Basic HTML Version
ADU update
Portland City Council voted unanimously
to extend the waiver of SDCs on Accessory
Dwelling Units until July 31, 2016.
—See page 13
Your
Business
BUILDING
BUSINESS TIPS • SALES/MARKETING • REMODELING • SUSTAINABILITY •
MArCh, 2013
•
PAGE 11
HBA
News
HOME BUILDING
HBA
pdx
.
org
BIZ
TIPS
Over the last several years we
have all seen our market change.
With the change comes new op-
portunities to refine the way we
do business and market our busi-
nesses. Prior to the downturn, it
was not uncommon for my adver-
tising budget to be close to $25K
for any given year. When the mar-
ket crashed I started to analyze
what forms of marketing I found
most rewarding.
I decided to focus on philan-
thropy as away to get my business
name out there. I realized that
through different philanthropic
opportunities I could both get my
name out there and do good for
the community at large. It costs
much less, other than time, and
allows me to interact with good
people that learn to respect and
appreciate my companies abili-
ties and in turn has proved to
be very rewarding on a personal
and business level. I have always
believed that in order to have a
strong business we need a strong
community! Thus, by focusing my
time and energy towards helping
others, I have gotten my name
out there in ways I never man-
aged to accomplish before.
My advice to other business
owners is to find ways to align
your business with organizations
that can use your skills and at-
tributes. Be sure to donate your
time and energy to the “right”
organization that can truly ap-
preciate what you are bringing to
the table. This does not mean you
give everything away and work
for free, but you let people learn
about who and what your busi-
ness stands for! This is best form
of grass roots marketing I have
found and feel like my dollars and
my time are put to their best use.
community work
is grass-roots
marketing at its
best
Triple your buyer traffic this
spring - deadline March 8!
Builders interested in showcasing
their homes to buyers should take
advantage of this opportunity sell
their work.
—See page 12
By Jon Bell
For the HBA
From helping expand health care services
for people in Zimbabwe to giving sick children
a chance to just be normal, HBAmembers give
back in a variety of different ways. Here are
just five members doing well by doing good.
Bill Gander
Standard TV & Appliance
Bill Gander can trace much of
the giving that his company,
Standard TV & Appliance, does
these days back to his early
childhood.
The son of Clement and Ha-
zel Gander, who founded the iconic Portland
appliance company in 1947, Gander grew up in
a frugal family that tithed 10 percent of its in-
come every year. That spirit has always stayed
with him.
“I’d say all of us have some foundational
elements in our lives that are part of our up-
bringing,” said Gander, who officially became
owner of Standard in 1981. “Sometimes you
make a decision that you want to emulate
things that your parents did, or you remember
individuals that you saw and heard, who were
selfless. Those are the kind of things that you
don’t forget.”
Today, Standard donates to about 30 differ-
ent charities every year, primarily through cash
contributions and sponsorships. Among the
bigger name beneficiaries: the Home Builders
Foundation, Portland Rescue Mission, Medi-
cal Teams International, Girls & Boys Club of
Portland Metropolitan Area, Susan G. Komen
for the Cure and the Oregon International Air
Show.
“I’ll hear stories from people and it makes
me think how grateful I am,” Gander said. “You
look at those who both benefit from these or-
ganizations in our own community and those
who are in dreadful situations around the
world, and you see that some people just don’t
have the ability to do what a lot of us take for
granted. That’s why we help where we can.”
Paul Sivley
Paul Sivley Photography
True, on his most recent trip to
Zimbabwe last summer, Paul
Sivley was unfairly arrested
and spent four terrible nights
in prison. But the Tualatin
photographer remains
committed to helping the Zimbabwean
people, something he’s been doing for the
past five years through the Portland-Mutare
Sister City Association (PMSCA), an all-
volunteer organization that promotes
goodwill and the exchange of ideas, goods,
culture and friendship between the people of
Portland and Mutare, Zimbabwe.
“The people there are amazing and wonder-
ful,” said Sivley, who’s traveled to Africa at least
10 times, “but the education and health care
systems in Zimbabwe are in great need.”
PMSCA, which Sivley is now co-chair of, has
done a little bit of everything in terms of phi-
lanthropy for people in Mutare, from paying
school fees for children who can’t afford them
to shipping over eyeglasses and helping to
build a health clinic for area residents. And Siv-
ley himself has been working on a multi-year
project to photograph inspirational women in
Zimbabwe to both showcase their strengths
and accomplishments and to spotlight them
as role models for younger generations.
