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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1993)
.‘a a a « 0 It 1 T he P ortland O bserver • N ovember IO, 1993 P age B3 RK R & Ë PGE Employees Trying To Enrich Education One School At A Time Portland General Electric Co. (PGE) is planting several seeds to improve public education one school at a time. Franklin High School in southeast Portland and Ockley Green Middle School in north Portland are two of six schools selected by PGE to participate in its new educational out reach pilot program called One School at a Time. Embracing a holistic ap proach, the program will focus on blanketing students, teachers and par ents with many resources—from pro viding volunteer readers and assis tance with other tutorial programs to coordinating student internship op portunities. needed to support their children’s Employees nominated 29 schools education. PGE would provide fund from PGE’s service territory to be a ing for skilled non-profit groups to part of the program. Of those, six were conduct workshops. selected as part of the pilot, but the number of participants is likely to • Special program s like Junior Achievement, Birds of Prey energy increase each year. Teachers and ad and environmental awareness pro ministrators at Franklin High and gram, hydro plant tours, Stop Or Ockley Green Middle schools will egon Litter and Vandalism (SOLV) suggest ways that PGE can help. As and others. sistance could include: While some of these ideas are not • Employee volunteers to help tutor new, what is different is PGE’s ap reading. • Teacher workshops and resources proach. “In the past, we’ve had a lot of such as learning kits, videos, tours good program s, but now they are more and classroom programs. targeted to meeting the needs that our • Workshops to help parents develop understanding, confidence and skills employees and the schools say they have,” says Kathy Carlson, PGECom- munity Resources Manager. “This program is also intended to be a sus- tainable e ffo rt-d ire c te d at each school’s individual needs and driven by PGE employees with company sup- port year after year.” “The employees behind the One School at a Time very often have children who attend the targeted schools and they are very involved in school activities,” adds Carlson. “In other words, they have a pretty good idea of their schools’ needs and can act as the go-between in getting the right resources to meet those specific needs.” Portland Schools’ Superintendent nesses," says Fred M iller, PGE Jack Bierwirth is pleased with One Vice president o f Public Affairs. School at a Time, as well as happy “ Besides that, nothing is more im portant than kids, and we want to about the trend. “All of us realize that it is up to m arshal dollars to our m ost im everyone to make a dillerence in the portant resource. One School at a schools and in our community,” says Time is a good way for us to do Bierwirth. “PGE, the company and th at,” adds M iller. O ther schools selected for the the people that work for it, are clearly a part of that future and part of making program include John W etten E l em entary School in G ladstone, that difference,” he adds, “One School at a Time is a Edwards Elem entary School in good program for PGE because, Newberg, H ighland Elem entary historically, company employees School in G resham , and Bethany have been enthusiastic volunteers Elem entary School in B eaverton. and because this program could serve as a model for other busi- US West Solutions For Common Small Business Problems (A Portland Observer Exclusive) Small businesses can harness the power of US West’s network to pro vide better customer service and oper ate more efficiently. Business Voice Messaging Ser vice has proven very popular with business people throughout US West’s 14 states, with over 100,000 users of the sendee. It is now available in Portland. Most small business owners say Business Voice Messaging is a prac tical way to link up with other people. Studies show 65 percent of business people spend up to tw o hours a w eek just trying to reach others on the phone, and 75 percent of callers ac complish nothing on the first try. reaching a busy signal or leaving a call - back message. Two - thirds of business calls are considered less important than the w ork they interrupt, and half involve only the one-way transfer of informa tion. For a small firm with a mini mum staff, the cost of time spent in unproductive business communica tions is dear US West Business Voice Mes saging eliminates busy signals by answering incoiningcalls--even more than one at a time — when the phone is in use or can’t be answered. It reduces “telephone tag” and controls business interruptions, allowing mes sages to be retrieved, w hen time per mits, from any touchtone phone. Because US West Business Voice Messaging responds to callers with the business persons’ own voice, it enhances the image of the business while making sure important mes sages aren’t missed. These capabili ties give a real advantage to small businesses and can even be “deal saving” to the one-person office. Callerl.D. service has also proven popular to help small businesses run better by allowing them to take ad vantage of new technology at an af fordable price. With US West Caller ID. the business can identify who’s calling before ever picking up the phone, and is a way to efficiently screen and prioritize calls as well as personally greet customers. Know ing who is on the line be fore answering helps polish the busi ness image; the business owner can giv e a more personal level of cus tomer service. If it’s a expected call, the owner is prepared to reply as the call is answered. Caller ID acts simi lar to a receptionist. When the call comes in, the name, telephone number, date and time is automatically stored in a special dis play unit whether the call is answered or not. Not only can the business maintain a record of calls received, the record allows returning missed calls. With US West Caller. ID. a small business has an efficient, cost-effec tive solution to improving customer service and productivity through bet ter management of business calls. Caller ID saves time, helps manage call volumes, provides a method to screen calls and control