August 13.2008_________________
in d ia n i» (Observer
Celebrating Diversity____________
Page ab
Minority Contractor Excels with TriMet
prim e co n tracto r on a m ajor
construction jo b . W ith Stacy
and W itb e c k ’s guidance. P a­
cific M ark C o n stru c tio n is
serving as the project m an ­
ager for m aintenance and up­
grades to the east approach to
the Steel B ridge, w ork funded
by the city o f Portland.
M atthew s' m ove into prim e
c o n tr a c to r s ta tu s m a rk s a
m ajor m ilestone in T riM e t’s
D B E efforts. T here are very
few D B E firm s that operate
as prim e co n tracto r on public
construction projects.
Pacific M ark C onstruction
is ju s to n e o f m any D B E firm s
w orking w ith T riM et to grow
opportunities. T riM et began
the program on the Interstate
M AX Y ellow Line project,
w here ultim ately D B E firm s
garnered 19 percent o f the
contracting funds, totaling $36
Grows own
business with
transit projects
W hen you grow up w ith 22
broth ers and sisters, like M ark
M atthew s did, you learn a lot
about the im portance o f both
re la tio n s h ip s a n d in d e p e n ­
d e n c e . A n d th o s e le s s o n s
served M ark M atthew s w ell
w hen he d ecid ed to start his
ow n business.
“ I’d b een in the co n stru c ­
tion business all my life, w o rk ­
ing fo r o th e r p e o p le ,” said
M a tth e w s, re c a llin g o f the
years b efore he started Pa­
cific M ark C onstruction Corp,
in 2(MM). "I decided 1 w anted my
ow n business, so we started
doing rem odels and new con­
struction for residential and com ­
m ercial properties.”
M atth ew s’ tw o-person firm
first co n tracted w ith th e city
o f P ortland and M ultnom ah
C o unty w orking on affordable
housing units and g overnm ent
o ffices. H e also p erfo rm ed
w ork on the P ortland Intern a­
tional A irport and the Salem
C o n f e r e n c e C e n te r b e fo re
co n n ectin g w ith Bill Bruce,
the th en -P ro ject M an ag er for
T riM e t’s prim ary co ntractor,
Stacy and W itbeck.
“ 1 m et Bill B ruce and we
sat dow n and d iscu ssed how
T riM et co u ld w ork w ith us
Mark Mathews learned his trade working for others before starting his own business, Pacific Mark Construction.
O n th e P o r tla n d M a ll.
hand-in-hand," M atthew s said.
“ At first, I tho ught I c o u ld n ’t M atthew s co n tracted for m ore
w ork w ith T riM et, because I than $230,(MM) w orth o f w ork
m o stly d o b u ild in g s. T hey w hen his firm undertook the
o p en ed my ey es to a w hole rehabilitation o f the 190S train
new w ay o f d oing business." control tow er at U nion S ta ­
M atthew s began w orking at tion. T he to w er will be used as
the north end o f the Interstate a signal and co m m u n icatio n s
M AX project, refurbishing old center for M AX light rail trains
buildings and creating new ones. w hen the 1-205/Portland Mall
The work i ncluded creati ng con­ Light Rail Project is com pleted
struction field offices and a sys­ in fall o f 2009.
In the m ean tim e. P acific
tem s substation.
M ark C o nstruction has grow n
to eight em p lo y ees thanks to
th e c o n t r a c t s o n T r iM e t
projects. “Itenhanced my busi­
ness from being a little m om -
and-pop shop,” M atthew s said.
"It opened the do o r to better
developing my small business.”
B eing in a fo rm al D B E
M e n to rs h ip p ro g ra m w ith
Stacy and W itbeck, M atthew s
also noted how m uch he has
learned from w orking on the
projects and from being able
to see how Stacy and W itbeck
h a n d le s issues. "W h e n e v e r
there is a problem , they show
me how they deal w ith it and
how they handle it, so it’s re­
ally helped me develop my
b usiness.”
H e 's learned so m uch, in
fact, that Pacific M ark C o n ­
struction is one o f the first
D B E s u b c o n tr a c to r s on a
T riM et project to becom e the
million.
At ju st o v er the halfw ay
point in the dow ntow n transit
mall project, D B E subcontrac­
tors accounted fo r$ 2 0 m illion
in contract value through June
o f this year.
F irm s like P acific M ark
C onstruction have found o p ­
portunities w here few existed
before. W orking w ith T riM et
a n d S ta c y a n d W itb e c k ,
M atthew s now not only en ­
jo y s new business acum en, he
finds h im self in the com pany
o f som e o f the biggest c o n ­
struction firm s in the region.
