantity, is the problem.

Students can proclaim a “right to water” all they want, but if the government of Fiji can’t afford the infrastructure such a pronounce-ment might make college students feel good about themselves, and Fijians will see no improvement in their lives.

Advocates of the ban also expressed concern that users don’t recycle plastic bottles. A ban, however, is not the only or best way to deal with that. Advocates could have charged a bottle fee that would be refunded on return. That would preserve the choice of stu-dents while increasing recycling and collecting funds from un-recycled bottles to pay for recycling efforts.

In fact, students’ failure to recy-cle is due partly to a government (in this case, the university) subsidy of trash. The university pays for the trash on campus, so students toss the bottles away for free. Make stu-dents pay for the trash by forfeiting a bottle fee and they would have a reason to change their behavior.

The free market, on the other hand, yields benefits to the envi-ronment and to Fijians seeking to improve their lives. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach that often creates new problems and

GUesT ColUMn: fRee-MaRKeT enVIRonMenTalIsM

WWu’s plastic bottle banEffective science and economics, or just feel-good?

In fact, students’ failure to recycle is due partly to a…subsidy of trash. The university pays for

the trash on campus, so students toss the bottles

away for free. Make students pay for the trash by forfeiting a bottle fee,

and they would have a reason to change their

behavior.

Todd myers | Environmental Director Washington Policy Center

The Washington Policy Center is an independent, non-partisan think tank promoting sound public policy based on free-market solutions. Todd Myers is one of the nation’s leading experts on free-market environmental policy and is the author of the 2011 landmark book Eco-Fads: How the Rise of Trendy Environmentalism is Harming the Environment. His in-depth research on the failure of the state’s 2005 “green” building mandate receives national attention. He recently became a contributor to The Wall Street Journal.


GUesT ColUMn: fRee-MaRKeT enVIRonMenTalIsM

doesn’t respect the views of those who might want to buy water, the free market provides a diversity of options to help the environment.

For those worried about using plastic bottles, they can buy a Brita water filter. Brita ads actually high-light the number of water bottles that are used and how a filter reduces bottle use.

For those concerned that plastic is not a renewable resource but want to enjoy bottled water occasionally, they can buy a PlantBottle, which is made in part with sugar cane. The Coca-Cola Company says it will soon have a version that is 100 per-cent renewable.

Aquafina offers an “eco-shape” bottle that uses folds in the bottle to strengthen the plastic, allowing them to use less plastic and mak-ing it lighter to ship, thus using less energy.

Western students could also look to a Spokane company, Zip 2 Water, which provides portable units that hook up to the public water system and provide cold, filtered water. They even offer “campus kits” for colleges and uni-versities. Rather than banning plas-tic bottles, the university could have offered an alternative, giving stu-dents a choice while moving toward their desired environmental goal.

Ultimately, though, demanding a ban feels better. The psychologi-cal signal of a ban is clear even if the results are not. By enacting a ban, advocates get to claim they are helping the planet and the down-trodden – even if neither of those things is true.

Giving students options makes it harder to take credit for the high-sounding rhetoric of the “human right to water” or saving the planet. It is, however, more respectful of the other students on campus, and will almost certainly do more for the environment and those for whom economic growth is the only real path to clean water and pros-perity.

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To test your workplace protocol, the Mt.

Baker chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) has prepared this little quiz. If you find yourself flagging on the answers, it’s probably time for an HR tuneup.

The local SHRM chapter pro-vides monthly programs and other special events for both members and non-members. One this spring fea-tured Whatcom Business Alliance

board members Janelle Bruland, CEO of Management Services Northwest, and Bob Pritchett, CEO of Logos Bible Software.

Bruland spoke about how HR has evolved at her company to the point that their HR manager sits in on executive planning sessions to contribute on matters such as the repercussions of the new affordable care act, hiring policies, and the like.

On the opposite end of the topic of HR best practices, Pritchett explained how Logos does not have one person in charge of HR. Rather, Logos distributes HR func-

tions to various departments -- e.g., accounting, employee services, recruiting, etc. If and when needed, the company relies on outside resources to provide any important new HR information or develop-ments.

Are you up on topics such as diversity in hiring, harassment, or simply the basics of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)?

The quiz on some fundamentals of HR law, with remarks on some questions, and answers below:

WHEN WAS THE NATIONAl 1. lABOR RElATIONS ACT (NlRA) ENACTED?

a. 1930b. 1935 c. 1940d. 1960The NLRA came about as a way

to protect the rights of employ-ees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining with their employers, and to engage in other protected concerted activity.

TITlE VII OF THE CIVIl 2. RIGHTS ACT (1964, 1972) FORBIDS DISCRIMINATION FOR WHICH OF THE FOllOWING:

a. Age discriminationb. Race, color, creed, sex, or

national originc. Religion and marital statusd. All of the above

How well do you know your human resources laws and rules?

