Spilyay Tymoo, Warm SpHnjs, Oregon March 22, 2001
Ron Suppah and Roy Heath (right photo) operate Simnasho store.
Three Warriors
Store wins award
Ten years ago, the Simnasho Plan
ning Council had high expectations
for the community grocery they
hoped to establish; but no one ex
pected an award. However,
Simnasho's Three Warriors store re
ceived one last week - the Madras
Jefferson County Chamber of
Commerce's "Business Develop
ment Recognition" award which ac
knowledges excellence in either the
improvement or creation of a busi
ness. Sitting in the the office of their
sparkling, year-old facility, Manager
Ron Suppah and Assistant Manager
Roy Heath described the store's be
ginnings. Charley's Market,
Simnasho's only store, had been
abandoned for years and the 350
residents, many of whom were el
ders, wanted a local grocery to both
reduce travel and keep money in the
community.
The ensuing ten years of planning
included many frustrations. Origi
nal desires to rehab the old Charley's
building proved unworkable. Tribal
government, whose participation
was a necessity, feared investment in
Simnasho would not prove profit
able. The planners eventually won
Native journalists offered chance
The Freedom Forum will fully
fund and run an academic journal
ism program for American Indian
college students June 3-29 at the
University of South Dakota. Six se
mester hours of credit will be
awarded t graduates of the month
long course. The American Indian
ournalism Institute will offer 25
college-level Native American stu
dents the opportunity to train as
newspaper reporters, editors and
jhotographers. The Freedom Forum
Meuharth Center will pay all costs,
ncluding tuition, fees, room and
joard and it will give students who
Composites
Continued from Page 1
In 1999, the net income rose by
jver 26 percent from the previous
fear. Last year gross sales were over
$3.5 million and the projections are
for continued steady growth. Even
ith the stable development of sales,
he Tom Beck Group has been hired
:o prepare a 3-5 year business plan
for the WSCP board of directors.
The plan will assist in charting a
course for an increased share of the
market.
Earnest attributes WSCP's suc
cess, in large part, to being customer
oriented. "We are very well known
in the industry. We bend over back
wards to help people." WSCP has
the alternative product to the giant
(Georgia Pacific) in the industry ac
cording to Earnest. He explains that
the key ingredient to growth is cer
tification. Without getting new
products certified, there can be no
growth because certification is the
controlling factor. "X'e can only sell
what we're certified for." WSCP
budgets between $50,000 and
$80,000 a year for certification burn
tests.
WSCP has an excellent reputa
tion and record of achieving certifi
cation by passing burn tests con
ducted by Warnock-Hersey in
Antioch, California. Many clients
send doors to W SCP to have them
tested in their small furnace that can
1.
over the doubters and the store was
built. First year revenues have been
four times greater than predicted by
hired consultants.
Suppah is proud of the success.
"Sometimes in the ten year process
we wanted to give up. But residents,
especially the ciders said, 'We're
counting on you guys to do this.'
Some of those have passed on. I
wish they had been able to see their
vision become reality." The
venture's preliminary success rein
forces his belief that each commu
nity must work hard for its own eco
nomic growth. "Part of health on the
reservation is trusting each other's
decisions for his own community."
Three Warriors serves people
within a 15 mile radius and derives
its greatest income from Kah Nee Ta
tourists. Sixty percent of revenues
represent fuel sales, the remaining,
groceries. Suppah's commitment to
keep prices low for the elders who
feared the store would "make money
off us" is a challenge. His markup is
eight to thirteen percent lower than
industry standards - a situation that
may have to change as the period
required by tribal government for
the operation to become self-sus-
successfully complete the program
an $800 scholarshipstipend. The
six-hour coliege-level course is sanc
tioned through the University's
Department of Contemporary Me
dia and Journalism, a nationally
credited journalism department. Stu
dents may apply to transfer the cred
its to other schools where they en
rolled. ,i
"American Indians are by far the
most underrepresented people of
color in the news media-and stereo
typical and erroneous newspaper
coverage of Indian issues and Indian
people show it," said McAuliffe. Es
reach 1,770 degrees. This enables the
client to collect data and get advice
from WSCP before making the trip
to Antioch for the certification
burn. In some cases, WSCP goes to
California and helps with the certi
fication burn test. WSCP willingly
does this because the companies
shipping doors to WSCP are all us
ing Tectonite TM and if they pass
the burn test, their product is certi
fied with Tectonite TM, which
means they must buy the product
from WSCP. Earnest commented
that Warm Springs Composite Prod
ucts will be one of the major play
ers in door components in the fu- .
ture because doors are being certi
fied with Tectonite TM by many
door companies. "We are a critical
supplier for many door companies."
Warm Springs Composite
Products will be taking a major step
on April 10th when it unveils its
nine-foot, 8-0-9-0 door pairs for a
certification burn at Warnock
Hersey. The doors have already
passed a 60-minute burn and will
now be tested at 90 minutes. If the
test is passed, it will give WSCP an
other product that is certified, and
another product they can market.
WSCP will also be facilitating tests
for two other companies while in
California. Earnest says, "We are
doing it at their request because of
our good name." WSCP does re-
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taining has been reduced from five
to three years.
