EDC director appointed by governor
Egils Milbergs of Washington D.C. has been appointed director of Washington State’s new Economic Development Commission by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Milbergs has relocated to Olympia for the position. He is founder and president of the Center for Accelerating Innovation of the D.C. area. Milbergs played a principal role in the National Innovation Initiative, the Innovation Vital Signs project of the U.S. Department of Commerce. He was president of the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing from 1998 to 2003 and established the Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Council.
Milbergs was also an adviser to the president of Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology and deputy assistant secretary for productivity, technology and innovation at the U.S. Commerce Department under Malcolm Baldridge in the Reagan Administration.
Milbergs is a graduate of Harvard College, where he studied public policy and economics.
Salut! split
After five years, Salut! founders Kelly Bruce and David Grey have amicably split the wine business. Grey is now the sole owner of Salut! and will keep the business at the East Vancouver location.
Early this month, Bruce unveiled K’Syrah Catering, Wine and Bistro, located at the former downtown Camas Salut! location, 212 N.E. Fourth Ave.
Bruce and Grey both plan to use each others’ services in their businesses.
Women of Achievement names winners
Winners of the 2008 Women of Achievement awards were announced in January, along with the first-ever Young Women of Achievement winners.
The 2008 Women of Achievement are Susan Davis, Patricia Downey, Jean Lacey, Kris Miller, Tracy Reilly-Kelly, Elizabeth Asahi Sato, Jeanne Stewart and Susan Torres.
Young Women of Achievement scholarships of $1,500 will go to Sarah Brown, Mariah Hairston and Navnit Virdi.
Clark College and YWCA Clark County will honor the winners at 11:30 a.m. March 13. Anna Song of KATU news will emcee. Ticket information is available at 360-906-4301.
Woodland Chamber installs leadership
The Woodland Chamber of Commerce installed its 2008 officers and board members at a banquet Jan. 26.
The new Chamber president is Joel Lengyel of Cascade Title in Longview. First vice president is Cherie Schatz of Accel Mortgage in Vancouver and Abbie Anderson of the Woodland Library is second vice president. Secretary is Mary Urban of Bill Haeger and Assoc. in Woodland and treasurer is Darlene Johnson of Woodland Truck Lines.
Board members for 2008 are Bill Behrens of Equity Network Services of Vancouver, Carol Rounds of Columbia Bank in Woodland, Mike Golik of Woodland True Value, Bill Raybell of PDM Steel in Woodland, Joan Cooper of Bank of Clark County of Vancouver, Joy Snead of Twin City Bank in Woodland, Barbara Harsh of Lamiglas Inc. in Woodland.
Skamania Chamber announces awards
Ellen Jensen and Bahma Coffee Bar received top honors at the Skamania Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet in January.
Jensen of New York Life Insurance in Stevenson was 2007 Chamber member of the year. She is president of the Stevenson Business Association and the board secretary for the Skamania Chamber.
Bahma Coffee Bar in Stevenson was the 2007 business of the year. Its owners, Dawn Neilson and Penny Edlund, support local schools and North Bonneville Fire Department.
R+D BRIEFS
Black Angus purchased by investors
Pioneer Building Co. LLC recently bought the 39,805-square-foot Black Angus restaurant building at 415 E. 13th Street in Vancouver for $1.7 million. The seller is 415 E. 13th Street LLC, which includes Christensen Shipyards Chairman Dave Christensen.
Pioneer, which is operated by majority investors of Clark County Title Co., has announced plans to develop a multi-story office building at the site.
The investors bought the building subject to the restaurant chain’s lease terminating, likely in about two years, said Eric Fuller of Eric Fuller and Assoc., who represented the seller in the transaction.
Adam Roselli and Byron Roselli of Eric Fuller & Assoc. represented the buyers in the transaction.
NAI-NBS celebrates big year
In 2007, NAI Norris Beggs and Simpson’s brokerage division completed $689 million worth of transactions, its property management division handled $859 million worth of assets and NBS Financial closed financing for $373 million.
