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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2015)
Fellowship Celebrity PHOTO CREDIT AOC Albina Opportunities Corp New Chair and Executive Director From left, Robin Wang, new OAC director; Bruce Watts, new AOC chair; Terry Brandt, AOC founding director A t its annual meet- ing, Albina Opportunities Corp elected Bruce M. Watts as the new chair of its Board of Directors. Also, Robin Wang succeeded Terry remain focused on offering nonbank loans, on a non- profit basis, to expanding small businesses in N/NE Portland owned by minori- ty or women entrepreneurs -- with over $1 million to T hey remain focused on offering nonbank loans, on a nonprofit basis Brandt as AOC’s executive director. Officials at the communi- ty institution say they loan in the area. Watts is a long time resi- dent of North/NorthEast Portland, formerly the Interim Executive Director of the Urban League of Portland and currently serves on its Board of Directors, former Execu- tive Director of the Coalition of Black Men, and formerly The Senior Director of TriMet’s Diver- sity & Transit Equity Department. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Portland’s Metropolitan Contractor Improvement Partnership. Wang is a first generation Chinese-American busi- ness consultant. Terry Brandt was the founding Executive Director of Page 10 The Portland and Seattle Skanner April 29, 2015 continued from page 6 AOC, taking it from less than $1 million in assets to over $3.5 in funds to loan. Albina Opportunities Corp provides loans of between $35,000 and $200,000 at less than 10 percent interest, on a non- profit basis, to small expanding businesses owned my ethnic minori- ties or women entrepreneurs, or to busi- nesses located in poor or moderate census tracts, when those businesses can- not obtain needed financing from banks. In its 6+ years of exis- tence, AOC has made over 60 such loans, none of which has been lost. AOC attributes much of its suc- cess to its Business Advisory Services which it provides to all borrowers free of charge. It was founded by a number of Portland business people, and is also supported by Meyer Memorial Trust, Oregon Community Foun- dation, The Collins Foundation, the Oregon Growth Fund, and Union Bank, among others. you wish someone would? LL: I wish people would ask me: What is your favorite body part. KW: Okay, what is your favorite body part? LL: My knees! I have exotic knees. KW: What is your guilti- est pleasure? LL: Shoot! Anybody who knows me, knows that I love bacon. KW: What is your favorite dish to cook, bacon and eggs? LL: I love anything with bacon. Bacon and eggs… I’ll wrap bacon around shrimp… I’ll dip some in chocolate and serve it for dessert… anything with bacon. KW: Was there a mean- ingful spiritual component to your childhood? LL: I was raised by a sin- gle-mother who made sure I had the guidance of prayer. If you grew up in the proj- ects during the crack era, you had to have some type of faith. And my mom always taught me to pray before I went to school. I think that was very impor- tant because there were a lot of things that could’ve hap- pened to me that didn’t because of my mom’s encouraging me to have faith. KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read? LL: The Bible. KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earli- est childhood memory? LL: Oh my goodness! My earliest was my first day of pre-school which I remem- ber because I got excited seeing that there were tricy- cles there. That made me want to go to school every day. KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh? LL: Just a few minutes ago, when we were talking about Joan. KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see? LL: I see a very hard- working entertainer, and I’m very happy about how my process is going. Obituary Walter l. Brooks W alter L Brooks, 75, passed away April 12, 2015. He was preceded in death by his loving wife Irene Dodo- bara-Brooks on May 9, 2006, his mother Marieve Brooks in June of 1988, and father Wal- ter L Brooks in December, 1975. He is survived by older sister Sonja Brooks and younger sisters Daryle Ann Brooks and Thyra Brooks, twelve nieces and nephews, 24 great nieces and nephews, and three great-great nephews. Please join his family in A Celebration of Life on Thursday, May 7, 2015, 3pm at the Billy Webb Elks Lodge, 6 N Tillamook St, Portland OR 97227.