GUesT ColUMn: HUMan ResoURCes

rose vogel | HR Programs for SHRM

Rose Vogel is a vice-president co-chair of the Programs Committee for the local Mt. baker Chapter of the society for Human Resources Management (sHRM). she serves as director of human resources for ecigexpress in bellingham, a company with 34 employees. she is a gradu-ate of WWU-fairhaven and has a masters degree in Human Resources labor relations.

Two board members of the Whatcom Business Alliance, CEOs Janelle Bruland (left) with Management Services Northwest and Bob Pritchett (right) with logos Bible Software, recently addressed the monthly meeting of Mt. Baker Chapter of the Society for Human Resources Professionals in Bellingham’s Northwood Hall. Dave Finet, executive director of the Opportunity Council, sat between them. (Staff photo)


Title VII is the landmark piece of civil rights legislation in the U.S. that outlines discrimination.

WHAT DOES THE AGE 3. DISCRIMINATION IN EMPlOyMENT ACT (ADEA) 1968 MANDATE?

a. Older workers receive equal health coverage

b. Mandatory retirement agec. Age 40-plus is a protected

classd. a, b and ce. a and cf. all of the aboveCongress enacted the ADEA in

face of the rising productivity and affluence, as older workers find themselves disadvantaged in their efforts to retain employment.

FAMIly AND MEDICAl 4. lEAVE ACT (FMlA) 1993 PROVIDES lEAVE FOR WHICH OF THE FOllOWING:

a. A sabbaticalb. Military leave c. Leave for an ailing petd. A cousin’s birthday

WHEN IS AN EMPlOyEE 5. ElIGIBlE FOR FMlA

a. After their 30-day probation period

b. After 1250 hours or 12 months of employment

c. After their 90-day reviewd. All of the aboveThe U.S Department of The

U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division is adding statu-tory amendments to clearly define “spouse” in recognition of same-sex marriage/unions under the Family Medical Leave Act.

ANSWERS:

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seaTac makeover Exemplary CSX: Undersized, overcrowded, rundown…

yet now ‘World Class’ for travelers

When implementing Lean Management

in service organizations, it’s best to understand the customer service experience (CSX) before tackling delivery of services. This is a story of how one service provider, Seattle/Tacoma’s international airport, used their understanding of the customer experience to become world-class in customer service.

The story begins with a massive-ly congested international airport, with more takeoffs and landings per acre than any major airport in North America. Every day, travel-ers struggled to make their way through a small and crowded termi-nal that hadn’t been remodeled for (no kidding) 27 years.

Making matters worse, the air-port is located precisely where a microclimate produces dense fog during the fall and winter, causing flight delays and diverted landings. This was the situation when I met the folks at (SeaTac).

If SeaTac wasn’t your favor-

ite airport, you weren’t alone. A worldwide customer-satisfac-tion survey, conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), didn’t rank SeaTac among the top 100 airports in any category of customer satisfac-tion. Given modern airports like

Dubai, Atlanta, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, and Heathrow, it’s no wonder SeaTac didn’t make the list. Then one day a few key SeaTac manag-ers decided to change the traveler experience. They were determined that their undersized, overcrowded,

rundown airport could compete on customer satisfaction with the mod-ern world-class airports. The man-agers pulled a team together and set a breakthrough goal to become one of the top 5 airports in the world in customer service.

From the perspective of the world’s top-tier airports, their goal would have seemed laughable.

SeaTac focused on traveler experiences. But rather than sim-ply accepting IATA’s pre-defined dimensions of the customer experi-ence, they went into SeaTac’s con-courses and met with travelers as they made their way to and from gates. They collected hundreds of stories from travelers about particu-larly satisfactory and unsatisfactory airport experiences.

I helped the team analyze the content of those stories to under-stand travelers’ experiences and expectations. As a result, we identi-fied 30 specific traveler expecta-tions. Those expectations rolled up into four summary categories:

Staff response to service-1. delivery failures.Staff response to traveler 2. needs and requests.Unprompted, unsolicited 3. employee actions to help travelers.Airport facilities and service 4. delivery systems.

GUesT ColUMn: lean PRaCTICes

randall benson | Lean Operations

Randall benson is a management consultant, author, and lean master working out of Whatcom County. You can visit his blog “The lean Heretic” at www.leanheretic.com, and his website at www.bensonconsulting.com.

Did the Ambassadors actually improve

the overall traveler experience? The answer

was a resounding, “yes!”….The airport

soared from not among the Top 100 to an

astonishing No. 5 in the world in airport customer

service.


The SeaTac team realized that IATA had completely missed or under-emphasized some critical aspects of the customer experience. They saw that IATA emphasized No. 4 – facilities and delivery sys-tems – but didn’t touch on the third category about unsolicited help.

IATA appeared to have a hole in its understanding of the traveler experience. But how could SeaTac use this knowledge to improve their scores on the IATA survey?

