BUSINESS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022
Hermiston CrossFit gym moves to new location
BY ANTONIO ARREDONDO
Hermiston Herald
After opening its doors at the
beginning of 2022, a Hermis-
ton CrossFit affiliate is stepping
into the shoes left by its prede-
cessor.
HydroElectric CrossFit,
owned by Josh and Macy King,
moved on Aug. 14 into its new
location at 2220 S.E. Kelli Blvd.
in Hermiston after six months
on Main Street.
The Kelli Boulevard building
is the site of the former Herm-
iston Mayhem, a place where
the Kings learned of their love
for CrossFit.
King said he and his wife
started their weight-loss jour-
ney together four years ago.
Both weighed more than 240
pounds, and they decided to
make a change. After dieting,
the two decided to begin work-
ing out.
“We tried out gyms — we
call them ‘globo gyms,” King
said. “There you just couldn’t
get in sync, and felt isolated and
by yourself.”
When the two joined Herm-
iston Mayhem, that’s when
they found a love for exer-
Deadline nears for grants
to support live events the
pandemic affected
HydroElectric
Crossfit info
For anyone interested in
joining HydroElectric Cross-
Fit, there is a free class every
Saturday at 9 a.m. for
those to get a feel for the
process. There also are mem-
bership offers for the gym,
ranging from a $15 drop-in
fee to a full-time $110 a
month option.
Josh King/HydroElectric CrossFit
Members of HydroElectric CrossFit in Hermiston put in a workout. The gym on Aug. 14, 2022, moved into
a new location at 2220 S.E. Kelli Blvd. in Hermiston after six months on Main Street.
cise. King said the community
and competitive nature of the
events drew him closer. Af-
ter years with their CrossFit
group, Josh and Macy decided
to branch out and open their
CrossFit affiliate location in
Hermiston.
After obtaining licensing,
the new HydroElectric Cross-
Fit opened up on downtown
Main Street, Hermiston. The
Kings balanced their other
jobs — Josh as a logistics spe-
cialist at an Amazon Web Ser-
vices data center and Macy as
a teacher at Desert View Ele-
mentary School — as well as a
newborn daughter but contin-
ued to love the workouts and
grow the center.
Through the first six
months, the Main Street lo-
cation became a problem as
more people continued to join.
King said the downtown busi-
ness buildings shook from
weights being thrown around
the gym.
“While we didn’t get any
official complaints, we felt it
would’ve been rude to stay lon-
ger,” King said.
As it turns out, the pair saw a
“for Lease” sign on the building
of Hermiston Mayhem as they
drove by. Now, HydroElectric
will be stationed at the same
place where the Kings found
their love for exercise.
For anyone interested in
joining CrossFit, King said
there is a free class every Sat-
urday at 9 a.m. for those to get
a feel for the process. There
also are membership offers for
the gym, ranging from a $15
drop-in fee to a full-time $110 a
month option.
New dance studio opens soon in downtown
Owner Debbie
Kishpaugh says city
hall made opening
the business easy
BY ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
A new dance studio is sched-
uled to open in downtown
Hermiston.
Jr. Jam Dance Annex on 157
E. Main St. Hermiston, has its
logo painted on its window and
is targeting a Sept. 1 opening
date. Its owner, Debbie Kish-
paugh, already has locations in
Pendleton and said she is eager
to open up shop in Hermiston.
“It’s interesting being in a
different town, not knowing
people,” Kishpaugh, said.
A Pendleton resident, Kish-
paugh said this development is
the latest step up in her career
and she feels good about her
latest business venture.
When she was in her mid
20s, she said, she became a fit-
ness director at a gym. Soon
afterward, she started a dance
program at the gym. Dance
classes took place alongside
swimming and other athletics.
“It took off,” Kishpaugh said.
“One dance class became two,
and the two became more. It
just grew.”
During that time, Kishpaugh
married and later gave birth to
a daughter. At the age of 5, her
daughter was diagnosed with a
brain tumor.
“That changed my life,” the
dance studio owner said.
