September 27. 2006
Minority & Small Business Week
Page B9
‘Reflections’ Anchors Northeast Marketplace
Going with the flow in a
changing neighborhood
bv
R on W eber
m embers watching her dad re­
model homes. As many homes
in those days came with unfin­
ished basements, her dad spe­
cialized in that area. Her inter­
est in the d ec o ra tio n field
com plimented her father's busi­
ness. With a college degree in
Interior Design, she w ould trans­
form a bare basement or any
other unfinished room in the
house. The end result was an
elegant design that co m p le­
mented any part of the home or
upgraded the entire house.
W h ile liv in g in D e tro it,
G loria had tw o brothers and
one sister. H er parents w ere
first g en e ratio n tran sp la n ts
from the South. As a young
girl, she has found m em ories
o f spending her sum m ers with
aunts and uncles in A rkansas
or M ississippi. She and her
siblings w ould ride the train
dow n and then at the end o f
the sum m er her father would
drive dow n from D etroit and
bring them all hom e in the car.
Not one to follow the foot­
steps o f traditional mid 2()th cen­
tury women, Gloria also spent a
num ber a years working sales
W hen not running one o f her
su cc essfu l b u sin ess, G lo ria
M eM urtry is restless. For many
years she tilled her days off
with jogging. I Ok runs, hiking,
skiing, cam ping and an occa­
sional marathon. Today, her fa­
vorite hobbies are gardening and
reading. Sheexercises her mind,
just the way she always had
exercised her body. Being trim
and fit both physically and m en­
tally is paramount to keep up her
busy schedule.
G row ing up a black child in
m id-20th century D etroit was
not an easy task, especially if
you w ere fem ale. But G loria
took it all in stride. An e x ­
trem ely in d ep endent young
w om an, she started helping
her father in his construction
business. Later she w ould own
her ow n businesses, an incred­
ible acco m p lishm ent for an
A frican-A m erican w om an in
the volatile C ivil R ights Era.
M cM urtry's first successful
enterprise was a home construc­
tion business that rem odeled in­
teriors. As far back as the post
W orld W ar II period, she re­
diversity
"Print
*
1 |Jortlanh ©bseruer
Week in
""Review
E le c tio n
Web
B a llo ts
O n W ay
w w w .p o rtla n d
o h se rve r.co m
As i / quickly becomes more
*
and more an electronic world.
The Portland Observer
endeavors to meet the needs of
our readers and advertisers by
going online.
^2*
—
To contact
for the Mobile Oil in the 1970s
and early 1980s. This was an
extrem ely daunting task f o r a
& On
People o f color
find a political f t
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
female during this period, but
was almos, im possible if you
were a black woman. How-
ever, Gloria did not let this ste-
reotyping bother her. She loved
the job and was good at it.
continued
on page BIO
Portland's oldest
and most widely
respected diversity
publication.
P a rticip a te in D em ocracy Z o te
Return yutu txilict by mail or drop i f o ff at any designated voter
irvgntf Call ¡-S66-673-R68i io find a location nearyuu.
photo bv
Gloria MeMurtry established the first business in the newly built Walnut Business Center, the former Fred Meyer
location at the corner of Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Killingsworth Street.
^ J i i r t k i u ò ( O h s c r U e r Call 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - 0 0 3 3
BLACKUN ITEDFU ND
O F
O R E G O N
2828 NE Alberta Street
Telephone (503) 282-7973
Fax (503) 282-3482
Web address: www.bufor.org
"WHERE EVERY PERSON MATTERS AND EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS
SALUTES MINORITY BUSINESS WEEK
Please remember us in your company's
Employee Giving Campaign!
a d s@ p o rtla n d o b se rv e r.c o m
Brooks Staffing Supports Minority
Businesses in Portland
B rooks S taffing
A D iv is io n o f S. B ro o k s & A s s o c ia te s , In c .
A Full Service Staffing Company
“ Where Temporary Staffing leads to Permanent Satisfaction”
Experienced employees are carefully screened
and unconditionally guaranteed.
■ No surplus labor
■ No interviewing
■ No insurance costs
■ No tax records
Simply sign the temporary employee’s weekly time card.
You will receive an itemized invoice, that’s it!
We give you the individualized attention you deserve!
Be known ns one of 'America's Finest.' Become an FBI Special Agent.
FBI at work in the community
todays f-Bt demands n n t we become more diverse and we are working harder than
ever Io be inclusive — lor a t people legarOess of cnxx, race, religion, national origin,
political affiliation marital status, disability age, sex, nr sexual orientation Io ths end.
we are redoubling our diversify efforts w iffw Die I B and externaty with such
(jrg a ra v x rs as Boys and Gels Clubs 01 America. Race Agaxisl Drugs, the I eague of
i « te d I atin Ame'icar Citizens. and Ibe NAACP Additionally, we re very
a n a l Io hold our lx annual. 7 week FBI Citizen's Academy Owing
weekly 3 houi sessions, we tying logeltiei leaders from a
multitude of ethnic and religious groups Io gam an insider's view
of the FBI.
Foreign I anguage skills are an especially critical need l a the FBI particularly it you
hold a Bar h o a s degree in any suited area and havp a native fluency« any nl the
u H o w iiu ! Arabic, Chinese
all dialects. Farsi/Persian, Hebrew, Hindi,
Japanese, Korean, Pashtu. Punjabi, Russian. Spanish. Urdu, and Vietnamese
To quality la Ibe FBI Special Agent position, you must possess a fa n year
college degree plus three years ol professional work experience, be available f a
assignment anywhere in the FBI’s jurisdiction tie between Ibe ages ol 23
and 36, and be in excellent physical condition with Ibe ability Io pass
a rigorous physical Illness test.
To learn m ae about these and other opportunities please visit a »
Wei) site l a complete details Positions added daily
www.tbijobs.com
Spatial Agents
Kite have opportunities tor Special Agents Iron a broad range
ol educational disciplines and professions, hrwever, the FB
has special needs fix candidates with cr Seal skills among
tie I.nt v . ii i in-. Computer Science or IF. Engineering.
Foreign Counter intelligence Information Systems
Security. Military Intelligence, Physical Sciences, and
Acr.owitlnq/Fmancial Management
'
You must be a U S. citizen and consent to a compteki
background inveslgatioi. drug test, and polygraph as a
prerequisite la employment Only those candidates determined Io
be best qualified will be contacted Io proceed o the selectinc
process TOO (202) 324 2967
The FBI is an equal opportunity employer
FBI...Special People. Special Agents.
Call, to start saving
503.284.7930
B rooks S taffing
A Division of S. Brooks & Associates. Inc.
-I P u ll Service S ta ffin g (o m p a n y
1130 NE Alberta Street
Portland, Oregon 97211
FAX: 503.284.7977
www.sbrooks.com
jobs@sbrooks.com