The answer was emotions. The stories about getting help were emotionally charged. For example, having an airport employee help you fix a broken wheel on your bag and then escort you to your gate was much more emotionally sig-nificant than walking through an attractive airport terminal. Traveler experiences about receiving unso-licited help created vivid, lasting, and positive perceptions. SeaTac speculated that if they could foster powerful positive perceptions, those perceptions would have a halo effect and spill over into positive respons-es to all the IATA survey questions.

Based on their insights, the SeaTac team changed a key part of the traveler experience. They trained volunteer “Ambassadors” to assist travelers who were expe-riencing trouble while at the air-port. Dressed in red blazers and armed with two-way radios, the Ambassadors roamed the terminal looking for travelers who needed help.

Their goal was to offer unsolicit-ed aid to those in need. As a result, they helped many travelers every day. Other travelers saw this and were reassured that help was avail-able if they needed it.

Did the Ambassadors actually improve the overall traveler experi-ence? Would it be reflected in the results of a new IATA survey? The answer was a resounding, “Yes!” The survey showed that the airport had soared from not among the Top 100 to an astonishing No. 5 in the world in airport customer service.

The SeaTac team achieved their audacious breakthrough goal.

SeaTac accomplished something amazing, particularly given their facility handicaps. Their work also changed the industry. Consider that Vancouver (B.C.) International Airport was ranked in the Skytrax Top 10 in 2012 by using the very same approach that SeaTac pio-neered. Business Insider, comment-ing on the Skytrax rankings, wrote, “Volunteers, known as Green Coat Ambassadors, work in the airport to help travelers get where they’re going”.

SeaTac uncovered and improved important dimensions of customer experience. Today, travelers every-where benefit from it. SeaTac start-ed by deeply understanding their customers’ experiences. Only then could they create a process to deliv-er a superior customer experience and achieve a world-class ranking.

Lesson learned: CSX jump-starts Lean for your company’s customers.

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five lean lessons from seattle-Tacoma international airport

If you want to be truly Lean, 1. work from the customer in.Collect stories about real 2. customer experiences. Never assume that existing cus-tomer surveys measure the correct things.Mine customer stories to 3. uncover important behaviors, system conditions, and hid-den dimensions of customer experience.Use your knowledge of the 4. customer to improve the process for delivering a great customer experience.Behaviors and processes 5. often trump facilities and physical environments; so never give up on great customer experience just because you don’t have a state-of-the-art facility.

Bonus Lesson: It’s all about emotion.


At last count I had 191 apps installed on my iPhone 5.

(Now ask me how many I actually use). I could not tell you how many apps I have downloaded over the years, installed, used once, and then proceeded to delete.

Apps can be great time savers, and time wasters! As a busy busi-ness professional, I am often on the go, and I need access to my data all the time and from everywhere I go. Whether you’re at your office, in the car, or driving from meet-ings, apps can help you manage and organize your life.

My Top 5 most-used apps (in no order of importance):

Evernote (what I am typing •this article in)LinkedIn (Facebook for •business)Dropbox (my virtual file •cabinet)The pre-installed contacts •app, and,The LoopNet Real Estate •app (a Commercial Real Estate app).

Let’s talk about Evernote. Evernote is a note-taking and archiving app for your iPhone, Android, Mac, or PC. Evernote offers free and premium accounts (up to 60 mg/month free, with upgrade accounts at around $5/month for 1 gig).

As well as keyboard-typing notes, Evernote allows image cap-ture of a whiteboard, photo, or person. This can be helpful, as we often can’t type fast enough. Take a photo from Evernote and voila, you have the information stored forever.

Add some keywords to the note and you can search through your old notes anytime.

Are you in a meeting and need to record audio? Evernote will record hours of audio and save them in your note. Evernote even has a voice-to-text plug-in option that works fairly well. Evernote also will geotag your locations so you can automatically record where you were during the meeting/note. You can even email to your Evernote.

The cool part of Evernote for me is the virtual sync. As soon as

my note on my iPhone syncs, I can go to any other device (my iPad, MacBook, or PC) and pull up that note, add to it, or share it with someone.

I also use the Google Chrome Evernote web clipper app. This allows me to “clip” a website or part of a web page and save it to an Evernote.

If you haven’t downloaded Evernote, try it today. It will help you record and save everything that matters to you, for free (or a small fee). www.Evernote.com

GUesT ColUMn: UsInG aPPs

Troy muljat | Owner, NVNTD Inc. Managing Broker, Muljat Group

Troy Muljat heads the Muljat Group commercial real estate division, co-owns landmark Property Management, and a tech company called nVnTD. He sits on the executive board of the Whatcom business alliance. He shares his love of productivity apps, and especially the one he uses constantly – evernote.

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Why i recommend evernoteA note-taking and archiving app for people on the go


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roger almskaar | President, CAPR

Roger almskaar has served as a land use management consultant for the last 32 years. He is president of the Citizens alliance for Property Rights, Whatcom Chapter.