“I really think we are very fortunate here in
America, and I’m big on giving back,” Sivley
said. “And if we really search, we all have time
to give.”
Erin Davis
Mosaik Design & Remodeling
Once a monh for the past year
or so, Erin Davis, designer and
co-owner of Mosaik Design &
Remodeling, has been
heading to Doernbecher
Children’s Hospital and Randall
Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel to help
little kids do what they do best: be little kids.
Davis is a volunteer for the Chelsea Hicks
Foundation’s Chelsea’s Closet program, a roll-
ing dress-up closet that provides monthly
dress-up parties for seriously ill patients at ar-
ea children’s hospitals. Costumes range from
super heroes and princesses to just about ev-
erything in between.
“It’s so much fun to see the kids get in their
costumes and just be kids,” Davis said. “For a
lot of them, it’s the only chance they have to
really get out of their rooms and just have fun.”
Davis also serves on the committee for the
foundation’s annual fund-raising Masquerade
Ball and has no plans to stop helping out any-
time soon.
“It’s a real perspective-changer,” she said.
“You get out of your small little world and see
a different set of circumstances, and it makes
you thankful for what you have — and glad
to help.”
Linda Beymer
WB Adams Insurance
A little over a year ago,
someone at the Beaverton
Chamber of Commerce asked
W.B. Adams Insurance agent
Linda Beymer why she wasn’t
part of the local Elks Club.
“And I said, ‘Well, nobody’s asked me,’”
Beymer said. “And then that person said, ‘Well,
I’m asking.’”
Fast-forward over the past year, and Beymer
has become an active member of the Elks
Club, putting together food baskets for those
in need, supporting local vets and helping out
with the Elks Hoop Shoot, a free-throw shoot-
ing competition for kids aged 8-13.
“I haven’t been with them very long but I’ve
really gotten immersed in it,” said Beymer,
who was named Beaverton Elk of the Month
last August.
In addition to her work with the Elks, Beymer
has also been involved with the HBA, the Spe-
cial Olympics, Guide Dogs for the Blind, the
March of Dimes and Susan G. Komen for the
Cure.
“I just like the feeling of giving back to oth-
ers who might need a little help themselves,”
she said.
David Hamill / Parr Lumber
The accident was tragic, the
response as heartwarming as
they come.
Last November, 15-year-
old Jacoby Miles of Puyallup,
Wash., was paralyzed from the
chest down after a gymnastics accident. The
community rallied, and through a combina-
tion of donations and volunteer efforts, the
family home quickly got a 1,300-square-foot
addition and several modifications to help ac-
commodate Jacoby’s wheelchair.
One of the major supply donations came
from Parr Lumber, who teamed up with local
builder Reality Homes and other partners to
bring the project to fruition.
“We were so happy that we were able to
help the Miles family, said David Hamill, CEO
of Parr Lumber.
While helping out Jacoby Miles may be one
of the more emotional projects Parr has lent a
hand to, it’s by far not the only one. Mike Hig-
gins, whose Social Media Northwest agency
represents Parr, said the company has worked
with many charities, most notably the Ronald
McDonald House Charities of Oregon and
Southwest Washington. Parr also has an event
trailer, which it has made available during
times of community need, including the 2007
flooding in Vernonia and Centralia and the
June 2010 search for 7-year-old Kyron Horman.
“I really think Parr’s philosophy is that they
are part of these communities,” Higgins said,
“and that it is their charge to get involved as
much as possible when these things happen.”
Members making a difference
The Portland-Mutare Sister City Association pays school fees
for African schoolchildren who otherwise couldn’t afford them,
among other things.
Photo courtesy: Paul Sivley
Looking for more ways to give back?
Support the Home Builders Foundation by making an item or service donation to
the 2013 HBF Benefit Auction – A Black & White Gala. Donations are being accepted through March 20. Contact Nicole Bailey at
(503) 684-1880 to make a donation or to learn more about the 16
th
Annual HBF Auction.
Presented by
and
By Nathan D Young,
Nathan D Young Construction
Nathan is one of the
Home Building Founda-
tion’s most active contribu-
tors. To learn more about
the HBF and other HBA
member charities, check
out the cover article “Or-
ganizations make it easy
for HBA members to give
back to the community” on
page 1.