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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1983)
Neighborhood business: Training for future leaders by Lanita Dukt O n a a n o t News; N .W .— In the retail business o f buying and selling no businessman in Portland ha* a* much experience a* Charles Maxey. For over thirty year* Maxey ha* pro vided tome type o f retail service for the Albina community. H e is mj»*t noted for hi* grocery »tore, M axey’* Better Buy* Currently, he i* an agent for the Oregon Liquor Con trol Commission and operate* the Union Avenue Liquor Store. ject into that person responsibility and will end up with a worker who will do the job my w a y ." During hu year* in business, Maxey found his biggest problem to be community lending agencies " I t j is very hard for a person going into business to have enough capital to start. You sometime* have to rely on loans to help further your business —and this problem supercede* race." H e says he believes that care ful planning helped him overcome this business hurdle, "n ot overplan "You are either a business person or not. Stay away fro m those get-rich-quick schemes. ” He say* he believe* hi* successes in business could not be measured in monetary terms. " I t is the personal satisfaction I have gotten out of every business venture. The main in gredient which made each one a suc cess was the understanding and backing I received from my wife, Mrs. Johnnie M axey. Having some one on your side can really make a difference no matter what you d o ." Maxey and his retail businesses have served as grassroot employers for years in the community. Modesty prevented him from claim ing hi* fame but his business outlet* have provided many youth* in the Albina community with their first job experience. H e say* that a* often a* possible he trim to hire from within the area he serves. " I found out that was an advantage in more way* than one. I know it is much harder for an A fro - American to get a job. Also 1 can in ning nor overspending." Maxey shies away from the term M B E or minority business. "Y o u are either a businessperson or not. Legitimacy is the key to good busi ness. M ake sure you have record* which show what you are doing. Have a business without locked doors. And stay away from those get-rich-quick schemes." A t a grassroot level M axey gives business advice which would cost a fortune if it came from a consultant. But like million* o f other small re tail businessperson* he is becoming an endangered species in the face o f multi-national corporation*. "T h e small businessperson doesn't have the safeguards in bookkeeping to take write-offs like the larger busi nesses. This is the item that will hamper and will be the sudden death of the small business in A m erica." ica. In the business of lending money « ntMIMM1 " A penny saved is a penny g o t," Mid Benjamin Franklin. The Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan Associa tion has put the Mving* o f Oregon ian* to work — helping finance nearly 100,000 homes by 1980. The Benj. Franklin was founded by Ben H . Hazen in January o f 1923. By 1930 the assets had topped $1 million. The Hollywood branch opened in 1931 with Bob Hazen, recently re tired chairman, as manager; Lois Schemer, current Senior Executive Vice President, as loan officer; and Bob Downie, currently President and chief operating officer, a* Mvings officer. In 1939 Ben Hazen retired a* board chairman, and he was fol lowed by hi* son Bob. By October o f 1977 the Benj. Franklin sur passed SI billion in assets — the first SAL in Oregon to pas* this import ant point. In 1982 the company ac quired Equitable Savings A Loan. Following the retirement o f Bob Hazen, D r. O . Dale Weight was named Chairm an and Chief Execu tive O fficer. D r. Weight, 49, assumed the $3.2 billion Benj. Franklin's top manage ment position Sept. 1st. He former ly was president, chief executive o f ficer and trustee o f the $1.2 billion Syracuse Savings Bank. He holds master's and doctorate degree* in economics from the University o f Oregon, where he also served a* a professor. Dr. Weight joined Syracuse Sav ings Bank in 1972 a* executive vice president and ha* served as presi dent and c.e.o. since 1974. Prior to hi* employment at Syracuse Sav ings, he worked at two federal bank ing agencies, a* economist and director o f research for the Federal Bank o f Cleveland, and as senior vice president of administration and operation* for the Federal Home Loan Bank, Pittsburgh. A native o f Salt Lake C ity, he was graduated from the University o f Utah and from 1963 to 1968 did postgraduate work at Oregon and served on the faculty. Benj. Franklin, largest thrift in the Northwest and among the 23 largest in the nation, ha* 82 office* in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah. The company offers the full range o f investments, banking, sav ing* and lending opportunities for an individual, organization or busi ness needs. Subsidiaries include: W illamette Factor* (the developer o f Charbon- neau); the Benj. Franklin Leasing Company, Inc.; Franklin Service -Ï» ) ? 4 COn®?tB ^ Enttrprfee {or taking ' .w t0 the D R . Q. DA LE W E IG H T Corp, (land development); Franklin A pp raiM l, Inc. (real estate apprais al); Fir Tree Insurance Agency; Franklin Securities, Inc. (investment services). • ; ä — »■- help y°u ration wtienpmP3’ 44 Luck is meets oppo*u - ^ (rn e f k e r m a n , 1 9 # ca lib e Coliseum Sb°* Visit our boo Page 8 Section II Portland Observer, September 28, 1983