Biggest issue looming – use of waterMuch at stake for the public, farmers, other landowners, and businesses

anywhere in Whatcom County

In the last two years water resources have come to

the forefront of local issues. Your legal access to water has been at risk all along, but the reasons why have become clear only recently.

One example is the state Growth Management Hearings Board’s September 2013 ruling that the county’s policies and rules were failing to protect both water supply and quality. In response, County Planning staff proposed that any permit applicant relying on a new well would have to prove that their use of ground water would not adversely impact f low levels in nearby streams.

Strong public opposition caused County staff to shelve the proposal. Then the County Council sued the Board on this issue. Regardless of the outcome, the nexus between water access and land use has been raised, and won’t go away soon.

Other recent events include the restart of the Planning Unit, a major part of the county’s Watershed planning process, and adoption of a resolution by the County Council of a new “Water Action Plan.”

The county and two private

groups have staged educational forums that drew many officials and residents. The last of a series of four takes place July 10 at 7 p.m. in the Event Center at Silver Reef.

Also, commercial farmers have organized an Agricultural District Coalition to provide better repre-sentation regarding their use of sur-face and ground water.

While Lake Whatcom and shell-fish bed closures in Drayton Harbor and Portage Bay have long garnered widespread attention, water qual-ity challenges arise throughout the county – and those challenges affect water supply and legal access.

In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a landmark case (Elkhorn) that upheld a ruling of our state Supreme Court that the state could condition permits in Jefferson

County based on water quality and stream flow levels. Thus, quan-tity and quality issues are closely connected and cannot always be separated when considering water management options.

Because minimum stream flows were not being met in the Nooksack basin and other watersheds, the state Department of Ecology (DoE) closed these areas in 1986 to further surface water diversions and ground water withdrawals, except exempt wells. Few water rights permits have been issued around here since, leav-ing literally hundreds of residents, including farmers, without legal access to water.

Just as stream flow is one criti-cal element for fish, so also is the condition of their habitat. The Nooksack basin once was covered with thick, slow-draining forests. When timber was cleared for farming, together with extensive drainage and dikes, the landscape changed dramatically and resulted in less stream flow during the dry months of the year – right when irrigators need to pump water.

Then in 2000, several salmon species became listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. It triggered new, sometimes conflict-ing rules that made solutions even more difficult for both private and public parties.

analYsIs: loCal WaTeR RIGHTs

An open, government/citizenry approach is

needed to support the necessary initiative and

institutional memory crucial to making real

progress.


Until the recent Hearings Board ruling, anyone intending to farm or build a home in rural areas had little concern regarding legal access to water. They simply had to drill a well and use it (per the state ground water code, RCW 90.44.050).

But until this case is resolved, this future of this exemption is murky. In portions of rural Clallam and Skagit Counties, no new build-ing permits are being issued to comply with a state in-stream flow rule. Exceptions are possible among several options; for example, if a user agrees to mitigate by limiting and metering the use of their water.

These restrictions are based on the scientific concept of hydrau-lic continuity, or possible linkage between ground water levels and stream flow. In areas where shallow aquifers feed stream flow, with-drawal of that ground water can reduce stream flow. This is DoE’s controversial legal basis for ground-water access closures.

In 1998, state government adopt-ed two new laws that supported major local water resource planning. The Salmon Recovery Act (RCW 77.85) set guidelines for local public and private salmon programs still underway; results are mixed.

Results are mixed. The broader scope Watershed Planning Act (RCW 90.82) empowered local entities, i.e. governments and private interests, such as fishers, farmers, rural water users, and envi-ronmentalists, to develop together a comprehensive management plan

In June of 2011, local tribes Lummi and Nooksack peti-tioned their federal trustee, the Department of the Interior, to initiate litigation on their behalf in federal court. They sought to quantify their treaty rights to stream flow levels that would support harvestable levels of salmon.

So far the Interior Department has not issued a definitive answer, but one could be forthcoming at any time.

A comparable action provided by state law, a “gen-eral stream adjudication,” could also be initiated. One was started in the Yakima basin in 1977, Dept of Ecology v. Acquavella. The case has not yet been fully settled.

Addressing over 40,000 separate water claims, the litigation costs alone exceed $30 million. One result is that the Yakima Nation’s treaty rights to stream flows were affirmed.

Also, procedures to streamline such adjudications have been developed, so that if such a case were initiated here, it is likely that procedural matters would move along at a much faster pace. Many parties in the local water rights discussion believe that getting the matter into state court, instead of federal court, would provide non-tribal water users with the least expensive path, with a fairer process.

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for the major watersheds in this area.

Most of Whatcom County is labeled Water Resource Inventory Area 1 (WRIA 1). In 1998, the “Initiating Governments” – the County, Bellingham, the Public Utility District (PUD), and the Lummi and Nooksack tribes – formed the WRIA 1 Watershed Management Project. It included an outline for structure and func-tion of the WRIA 1 Planning Unit, where spokespersons from caucuses representing interest groups would develop the watershed plan.

