A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
FOOD:
continued from Page A1
families they could be dis-
tributed to.
In 1979, Sherman got
students at Armand Larive
involved in the food drive
effort. Admittedly, Sherman
had low expectations that
first year, thinking maybe
they’d collect 80 or 90 cans.
However, he was pleasantly
surprised when donations
topped 800. When Sand-
stone opened, Sherman
BUILDING:
continued from Page A1
Simmons Insurance Group
held a ribbon-cutting on
their new headquarters
Tuesday.
“This is our hub. This is
our home,” managing part-
ner Jacob Neighbors told
the group gathered for the
celebration.
Simmons
Insurance
Group was founded in
Hermiston in 1974 and
has since grown to about
100 employees in 20 loca-
tions. Hermiston is still the
company’s headquarters,
however, and almost half
of the employees are there.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016
FROM PAGE A1
helped develop the competi-
tion between the schools.
“The biggest contribu-
tion of food to this program
is the schools,” Sherman
said. “Our kids are really
great kids.”
DeCarlow said the can
drive is important as it’s a
way for students to be aware
of needs in the community.
It also helps drive home an
understanding that they can
contribute and help make a
difference.
Sherman is continually
amazed by the generosity
of students and families that
have very little themselves.
It still touches him when
he recalls a former band
student that brought in two
cans.
“They were usually go-
ing hungry,” Sherman said.
“They know what it’s like to
go without.”
Top collectors will earn
the privilege of attending
a special Hermiston Rota-
ry Club luncheon with their
principal and sit at the table
of honor with Mayor Dave
Drotzmann. The meeting also
features a “fleecing,” Sher-
man said. Rotarians willingly
open their wallets to provide
seed money for next year’s
Christmas Express.
Roberts encouraged stu-
dents to talk to their families
about making a food dona-
tion.
“We’re not asking you to
strip your pantry,” she said.
Meanwhile, don’t be sur-
prised if an exuberant youth
shows up at your door ask-
ing if you’d like to donate
food for the effort — re-
member, there is a contest
going on. The competition
continues through Dec. 9.
“That’s one of the things
they take pride in — that Ar-
mand has been the winner of
the crosstown rivalry with
Sandstone in recent years,”
DeCarlow said. “Also, with
some of the kids their sib-
lings had won, so it’s pass-
ing on the torch to be victo-
rious over the other school.”
In the end, Sherman said
the recipients are the win-
ners.
Recipients of Christ-
mas Express don’t sign
themselves up. Names can
be suggested through so-
cial service agencies, civic
groups, churches or even
neighbors, Sherman said.
They must be submitted by
Dec. 2.
For more information,
call Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston or Rev. Ter-
ry Cummings, lead chaplain
with the Hermiston fire and
police departments, at 541-
567-5519 or leave a mes-
sage for Sherman at Umatil-
la Fire District No. 1, 320 S.
First St., Hermiston.
Neighbors said the move to
the bigger space for admin-
istrative offices will allow
for continued growth.
Managing partner Jus-
tin Simmons thanked those
who transformed the for-
mer western wear store into
an open, modern-looking
workspace. He said helping
fill the long-empty build-
ing was important to him
and to his brother-in-law
Neighbors because they
had grown up in the com-
munity.
“We’re really excited,”
he said. “What we wanted
to do was revitalize Main
Street.”
The building was first
built in 1907, the same year
Hermiston was incorpo-
rated, and had previously
served as a public library, a
ladies’ boutique and the of-
fices of the East Oregonian
before Roe Gardner turned
it into RoeMarks.
The Simmons Insurance
offices take up the eastern
section of the large prop-
erty, while Bloomz Coffee
and Floral will move into
the corner space early next
year. The Simmons side
includes a spacious open
area on the first floor, a
waiting area, board room,
staff kitchen and a variety
of glass-fronted offices sur-
rounding the main floor and
the upstairs mezzanine.
The renovations includ-
ed bringing natural lighting
to the mezzanine by adding
a row of upstairs windows
facing Main Street. The
Hermiston Urban Renewal
Agency provided a $10,000
facade grant as a match for
the $21,000 it took to put
windows into what was pre-
viously a solid concrete wall.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said the city
was pleased to award urban
renewal district dollars to
Simmons Insurance Group
for turning one of Herm-
iston’s few second-story
spaces downtown into a us-
able space.
“We’re very excited
about the commitment by
Simmons Agency to invest
in the downtown, and we
hope that it leads many more
to follow suit,” he said.
Neighbors said to start
out 15 people will have
their offices in the building,
while others stay at the 702
E. Main Street address. He
said “so far everything has
gone to plan” in finishing
the renovations.
“It’s been a great space
for us,” he said.
The office will be open
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
“Feel free to stop in and
say hi and check out the
new digs,” Neighbors said.
———
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at 541-564-4536.
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