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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2018)
Page 8A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Friday, June 8, 2018 GRADS: About 4,400 attended event in new Kennewick venue Continued from 1A guished alumnus, gave stu- dents several pointers. “Focus on lifelong learn- ing, formal or informal,” he said. He urged the graduates to engage with the world, put down their cell phones and take their futures seriously. “If you think for some rea- son you don’t have the right stuff, I’m here to tell you that you do,” he said. “I chal- lenge you to prepare for every opportunity.” After each student had received their diploma, vale- dictorian Reed Middleton said a few words. She asked her classmates not to back down from the challenges that might come their way. “We may even have to pump our own gas — the atrocity!” she said to laughs from the crowd. “Never forget to turn Staff photo by Kathy Aney A crowd of about 4,400 people watched the Hermiston High School Class of 2018 graduate Thursday night at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. around and thank the people who got you there,” she said. Then, she led her class- mates in the turning of the tassel. As graduates tossed their caps and reunited with their families, many reflected on the last few years. Ja’Qwaya Gooden said the reality hadn’t quite hit her yet. “I’m really happy I made it,” she said. “I thank everyone who got me here.” Though parents and fami- lies faced heavy traffic while traveling from Hermiston to Kennewick, many said they were happy with the new venue. “It was good to have it here, so many families could come,” said Betty Gutierrez, there to watch her grandson Joey grad- uate. “Everybody wants to be here to see this happen.” School board member Bonnie Luisi said about 4,400 people attended the event. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Staff photo by Kathy Aney Staff photo by Kathy Aney Adilene Chavez-Moncada welcomed the crowd of about 4,400 in Spanish Thursday night. Thomas McCullough claps during a speech by fellow graduate Salma Anguiano on Thursday night. Monica Arias holds her diploma high Thursday night at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. BMCC: Frink has experience as banker, private consultant and SBDC advisor Continued from 1A and prospective entrepreneurs. A 40-year Hermiston res- ident, Frink didn’t start her career as a turnaround artist. Frink was a banker for more than 12 years, working at the same local branch as it underwent a number of acqui- sitions, going from Western Heritage Savings and Loan to Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan to Bank of America. Faced with approving small business loans, Frink said she became well-acquainted with aspiring merchants. Applicants were seldom short on dreams or ideas, but definitive business plans weren’t always part of the equation. Frink’s first priority was to make sure the bank was making a good investment and not offering sound business advice, so she often sent appli- cants to the SBDC to refine their proposal. She got to experience the other side of the coin when she was hired as an SBDC busi- ness adviser in 2002. Not only did she help prospective business own- ers secure financing, but she helped them develop business plans and make sense of the numbers. Frink said the SBDC busi- ness advisers offer a degree of separation, offering objective advice and preparing them for the challenges that will come. “If you run a marathon, you don’t just show up on the day of the race,” she said. Frink had done private business consulting work in the past, and she left the SBDC to start a new consulting busi- ness in 2012. When BMCC recruited her to return to the SBDC as the director, it was not in good condition. The turnaround Ironically, Frink felt that the SBDC was operating with- out a plan and direction, and it was reflected by BMCC’s cen- ter being the lowest contrib- uting member organization in the state. Frink replaced many of the SBDC employees with a fresh set of advisers and they set about drumming up business. From 2016 to 2017, the center’s clients increased from 213 to 265 and its capi- tal infusion — the amount in loans and equity investments its clients made — grew from $439,119 to $1 million. They number of new jobs Staff photo by Antonio Sierra Kim and Rodney Burt, owners of OMG! Burgers & Brew, worked with the BMCC Small Business Develop- ment Center to launch their restaurant this year. created and new jobs were basically flat (15 to 16 and 33 to 31, respectively), but Frink said one of the most import- ant statistics was the SBDC’s return on investment. For every state dollar spent, the BMCC SBDC created $239 in state revenue while every federal dollar produced $2.56 in federal revenue. Also important: SBDC-as- sisted businesses last longer. Frink said that only 18 per- cent of business in Oregon last longer than 18 months. With the help of the SBDC, the per- centage jumps to 85 percent. Cumulatively, Frink said is now the third best perform- ing center in the state after the SBDCs in Portland and Lane County. Among the smiling faces on the program’s redesigned website is Nadeem Akhlaq, the owner of the Rugged Country Lodge in Pendleton. Testimonials Originally from Pakistan, Akhlaq immigrated to the U.S. in 2014, initially settling down in Orlando, Florida, where his sister resided. A physician by trade, Akh- laq had trouble getting a job in the medical field because of his lack of experience in American medicine. Akhlaq befriended a man who owned motels through- out the Northwest, and with- out any other job prospects, accepted a job in motel