Business Person of the Year Finalists

Terri McKee
Industrial Credit Union

Terri McKee personifies the American path — starting at the bottom and working your way to the top.

The president/CEO of Industrial Credit Union entered the financial field in 1972 as a front-desk clerk, became office manager and later a bank loan officer. In that capacity, she moved to ICU in 1982. McKee managed the loan, operations, accounting and data-processing departments before she was named executive vice president in 1991.

She just fell into a field she loves. “I went through high school wanting to be either an attorney or history teacher. This is kind of like both, only dealing with money,” she says, adding that she loves working with people and the sense of making a positive difference in their lives.

Taking the presidential helm of the $42-million credit union in 1993, she’s seen membership grow from 10,500 to today’s 15,000 and assets rise to $71 million. ICU also has doubled in size, from two branches and 29 employees to four branches and 50 workers.

“The key philosophy that guides me can be condensed into one word — balance,” she says. “I strive for balance in my home and work life.”

McKee advocates good communications and accountability. “I like to empower my employees and avoid micromanagement,” she adds.

McKee believes continuing education is important, since progress requires an understanding of world events and your industry, and that it’s important to be open to change. “It takes all this and more to inspire people to be their best and make good decisions,” she explains.

A director on the Washington Credit Union League board for four years, McKee has participated in the WCUL Governmental Affairs Committee, chairing it for three years, and the Audit & Policy and Executive committees. She’s a strong advocate for consumers’ rights, including privacy issues. Recently, she testified on a bill to protect from frivolous lawsuits volunteers like those who serve on the boards of nonprofit credit unions, who were left out of a similar bill affecting nonprofit organizations.

McKee’s heart for community work promotes cooperative efforts. She was a major force in the ICU/KGMI food drive last year, which collected more than 30,000 pounds of food. She participates in the Bellingham KidsFest, has taught finance classes at middle and high schools and is a director on the Boys and Girls Club board.

McKee volunteers and encourages her staff to do so, giving them time to work with the United Way, American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life (in which she participated) and other projects. The credit-union industry has given ICU a social-responsibility award the last two years.

McKee’s goals encompass the balance she espouses in her life. “My professional goal is to keep growing with the credit-union movement and the community. I want to ensure that Industrial Credit Union is a healthy part of our community long after I leave.

“My personal goal is to live life to its fullest. To see every day as an adventure. And to share as many of those adventures as possible with my best friend, who also happens to be my husband, Ed.”

Peter Paulsen
Hotel Bellwether

A recent transplant to Bellingham, Peter Paulsen has already made quite a mark in the $10 million Bellwether Hotel at Squalicum Harbor. The 67-room luxury hotel forms a landmark at the harbor, particularly with its Lighthouse Suite, which stands outside the main building and offers guests who stay in it an observation deck with glassed-in telescope.

Setting up a skyline is nothing new to Paulsen. He spent his life constructing landmark buildings in Iowa and California before “retiring” — for a second time — to Bellingham and finding again that he can’t seem to retire for long.

The Bellwether now employs 55 people, including restaurant workers, and Paulsen says the average 2000 room rate was $150-$160. He expects better this year.

“The future looks substantially better and the room rate will be higher this year, based on the reservations,” he says. “People are coming to Bellingham that weren’t thinking about it before. We’re advertising out of the area and it’s bringing people in.”

The German-born builder first began constructing spec homes in Moline, Ill., then moved into erecting upscale apartments. He’s proud of the fact that, though it’s been many years since he built them, the original tenants still occupy those units. That validates his policy of building only the best — people are happy with the results and stay there.

In San Jose, Calif., Paulsen began constructing office buildings. That will also be his next contribution to the skyline at Squalicum Harbor as Paulsen’s new office complex rises.

The 37,000-square-foot building, which is being configured to suit tenants, is slated for completion July 1. It’s wired with state-of-the-art fiberoptic cables for high-speed Internet access and anticipates technological changes as much as possible.

Paulsen has letters of intent for the upper-floor units and half the bottom floor, with some leases signed. “It’s going so well because of the fiberoptics and underground parking and, of course, the waterfront views,” he says.

Solidity of construction and high quality are the hallmarks of Paulsen’s work. A conversation with him will be peppered with references to doing things right and emphasizing quality.