Along with customer support,
Suppah attributes the store's fiscal
success to managerial flexibility and
cooperation among the four-person
staff. "There's a lot of trial and er
ror. We have good staff input and we
attack problems as a team."
Ties to tribal finances can occa
sionally prove constraining. For ex
ample, a supplier might offer a bulk
discount for payment within 10
days. Suppah cannot react because
tribal payments cannot be processed
that quickly. On the other hand,
Suppah is quick to point out that
tribal involvement provides him
with a wealth of fiscal experience not
available to most fledgling busi
nesses. '
timates of the number of Native
Americans working at daily news
papers range up to about 300-out of
more than 35,000 journalists nation
wide. Participants may be nominated
by educators, mentors or other in
terested parties.
Nominating letters should be re
ceived by May 1, 2001 and addressed
to: Jack Marsh, Director, Freedom
Forum Neuharth Center, Univer
sity of South Dakota, Vermilion, SD
57069. Nomination letters should
include brief explanations of why
nominees should be accepted into
search and development for a num
ber of other companies.
Since its beginning, WSCP has
been viewed as having unlimited
potential to generate revenue and
family wage jobs for the Tribe.
Tribal Councilman Raymond
Tsumpti has been a major supporter
and has always maintained that the
opportunities for success are vast.
Over the years, the company has ex
perienced success and failure, but the
staff has maintained its enthusiasm
and continued to work hard to
achieve success.
Speaking of the WSCP staff, gen
eral manager Alan Earnest said the
current staff is the best staff WSCP
has ever had. "We have not replaced
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i Three Warrior's future looks
bright. Suppah sees a trend of
people moving back to Simnasho,
especially young families. Not con
tent to rest on its award-winning lau
rels, the staff plans to add a deli op
eration soon and hopes to include a
laundromat and possibly a Post Of
fice in the future. Suppah is excited
about a new basketball court to be
constructed adjacent to the store
with monies from the IMS Diabetes
Grant Committee,
j Suppah adds that video custom
ers frequently request Three War
riors, the film set in Simnosho from
which the store got its name. The
producer requires a minimum pur
chase of 150 tapes, but Suppah will
place an order if enough clients sign
for study
the institute and how they can be
contacted. Nominees then will be
invited to provide further informa
tion about, themselves and an ex
ample of their writing, such as an
essay about why they want to at
tend. Self-nominations also are wel
come, as are nominations by e-mail
(jmarshfredomforum.org).
For further information, call
Jack Marsh, Director, Freedom
Forum Neuharth Center, at (605)
677-6315, or McAuliffe at (406) 243
2191 or by e-mail
(dmcauliffefreedomforum.org).
any production person since July
2000. Our employees are hard work
ers, enjoy their families, and have a
lot of pride in their work and in
Warm Springs Composite Prod
ucts." In 1996, WSCP reported a net in
come of $62,696. The following year
the net income dipped to $1,121.
Since that time the income has risen
each year as the company has pro
vided a larger inventory of products.
In 2000, WSCP exploded to almost
$700,000 in profits. As the Tribal
Council and senior management
search for ways to diversify the
Tribal economy, Warm Springs
Composite Products could be a shin
ing star on the horizon.
Warm Springs youth
pays visit to D.C.
Wilfred Sando, a junior at Madras
High School, has been selected to
attend The National Young I-eaders
Conference (NY1.Q from March 20
to March 25 in Washington, DC.
Nominated for the conference by his
teacher Mr. Hillis, Sando is one of
350 students selected nation-wide on
the basis of leadership potential and
scholarship. The conference is spon
sored by the Congressional Youth
Leadership Council, a non-profit,
non-partisan, educational organiza
tion. Wilfred was nominated for
NYI.C by his teacher, Mr. 1 lillis.
In Washington, the NYI.C par
ticipants will interact with legisla-
tors, diplomats and the press corps.
They will also role play as legisla-
tors, supreme court justices, and
presidential cabinet members in
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Food, construction
businesses relocate
Tom and Jan's Food Service and Tom Kalama construction will
be relocating- to 2107 Wasco Street. That's just a few, hose lengths
aifeorn the .Fire Halt The much sought after, mclsc -farmras-fried bread
in Warm Springs will be sold there. Indian Tacos,' Pepsi products,
, pop corn and snow cones are almost always on the menu.
We always wash our hands. We have food handler's cards up
dated every year. We plan to add more to the daily menu.
' Tom is also opening up a repair and remodeling office. Con
tract proposals for repair, remodeling and new construction will
gladly be given to you. Carpet and vinyl samples will be available
for customers to pick out. , : r -
Space has been needed for a long time, We have worked put of
the brown trailer, selling at pow-wows and inter-tribal sports. We
thank our past customers for buying the products we sell. In the
new location, we plan to serve good quality food and soft drinks
and we will tell you all the details of your repair and remodeling
needs. ,
Jeanine - Food Service and Tommy, Timothy, Chips, and .Greg
- Carpenters
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leadership building activities,
Sando is the son of Mary Samlo-
Hmhoolah, Michael Hmhoolah and
the late Wildred J. Sando, Sr. of
Jemez Pueblo, NM.
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