What a difference thirty years makes
What do two truckloads of food for school kids have to do with John White’s attic? To answer that, you’ll have to consider the past 30 years, or at least read this article.
Thirty years is how long the JD White Company—recently merged with Federal Way-based Berger/ABAM Engineers—has been doing business in Vancouver. The firm in September plans to throw a party to mark the occasion, but more importantly it has committed to participating in 30 projects designed to benefit the community.
From fear to fortitude
Company founder John White said he never dreamed he’d be the head of such a successful firm when he
started out in his attic in 1976.
"Truly, it was survival," White said of forming the business, which was actually a combination planning, graphic design and photography firm.
"I just picked three things and hoped one would stick," he said. The photography became a hobby, and he ended up with no time for graphic design because he was so busy with planning contracts. When he opened his first real office in 1977, he built a conference table out of two saw horses and a hollow core door, and proudly displayed a big red rotary phone as the centerpiece. White called the phone his "most prized possession" at the time.
But in 1981, when interest rates soared to 21 percent and private development dropped off to nothing, White found himself with no business at all, and he nearly slipped into a fear coma.
"I’ll never forget walking into the office one day in that year and saying, ‘I have nothing to do.’"
To avoid giving in to his fear, White got on the phone, contacting existing businesses and finding ways to help them solve land use problems and better manage their resources.
White said the experience taught him to take nothing for granted, and to always remain proactive in business.
"I have forever kept one foot planted firmly in 1981," he said.
The old saw horse conference table is long gone—replaced by what looks like mahogany or at least maple. And when Berger/ABAM approached him about the merger, White insisted that none of his existing staff lose their jobs as a result. This loyalty to his staff has paid off, and White says he enjoys being able to help his community.
"John has always really tried to instill in his employees the value of community service," said JD White marketing director Kimberlee Pierce.
Thirty for thirty
The company’s more than 30 employees have volunteered in a variety of benevolent causes in the community to mark the anniversary. Some have helped to plant native trees at Columbia Springs Environmental Education Center; others have given their time to help Oregon Public Broadcasting during its annual membership drive. So far, they have participated in 27 of the planned 30 projects.
Along with volunteer work, the firm has also given money to causes in the community, donating to organizations such as the Vancouver Parks and Recreation Scholarship Program and the Social and Environmental Justice Club at Washington State University Vancouver. One particular cause, however, became a major undertaking and a big success. Company employees participated in The Backpack Program, which gathers and distributes food to underprivileged school kids and their families.
"We as a firm got together and decided we were going to do something with this program," Pierce said. "So we gathered together several firms from the community and we fed them and then pitched this idea to them, that we team up to help this cause."
Pierce said the group, comprised of employees from JDW, LSW Architects, MGH and Assoc., PBS Environmental and Harper Houf Peterson and Reghillis ended up being able to provide enough food for the program to last the entire summer, and recruited the help of Westlie Ford of Camas, who provided two F-250 Super Duty trucks to transport the food. The group filled both trucks, which leads us back to the attic, sort of.
What John White started as an enterprise in a simple attic sometime during the Carter Administration has blossomed into a positive denizen of the community, and a grateful one as well.
