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Meeting Patients’ Needs Back in 1968, when Jerry Willins first bought into the historic Holland Drug in Sedro-Woolley, the world of pharmaceuticals and health care was far simpler. Health-management organizations (HMOs) did not exist and insurance companies covered medical needs without much comment. Most prescriptions were filled through neighborhood pharmacies and patients trusted their local pharmacists for information and advice. Today, more than 30 years later, guiding a pharmacy business to success is increasingly complex. “Health care as an industry is going through an enormous transition,” explains Willins, a pharmacist by trade. “There have been huge shifts in how and how much we’re paid – it’s affected everybody.” Because of Willins’ hard work and vision, however, what is now Holland Health Services, Inc. is doing far more than surviving – it’s thriving. In spite of the health-care economy, his business’s annual growth has been a steady 10 percent over the last 10 years, with gross sales in 2000 at $10 million. He’s added new locations, services and employees. Willins credits the quality of his employees for much of the corporation’s success. “Our success is based almost solely on the fact that we’ve managed to hire and retain some really good people,” he insists. Benefits are good and many employees have stayed 10-20 years. “My criteria for hiring is that they have to have the ‘three I’s,’” he explains, “intelligence, integrity and the ‘I’ that stands for self-worth.” Adapting to change There are many other reasons for the business successes of this soft-spoken manager, including personal energy and a willingness, even eagerness, to adapt to a constantly changing business environment. Diversification is necessary, not only because of market needs, but also because of changes in billing requirements and decreasing profit margins. “You just have to be inventive – not only in doing old things new ways, but also in finding new services to provide,” he states with quiet enthusiasm. Following his own advice has meant constantly adding new organizations to serve emerging needs. In addition to the original Holland Drug (founded by Albert Edward Holland and a partner in 1889), Holland Health Services, Inc. includes, in Mount Vernon, Hilltop Pharmacy, which also has a compounding laboratory for making custom prescriptions; Holland HomeCare, with specialized, in-home medical-care products; and Holland Long-Term Care Pharmacy, a new druggist that does only prescriptions for long-term-care facilities. In addition, the Holland HomeCare in-home equipment store in Bellingham just established a new division in Mount Vernon to build custom wheelchairs and seating and positioning devices. Specially trained Holland HomeCare teams assess needs and work with physical therapists to determine what equipment would help patients with extreme medical conditions, often not only seating, but also custom wheels, extensions and specialized controls on motorized wheelchairs. “It’s become a fairly good part of our business in three counties, Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish, and we’ve also become one of the premier providers in the Northwest,” he says. Holland Long-Term Care, a pharmacy that serves only long-term-care facilities, is the newest division. Only six months old, “it’s starting to grow by leaps and bounds now,” says Willins. “It’s probably our most exciting area.”
Growing area in health care He says he got the idea because these facilities are under an entirely new set of state and federal laws, all different, depending on whether it’s a family group home, assisted living or skilled nursing. “Our job is to provide the service and the consulting that allows them to comply,” he explains. “We anticipate that it will only become more complex and require more and more compliance. It’s a growing area; there’s going to be a tremendous increase.” Willins got this latest facility going “from dead scratch” by hiring one of the top geriatric pharmacists in the country, he notes, teamed with a marketer experienced in dealing with long-term-care facilities. “In just six months,” he says, with satisfaction, “they’ve gotten themselves pretty well established and we’re going after new business.” Even with all this success, Willins admits it continues to be a challenge to stay ahead to the extent of bringing him out of a part-time retirement and a much-relished English-teaching position at Western Washington University, back into managing the business full time. He also is now president of the newly formed, nonprofit Skagit Hospice Foundation, explaining, “I think that’s going to become very much a part of our community’s future.” And he continues to be passionate about the market segments he and his employees serve. “You can’t be in this business, financially or ethically, unless you desire to have some major value in the community.”