Paulsen chooses his locations well and has a knack for picking spots that are just about to boom. That, plus an uncanny sense of timing, are Paulsen’s keys to success. “Timing seems to be my strength,” he says. Add in quality and hard work, and you have a winner. “I put in maybe 5 percent more (in construction costs) for higher quality and I have a niche many people are afraid to put money into. I have an upscale niche,” he explains.

Paulsen believes in returning money made in a community and enjoys sponsoring arts events, such as art shows and the Debbie Reynolds performance at the Mount Baker Theatre, and children’s programs.

Having retired twice, Paulsen’s a bit shy about setting goals.

“I like to take things as they come, as opportunities arise,” he says. “Maybe I will do another project, maybe not. I like to take a break sometimes and now I think it’s play time for a bit.”

 

Terry Smith
Smith Gardens

Terry Smith has quite a legacy in Smith Gardens, beginning in 1901 when his family began truck farming in Whatcom County. In the 1950s, that became a bedding-plant business. Smith knew at age 4 that he wanted to grow flowers — “this is my dream,” he says — and joined the business in 1964. By 1993, he had moved into Smith Gardens’ presidency.

Smith Gardens has become a huge operation, featuring 1.2 million square feet of greenhouse space in Washington, California and Oregon — including 15 acres in Bellingham that produce more than 300,000 flats of plants and 110,000 hanging baskets per year. It also has a fleet of 25 delivery trucks, which serve its largely chain-store clients up and down the West Coast, and a peak-season employee roster in Bellingham of about 130.

Smith was chosen “Grower of the Year” in 2000 by the trade journal Greenhouse Grower. The business ranked 43rd on the magazine’s list of top 100 growers, thanks partly to Smith Gardens’ size and trading area. Greenhouse Grower also lauded Smith for launching Pacific Plug & Liner, which caters to the highly competitive chain-store and -nursery market — Smith grows for such accounts as Wal-Mart, Albertson’s and Home Depot — and developing and building Northwest Grown and other name brands in the industry. The journal was also impressed with Smith’s ability to preserve and grow a family owned business in a time when mergers have become common.

Other factors in the nursery’s growth and success can also be attributed to Smith and his philosophy, which can be summed up in one word: teamwork.

Terry Smith is a consummate team player. He has vision, energy and enthusiasm, which his employees — many of whom return year after year for seasonal work — have picked up. Smith credits them with loyalty, dedication, ambition and hard work. His wife, Carolyn, also comes into play when credit is handed out, as does God as Smith’s source of wisdom and direction.

“I own the business, but I’m not holding onto it tightly,” Smith says. “That’s what attracts people to us. When we ask people to join us, we ask them to grow our business, but it’s a commitment both ways. We allow people to grow as well as plants.”

He points out the importance of interviewing potential employees properly. “You have to have a good fit, get the right people. We look for passion, integrity and commitment,” he explains.

Smith is a 10-year member of the Snohomish County Agricultural Board, which is a sounding board for agriculture in that county; he’s active at the family’s church, Immanuel Bible Church, and the Whatcom County in Bloom awards contest.

Smith travels a lot for the business, seeking new plant material and ideas, and that plays into his goals. He intends to continue to grow and improve Smith Gardens, adding to people’s quality of life through flowers in doing so.

“We’re a team,” he emphasizes again. “I’m a positive, optimistic person and I model that and integrity. I’m very excited about the future of our business.”

Ken Stremler
Farmers Equipment Co.

Ken Stremler probably ought to be a baker, considering the number of pies he has his fingers in. Owner of Farmers Equipment Co. in Lynden, he’s also involved in four other main businesses and several smaller enterprises.

Farmers Equipment is his bread and butter, he says. Started by his father and a partner in 1935, it focused on farm equipment. Stremler entered the business in 1963, hearing about and applying for an opening while his father was on vacation.

“Of course, Dad was delighted when he came back, but he wasn’t one to push his kids on anybody,” Stremler recalls. Rather than the “wrench work” he expected, he was trained as parts man and after eight years was invited to become a stockholder.

Farmers Equipment started with one store and, in 1963, had about 20 employees. Now, the business also has a store in Burlington and grossed almost $19 million last year. Stremler says the growth rate is about 10 percent per year.

Because the agricultural sector has changed, Stremler began to diversify a decade ago. Farmers now has four divisions: the agricultural equipment side, materials handling, an industrial equipment division and a new fourth-division focus on a complete rental enterprise, mostly of heavy equipment.