interruptions, improves overall business efficiency. Caller I D. is available in most areas for a monthly fee, and an additional First Interstate Bank Launches Community Advisory Council Program In an extensive new program de signed to closely analyze banking needs in the communities it serves, First Interstate Bank has announced it will be forming 16 Community Advi sory Councils in Oregon. The groups will be part of a program of more than 40 co u n cils throughout F irst Interstate’s Northwest Region which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. There are 168 First Interstate Branches in Oregon. “We believe that an important, even vital, element to our continuing success in the marketplace is our abil ity to determine local needs, and to review the match between our prod ucts and those needs,” said Janice Wilson, Area President. The councils, made up from to five to seven community members Free Help For Tax Returns Scheduled Help is available for Portland Metro area people who want to make a fresh start with their federal income taxes. Free assistance in preparing prior year tax returns will be available at four locations on Saturday, Novem ber 13, from 10am to 4pm. They are South-Clackamas County Library (16201 S.E. McLoughlin Blvd.,Oak Grove); East—Eastport Plaza, North- -Portland Community College, Cas cade Campus, Jackson Hall, Rooms 114& 115; and West-Bcaverton Mall. IRS and volunteer professional tax preparers will provide assistance and prior year forms. This assistance also includes obtaining prior year W- 2 (wage) and Form 1099 (interest and dividend) information and in work ing out installment agreements to pay back taxes. Take this opportunity to get right with your government. You may even have a refund coming! For further information call 1- 800-TAX (829)-1040. will include representatives from ar needs of the wide range of communi eas such as housing, small business, ties we serve in Oregon and through minority groups, economic develop out the Northwest.” Potential council members are in ment, and others. the process of being contacted. “While we expect some immedi With 1,000 banking offices in 13 ate feedback when the councils begin western states, First Interstate Bank work,” said Wilson, “This is just the has been meeting the financial needs first step of a long-term program to of Oregon residents since being estab help First Interstate increase its re sponsiveness to the often unique local lished in 1865. read out device is required. Call US West for more information. Ups and downs in business vol ume creates numerous problems, es pecially for the small business. Some times are busy, some aren’t. So how can a small business owner and man ager plan telephone service to accom modate the ups as well as the downs? Cost is always a factor for small business. Why pay for extra phone lines you don’t need all the time? On the other hand, can you risk losing business if your customers can’t al ways get through? Is it worth having an extra line for occasional fax or modem mes sages, or do you just try to squeeze them in on a regular business line when one is available? US West has responded to small business managers’ concerns that they need a way to expand and contract their phone service with changes in business activity. The need is a low cost line for low' use applications. The solution is US West Stand- By Line, a new business line option now available in Portland For less than the price of a regular business line, plus 3 cents per minute of use, businesses can have Stand-By Line ready and waiting to handle those extra calls. Stand-By Line is designed to meet the needs of smaller busi ncsses to cost effectively expand and contract their telephone service according to call ing volume. It is a regular basic ex change line with metered billing ca pability on incoming and outgoing calls. It provides businesses a cost-ef fective way to minimize missed calls, save time, increase productiv ity and improve their ability to attract and retain customers. The line is active at all times. Stand-By Line can be used as a roll-over line to help manage incom ing call volume when used with a call forward busy line feature. As a stand alone separate line, it is a lower cost alternative for low use applications such as credit card verification, fac simile and data transmissions. The service is priced less than the monthly rate for a regular business line, plus 3 cents per minute of use. Comparison w ith current business line rates illustrates the potential savings. STAN D-BY LINE MONTHLY RATES S imple -C omplex Basic business line Stand-By Line Difference S30.87- S35.88 S18.00- S18.00 S12.87- $17.88 Stand-By Line minutes of usage to equal monthly business rate: 429 596 The one-time new installation charge for Stand-By Line is $31.00, the same as a regular business line. A standard service charge of $15.00 applies w hen Stand-By Line replaces another existing line. For more information on these or any other small business ser vices, please call US W est at 242- 3384. U S WEST wants the best for your business, partner. RTC R E S O L U T IO N TRUST C O R P O R A T IO N Resolving The Crisis Restoring The Confidence S mall I nvestor P rogram S eminar Register now for a free seminar highlighting opportunities for small investors. Find Out How to Buy RTC: • Real Estate • Loans • Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment • Savings Institutions Learn • • • About: Minority and Women Programs Financing Opportunities Upcoming Sales Events Portland, Oregon The next time you're rushing an order.. jumping through hoops .. working late... or working early, remember this: before. And because businesses thrive in successful communities, we're deeply committed to the prosperity of yours. U S WEST is solving your communication needs better, quicker and more efficiently than ever We want the best for your business, partner. ujci / i / est Making the m ost o f your time. November 18,1993 • 8:30 am - Noon Portland Marriott Hotel 1401 Southwest Front Avenue Registration and Complimentary Continental Breakfast to Begin at 8:00 am To register for this seminar, please call: 1-800-365-3342 Ext. 7125 Coordinatedby the RTC Kansas City Small Investor Program. Event ID Number: 730-0261 i*>2 U S WEST Inc