Barnett Implement Co., Inc. Barnett Implement Co., Inc. has had to "change with the times" over the years, owner Bill Rindal admits, but still, business has continued to grow “tremendously.” A John Deere equipment dealership selling everything from the smallest lawn mowers up to the largest farm tractors, Barnett Implement this year marks its 77th year of business in Skagit County and ranks 14th overall among the top privately held businesses. Rindal’s father, Jerry, began working there in 1955, after serving in the Korean Conflict. He eventually bought into the business and then became the sole owner, retiring just a few years ago and turning the business over to his son. Bill Rindal began working at the business 25 years ago, right after high school graduation. Originally located on Riverside Drive, Barnett Implement retains the name of one of its founders. It relocated to its present location at 4220 Old Highway 99 S., Mount Vernon, in the early 1970s and now includes a large service facility, mobile agricultural service truck and two, separate parts departments — one for agricultural equipment and one for commercial, lawn and garden equipment. Barnett Implement now comprises three stores in Mount Vernon, Yakima and Snohomish, with a total of 67 employees.
Raves for employees Rindal raves about all his employees, giving them much of the credit for the business’s success, along with the quality of the products they are selling and servicing. “My employees take pride in helping our customers,” he notes. “I feel our people do a fantastic job with customer service. “They are faithful, good employees,” he adds. “They like dealing with the public and they like what they do. They are happy and they do a good job for the company. I really, really appreciate my employees,” he emphasizes. The name John Deere has traditionally been identified most closely with the huge, reliable, emerald green farm machinery with yellow wheels, leaping- deer logo and slogan, “Nothing runs like a Deere.” The big machines are still a large part of Rindal’s business, but the areas of biggest growth recently have been the consumer and commercial markets. There is a wide variety of smaller, green machines from which to choose – walk-behind snow equipment, tillers and mowers, for example; ride-on lawn-care equipment; compact utility tractors; utility vehicles; and hand-held and portable equipment. One of the most popular items consumers are buying is compact utility tractors with loaders, he says, “and they want a little blade.” Buyers are business owners, hobby farmers, owners of residential property and part- and full-time residents in the islands. “We have a salesman that covers the San Juan Islands and we deliver from the Mount Vernon store, on the ferry,” Rindal explains. Other consumers who buy small tractors, utility vehicles and manure spreaders are those with small farms and horses. “We work with the Washington State Quarterhorse Association,” he explains, “advertise in their books, go to their shows and display equipment.” Local fairs – particularly the San Juan and Skagit county fairs – also have been good advertising, as well as the Internet and word-of-mouth. “John Deere has a good reputation for parts and service,” he notes, “so that’s helped us a lot.” Last year, the corporation’s biggest success was taking over the dealership in Snohomish. “We know that store is going to do a tremendous job for us,” he exclaims, noting the popularity of country property owners and horses there, too. “The growth in Snohomish County is just astronomical.”
Antique collection a hit The stores also carry a line of new and traditional John Deere toys — plus, at the Mount Vernon store, “a really old collection displayed on the wall,” Rindal says. “Thank goodness during the earthquake those stayed on the wall – they’re very old.” Along with the continued growth in sales of smaller equipment, the business of serving large agricultural operations will remain strong for Barnett Implement, Rindal predicts, even considering the cutbacks in acreages some of the local farmers are planting this year. “We still increased our agricultural sales in 2000,” he remarks, “and that made us and John Deere happy.” Research shows Barnett grossed $19.4 million last year. He says local agriculture may go through some changes – trying new varieties and crops, for example — but is a long way from disappearing. “It’s not that farmers want to quit farming,” he says. “It’s just that they have to change their practices a little bit to make things work. “People are buying equipment,” Rindal observes. “These farmers still want to farm.” For more information about Barnett Implement in Skagit County, call 424-7995 or visit the Web site at www.barnettimplement.com.