Kishpaugh said she reduced
her work hours, focused more
on her family and “began to see
life differently.” Then, she left
her job in 1999 to open her own
business, a dance studio that
would give her freedom to spend
more time with her family.
Jr. Jam Dance Studio was a
success right away, she said.
“It wasn’t a plan, and it
wasn’t something I could have
dreamed of,” she said. “It just
kind of happened, and I’m
thankful for it.”
Likewise, her growth into
Hermiston with the annex was
not her intended direction.
Kishpaugh said she was trying
to grow her business in Pendle-
ton. As she was obtaining more
acrobatics students, she was
planning to add another studio
somewhere in Pendleton but
was not making headway.
“I just kept hitting a wall,
then hitting a wall and hitting a
wall,” she said.
Earlier this year, as she was
traveling to a competition, she
said she felt God whispering in
her ear to go to Hermiston. She
responded by coming to town,
where she saw an empty build-
ing on Main Street.
She said “one thing led to an-
other, with doors opening up
for her to start in Hermiston.
“Hermiston was welcoming,”
she said. “I appreciate that it
was so easy.”
Kishpaugh said she visited
the Hermiston City Hall and
was greeted by people who laid
out all of the necessary paper-
work to open the business in
town. They made everything
simple, she said.
She said she will offer several
forms of dance at the annex.
Jazz, hip hop, ballet, acrobatics
and production are planned,
most beginning when the stu-
dio opens Sept. 1. Acrobatics
BIZ BRIEFS
begins in October.
Kishpaugh called the three
instructors working with her
at the studio “top notch.” One
of the teachers has years of ex-
perience working under Kish-
paugh. The two others work
for Hermiston High School as
dance coaches.
Weeks ahead of its first day,
the area that instructors and
their students will be moving
into is already largely completed.
Kishpaugh said that mirrors,
sound equipment, and more
were in place by mid-August.
“Throughout the year, I
might have to do other things,”
she said. “I’ll purchase mats
and that kind of stuff.”
Mostly, though, she is ready
to begin.
For more information, go
to the studio’s website at jrjam-
dance.com.
Businesses that support live
events and were impacted by
the pandemic still have time
to apply for funds from the
Live Event Support Industries
Program, but the window is
closing.
The application deadline is
noon Tuesday, Aug. 30. The ap-
plication is available online on
the Business Oregon website
(www.oregon.gov/biz/Pages/
default.aspx). Award decisions
will be announced next month.
According to Business Ore-
gon, $10 million is the amount
available in federal funds for
grant assistance to qualify-
ing applicants that have ex-
perienced financial hardships
from the pandemic. This grant
program is the third and fi-
nal round of the three grants
Business Oregon created with
American Rescue Plan Act
Coronavirus State Fiscal Re-
covery funds to help live event
venues and live event support-
ing industries.
Program awards will gener-
ally range between $10,000 —
$100,000 each. Awards will not
exceed the applicant’s reported
loss in revenue from live event
support activities between 2019
and 2020, or $100,000 (which-
ever is less).
This program defines the
“live event support industry” as
for-profit businesses, non-prof-
its, sole proprietors and in-
dependent contractors who
receive 50% or more of their
annual revenues from provid-
ing goods (rented or sold) or
services for the production of
live events.
Applications will be selected
by a random lottery system
from each geographic
region. Applications that are
selected from the lottery and
meet stated program eligibility
and need requirements will be
authorized for funding, pend-
ing availability of funds. Busi-
ness Oregon may require
additional information
and has final authority on eligi-
bility determination.
Low-Cost Loans to Power Your Life
ENERGY SAVER LOAN PROGRAM
Finance energy efficiency with
low interest rates at:
1.99 %
On-Bill Financing
Terms and conditions apply. Contact
Umatilla Electric Cooperative for details.
For more information on how UEC can
help you save energy and money visit:
Hermiston Office
Boardman Office
750 W. Elm Ave.
Hermiston, OR 97838
(541) 567-6414
400 N.E. Eldrige Drive
Boardman, OR 97818
(541) 481-2220
— Hermiston Herald