The Planning Unit and the County approved the initial plan in 2005. Confidential meetings have taken place to resolve the in-stream flow issue that recently stalled. Other programs and projects are in the works, but little is known pub-licly about their specifics.

One reason for the lack of prog-ress and public knowledge of the WRIA 1 project was the abrupt suspension of the Planning Unit in mid-2009. That problem appears to have been solved with the res-toration of the Planning Unit last September and its adoption a new

set of procedural rules and a Work Plan for the rest of this year.

Despite its relatively broad scope, the 2005 WRIA 1 Plan did not encompass all of the ongoing water resources policies, programs, and projects. In 2007 Whatcom County prioritized everything in a Comprehensive Water Resource Integration Program, or CWRIP. Though well-intended, it wound up sitting in a desk drawer. It remains unclear still, seven years later.

The County Council recently adopted a Water Action Plan (WAP; Resolution 2014-015) as a new effort to develop a list of county-wide water resource priori-ties for future action. We hope this time the agencies and other parties follow through, including broad and

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Timeline of Ag Water Issues

County Planning staff proposed that any permit

applicant relying on a new well would have to prove their use of

ground water would not adversely impact flow

levels in nearby streams.

Continued on page 89


CoMMenTaRY

When Washington State’s Legislature first convened after state-hood in 1889, one of its first acts was to authorize the creation of irrigation districts. Why? Because the ade-quacy of water supply

for agriculture was at the foundation of the state’s economy and lifeblood of rural communities.

Today, the water supply and water quality issues facing agriculture are even more complicated and chal-lenging. And since 1889, the irrigation district statute has evolved so that these districts can address a variety of issues -- including water quality, water supply, drainage and environmental restoration -- through watershed

improvement districts.In Whatcom County, a coalition

of agricultural landowners named Whatcom Ag District Coalition formed to propose creating a series of districts under the irrigation district statute to provide agricultural landowners with a structure to address water and other environmental issues now and into the future.

Each district would be created in a distinct drainage area of the county so that local landowners will have direct control and input over their own, local district.

Whatcom County’s agricultural land-owners face significant environmental and natural resource challenges that require organization, funding and cre-ativity. Whatcom’s farmers will need to receive assistance and cooperation

from agencies and natural resource partners to address these challenges.

Regulatory agencies at all levels of government will increasingly scruti-nize agricultural operations for water quality impacts on drinking water and shellfish, and to protect the health of rivers and Puget Sound.

On water supply issues, the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe have filed a request to quantify their water rights with the federal government. If this process goes forward, it could trig-ger a basin--wide determination of all other water rights as well. Under Washington’s prior appropriation or “first-in-time is first-in-right” permit-ting system, irrigators who have junior water rights or who are determined to have no legal water rights at all could be left without water for irrigation

Whatcom Ag District Coalition formedLocal agricultural landowners seek on-the-ground solutions to pressing problems

[Reprinted with permission from co-authors Greg Ebe and Bill Clarke]

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or livestock. And, during some years, excess water supply during the fall/winter/spring can adversely affect water quality, habitat, floodplains and agricultural productivity.

Whatcom County’s agricultural landowners have the opportunity to organize themselves so that they can implement on-the-ground solutions to these problems in a way that they can support and own. Watershed improvement districts are created through a petition –signing process that requires at least 50 landowners within a proposed district, or of the owners of at least 50 percent of the land.

Both the Whatcom County Council and the Department of Ecology review the proposed creation of these dis-tricts, and the council holds a public hearing. If the signature petition requirements are met, the question of whether to create a district and who would be on the districts’ board of directors is a vote put only to those landowners who would be included in

the district’s assessment.For the proposed new districts in

Whatcom County, only landowners with 4 1/2 or more acres of land would be included in the district. If approved, these landowners would pay an assessment that must be used only for actions that benefit the agricultural landowners within the district. Each district would have the authority to develop and implement those proj-ects and activities that mattered most to their own landowners.

Around the state, irrigation districts have a strong history of using this landowner--controlled, landowner--funded process to support agriculture. In the early years, irrigation districts worked almost exclusively on water diversion and delivery systems. But in more recent years, irrigation districts in the Yakima Basin, Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere have addressed water quality issues like nitrate contamina-tion, water supply and conservation projects, and a variety of environmen-tal protection issues that are critical to

the success of agriculture. In Whatcom County, two dis-

tricts created a few years ago -- the Bertrand and North Lynden watershed improvement districts -- have already been at work addressing water sup-ply and water quality issues for agri-culture. These additional proposed watershed improvement districts would provide even broader coverage and representation for agriculture in Whatcom County.

These districts would not replace existing water resource and water quality planning processes under-way in Whatcom County. Rather, the districts would provide a structure for agricultural interests to legally participate with other water resource stakeholders. And while a number of entities such as drainage district and water associations already exist, these entities are generally limited by state statute to deal with single pur-pose issues -- whereas the watershed improvement districts have broader authority over a variety of issues.