Two in One Glenice Hanna and Janice Carratello found they shared a love for furniture, collectibles and selling, so they pooled their talents and started adjacent businesses just north of downtown Sedro-Woolley. Hanna, a Sedro-Woolley native, had leased space to sell her furniture from an old building at 408-B Metcalf St., across from the new police station. Carratello, who had an antique shop downtown but found overhead was too expensive, hit it off with Hanna and agreed to move in. “We complement each other,” Hanna states. “And one of us is always here if the other has to be away.” Indeed, Carratello was this day stacking tubs of antiques in the back of her van for a trip to the Monroe Antique Fair, one of the largest in the Puget Sound area. Hanna would watch her shop, called (appropriately) Backroom Antiques, with the help of 10-month-old Nike, the miniature poodle. “We share customers, but not the overhead,” says Carratello between trips to the car. “That way, we can offer more — together.” Hanna, who started her business A Room of My Own early last year, is also an artist, a furniture painter, and many items in her part of the store reflect her talents: sunbursts at the top of an old gun cabinet, fanciful trees and houses on the doors of a small cupboard, tendrils of flowery vines on the leaves a fold-down table.“I buy less-than-perfect furniture and give it a new look (using her paints). Yes, something completely different. I draw from many sources,” Hanna explains. “Most of what I sell is antique, as a rule,” Carratello puts in. “It’s a great blend, including home décor. The oldest piece is a showcase I use that’s 100-110 years old, from the original Lyman Grocery.” She also has a stretch glass footed console bowl that should go for $400. Other items in Carratello’s spacious “back room” include primitives, shabby chic, Victoriana, collectibles from the ’50s and more. “It changes all the time. I fall in love with an item. It has to be unique,” Hanna adds. “I sell things because I like it.” For more information, call 855-0967.
Flair Designs Owners: Marlis Kuusela and Stanley
Odle A new gallery has sprung up in the old Hart’s Floral shop in south Mount Vernon that attests to the versatility of art. The showroom, Flair Designs, deals with rich artwork airbrushed onto a wide range of fabrics from around the world. The dream of Marlis Kuusela, selected by Impressions magazine as “one of the top seven airbrush artists in the United States,” and long-time Skagit businessman Stanley Odle, Flair Designs is a commercial enterprise as well as gallery. It sells “garments in all high-end fabrics and embellishments like buttons, as well as Marlis’s custom art pieces,” according to Odle, an internationally known writer, photographer and TV documentary producer, who manages the gallery and has designed a Web site for the business. “The gallery is the heart and soul of the company,” Odle states, “not the Web page.” “Fabric is so wonderful and can be used in so many ways,” Kuusela says. “My designs are inspired by a lot of natural subjects — wildlife and plants.” In an upstairs room Kuusela uses for classes the floor is covered with black fabric sheets on which she has airbrushed families of ducks and orcas. “A lot of scenes I do reflect families, including babies, mothers and fathers,” she explains. In other parts of the store one finds flowers, trees, sealife, insects, abstracts, fanciful designs, faces, wildlife.
Finding exotic fabrics Kuusela travels the world looking for fine fabrics she can use in her art. Indeed, she buys from importers in France, Austria, Germany, Indonesia, Thailand and several other countries. Much of her products are made from silk but others of rayon, cotton or suede. She looks for textures, quality and what would lend itself to her specialized painting, done by gently spraying paints onto the fabric with an air-gun device. “A gentle spray of air distributes acrylic paint to the fabric in a beautifully subtle way, with touches and shadings unique to this process,” Odle has written. “Airbrushing produces durable designs that are never exactly alike — each is an original creation.” Once Kuusela has established a design — usually from nature, but also from original or ornamental patterns or designs she has come across — she may repeat it many times over on a bolt of fabric for continuity, or use smaller versions for wall hangings, quilt pieces or coverlets. She may also make the final product into garments and ties, also kits of all kinds, which she sells in the shop or online. She even has hand-painted silks from China in her store. Kuusela, a part-time public school teacher for many years, has a K-12 art-education degree from the University of Washington and continues to split her time between art and education. “I get something out of teaching school and gifted kids,” she states. “Public-school education enhances this and this enhances that. I’m an artist and teacher. They fight each other, but they also complement each other.” Odle, who some years ago produced a series of People-to-People documentaries on the former Soviet Union for the Discovery and Public Broadcasting channels, believes the gallery and shop in the old Hart’s building will become a destination for visitors from all over the region, perhaps the world. “We want it to be welcoming to people,” he enthuses. “We want them to come in and take their time shopping, a place where people will feel good.”
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