man- agement in the Tri-Cities. His friend also owned the Rugged Country Lodge, and when the management posi- tion opened, he moved again. Akhlaq eventually con- sidered buying the South- east Court Avenue motel, and under the advice of a differ- ent friend, he contacted the SBDC. Adviser Terry Becktold began directing him to banks to apply for a small busi- ness loan, but when the lodge owner announced he was moving to Delaware, Akhlaq needed to make a decision. He was hesitant to approach the owner about buying the property, but with Becktold’s encouragement, Akhlaq was not only able to secure the pur- chase of the Rugged Coun- try Lodge but a financing deal with the owner. Akhlaq said the SBDC helped with other tasks — setting up a limited liability company, compiling a list of restaurants to recommend to lodgers — and he continues to seek guidance from Becktold. “She guided me (through) everything,” he said. Kim and Rodney Burt were first-time restaurateurs when they applied for a Jump Start loan from the Pendleton Development Commission to help them open OMG! Burg- ers & Brew on South Main Street. Rodney said the commis- sion recommended they visit the SBDC to create a busi- ness plan during the applica- tion process. Rodney said the SBDC offered valuable advice, like maintaining an advertising budget, and with the busi- ness plan they formulated, the Burts were able to secure the $19,000 loan. Frink said fresh business owners often assume that the most successful companies thrive independently, but she’s trying to disabuse them of that notion. “It’s not a bad thing to get help,” she said. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com. BOUNDS: Hermiston native will have lifetime appointment if approved Continued from 1A ingly of ethnically based student clubs and “sensitiv- ity” and criticized universi- ties for using a lower stan- dard of proof than “beyond a reasonable doubt” when tak- ing action against students accused of sexual assault. Bounds has since denounced those writings, calling them tone-deaf “col- lege kid” opinions that “do not reflect the views I have hewn to as a lawyer and, frankly, as a grown-up.” Bounds declined to com- ment to the East Oregonian Thursday about the judiciary committee hearing. But after the op-eds came to light Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley declined to issue a “blue slip” of sup- port, which is customarily given by a nominee’s home state senators before the Senate Judiciary Committee moves forward. Democrats have criticized the commit- tee for going ahead with the nomination process with- out the blue slips, and last month Wyden on the Sen- ate floor called ignoring the advice and consent of home state senators a “dangerous mistake.” “What is clear to me is that the majority is now chipping away at a century of bipartisan tradition that has protected the interests of those in our home state and served as a check on the power of the executive,” he said. Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, addressed those concerns at Thurs- day morning’s vote, accord- ing to the video recording of the proceedings, stating that it was his policy that negative or unreturned blue slips should not necessarily block a nominee from hav- ing a hearing, and pointing out that a screening commit- tee convened by Wyden and Merkley had recommended Bounds as a nominee in the first place. He said that during the hearing Bounds had been able to answer questions about his college writ- ings and “clarify the confu- sion” about why he had not previously disclosed them (Bounds testified that staff from Wyden’s office had only asked for materials going back to law school). “We shouldn’t assume that views expressed years ago during college and law school represent the nomi- nee today, especially when the nominees tell us that they don’t. Let’s let all 100 senators — not just two — decide whether Mr. Bounds deserves to be confirmed,” he said. After his remarks mul- tiple Democratic senators expressed their disapproval of Grassley’s “unprece- dented” decision to allow nominees to have a hear- ing after neither home state Senator returned a blue slip. Wyden also issued a statement calling the views expressed in Bounds’ writ- ings as “archaic and alarm- ing” and stating it was “a sad day for justice when Senator Grassley feels free to shat- ter an agreed-upon process that has long proved itself as a fair and bipartisan way to ensure nominees for a lifetime appointment to the bench meet the highest stan- dards for honesty.” Bounds graduated from Hermiston High School, then received an undergrad- uate degree from Stanford in 1995 and his law degree from Yale. He has practiced com- mercial law in Portland, was a federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, served as an assistant to the Pres- ident on domestic policy and is currently an assistant U.S. attorney in Oregon. His community engagement includes serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children and on the Diversity & Inclusion Com- mittee of the Portland Bar. Rep. Greg Walden has supported Bounds’ nomi- nation, describing him as a “talented and effective pros- ecutor” with a strong record of public service. He has also been the subject of let- ters of support from local politicians and attorneys, some of whom wrote in a guest viewpoint for the East Oregonian that “We can rep- resent without hesitation that Ryan’s path has been one of growth, intellectual curiosity and rigor, love of his family, friends, and com- munity, and respect for the humanity of others.” If the Senate approves his nomination he will have a lifetime appointment as a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536.