Page 8A
BUSINESS
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 22, 2017
HERMISTON
Idaho adoption
ACE has been Hug’s place for 25 years agency expanding
Retirement features
into Eastern Oregon
‘Hug Specials’
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
Even without the last name
of Smith, a longtime store
manager at Smitty’s ACE
Hardware is one of the family,
said Randy Smith, who has
owned the store with his wife,
Tammy, since 2009.
Randy’s parents, Bob and
Vickie Smith, hired Mike
Hug as the assistant manager
in 1992. Several years later,
he received a promotion.
“I remember Vickie gave
me some business cards and it
had ‘manager’ on them,” Hug
said with a laugh. “That’s
how I knew I was promoted.”
Hug, a 1971 graduate
of Imbler High School,
came to Hermiston for a
job at Down’s Supply. After
working there for a handful
of years, he worked at Cycle-
town for a year. His tenure
with the Smiths came when
they had an opening at Coast
to Coast, the store’s franchise
name prior to becoming an
ACE Hardware store. Hug
worked a month shy of
25 years before retiring in
December.
The store is hosting a
retirement barbecue, inviting
customers to come in and wish
Hug well. The event will be
Friday, April 28 from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. at ACE Hardware,
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
The public is invited to a retirement event for Mike
Hug, who retired as store manager after nearly 25
years at Smitty’s Ace hardware in Hermiston. The Fri-
day, April 28 event will feature free food and ‘Hug Spe-
cials’ throughout the store.
1845 N. First St., Hermiston.
Free hot dogs, soda and cake
will be served. In addition,
there will be “Hug Specials”
throughout the store.
Vickie Smith said Hug
jumped right in and was
willing to do what was asked
of him. His detail-oriented
personality, Vickie said, was
a great fit in helping run the
business.
“Shortly after we hired
him, he said, ‘So, what am I
supposed to be doing?’ I said,
‘Well, I want you to make
Bob’s job easier.’ And, he did
that,” Vickie said.
Bob Smith agreed that it
was great to have Hug as part
of their management team.
Hug’s past retail experience,
work ethic and genuine
interest in the success of the
store made him a valuable
employee, Bob said.
“He was truly a people
person,” Tammy Smith said.
“He wanted to do right by
the people, whether it was the
store staff, the customers or
whoever he came in contact
with.”
Another
longtime
employee, Carla Hoyt, human
resources and floor manager,
worked with Hug throughout
the years. She said he took
time to train and work indi-
vidually with new employees
to ensure the shopping expe-
rience for customers was a
positive one.
Hoyt said Hug’s commit-
ment to the company over-
flowed into the community.
She said he placed genuine
importance on donation
requests from community
organizations. In addition,
she said Hug participated in
community activities such
as the Cowboy Breakfast,
Hermiston Rotary and Relay
for Life.
Hug said the Hermiston
community has been a great
place to live. He’s impressed
with how the business
community, farmers and
individuals pull together for
the greater good.
“I’ve just enjoyed being a
part of that,” he said.
As far as retirement, Hug
has enjoyed spending time
with a pair of granddaughters.
In addition, he enjoys golfing
and is looking forward to
camping and four-wheeling
in the mountains.
Bob and Randy recalled
fishing over the years with
Hug. One trip in particular,
Bob said Hug taught them
how to catch kokanee on
Wallowa Lake.
“He was part of our
family,” Vickie reiterated.
“We worked together a long
time. And we’ve been friends
— it was more than him just
working for us.”
———
Contact
Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
BRIEFLY
La Palma to
undergo remodel
HERMISTON — La
Palma, a popular Mexican
restaurant in Hermiston, will
close temporarily while the
restaurant’s interior under-
goes a complete remodel,
employees said Monday.
The store will close
Sunday, April 23 and will
remain closed for two to
three months.
The remodeled restaurant
will have a completely new
interior, including expanded
seating area and a bar.
La Palma has been in
Hermiston, at 231 E. Hurlburt
Ave., for about 12 years.
For more questions,
contact owner Jesus Avila at
541-571-2311.
Wells Fargo
increases settlement
to $142 million
NEW YORK (AP) —
Wells Fargo agreed Friday
to expand a recently settled
class-action lawsuit by an
additional $32 million as
well as extend claims for
fraudulent accounts that may
have been opened going
back to 2002.
The bank said it will
now pay $142 million to
customers for damages
caused by any accounts
opened without their
customers’ permission.
That’s on top of the $185
million that Wells Fargo
was fined by federal and
local authorities back in
September.
While the increase of
$32 million is notable, the
bigger news is Wells has
now expanded its window
for unauthorized accounts
going back 15 years.
Wells will now cover all
customers affected going
back to May 1, 2002.
