A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2017
NEWS
Taco Bell employee known
for jokes, hard work
Horizon
Project links
developmentally
disabled people
with jobs
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL
Mark Krawczyk, left, and his wife Tammy at Hermiston City Hall.
Hermiston finance director
finds hospitality up north
By JADE MCDOWELL
HERMISTON HERALD
Hermiston’s brand new
finance director is still get-
ting settled in, but he and
his wife can’t stop mar-
veling about how friendly
everyone is.
“It’s a very welcoming
community,” Mark Kraw-
czyk said. “Other places
I’ve been to, you have to
be there six months to a
year to get people to talk to
you. Here I’ve never met a
stranger.”
His wife Tammy Kraw-
czyk had the same first
impression
when
she
arrived in Hermiston for the
first time.
“He had some training to
do, so I just roamed around,
and I never met a rude per-
son,” she said.
Mark grew up in Okla-
homa and Tammy grew
up in Florida and they had
been living in Texas. This
is their first time living in
the Pacific Northwest. They
moved away from three
children in Texas but will
be closer to their other two
in Washington and Idaho.
“We kind of left one half
of the family to be closer to
the other half,” Mark said.
Mark — previously
assistant finance director
for the city of Fort Worth,
Texas — started his job as
Hermiston’s finance direc-
tor on Dec. 11. Tammy left
behind a job as an educator
and administrator at a small
community college and
said she hopes to be able to
continue to work in higher
education here.
They’re a little appre-
hensive about what a north-
ern winter might be like,
but they are also looking
forward to the new oppor-
tunities for hiking, biking,
hunting, boating and other
outdoor recreation now
within a short drive.
“I want to learn how to
snowboard,” Mark said.
For now, however, he is
still settling in to the new
job, and the couple is look-
ing for a home in Hermis-
ton’s tight housing market.
Mark’s previous expe-
rience includes banking,
municipal finance, finance
for a utility company, and
time handling personal
finances for millionaires in
the oil industry in Texas.
They had sold a company
for $2.3 billion and were
looking to build “genera-
tional wealth.”
He said each type of
financial challenge taught
him new lessons, from
dealing with government
regulations to handling
problems that arose when
people didn’t heed his fidu-
ciary advice. Mark likened
jobs he has held to his time
going on camping trips as
an Eagle Scout and trying
to follow the principle of
leaving the campsite better
than when he found it.
“I have tried to do that
with every job I’ve had and
I hope to do that here,” he
said.
He said he is also on
the faculty for the Gradu-
ate School of Banking at
Louisiana State Univer-
sity, which offers a two-
week course each spring,
and loves the “light-bulb
moments” when he helps
small-town bank owners
understand ways they can
successfully compete with
the country’s largest banks
for local customers.
Tammy said she is look-
ing forward to finding a new
job in the area. She said the
couple has always been in
the habit of involving them-
selves in the communi-
ties where they have lived.
She is enjoying Hermis-
ton so far, and said every-
thing from the investment
in schools to the cleanli-
ness of the roads shows
that residents take pride
in their community. She
also appreciates the town’s
offerings of restaurants and
businesses.
“I like the mom and pop
shops, the drug store on
Main,” she said.
The Krawczyk name
(pronounced “Crossick”)
is a little hard to spell,
but Mark said it’s as com-
mon as “Smith” in Pol-
ish. His father emigrated
from Poland to America as
a baby, but Mark said he
doesn’t remember much
from the informal Polish
lessons his father used to
give him as a child.
Regulars at the Herm-
iston Taco Bell on week-
day afternoons expect to
be greeted with a smile by
Mark Leach, one of the
store’s most enthusiastic
workers.
“I love my job,” he said.
Leach, 52, has been
working at Taco Bell for a
year and a half through an
employment program at
Horizon Project that helps
individuals with develop-
mental disabilities hold
jobs. LaTonya Avila, a
Horizon Project employee
who accompanies Leach
to his job, said he is well-
known by many customers,
some of whom even leave
him tips.
“There’s people who
always recognize him, who
really notice how hard he
works,” she said.
Hermiston’s
own
Mark Leach can be found
restocking the napkins,
wiping down tables and
emptying garbage in Taco
Bell’s lobby on most days.
He calls himself the lobby
supervisor.
“I help the customers
that need it with their pops,
like the little kids that need
help to put their lids on,” he
said.
Kelly Shockman of
Horizon Project said keep-
ing the front of house orga-
nized and stocked with
cups, napkins, hot sauce
packets and other items is
his “pride and joy.”
He also has the import-
ant job of emptying used
grease from the fryers into
a special dumpster, and
sweeping up garbage from
the parking lot. Avila said
seeing all of the cigarette
butts on the ground out
front always makes him
frustrated that people don’t
clean up after themselves.
He keeps a good atti-
tude, though.
“He’s a huge jokester,”
she said.
“Your shoe’s untied,”
he responded, looking at
Shockman. She laughed,
but refused to fall for the
trick.
“I tease these guys all
the time,” Leach said.
When he’s not working
at Taco Bell, Leach builds
model cars, erector sets and
other hands-on projects.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Mark Leach cleans a table in
the dining area at Taco Bell
on Tuesday in Hermiston.
