July 1994
Page 3
Business
Smoke Signals
Entrepreneur of
By Tracy Olson
Tribal member, Clyde Stryker of
Sherwood Oregon has owned Spirit
Communications since 1993. He
also owns Spirit Furnishings. He
and his wife, Gretchen operate the
business from their home.
Spirit Communications is a voice
and data insulation company. The
Strykers are in the business of
installing and maintaining these
systems for commercial and private
use.
Their broad customer base
includes such companies as
Textronix, the City ofEugene, Valley
Insurance and all the K-Mart and
Payless stores in Oregon and
Washington.
Clyde was one of the founding
partners ofData Devices, a company
which has grossed ten million
annually in sales. When Clyde
separated from Data Devices, he
took his expertise in systems with
him to develop his present company.
Voice and data installation can
include fiber optic cable, data
network cabling and wiring, voice
processing products and the sales
and service of telephone systems.
Spirit Communications employees
seven people who are trained to be
price competitive with other
Education
Summer School to begin this
1 .' This year's summer school
program will begin July 11, and run
through July 29th. The first week
will be videofilm instruction with
the Northwest Film Center for middle
schoolhigh school age children. The
age range could be lowered if
participation in the targeted range is
not sufficient to complete the project.
The second week will be a
combination videofilm preschool
kindergarten and parent program.
Educational activities will be
conducted for the children and their
-" 1 A" -Ay';. V .
I
Wendi Spencer gives certificates to the participants of the
Johnson O'Malley Program.
the Month: Clyde
Qyde Stryker with one of several company vehicles.
agencies.
"One of the reasons I started this
business was to create job
opportunities for Indian people.
For those who are interested in
this trade, training is available,"
said Clyde.
Clyde is interested in training
tribal members in a 2 or 4 year
apprenticeship program.
"Once a person receives a
parents. Positive parenting will
be modeled and encouraged of all
adultparticipants. Thevideofilm
participants will then film the
parentchild interactions. It is
hoped that the final video can be
used in parent and child care
provider trainings.
The third and final week of the
summer education program will
be for children, grades 1-5. Some
activities planned include Chinook
Jargon classes, Cedar Bark
presentation, weaving, and career
i
: zi
Stryker
v i
Journeyman license, he or she can
go to work for anyone in the state,"
he said.
Clyde has utilized Small Business
Development in his efforts to get a
loan from the BIA and set up his
business plan.
"Mitch Conley and Elaine Moore
were most helpful in giving advice
on how to structure my business."
month
development presentations and
exercises.
All of the summer program
activities, as outlined, will operate
throughout the morning and be
concluded with lunch, except for
the scheduled field trips. For more
information, call the tribal
education office and ask for Shawn
Hostler or CeCe Kneeland.
The final week's schedule will be
as follows:
Monday through Friday:
8-8:30 a.m.: breakfast
8:30-9 a.m.: Chinook Jargon class
On Monday and Tuesday a craft
class will be offered, followed by
games, career presentations,
prevention activities, and lunch.
Thursday and Friday the children
will learn about Cedar Bark,
followed by sign language classes,
and lunch. Wednesday is reserved
for a field trip to an Indian Village
in the coastal town of Florence.
Career presentations will feature
tribal employees who come to the
summer school and talk to the kids
about their jobs, education, and
what they do for the Tribe. Parents
are encouraged to sign up their
children todayl
Tribal member
business registry
Tribal member businesses
wanting to bid on projects with
Spirit Mountain Development
Corporation will need to be
registered with the S mall
Business Development
Department of the Tribe. Asa
registered Grand Ronde tribal
business, participants will
receive all tribal and Spirit
Mountain Development RFPs
(request for proposals) and bid
requests; (Keep in mind that
Spirit Mountain Development
Corporation will notaccept bids
from tribally-owncd business
not registered.) Small Business
Development will assist tribal
members in meeting the
bonding and insurance requests
per bid specifications. Start
up;: businesses can receive
planning assistance to qualify
for future tribal business
projects. Any Grand Ronde
tribal member owned business
can register by contacting the
Small Business Development
staff members: Mitch Conley,
Shelley Hanson, Elaine Moore,
or Debby Childers at 1-800-422-0232.
1 -mm. '
"j- , ' '
EDUCATION HONORDINNER: Shelley Hanson was one
of several scholarship recipients for the 1994-95 school
year. She will be working towards her Master's next year.
She thanks Dean Azule at the Honor Dinner.
Computer class
schedule
WORD FOR WINDOWS: Offered
July 7, 24 p.m. and July 21, 2-4
p.m.
WORKS: Offered July 13, 1-4 p.m.
BASIC COMPUTERS: Offered
July 13, 6-8 p.m.
PRINT SHOP DELUXE: Offered
July 14, 24 p.m.
QUICK BOOKS: Offered July 20,
14 p.m.
All classes held at the Business
Development Center. Monthly
seminars will be halted until
September.
Tribal artist wins contest
Lon Mercier, of Mercier Fine
Art, recently became one of the
winners of the 1995 Native
American Artist Calendar contest
sponsored by Heritage Printing, Inc.
Mercier's egg tempera painting will
be featured in the calendar on the
month of July. Calendars will be
available for sale August 15. For
ordering information, call 1-800-364-7615.
Survey reminder
Small Business Development
mailed a survey to all clients asking
for input on the monthly seminars.
It would be very helpful to have
them returned with date and time
ideas. Please return them.