From its Vancouver office, multi-family and investment sales specialist Charlie Kleier was named the company’s fifth-top producer. The six-time top producer closed a total transaction volume of $15.8 million in 2007.
He facilitated the $4.2 million sale of Hazel Dell Center, 6400 N.E. Highway 99, and a $2.9 million transaction for Fourth Plain Plaza, 7823 N.E. Fourth Plain Road.
And for the first time in the Portland-based company’s history, a woman – Portland office broker Jennifer Medak – was named its top producer.
D+C BRIEFS
Ridgefield oks $2M for rail overpass
The Port of Ridgefield unanimously voted to commit $2 million to the construction of a Pioneer Street railway overpass at a public meeting Jan. 9.
The project is estimated to cost $12.5 million, with 30 percent coming from local sources and 70 percent from the state and federal governments. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2010.
The overpass will link Pioneer Street to Ridgefield’s Lake River waterfront area, providing safer vehicle and pedestrian access. The project will also allow closure of two railroad crossings to help move freight and passenger trains through the area more quickly and safely. The Mill Street crossing, which is slated for closure, was rated the fifth most dangerous in the state.
B+F BRIEFS
BOCC named business of the year
Bank of Clark County was named large business of the year Jan. 24 by the Better Business Bureau of Oregon and Southwest Washington.
The Vancouver-based bank was the only Southwest Washington business and the only bank on the list of finalists chosen from hundreds of nominees.
Bank of Clark County was founded in 1999 and had more than $400 million in assets in Dec. 2007. Its parent company is Clark County Bancorp.
Columbia Bancorp. releases Q4 earnings
Columbia Bancorp.’s total assets for 2007 were $1 billion – level with 2006, its strongest year on record.
The company’s 2007 fourth quarter net earnings were at $4.1 million, or $0.41 per diluted share. This exceeded analysts’ projections of $3.7 million, or $0.35 per diluted share.
Gross loans for 2007 reached $879.1 million, up 8 percent over 2006. Deposits were up 7 percent at $922.9 million.
Fourth quarter revenue was $16 million, down 3 percent from 2006’s end. Year-to-date revenues were $63.9 million, up 2 percent from $62.5 million at the end of 2006.
Columbia Bancorp., parent company of Columbia River Bank, has 22 branches in Washington and Oregon. In 2007 the company opened a Vancouver branch and expanded its administrative offices in the The Dalles.
I+T BRIEFS
Iterasi to launch web page capture tool
Iterasi Inc. of Vancouver debuted a web page capture tool in January at the Demo ‘08 technology conference in Palm Desert, Calif.
The company’s new product, also called Iterasi, captures web pages in their native forms and preserves them in their exact states. It allows users to save, search, retrieve and share dynamic or static web pages for an unlimited time from any computer with internet access.
Iterasi can be installed as a web toolbar button with Internet Explorer or Firefox browsers. High quality copies of the web pages are saved in secure personal accounts. Users can track and analyze saved web pages and organize them with notes and tags.
The www form of Iterasi will be available in the first quarter of 2008 with registration at www.iterasi.com.
The company was founded in 2007 by the team that built WeSync.com and later sold to Palm Inc.
W+D BRIEFS
Career fair seeks employers
Feb. 15 is the early-bird deadline for employers to register for the Pathways to Your Future career and job fair.
The 21st annual event will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 15 at the Hilton Vancouver, 301 W. Sixth St.
For registration details, contact Catharine Keane at Clark College, 360-992-2155 or ckeane@clark.edu.
Tax credits to help employers
Employers who hired disadvantaged workers in 2007 can look forward to a federal tax credit totaling about $40 million.
Those who apply for the work opportunity tax credit can get a break of up to $2,400 per worker. Qualifying workers include veterans, disabled persons, ex-inmates, high-risk teens and young adults or recipients of food stamps or supplemental security income. Businesses hiring long-term welfare recipients may save as much as $9,000 per person over two years.
In 2007 3,300 businesses sent the Washington State Employment Security Department more than 30,000 applications for the credit. Some 16,560 workers were eligible.