One of his favorite things to
do is shop at Hobby Lobby
in the Tri-Cities for new
models and then “tinker-
ing” with them.
Leach grew up in Cali-
fornia, then moved to Ore-
gon with family after his
brother got a job in Nyssa.
After both of his parents
WORSHIP
COMMUNITY
the best thing about Sundays
1520 W ORCHARD AVE
Sunday Worship Service
10:30 am Classes for Kids @ 9:15 am
SEEKING JESUS, SHARING LIFE, SERVING PEOPLE
www.hermistonnazarene.org
NEW BEGINNINGS
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Worship Service 10:30 AM
Sunday School 9:00 AM
Pastor J.C. Barnett
Children’s Church &
Nursery Available
700 West Orchard Avenue
P.O. Box 933
Hermiston, Oregon
541-567-8441
First Christian
Church
“Proclaiming the Message of
Hope, Living the Gospel of Love”
Sunday School 9:15am
Worship Gathering 10:30 am
Children’s Church 10:30 am
567-3013
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
MEDICAL DIRECTORY
COUNSELING
FAMILY DENTISTRY
Seventh-day
Adventist Church
Saturdays
Sabbath School........9:30 a.m.
Worship Service......11:00 a.m.
English & Spanish Services
567-8241
855 W. Highland • Hermiston
Family Dentistry
LANDMARK BAPTIST
CHURCH
~ N ew Patients Welcome~
541-567-8161
995 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston
Ryan M. Wieseler, D.D.S .
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever
MENTAL HEALTH
URGENT AND FAMILY CARE
LET US BE THE ONE THAT HELPS!
HERMISTON FAMILY MEDICINE &
• Adult, Child and Family Therapy
• Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment
• Mental Health and Crisis Services
• Confidential and Professional Care
LIFEWAYS PENDLETON Crisis Phone: LIFEWAYS HERMISTON
331 SE 2nd St.,
595 NW 11th St.,
866-343-4473
Pendleton, OR 97801
Hermiston, OR 97838
Office: 541-276-6207 WWW . LIFEWAYS . ORG Office: 541-567-2536
PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY
Call Today!
541-289-5433
1060 W. Elm, Suite #115,
Hermiston, OR
(across from Good Shepherd Medical Center)
www.apd4kidz.com
Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
URGENT CARE
Sports & Dot Physicals • Minor Injuries • Family Care • Minor Surgeries
We accept Medicare & some Advantage Medicare plans
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY
HOURS: Mon.-Sat.
7:30am-7:00pm
541-567-1137
236 E. Newport, Hermiston
(across from U.S. Bank)
VISION CARE
Eye Health & Vision Care
Robert D. Rolen , O.D., LLC
Optometric Physician
115 W. Hermiston Ave. Suite 130
541-567-1837
To advertise in the Medical Directory, please call:
Jeanne at 541-564-4531 or Audra at 541-564-4538
passed away, Leach moved
to a group home run by
Horizon Project, which he
has been involved with for
nearly a decade.
Horizon Project started
in Milton-Freewater in
1978 and expanded its ser-
vices to Hermiston in 2002
and Pendleton in 2004,
according to their web-
site. The organization aims
to give individuals with
intellectual
disabilities
more independence and
an opportunity to partic-
ipate in activities outside
their home. The organiza-
tion offers employment ser-
vices such as job training,
community job placement
and direct employment at
their recycling operation
in Milton-Freewater. They
also offer housing services,
including group homes and
semi-independent
living
arrangements, and provide
daytime activities for indi-
viduals who are not able to
be employed.
Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am
Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm
Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm
www.hermistonlmbc.com
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
On Our Journey
With Jesus.
Scripture, Tradition and Reason
Family service 9am Sunday
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
t. PH: 567-6672
We are an all inclusive Church
who welcomes all.
First United
Methodist
Church
Hermiston
191 E. Gladys Ave , Hermiston OR
Sunday Worship 11am • 541-567-3002
Nursery available Check us out on Face Book
Worship Livestream at herfumc.com
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
Rev. Dr. Jim Pierce, pastor
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday
...............................English 7:00 am
Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm
SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm
...............................Spanish 7:00 pm
SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am
..........................Bilingual 11:00 am
..............................Spanish 1:00 pm
Offi ce..............................567-5812
The Full Gospel
Home Church
235 SW 3rd
Phone 567-7678
Rev. Ed Baker - Rev. Nina Baker
Sunday:
Sunday School........10:00 am
Worship...................11:00 am
Evening Service........7:00 pm
Wednesday Service..7:00 pm
“Casting all your care upon him;
for he careth for you.”
1 Pet. 5:7
Grace Baptist Church
555 SW 11th, Hermiston
567-9497
Nursery provided for all services
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:45 AM
6:00 PM
Wed Prayer & Worship - 7:00 PM
“Proclaiming God’s word,
growing in God’s grace”
Echo
Community Church
21 N. Bonanza Street, Echo OR
Phone: (541) 376-8108
Sunday School • 9:30am
Worship • 10:45am
Children’s Church • 11:15am
Potluck & Communion ~
First Sunday of the Month
To share your
worship times call
541-278-2678