Business Awards Presented to Paulsen, McEvoy Oil, Siscosoft

Packed Ballroom Honors Finalists

You couldn’t envy the judges who had to determine the winners of the 2000 Business Person, Small Business and Start-up Business of the Year awards.

After reviewing a strong field of 12 finalists, they selected Peter Paulsen, McEvoy Oil and Siscosoft as winners of Whatcom County Business Pulse’s 15th-annual awards, presented March 28 in a sold-out ballroom of more than 400 people at Resort Semiahmoo in Blaine.

Also, former insurance agency executive Brian Griffin received the Whatcom County Lifetime Business Achievement Award. (See cover story, page 34.)

Paulsen has been the key figure in the Port of Bellingham’s economic development of Bellwether on the Bay at Squalicum Harbor. His $10 million Hotel Bellwether, which opened last August, features 67 luxury rooms and a distinctive Lighthouse Suite.

Paulsen, who previously built apartment complexes and office buildings, also is building a 37,000-square-foot office building adjacent to the hotel. Scheduled for completion this summer, the building is wired with state-of-the-art fiberoptic cables for high-speed Internet access and anticipates technological changes as much as possible.

The amenities in the hotel and office building reflect his emphasis on quality.

“I have a niche many people are afraid to put money into,” Paulsen says. “I have an upscale niche.”

The other finalists for Business Person of the Year were Terri McKee, chief executive officer of Industrial Credit Union; Terry Smith, owner of Smith Gardens; and Ken Stremler, owner of Farmers Equipment and several other businesses in north Whatcom County.

McEvoy Oil of Bellingham exemplifies a longtime business that has evolved to meet changing needs and seize opportunities. Brothers Tim, Mike and Dave McEvoy are the third generation of McEvoys to own the wholesale-fuel business, first acquired by their grandfather Charles McEvoy in 1932.

The brothers led the company’s move into retail gas stations and were the first in the county to include restaurants in them. McEvoy Oil also is known for supporting numerous organizations in the county and making educational presentations at schools.

The Small Business of the Year finalists included Barron Heating, Cloud Mountain Farm, Snapper Shuler Kenner Insurance and Victoria-San Juan Cruises.

Siscosoft’s triumph in the Start-up Business of the Year category is fitting for region with one of the highest ratios in the country of golf courses per people. The Lynden company, founded by Kent Sisco, has developed a Golfwits software that is becoming known among golfers throughout the country.

Sisco, a former Microsoft software developer, created a program for personal digital assistants that golfers can use as they play. Golfers can download a map of more than 4,500 golf courses in the United States and internationally, track each shot they take and compile scoring and yardage data. By pointing on a Palm Pilot or other PDA where a shot has landed, golfers can learn how far they are from the green and select the appropriate club.

About 10,000 users downloaded course maps from the Web site — www.golfwits.com — for use with the software program, which retails for $39.95.

Siscosoft, which has 13 employees, has been actively promoting its product at golf trade shows and golf academies and appears to be prepared for the expected explosion in use of PDAs. The company also is working on other software products.

The other start-up finalists were FiberCloud and Barbo Furniture.