Stremler is also a shareholder and board member of Korvan Industries in Lynden and was involved in its foundation in 1987. Korvan manufactures harvesters for raspberries, blueberries, grapes, coffee, raisins and olives and has a prototype citrus harvester commissioned by the Florida Citrus Commission. Korvan sells harvesters in 15 countries worldwide.

He’s a working partner in Alpine Meadows Christmas Tree Farm, several miles north of Acme. He and his wife Jan own Century House Bed & Breakfast in Lynden. The couple refurbished the 113-year-old Victorian house and have met many interesting people from around the world, but Jan is now operating it on a limited scale.

Last year, the Stremlers purchased Lynden’s Freemason building, which is more than 100 years old, and refurbished it into a retail facility, Grandiflora House & Garden, which his three daughters and Jan run. Stremler, a history buff, loves renovating old buildings; this one now houses gifts and household décor and antiques.

Stremler confesses to being something of a workaholic; his love of new challenges almost requires that. As a Christian, he believes firmly in hard work and dedication. He also has the ability to see and take advantage of opportunities as they arise and accept new challenges.

Active in Third Christian Reformed Church, Lynden, Stremler has served on the church council and expects to again. He’s involved in the endowment committee for Lynden Christian School and has been supportive of various community projects.

His priorities hang strongly with his customers. “If a customer comes in the door, that’s more important than a meeting to me, so I wind up not going to meetings. Often, I don’t even have lunch until late because someone will want to talk to me,” he says. Stremler enjoys religious charities, both domestic and abroad, and likes supporting people on the front lines of various ministries.

 

Barron Heating

Although their business is 28 years old, you don’t have to light a fire under Barron Heating owners John Barron and Bill Pinkey — they’ve got plenty to keep them hopping.

The pair recently introduced a new business logo and is starting this month the renovation and expansion of its Burlington store. When that project is completed, Barron Heating will add spas to its mix of retail products.

However, all of that pales in comparison to the proposed expansion and remodeling of the Bellingham store at 4176 Meridian St. The project will add 5,000 square feet, doubling the existing office and showroom space by adding a second floor — all while continuing to offer its products and services to customers at that location.

“We’re bulging at the seams with the growth we’ve had,” Barron says.

Growth has been steady at Barron Heating since journeyman sheet-metal worker Dan Barron and wife Vivian — John’s parents — decided to open the business in 1973. Initially, the company primarily served the residential new-construction market in the Bellingham and Sudden Valley areas. Now it typically has between 80 and 90 employees serving customers in Whatcom, Skagit, Island, San Juan and Snohomish counties.

The company’s range of products and services also has expanded. Barron Heating now has five divisions: residential, commercial, service, hydronic (radiant floor heating) and fireplace.

Barron Heating, always located along the Guide Meridian, has been at its current 20,000-square-foot facility since the late 1970s. It’s had a Skagit County branch since the early 1980s.

John Barron moved up the corporate ladder from the ground floor. Starting as a part-time helper, he became a sheet-metal trainee in the early 1980s, advancing through the apprenticeship program to journeyman mechanic. After several years of installation experience, he moved to sales and in 1991 became vice president in charge of sales.

Dan Barron retired in 1998, transferring ownership to his son, now president and chief executive officer, and Pinkey, the company controller who started work at Barron Heating in 1980.

Both emphasize the importance of Barron Heating’s employees and their ability to work as a team. John Barron says the company seeks highly trained, knowledgeable employees who have positive attitudes and are “good people.” By rewarding such people and finding ideal positions with advancement opportunities for them, Barron Heating’s turnover rate is very low. Also, happy and positive employees offer better service to contractors and retail customers, Pinkey observes.

“My No. 1 priority in the company is to have the best people we can possibly have,” Barron remarks.

Barron Heating supports many activities and organizations in Whatcom and Skagit counties with donations, including sponsorship of the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra and a field at the Northwest Soccer Park.

The result of business success and community involvement is a company that never loses sight of its mission statement: “To exceed customer expectations while making a difference in the community we work in.”

 

Cloud Mountain Farm

What can you do with an anthropology degree?

You could start a business that requires long hours of working the land and caring for trees and plants. You could spend years on raising a variety of apple virtually unknown in Western Washington two decades ago, then pull many of those trees out of the ground in order to raise more nursery stock. You could host a small “thank-you” event for customers and watch it blossom into a festival that draws 2,000-2,500 people annually.