Water supply, water quality and other environmental issues affecting agriculture are topics that can create lots of disagreement. But from looking around the state, one point cannot be argued: the complex environmental issues facing agriculture will not solve themselves.

Agricultural landowners must have an organizational structure that they own and trust to represent their inter-ests in developing practical solutions. Since statehood, districts that are cre-ated and funded by agricultural land-owners, and that act solely for those landowners, provide the best oppor-tunity for progress.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Greg Ebe is a civil engineer and seed potato grower. He serves on the Ag District Coalition’s board of direc-tors and is a board member of the Whatcom Business Alliance. Bill Clarke is an attorney in Olympia. He represents the Whatcom Ag District Coalition. Previously, he was a member and chair of the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board, which hears appeals of water rights and quality cases. He is currently chair of the Association of Washington Business’ water resource committee.

Orchards, berry and potato farms, and other agricultural fields – both commercial and private – face threats of a tight squeeze for water rights. (Photo courtesy of Bellewood Acres)


inclusive public involvement.An open, government/citizenry

approach is needed to support the necessary initiative and institutional memory crucial to making real progress.

We further hope the WAP will lead to improved regulations by making them clearer, fairer and more effective. The need for it today shows existing regulations and programs are inadequate. We believe that the WAP as a decision making, policy tool needs to be firmly grounded in law, economics, and facts based on current science.

Science, after all, is essential for obtaining information on which to base policy; it is neither policy nor law, per se.

Persistent public involvement is also vital to making sound water resources decisions. Concerned parties should get involved in a Planning Unit caucus, and/or moni-tor and participate in key meetings and processes. Patience and pacing are critical. Water issues are serious, some are urgent, but work some-times proceeds at a glacial pace.

These meetings often are not inspiring or pleasant, but their consequences can be life- and community-changing. There is no alternative to staying informed, and involved in the process, either indi-vidually or through a group.

Either you’re at the table, or you risk being put on the menu.

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NEW lEADERSHIP AT BP

Bob Allendorfer recently assumed the role of Business Unit Leader at BP Cherry Point, replacing Stacey Orlandi who left the company.

Allendorfer moved from the BP Whiting, Ind., Refinery where he was operations manager since 2007.

He started with BP there in 1990 after obtaining a master’s in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois, and went to the Rotterdam Refinery in The Netherlands in 2001. In 2006 he became Global Manufacturing Procurement Director to lead the procurement function for 12 refin-eries and 7 chemical plants across 4 continents.

PEACEHEAlTH ENERGy STAR BELLINGHAM – PeaceHealth

St. Joseph Medical Center earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification, signifying that the hospital facility performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meets strict EPA efficiency performance levels. Paul Glasser is the hospital’s facilities manager. Chief Admin Officer Dale Zender said, “…This commitment to envi-ronmental stewardship (lowers) overall energy costs.” PeaceHealth also learned recently that its 10-year exemption from B&O tax ended when Bellingham City Council voted to impose an annual $1.2 million taxation starting in 2015.

WESTFORD FUNERAl HOME HIRES

Paul Spinelli has become the new funeral director. He has served in Whatcom County for 36 years. Westford is a third-generation family-owned firm with more than

100 years of history in Bellingham.

VSH CPAS PROMOTIONS

Justin Remaklus has been promoted to senior manager and Tristan Hurlbert to manager. Remaklus joined the VSH this year, specializing in international tax, including planning and structuring for U.S. citizens living abroad and companies doing business in the U.S. He graduated from

Kentucky Christian University in accounting and received his CPA designation in 2009.

Hurlbert, a graduate of Washington State University (’09, business admin; ’10 master’s of accounting), has received CPA des-ignation Certified Fraud Examiner designation. VSH is a full-service CPA firm in the Barkley District of Bellingham.

lARSON GROSS PROMOTIONS

Marv Tjoelker has become Chairman of the Board and Aaron Brown has been promoted to CEO at local accounting firm Larson Gross CPAs & Consultants.

Tjoelker will serve as spokes-man for the nine-member ownership group. Transition of the CEO responsibilities

frees Tjoelker to consult more with clients, particularly on business succession and financial planning. He has 16 years with the 65-year-old company. Tjoelker serves on the board’s executive committee with the WBA.

Brown takes over translating the firm’s mission and values into the vision, strategy and execution to guide continued growth. He has been with the firm 11 years, serving as director of marketing, operations, and COO since 2011. Larson Gross has 70-plus on staff in Bellingham, Lynden, and Burlington combined – the largest locally-owned public accounting firm north of Seattle.