Trades Program Targets Disadvantaged, Expands Job Training
T w o lo cal jo b tra in in g p ro ­
g ra m s h a v e m e rg e d to e x ­
p a n d o u tre a c h to d is a d v a n ­
ta g e d o r u n d e rre p re s e n te d
p o p u latio n s.
T h e E v e n in g T ra d e s A p ­
p re n tic e s h ip P re p a ra tio n , a
H o u sin g A u th o rity o f P o rt­
land p ro g ra m run by a g ro u p
o f P o r tla n d - a r e a c o n tr a c ­
to r s , w ill m e rg e w ith the
M a rg a re t C a rte r S kill C e n ­
te r an d T ra d e s an d In d u stry
p ro g ra m s on th e C a s c a d e
C a m p u s o f P o rtla n d C o m ­
m unity C o lle g e in north P o rt­
land.
B oth the E T A P and PC C
p ro g ram s o ffe r a sim ilar c o m ­
b in a tio n o f " s o ft s k ills" such
as how to a p p ly fo r a jo b .
how to d re ss and sp eak at an
in te rv ie w , and " h a rd s k ills,”
h a n d s-o n , tra d e s -re la te d
sk ills tra in in g , as w ell as
c o u rse s in b a sic m ath and
read in g c o m p e te n c y .
I C o m b in in g both p ro g ra m s
w ill allow P C C to e x p a n d its
w o rk fo rc e d e v e lo p m e n t o f ­
f e rin g s to e n c o m p a s s jo b
p lacem en t, re te n tio n and fo l­
lo w -u p se rv ic e s.
“ W e w ill be a b le to m o re
e ffe c tiv e ly an d th o ro u g h ly
h e lp the p e o p le o f th is c o m ­
m unity acq u ire the skills they
n eed to fin d and k e e p a liv ­
in g -w a g e j o b ,” sa id A lgie
G a te w o o d , p re sid e n t o f P o rt­
lan d C o m m u n ity . C ollege^ s
C a sc a d e C a m p u s.
:
BDS Director Paul Scarlett emphasizes
the importance of Diversity to better
serve our community......
The Bureau of Development Services is committed to creating
an inclusive, diverse and cu ltu rally com petent workforce
because we understand the value this brings to our work
environment and to serving our customers.
The bureau's goals are to:
• Increase the overall bureau-wide percentage of m inorities to 20%, which is
representative of the percentage of minorities in the region. Currently we are at 16%.
• Increase the overall bureau-wide percentage of people of color in the following types
of jobs: inspectors, plan examiners, engineers, planners, administrative support and
office support.
• Increase the overall bureau-wide percentage of women in the following types of
jobs: inspectors, engineers and supervisors.
As Director of the bureau, I have taken a comprehensive approach to setting goals to
promote diversity in the workforce and work environment:
Implementing the following committees to cultivate diverse and positive work relationships:
• Labor Management Committee - Promote a collaborative and positive relationship
between labor and management through trust, fairness, and open communication.
• Diversity Committee Cultivate the developments of a diverse culturally competent
workforce and to create an inclusive workplace culture through strategic initiative
planning and implementation.
Broadening the outreach efforts of the bureau to ensure that we reach all segments of
I
I
DIVERSITY OF PEOPLE,
THEIR IDEAS
AND EXPERIENCES,
ARE THE RICHES
OF A COMMUNITY.
The Port of Portland celebrates diversity of all people.
the population:
• 2008 Youth Summer Internships for youths age 16-18 from Immigrant Refugee
Community Organization and Jefferson High School.
• Training Program for Inspections, Plan Review and Permitting Services Sections.
• Advertising jobs, programs and services in community newspapers, radio ads
and on TriMet buses.
• T ra n s la tin g BDS b ro ch u re s and W eb site In fo rm a tio n
into S p an ish,
Vietnamese and Russian.
Creating training and a position that assists in supporting the bureau's diversity efforts:
• Diversity & Relations M anager - incorporated to address issues surrounding
diversity and grow relationships within the bureau.
• Cultural Awareness Training required-training for all employees to ensure they
are equipped with the necessary information and tools to better serve our customers
and contribute to a positive work environment.
• Doughnuts for Diversity a monthly program created to educate staff on different
diversity topics.
• Diversity Library - contains useful information in the form of videos, books and
articles for employees to check out at any time.
©
PORT OF P O R T L A N D
For additional information about the bureau and it’s services visit our Web site at
www.Dortlandonline.com/bds or contact Tiffani Penson, BDS Outreach Coordinator, at
(503) 823-1109.
The Port is an equal opportunity employer, committed to affirmative action.
Please call the 24 hour Job Hotline at 50 3 .9 4 4 7480 or visit www.portofportland.com
“From Concept to Construction, the Bureau of Development Services is here to help
make your project a success.”