You could if you were Tom Thornton, who with wife Cheryl has developed Cloud Mountain Farm into a successful retail nursery and landscaping business in a most unlikely location. Its sales have increased 25 percent in just the last 18 months.

The mailing address says Everson, which is small enough, but Cloud Mountain Farm is about five miles southeast of that community at 6906 Goodwin Road. However, the Thorntons have developed a loyal clientele over the years by dispensing plenty of information about plants whether they make a sale at that time or not.

“We’re both educators. We both love to talk to consumers,” Tom Thornton says.

However, they don’t rely only on word of mouth for marketing. Besides regular advertisements and publication of an annual catalog, they launched in February a Web site — www.cloudmountainfarm.com — to sell and display their vast array of plants and trees.

After attending college, Tom Thornton decided to go into business for himself and in 1979 purchased the 20 acres of a former dairy farm. He soon was helped by Cheryl, who became his wife in 1985.

Thornton started by raising garlic, apples and some nursery stock. While Cloud Mountain produced as much as 16 tons of garlic a year, sold mostly to East Coast clients, it discontinued garlic production 10 years ago to devote more time to nursery stock.

Cloud Mountain also was one of the first two orchards in Western Washington to raise Jonagold apples. It also has eased back in that area, replacing acres of apple trees with greenhouses, and now produces only what it can sell locally, as well as handling packing and marketing for some other apple growers in the area.

“The emphasis now is to develop the nursery business,” Thornton says.

Cloud Mountain has become a vertically-integrated business. Besides propagating and developing close to 600 varieties of plants and trees, including 100 varieties of conifers, Cloud Mountain also sells them and installs them through a landscaping division added about six years ago. The strategy helps it keep about 10 talented employees busy year-round.

The Thorntons are active in local organizations. Cheryl Thornton has been a Nooksack Valley School Board member the last five years. She was president of the Everson-Nooksack Chamber of Commerce last year and now is the coordinator of its annual summer festival. Tom Thornton is a board member of the Whatcom County Agriculture Preservation Committee, the Whatcom Community Foundation and Experience International, an agriculture and forestry training program for foreign students. He also is a member of the Whatcom County Planning Commission’s agriculture advisory committee.

 

McEvoy Oil

For Pat McEvoy, “My Three Sons” never stopped getting high ratings.

However, the McEvoy version has excelled in fuel, not television. Brothers Tim, Michael and David McEvoy of McEvoy Oil have built on the foundation established by father Pat and grandfather Charles McEvoy.

The three brothers purchased the Bellingham business from their retiring father in January 1999 and are continuing its diversification through retail stores that include restaurants. Their business now is roughly divided equally between wholesale and retail sales.

“We’ve grown significantly the last few years,” Tim McEvoy says.

McEvoy Oil has evolved substantially since Charles McEvoy purchased the business in 1932. Then located on 10th Street between Taylor and Bennett avenues, McEvoy Oil was a consignee for Texaco, which owned the bulk plant and tank products. McEvoy Oil distributed the fuel to gas stations and major commercial users.

In the mid-1950s, Pat McEvoy began working at the business and started selling heating oil to homes. In the mid-60s, he became owner of the business and in 1979 he bought the bulk plant, making McEvoy Oil a wholesaler. Pat McEvoy also began supplying fuel for commercial fishing vessels in 1978.

His sons gradually joined him in the business. Tim McEvoy concentrates on the company’s wholesale side, the company’s overall finances and planning. Dave McEvoy oversees its retail stores and handles some commercial accounts. Mike McEvoy is responsible for truck operations, including dispatching, and maintenance of the retail stores.

Separately from the company, they joined forces in 1994 to buy what was then the Sunset Self-Serve station at the corner of Sunset Drive and Orleans Street in Bellingham.

They took their biggest step in September 1996 when McEvoy Oil opened the Peace Arch Factory Outlet Texaco, which was Whatcom County’s first gas station/store to also include a branded fast-food restaurant (Subway). The co-branding movement was just starting to take hold in the country but many were skeptical that people would sit down and eat at a gas station that included a restaurant area.

However, the brothers were correct in their vision. Since then, they have converted the Sunset location to include a restaurant and built a similar gas station/restaurant in Lynden.

“Our customers seem to like the idea of one-stop shopping,” Dave McEvoy says.

