Minority & Small Business Week P a g e AI6 September 24, 2008 Business, Community Leader Honored Pacific Power a Division of Pacificorp joins with nrtlanh (Observer in Celebrating M in o rity E n te rp rise D evelopm ent Week Let us take time to honor the energy, determination, and optimism of our state’s minority entrepreneurs. Pacificorp believes that support of the sustainable business development can be an integral part of the development of an economically strong and livable community. “Together We Will Succeed” First female CEO at Portland General Electric A respected business and community leader who is re garded for her steadfast dedi cation to her co-workers, her company and the community will be presented with the 2008 Hope Award by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Peggy Fowler, chief execu tive officer and president of Portland General Electric, will be honored for her philan thropy, community service and leadership during a Dinner of Champions gala at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, Thursday, Oct. 9. Her journey to the CEO’s desk at PGE began in 1974 when, with a chemistry and mathematics degree in hand from George Fox University, she joined the company as a chemist. Within six years, she had become general manager of environmental and analytic services. She went on to man age almost every major area of*the company before her appointment in 2000as PGE’s first female CEO. Fowler has guided Oregon’s largest electric utility through difficult challenges and im mense scrutiny through years of ownership uncertainty. She is known for responding to the demands of the job with grace and confidence and keeping her focus on PGE’s core busi- ness. Fowler’s leadership helped give PGE a new beginning in April 2006 when the company regained its independence as one of Oregon’s largest pub licly traded companies. •» Ä -, Peggy Fowler started as a chemist at Portland General Electric in 1974 and became the company's first female chief executive in2000. Under Fowler’s leadership, PGE continues its efforts to meet customers’ growing en ergy needs and to embrace new tec h n o lo g y and sustainability efforts, such as renewable power programs, solar in sta lla tio n s, sm art meters, energy efficiency and charging stations for electric vehicles. In addition to her business accomplishments, Fowler is generous with her time and energy working with a variety of organizations committed to improving Oregon’s quality of life. Fowler serves in several volunteer capacities that con tribute to the future of the com m unity, including the boards of Oregon Business Council, the Regence Group, R egence B lueC ross BlueShield of Oregon, Fed eral Reserve Bank of San Francisco - Portland Branch, SOLV Founders’ Circle, the Oregon Global Warming Com m issio n and G reen lig h t Greater Portland. She was an ambassador for the A m erican H eart Association’s “Go Red for i i i • . ’ ■ continued on page A22 Summit Looks at Art as an Economic Engine continued from A l l Ragtime, Coming to America, Bulworth, Sommersby, Gods and Generals, Malcolm X, W aiting to Exhale, Tyler Perry s Meet the Browns, The Thomas Crown Affair and HBO S The Wire. Another keynote speaker is Roscoe Orman, best known to most Americans as Gordon on the Sesame Street children's television program. In his var ied careerOrman's made guest appearances on hit television shows such as Sandford & Son and Kojak in the 1970s, and continued to make occa sional appearances in such programs as All My Children and the drama Law & Order. The third keynote speaker will be Marc Acito whose de but novel. How I Paid for Col lege: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical The ecutive director of NW Busi ater won the Oregon Book ness for Culture and the Arts; Awards' Ken Kesey Award. Eloise Damrosch, executive The book was also selected as director, Regional Arts & Cul- a top Ten Teen Pick by the tureCouncihChristine D'Arcy, executive director, American Library Oregon Arts Com Association. The m ission; C arol New York Times Pelton, trust man chose College as ager, Oregon Cul an Editors Choice tural Trust; and Rip and it's been Caswell, artist and optioned for a film owner o f Caswell by Columbia Pic Gallery. tures and is trans The Center for the lated into five lan Arts Foundation is guages. dedicated to provid The summit will ing affordable, edu also hear from a cational and acces renowned panel of sible facilities for lo experts to discuss arts as an e c o Novelist Marc Acito cal, regional and na tional perform ing nomic engine, in and visual arts in a sustainable cluding Lanie McMullen, di rector of economic develop environment, that serves as a ment for the city of Everett, gathering place for the com Wash.; Virginia Willard, ex munity at large. Corporate Diversity Progress Slow Portland East Side CSO Tunnel for Project Information, please visit www.kbbescso.com t Most people would agree that cultural diversity in the w o rk p lace u tiliz e s our country's skills to its fullest and contributes to our overall growth and prosperity. The reality of the situation is that the results of those ideals haven't been fully real ized and progress remains slow. The gap between the "haves" and "have nots” con tinues to widen. According to the online job help site diversity.com. one of the reasons for this has been the lack of diversity in corpo- rate America. By not devel oping a diverse workforce from the top down, African, Hispanic (Latino), and Asian Americans are unfairly rel egated to lower-skilled, lower- pay positions and are not able to fulfill their true potential. Many corporations have recognized that diversity con tributes to the bottom line by: making it easier to retain good employees, lowering costs by developing skills in-house, and developing a reputation that helps attract new em ployees. This is especially important with the economy doing so well, and the de mand for skilled labor at record levels. If you are an African, His panic (Latino), or Asian Ameri can trying to advance your career, working for%a com pany that values workplace diversity is extremely impor tant. This will give you a good indication whether your em ployer will value your contri butions, grant you promotions, train you to take on more re sponsibility, and pay you ac cordingly. I