PEOPlES BANK PROMOTIONTerry Daughters has been named

executive vice president and chief credit officer, moving from leading commercial banking for Whatcom County. He graduated from the University of Washington and from Pacific Coast Banking School, and he joined Peoples in 1999. With 35 years’ experience, he will oversee all aspects of portfolio underwriting

Aaron BrownLarson Gross

Bob Allendorfer BP

Marv TjoelkerLarson Gross

Tristan HurlbertVSH

Justin RemaklusVSH

Whatcom Business Alliance

Fostering Business Success and Community Prosperitymember news

SpinelliWestford Funeral


and loan portfolio risk manage-ment, working as a team with Charlie Guildner, the executive vice president and chief lending officer.

Founded in 1921, Peoples Bank is locally-owned and operated as an indepen-dent community bank with over $1.3 billion in assets, headquartered in Bellingham and operating 24 full-service branches and three loan production offices across the state with a Bauer Financial 5-Star supe-rior rating.

NW SKy FERRy PURCHASECo-owners Skip and Katie

Jansen purchased San Juan Airlines’ f light operations and renamed the company San Juan Airlines. Both airlines have had a long history of serving commuters and tourists in the San Juan Islands and the Pacific Northwest.

“This acquisition keenly posi-tions us to expand our f light sched-ule, accommodate larger parties, and offer more destinations to better serve our customers’ needs,” Skip Jansen said. The Jansens took over NW Sky Ferry five years ago. San Juan Airlines offers daily scheduled, charter, and scenic f lights around the San Juan Islands, Bellingham, Anacortes, Port Angeles, Point Roberts, Seattle, British Columbia and beyond. They use the former NW Sky Ferry ter-minal in Bellingham, and the San Juan Airlines facilities in Anacortes, Friday Harbor, and Eastsound.

WASHINGTON FEDERAl REGIONAl PRESIDENT

Tom Kenney will serve as presi-dent responsible for all company operations and activity throughout the Northern Washington area. Previously he led the region’s busi-ness banking and commercial real estate groups for four years. Kenny has 30-plus years’ experi-

ence in bank-ing and finance in California, Colorado, and Washington. Before join-ing Washington Federal’s board in 2004 he was a

VP of finance at Haggen Inc. in Bellingham. He is a graduate of Colorado State University, and has an MBA from Southern Cal; he

also completed Stanford University’s Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management Program, as well as the Seattle Leadership Tomorrow Class.

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INDUSTRIAl CU REP lEADS ASSOCIATION

Ryan Olsen at ICU has been elected president of the Northwest Washington Chapter of the Northwest Credit Union Association (NWCUA), the trade association that provides resources to over 160 credit unions and about 4.5 million Northwest consumer members. Olsen is the director of consumer lending at ICU which has served out of Bellingham since 1941.

WEllS FARGO ADVISORS

Vice President/Investment officers Mike Perry, a senior VP, and Karen Richards, have been designated members of the firm’s Premier Advisors Program, a distinction that reflects professional success in Wells Fargo Advisors’ highest standards as measured by one or more

of the firm’s criteria for revenue generation, educational attainment and client-service best practices.

Perry, a business school gradu-ate of Western Washington, has 13 years with the firm, and 18 years in the brokerage industry.

Richards has been with Wells Fargo Advisors seven years and she has 13 years in brokerage experi-ence. She, too, is a WWU gradu-ate, including an MBA.

With $1.4 trillion in client assets as of 2013, Wells Fargo Advisors provides investment advice and guidance to clients through 15,280 full-service financial advisors and 3,328 licensed bankers in all 50 states and D.C.

MUlTOP FINANCIAl REP NAMED TO BOARD

The Western States Petroleum Association’s Northwest WSPA Associates Chapter announced the addition of Tyler Ryan as the new-est appointee to its board of direc-tors. Ryan is the executive director of financial services at Multop Financial, a Bellingham-based financial advisory firm.

WSPA is a non-profit trade asso-ciation representing 26 companies

that explore for, produce, refine, transport, and market petroleum, petroleum products, natural gas and other energy supplies in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Ryan works closely

We’d like to say “Thank You” to the businesses and individuals whose support for the 2014 NW Washington Sustainability Challenge made it a great success for the participants and the community.

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with executives and employees in the local refinery organizations.

yEAGERS, CITy OF BEllINGHAM RENTING KAyAKS

All summer in a partner-ship Yeagers, Bellingham’s old-est sporting goods store, and the City of Bellingham have kayaks, paddleboards and other equipment available for rent on weekends at Lake Padden Park. The equip-ment is available from Noon-7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 31.

The rental booth sits at the swim beach on the park's west entrance. Watercraft will include stand-up paddleboards ($15/hour and $50/day); single sit-on-top kayaks ($15/hour and $50/day) and double sit-on-top kayaks, and Hobie and NuCanoe fishing kayaks (all at $20/hour and $60/day).

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LYNDEN PIONEER MUSEUMSEEKING FUNDS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

The LPM Endowment Foundation is seeking an individual who is excited to help preserve the legacy of the commu-nity of Lynden and Whatcom County.