But McEvoy Oil can’t rest on its laurels. It constantly offers help on financial, building and operation issues to clients in addition to delivering fuel as needed. “We have to continually communicate with them,” Mike McEvoy remarks.

On the retail side, the company is preparing for the challenge from “hypermarkets,” operated by corporate giants such as Costco Wholesale, Wal-Mart and Safeway, which are expected to grow from 2 percent of sales now to nearly 20 percent in 5-7 years.

The brothers also are continuing the family legacy of contributing to their community. McEvoy Oil gives donations to numerous organizations in the county and makes presentations at schools. Tim and Mike McEvoy also are youth basketball coaches and Tim is a member of the Bellingham Bay Rotary Club.

 

Snapper Shuler Kenner Insurance

As a number of dot-com companies have discovered lately, becoming bigger isn’t always better for a business. Paul Kenner, owner of Snapper Shuler Kenner Insurance, believes his firm has found a balance.

“We’re large enough to attract large (insurance) companies and not so large that we can’t provide good service,” Kenner says.

For SSK Insurance, good service includes being one of the rare insurance agencies that’s open Saturdays and assigning two agents — not just an agent and a customer-service representative — to each commercial account so that one is always available 24 hours a day.

“The real make-it-or-break-it time is when a customer files a claim,” Kenner adds.

These practices are more than just an intangible factor in the company’s growth. SSK Insurance’s retention of commercial clients is 15 percent higher than the average for insurance companies.

Kenner attributes its success to several factors:

• A focus on excellence in everything involving the business, even the cleanliness of its windows. When SSK Insurance gains a new commercial client, it asks about the client’s reason for leaving an agency so that it can avoid such mistakes. “You have to do everything right in this very competitive area,” suggests Kenner.

• Low turnover, which increases familiarity with a client’s needs. “We’ve been able to keep and attract a staff long term,” Kenner observes. “Our turnover is virtually nothing.”

• Many choices for clients. “I’ve tried to have as many insurance companies in our mix as we could so we could have as many options as possible,” he says.

• An emphasis on overall accomplishments rather than individual sales. “Everybody’s bonus in the office is based on how the office does. We really get a team going with that,” Kenner notes.

Other differences between SSK Insurance and dot-coms are longevity and stability of ownership. The Lynden business was founded by George Waples in 1925. John Snapper later joined Waples and then bought him out. Bruce Shuler was a partner from the 1960s until his retirement in 1978.

Kenner arrived at the firm in 1974 after graduating from the University of Washington and soon became a third partner, resulting in the current business name. Afer Snapper’s death in 1980, Kenner became the sole owner.

With such a long history in Whatcom County, SSK Insurance and Kenner have become very involved in local communities.

SSK Insurance is a co-sponsor of a three-on-three basketball tournament conducted on the streets of downtown Lynden the last two years during its annual raspberry festival. Many of the staff members participate in the American Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life fund-raising run. The firm also sponsors several children in Romania and makes donations to many local organizations.

Kenner has been an elected commissioner of Whatcom County Public Utility District No. 1 since 1980. A charter member of the Mount Baker Rotary Club in Lynden, he has received one of Rotary’s highest honors by being named a Paul Harris Fellow. Kenner also is a former president of the Lynden Chamber of Commerce and the local chapter of insurance agents.

 

Victoria-San Juan Cruises

Drew and Nancy Schmidt offer an experience, not just a boat ride from Point A to Point B, at Victoria-San Juan Cruises.

The experience for passengers may include a slight detour to watch whales — a thrill that will be remembered for a lifetime. It includes narration about sealife and the San Juan Islands, as well as binoculars given by the crew to help passengers see eagles and other animals. And, for those returning from Victoria, it concludes with a scrumptious salmon or prime-rib (a new option this year) dinner.

“We want them to get off smiling,” says Drew Schmidt.

The result is a lot of satisfied customers — about 15,000 passengers just last year.

Schmidt’s boating career started when he operated boats on tours of the Seattle harbor. He began working at Victoria-San Juan Cruises as its manager in 1987 when it was based at the Semiahmoo marina. The business moved to the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in 1991 and Schmidt purchased it from Grayline in 1992.

The Victoria Star II, a 100-foot-long boat that can carry 150 passengers, is the company’s workhorse, making a daily round-trip between Bellingham and Victoria, B.C., from mid-May through early October. Victoria-San Juan Cruises offers passengers overnight packages in both cities.

