Local News
continued from page 1
take on new work.”
The goal of TriMet’s DBE program —
like others in the field — is to promote a
level playing field, remove barriers and
increase contracting opportunities for peo-
ple of color and women in both the
professional and construction fields.
TriMet’s main innovation started out sim-
ple: Find ways to hire more disadvantaged
companies by breaking the contracts up into
smaller jobs; over time, as more DBE com-
panies build their capacity and grow, those
companies should be in a better position to
become prime contractors that can land big-
ger jobs.
“Breaking the contracts up into smaller
contracts is just part of it; I think the greater
vision is you find ways to eliminate barri-
LINKS
Learn more about TriMet’s DBE pro-
gram at www.trimet.org/dbe
These organizations can also help with
DBE certification and contracting
opportunities:
Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber
503-222-0280
http://www.hmccoregon.com/
Metropolitan Contractor Improvement
Partnership
503-288-1211
http://www.mcip-pdx.org/
National Association of Minority Con-
tractors Oregon
503-735-9455
http://www.namc-oregon.org/
The agency says one-
third of the contracts
for its Clackamas
County Light Rail Line
so far have been
awarded to firms
owned by people of
color and women
ers,” Fetsch says.
“It could be smaller contracts. It could be
that the emerging business needs help with
insurance and bonding – just some technical
assistance.
So it’s in every way possible, how you
eliminate barriers to help DBE firms suc-
ceed in the field.”
“We’re proud to have expanded our out-
reach to the DBE community and have
reached a record high participation rate,”
said Dan Blocher, executive director of
TriMet Capital Projects Division. “And we
will continue to hire more DBE firms as
construction continues.”
TriMet created its DBE program in 2000
as it planned the Interstate MAX Yellow
Line construction. The agency held a series
of public meetings which were packed with
North Portland residents demanding, in
part, job opportunities for disadvantaged
communities.
Today, other cities hold up TriMet as a
model – even as other transportation juris-
dictions in Oregon have endured criticism
and even federal scrutiny of their DBE
operations.
New City Club Chief
PHOTO BY LISA LOVING
TriMet
The City Club of Portland announced Wednesday that former Mayor Sam
Adams is its new executive director. In a statement, Adams said the
nonprofit civic research and advocacy organization, celebrating its
100th year in 2013, will make new efforts at diversifying its membership
and engaging a “broader, more diverse group of voices from across the
community.” Here, Adams shook hands at Last Thursday this past summer.
Adams takes over at the City Club on Jan. 22.
Edmund Tawiah’s engineering and sur-
veying firm, TCC & Associates, Inc., has
garnered close to $275,000 in contracts on
the light rail project.
“Previously, most of our work was with
new housing, either subdivisions or infill,”
he said. “When all of that came to a stop at
the height of the recession, the Portland-
Milwaukie light rail project kept us in
business.”
With approximately $100,000 in Port-
land-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project
contracts so far, Azuri Construction has sup-
plied and installed fencing at project sites
along the 7.3-mile alignment.
“Having the DBE certification allows me
to compete,” firm owner Jose Figueroa
says.
Blood
continued from page 1
and academic balance to her students.
In 2010, while going about her normal duties at work,
Hunnicutt sensed that her energy was lower than usual.
She decided to make an appointment with her doctor just
to be safe; what she thought was going to be a routine
check-up ended as a scheduling for surgery. Her physician
assured her that the procedure would be straightforward and
her recovery routine.
Soon Hunnicutt learned she had several benign tumors;
If not for generous Red Cross
blood donors, SEI leader and
youth mentor, Miki Hunnicutt
may not be here to guide
youth to a brighter future
surgery was scheduled. Even the most seasoned and skillful
surgeons can experience patient complications, and in Hun-
nicutt’s case there were many, and they were severe.
Her blood pressure plummeted during surgery and Hun-
nicutt began losing blood. She was immediately transfused
with multiple units of blood and by the time the bleeding
was controlled and the surgery complete, nine large tumors
had been removed.
Concerned family members gathered at the hospital and
Hunnicutt continued to feel weak and foggy to her sur-
roundings. She remembers asking her mother if she was
dying. The nurse came to check on her and found that she
was not rebounding as anticipated. After additional testing,
her doctor ordered more blood transfusions provided by the
American Red
Cross.
“At first I was
The American Red Cross hosts their freaked
out
annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blood when I looked
Drive Monday, Jan. 21, at their Portland
Donor Center, located at 3131 N. Van- up at the blood
couver Ave. The drive ruins from 1:30 to bag, but I’d
8 p.m. Appointments are encouraged, already part-
please call 1-800 RED CROSS or visit nered with Red
online at www.redcrossblood.org.
Cross through
SEI and this
Miki Hunnicutt is a beloved staff member among the young people at Self Enhancement Inc.,
including Caalyn Yarbrough, at right.
was just another partnership” Hunnicutt said. “I always
pressed others to donate, because I wasn’t eligible. I never
knew that blood was going to be a gift for me!”
After several more blood transfusions, Hunnicutt slowly
began recover.
She now looks at blood donation as one of the most
important types of giving.
“It’s unconditional love, its pure giving,” she says.
These days, she uses blood donation as an example when
teaching her students about humanitarianism. She tells her
students that blood donors, for the most part, go unrecog-
nized by their recipient, and giving is at its best when it is
not done for accolades. Hunnicutt encourages teenagers to
find a path of volunteerism that suits them and to pursue it
to its fullest.
“I could never thank my donors enough, but I can be here
for my students and honor my blood donors in that way,”
Hunnicutt said.
Miki Honeycutt is truly an exceptional SEI staff member
and youth mentor. SEI staff and students are grateful that
blood donors helped save her life two years ago. Hunnicutt
shared her story of being saved through blood donation at a
recent assembly. The kids stood up, cheered and said,
“We’re so glad you’re still here, Ms. Hunnicutt!”
If you would like to make an appointment to donate
blood, call 1-800 RED CROSS or visit us online at
www.redcrossblood.org. If you have questions about your
eligibility to donate blood call 1-866-236-3276 and a team
member will be happy to answer your questions.
Self Enhancement, Inc. creates positive citizens. Find out
more at www.SelfEnhancement.org
January 16, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 3