The LPM Endowment Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organiza-tion dedicated to providing a revenue stream to the Lynden Pioneer Museum through endowed funds.

The Funds Development Director will be in charge of establishing and implementing an annual fundraising program that develops private, public, corporate and estate giving for the purpose of raising funds for investment in the LPM Endowment Foundation.

Qualified individuals should submit a resume and curricula vita to Troy Luginbill, at 360-354-3675 or via email at [email protected]

Compensation: $1,000 for 40 hours a month as well as additional incentives related to performance.


Juggling tickets, hotel reservations, rental cars,

itineraries, and other plans can be maddening during this peak travel season.

We researched and spoke within our staff about our favorite apps that assist travelers, and came up with this Top Five list to help you get around on your vacation or business travel – all free for both iOS and Android devices. Alphabetically:

EXPENSIFyReceipts and expenses become

the bane of the business person. This is a very easy-to-use, well laid-out app with which to log bills, credits, receipts, mileage, and other common expenses. You get extra functionality, such as importing expenses from credit card or bank accounts.

HOTEl TONIGHTThis hotel-booking service finds

you a hotel on the day you need the room. It offers a few high-end options that negotiate special deals.

UBERUber provides you a private

driver in more than 100 cities and

30 countries. Request a ride using the app and get picked up within minutes. On-demand service means no reservations required and no waiting in taxi lines. Compare rates for different vehicles and get fare quotes within the app. Use PayPal or add a credit card to your secure account so you never need cash on hand. It’s available in many U.S., European, and Asian cities.

VIBERRoaming charges? What roam-

ing charges? Viber is a mobile application that allows you to make phone calls and send text messages to all other Viber users for free! Viber is available over WiFi or 3G (data charges may apply). Once you and your friends install Viber, you can use it to talk and message as much as you want - for free!

WORD lENSThis really clever app translates

most modern languages simply by pointing your phone’s camera at a sign, sentence, or document. It’s often clumsy, not surprisingly. Much depends on the size of the text involved and its construction (newspaper headlines, for example, translate poorly). But, hey, as a free app it’s excellent.

TeCHnoloGY: TRaVel aPPs

life in the Tech lane

Five fab travel apps for vacation or business trips – iOS and Android – all free

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Keepin’ America clean & greenSSC carries the banner throughout Whatcom County

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Scene on the StReet Sanitary Service Company has pioneered many environmental processes in waste

management and recycling, including becoming the first to use biofuel in its trucks (since mid-2005, with an estimated 20 percent reduction in emissions). For its work to expand local recycling and to reduce waste in its own shop and in businesses across the community, SSC earned the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Green Business of the Year recognition in 2012.

Here, Truck no. 69 empties a cart of food Plus yard waste in a local neighborhood. Though it runs year-round, Truck 69 appears especially appropriate during the month of our celebra-tion of Independence Day.

ssC has been in business 85 years, from co-founder Gus Razore to his son, Paul, who serves as president now. Paul said of the U.s. flag truck, “ssC salutes all the brave men and women of the armed forces who have fought for our country’s freedom.”

as well as the stars & stripes, the ssC fleet also features The Pink lady (Truck no. 67) to support the cause of breast cancer awareness. (Photo by Mike McKenzie)


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Anderson Paper Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Archer Halliday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Bank of the Pacific. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Banner Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Barkely Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100Bellingham Athletic Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Bellingham Bells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Best Western Lakeway Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Big Fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Charter College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Chmelik Sitkin & Davis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Chocolate Necessities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Chrysalis Inn and Spa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46City of Blaine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Custom Concrete. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Dakota Creek Golf & Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Data Link West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Dewaard and Bode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Diane Padys Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Faber Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73First Federal Savings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Great Floors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Hardware Sales Office Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Hotel Bellwether . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Industrial Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Island Mariner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Kulshan Brewing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Lake Padden Golf Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Larson Gross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Laserpoint Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Lynden Pioneer Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Metcalf Hodges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Mills Electric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Moncrieff Construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51North Bellingham Golf Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38North Cascades Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Northwest Health Care Linen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Northwest Propane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32NWIRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Oltman Insurance & Financial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center . . . . 79Peoples Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Port of Bellingham Real Estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Print & Copy Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Q Laundry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17ReBound Physical Therapy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Red Rokk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Rice Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75San Juan Airlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Saturna Capital. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Semiahmoo Resort Golf Spa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Shuksan Golf Club. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Silver Reef Casino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98Skagit Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Skagit Valley Casino Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91St Pauls Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Sudden Valley Golf & Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44TD Curran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9The Language Exchange Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Transgroup Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49VSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77WCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35WECU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Western Refinery Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Western Washington University . . . . . . . . . . . 49Whidbey Island Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Willows Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Wilson Motors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94


Meet with success in over 22,000 square feet of indoor function space. With full-service catering, 105 beautiful rooms and suites, and nine diverse dining options, you don’t have to choose between business and pleasure.

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business pulse magazine: summer 2014

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