The Schmidts also own a whale-watching company in Friday Harbor and co-own Island Commuter Services with Island Mariner Cruises. It travels among Friday Harbor, Rosario Resort and the smaller islands in the San Juans. Island Commuter Services has proven so popular that it recently chartered a new boat that can handle 150 passengers, more than twice as many as its previous vessel.

The various operations give employment to 30 people during the summer, although that dwindles to five in the winter.

One of the year’s highlights for Schmidt, skipper of the Victoria Star II, is the several weeks spent each spring taking schoolchildren on whale-watching field trips.

“They just have a ball,” says Schmidt. “They come in here excited and usually leave here excited.”

However, tourists comprise the bulk of the business. About 60 percent of the passengers are from Western Washington and the others come from elsewhere in this country, as well as other countries. Repeat customers are an important part of this business.

“We try to focus on customer service from the time they call us on the telephone,” Schmidt remarks.

The importance of tourism led Schmidt to become active in the Bellingham/Whatcom County Convention & Visitors Bureau. A longtime CVB board member, he currently is its vice president.

Victoria-San Juan Cruises also donates cruises to the CVB and other organizations and allows the CVB to use one of its boats for various functions. This generosity recently was recognized by the CVB when it named Victoria-San Juan Cruises the Tourism Business of the Year.

 

Barbo Furniture

If not for the longtime family ties to their business name, Chris and Holly Barbo of Barbo Furniture would be seeking ideas for a new name that better fits how it has evolved.

“We’re not a boutique. We’re not just an art gallery. We’re not just a furniture store,” Holly Barbo remarks.

However, Barbo Furniture is a unique home-furnishings store that knows its market niche: products of outstanding quality. The downtown Bellingham retailer soon will carry only furniture for which it’s the only retailer in the area.

“This furniture will not break down in two to five years like 80 percent of the furniture out there,” Holly Barbo declares. “This furniture will last for years and years and years.”

The couple knew a lot about sofas, chairs and tables even before they opened the store Oct. 1, 1999, at 1321 Cornwall Ave. (between Peoples Bank and MB Green). The Barbo family has been building and refurbishing fine furniture in Bellingham since 1934, when Chris Barbo’s father George and his uncle Kearney opened a Barbo Furniture store on North State Street. Although it closed in 1950, George Barbo continued to repair and refinish furniture until retiring in 1975, which is when Chris and Holly Barbo were married.

Chris Barbo kept the furniture shop going and made custom furniture at their home, which he continues to do while helping Holly with store operations.

The couple sought plenty of business advice while preparing to open the store, but aren’t afraid to head off the beaten path.

In contrast to many retail stores that are packed with products, Barbo Furniture has a comfortable, airy feeling. The store’s look is kept fresh with a major overhaul of the showroom three times a year. Barbo Furniture disdains sales but offers a customer-reward program that gives returning customers up to 20 percent off its dealership lines of furniture. It also is one of the few downtown Bellingham businesses open on Sunday afternoons. A free class is presented each month on a different interior-decorating topic.

“We really are doing things differently,” Holly Barbo notes.

The store has evolved significantly in its 18 months of business. While quality wood and leather-covered furniture remains the focus, it now is complemented by artwork and various gift items such as ornaments, candles, vases and bowls — all displayed in a home-like setting. A gift/bridal registry has been added and gift certificates now are available.

While operating a store is a time-consuming task, the Barbos also have been active in efforts to attract more people and businesses downtown. They joined five other retail businesses to promote downtown through an ad campaign. The group also is leading a drive to produce a map of downtown that features its businesses and emphasizes easy access to and from Interstate 5. Holly Barbo represents the downtown business district on the Mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Commission.

“Our success is hinged with all the businesses (downtown), which is only as healthy as the number of people who come down here,” Holly Barbo says. “Any city is only as healthy as its downtown core.”

 

FiberCloud

The public may not know what a “co-location center” and a “provider of high-speed scalable bandwith” is. However, it is becoming aware that Bellingham’s emergence on the high-tech map has much to do with FiberCloud.

Launched in the fall of 1999 and operational last spring, FiberCloud now has 14 employees and is attracting high-tech companies as well as serving corporate clients throughout the country. It recently added to its services by becoming a host facility for Web sites.