This follows the release
of the Wells Fargo’s board
of directors’ report that
came out earlier this month,
which found that bank
management was aware of
sales practices problems in
places like Colorado going
back to 2002, long before
Wells originally admitted the
problems occurred.
Wells Fargo’s manage-
ment and directors will face
its shareholders Tuesday at
its annual meeting.
Will take referrals
from Pregnancy
Care Services
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
An adoption agency
is expanding into Eastern
Oregon.
A New Beginning
Pregnancy Services and
Adoption Agency, based
in Boise, is now licensed
to provide services in
Oregon and counselors
are willing to travel as far
east as Umatilla County to
meet with women facing
unplanned pregnancies and
families looking to adopt.
“We are working on a
plan to open some office
space in Eastern Oregon,
probably in the next
12-18 months,” marketing
director Tina Kierce said.
She said the organiza-
tion works with women
experiencing “crisis preg-
nancies” to provide support
and educate them on their
options.
“Counselors will help
those in a crisis pregnancy
review their options and
make a plan in a comfort-
able,
non-judgmental
and caring environment,”
according to a news release.
Those services are
“always free and confiden-
tial and available 24/7.” The
agency can be reached via
crisis hotline at 208-985-
5617 and counselors will
travel to follow up with the
callers in person.
A New Beginning also
provides adoption services
to help women place their
baby for adoption, help
families adopt children
from the United States,
help facilitate international
adoptions and help find
permanent adoptive homes
for foster children who will
not return to their biological
parents.
Kierce said the agency
has already received two
referrals for women in
Oregon who were consid-
ering adoption.
“We already did travel
(to Oregon) multiple times
to make sure mom and
baby were safe,” she said.
Women in Umatilla
County who have struggled
with an unplanned preg-
nancy have been served by
Pregnancy Care Services,
with offices in Hermiston
and Pendleton, to discuss
their options.
Hermiston
director
Debbie
Cissna
said
Pregnancy Care Services
has worked with Bethany
Christian, an international
adoption agency, in the
past when women decide to
choose adoption over abor-
tion or raising the child.
She said the nonprofit
would welcome an oppor-
tunity to work with A New
Beginning and it “would be
great to have a local option
for our clients who choose
adoption.”
Kierce said forming
partnerships
with
already-established local
nonprofits like Pregnancy
Care Services will be “abso-
lutely key” in working with
local women and girls.
More
information
about A New Beginning
Pregnancy Services and
Adoption Agency can be
found online at adoptanew-
beginning.org.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
SUBMIT BUSINESS NEWS
Submit information to: business@eastoregonian.com
or drop off at 333 E. Main St., Hermiston or 211 S.E.
Byers Ave., Pendleton.
Shriners Hospitals for Children ® — Portland
Pendleton Outreach Clinic
Friday, May 19 th
Introducing Silk nearly invisible hearing aids.
Discreet, Convenient. Ready-to-wear.
$ XXX OFF
a pair of Signia
hearing aids
Expires xx/xx/xx.
Nearly
invisible,
custom-style
Nearly
invisible,
custom-style
hearing aid for any ear canal
hearing aid for
Our expert pediatric orthopedic care is
coming to your neighborhood!
any ear canal
Walk-in
and and
walk-out
with your
Walk-in
walk-out
with
new
hearing
aids
the
same
aids the same day day
Complimentary
your
new hearing
hearing
Fall
in love
with amazing
quality in noisy
Fall
in love
with amazing
sound sound consultation
quality
in noisy environments
environments
The ultimate in discretion and comfort
The ultimate in discretion and comfort
Call today at (555) 555-1212 to schedule a
2237 SW Court
FREE Demonstration.
Pendleton
541.276.5053
www.renataanderson.com
Location
Call T
Toll Free: 000.000.0000
abchearing.comcom
*An independent clinical study in the US has shown that primax provided a significant improvement in ease of listening in demanding listening environments. A
newly developed methodology using objective brain behavior measures (Electroencephalographic data), showed a significant reduction in listening effort for
mild to moderate hearing impaired subjects using primax hearing aids in speech-in-noise situations applying advanced features such as Narrow Focus and
EchoShield. Copyright © 2016 Signia GmbH. All rights reserved. Sivantos, Inc. is a Trademark Licensee of Siemens AG. 12/16 SI/17245F-17
Michael Aiona, M.D., pediatric orthopedic
surgeon at Shriners Hospitals for Children —
Portland, will be in Pendleton on Friday, May
19 to provide specialized orthopedic care for
kids. We’re accepting new patients ages 0 -
18 for pediatric orthopedic care,
regardless of your family’s ability to pay.
To schedule an appointment please contact:
503.241.5090
2461 SW Perkins Ave,
Pendleton, OR 97801
http://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/
Locations/portland