“When it comes to Web hosting, there are no barriers as far as location goes,” says Gary Nelson, the company’s chief executive officer.

FiberCloud assures customers that their Internet operations won’t be interrupted by security breaches, fires, electricity outages or other possible disasters. Besides handling e-commerce sales, many businesses store their database, customer files and inventory figures on their Web sites, making it essential that they have a back-up method of remaining operational on a 24/7 basis.

With one of FiberCloud’s Cobalt RaQ servers, a business can manage up to 250 Web sites or run a single powerhouse site with millions of hits per day.

FiberCloud’s multiple layers of security include computer-programmed key entry, retinal scanning and closed-circuit, video-surveillance systems. The facility also includes state-of-the-art fire detection and suppression systems. Multiple fiber connections, dual HVAC units and back-up generators ensure that even a power outage won’t affect FiberCloud.

Even if an earthquake struck California or Puget Sound, FiberCloud’s proximity to AT&T’s north-south trunk line would enable its routers to send traffic through Vancouver, B.C., then eastward to the rest of North America and the world.

While, as part of its security system, FiberCloud doesn’t identify customers, it did announce in August an agreement with ApplicationStation.com, which delivers applications throughout the world from servers hosted at FiberCloud.

“We toured data centers all over the nation,” says James Ransdall, chief operating officer of ApplicationStation.com. “FiberCloud’s world-class data-center infrastructure is definitely one of the best we’ve seen. They spared no expense to ensure secure and reliable operations.”

Although some “dot-com” companies have failed recently, FiberCloud is optimistic about its future and making plans to build other facilities in the western United States in the next three years. Nelson observes that e-commerce is becoming an increasing important sector for businesses.

“Data storage is becoming a big thing, too,” he adds.

When Nelson isn’t directing the future of FiberCloud, he is a high-tech resource for local economic development. He is a board member of the Bellingham Whatcom Economic Development Council and regularly consults with the Port of Bellingham and Whatcom County Public Utility District No. 1.

 

Siscosoft

Even among entrepreneurs, Kent Sisco is unique. How many people do you know develop a business idea while they’re golfing?

After five years as a software developer on the Excel spreadsheet team at Microsoft, Sisco grew weary of the two-hour commute from Lynden to Redmond that took time away from his family. He left the company Oct. 1, 1998.

“I really didn’t have an idea what I’d do, but I had the experience of taking a project from beginning to end,” Sisco says.

Previously able to play golf only two or three times a year, Sisco now had time to head to courses daily with friends and neighbors. He observed that one of his partners always was scribbling notes during their rounds and learned that he later was entering the data from each hole in an Excel spreadsheet.

“In two weeks, I had put together a prototype (software program) of Homestead Golf Course that actually worked,” Sisco remarks.

This was the origin of Golfwits, the initial product developed by Siscosoft Corp. for use with personal digital assistants (PDAs) such as Palm Pilots. Golfwits, which has 13 employees, now offers downloadable maps of more than 4,500 golf courses in the United States and even overseas, such as the famed St. Andrews course in Scotland. Approximately 300 golf-course maps are added each month.

Golfers purchase the Golfwits software ($39.95) to track each shot they take on a course and compile scoring and yardage data. With the software, they can download from the Web site (www.golfwits.com) a map of the course where they’re playing. By pointing on a Palm Pilot where a shot has landed, golfers can learn how far they are from the green and select the appropriate club.

Golfwits also is gaining interest among spectators who attend professional tournaments. Interactive yardage books are placed on the Web site for the PGA Tour course that is being played on any given week.

The Golfwits software works well with Palm Pilots and Microsoft and Compaq PDAs because Sisco reached agreements with each of these hardware manufacturers. Also, Siscosoft has been active in promoting Golfwits at major golf trade shows and golf academies.

The solid foundation is paying off. About 10,000 users downloaded products (course maps) from the Golfwits site last year and Sisco has observed a significant rise in product sales and interest in the last four months.

“People in the industry are starting to recognize Golfwits,” he says.

However, his primary concern is getting the company ready for the upcoming explosion in PDAs. While 11 million people currently use PDAs, that figure is expected to reach 35 million in 2003.

“There’s one thing we’re really waiting for — hand-helds reaching critical mass,” Sisco states.

Golfwits won’t be Siscosoft’s only product. It’s also working on an affordable internal customer-relations management (CRM) tool for small and start-up businesses.