Published January 2002

Business Briefs

Madison Marquette takes over management of Everett Mall
The company that manages the Bellevue Galleria has been hired to oversee the Everett Mall.

The company, Madison Marquette Realty Services of Minneapolis, is “what we’ve been waiting 18 months for,” said Linda Johannes, the mall’s General Manager.

“They’re a large national company,” she said. “They really know what they’re doing with property redevelopment and remodeling, leasing management. They have all the cards.”

It’s too early to tell what changes the management company will make at the mall. Johannes said a strategic planning session is set for early this month to begin the process.

Control of the mall has been in limbo since former owners Titanic Associates defaulted on its $55 million mortgage and $6 million in taxes and interest. The property — including the nearly vacant Mall Village across the street — was placed in receivership in October 2000. The lender, Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York, took possession of the mall in June, rather than put it up for sale.

Equitable turned the property over to its property management arm, Lend Lease Inc., which then hired Madison Marquette to manage the property.

In a prepared statement, Madison Marquette’s Vice President, Greg McDonald, said the Everett Mall “fits perfectly into the family of Madison Marquette ‘special places’ properties.”

The Everett Mall totals 673,000 square feet. It is home to 110 stores and services, and is anchored by The Bon Marche, Sears and Mervyn’s.

— Bryan Corliss

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Guardian Family Care opens
with retainer-fee service
Drs. Robert and Nancy Morgan, a husband-and-wife team, recently established a private practice called Guardian Family Care at 15808 Mill Creek Blvd., Suite 200, in Mill Creek.

The Morgans work directly with the patient and provide their services on a fixed monthly retainer fee, which varies with the age of the patient, according to a news release.

“We offer all the services we provide in our office for the retainer fee with no added costs or co-pays,” Robert Morgan said in a prepared statement.

For more information on Guardian Family Care, call 425-338-4330 or toll-free at 866-535-5055.

Seismic Shock Control Systems
initiates private offering
Arlington-based Seismic Shock Control Systems Inc., a designer and producer of earthquake shock dampers for roadway pillars, overpasses, and commercial and multi-dwelling residential structures, has initiated a private offering under Securities Exchange Rule 505, Regulation D, to raise $2 million, according to a news release.

The money raised is to be used for marketing and R&D, according to a news release. The price is $5 per share, with a minimum investment of $5,000.

Early this year, the company plans to introduce its product, the patented Seismic Shock Control System, to the insurance and engineering industries.

To receive a copy of the offering or for more information about the company, call 360-403-7727 or send e-mail to support@seismicshock.com.

With grant money, Goodrich, EvCC partner on employee training
Goodrich Corp., with the help of Everett Community College, was awarded a $70,000 grant to establish on-site cross-training classes for its employees, according to a news release issued by the company.

The funding is part of the Job Skills Program (JSP) Grant, which Washington state makes available to agencies for improving the skills of employees and potential candidates for hire in the community.

With the grant and a match of trainee salaries by Goodrich, 24 employees from the company's Aviation Technical Services in Everett were cross-trained in sheet metal/structural repair during classes held Nov. 5 through Dec. 19.

For the first half of the class, participants studied basic and intermediate structural repair procedures and techniques. Then they worked hands-on, concentrating on beam, skin and stringer repairs. Employees who completed the 240-hour class received a certificate of competency and 10 credit hours from EvCC.

Also: Goodrich forecasts better results

Goodrich Corp. expects much-improved results for 2001 and 2002, the company said recently.

The company, which has a major aircraft maintenance facility in Snohomish County, attributed the improvement to higher-than-expected global sales of aircraft spare parts and related services, and to aggressive cost cutting, which included layoffs and plant closures across the company.

Full-year earnings-per-share for 2001 should exceed $2.80, the company said. That’s up from the company’s previous projection of $2.65 to $2.75 a share.

Edmonds merchants
devise marketing plan
Edmonds merchants are starting 2002 with a new marketing strategy, and the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce has pledged its support.

These merchants, under the name TEAM Edmonds, have developed a program using bus boards, television, newspaper, magazine, radio and direct mail presenting Edmonds “as a great place to shop, visit, work and play,” according to a news release issued by the chamber. The project enables merchants to combine “their creativity, energy and advertising budgets in an expanded scope and reach for marketing Edmonds.”

“This marketing is a sound investment, and they (the merchants) are putting in their own money. We feel confident it will pay off for our members and the whole community,” said Jim Sleighter, President of the chamber board, which recently approved a $10,000 contribution to the effort.

TEAM Edmonds is continuing to solicit additional funds to ensure the success of the program it its inaugural year.

Women’s center offers
biz-plan development course
The Northwest Women’s Business Center will be presenting a 10-session entrepreneurial course beginning Jan. 9 and continuing for the next nine Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the center, 728 134th St. SW, Suite 219, in Everett.

The NxLevel Business Start-Up course, part of NxLevel Entrepreneurial Training Programs, is designed for people who want to start a business but need the skills to test the feasibility of their business concept. During the course, participants will learn how to develop a business plan, which will act as the blueprint for their startup venture. Cost of the course is $200 and includes materials.

For more information or to register, call 425-787-9856 or send e-mail to rosac.nwwbc@seattleccd.com.

Thrifty Food Pavilion, Cost Cutter
take part in ‘Ham for the Holidays’
For the third year in a row, Cost Cutter and Thrifty Food Pavilion stores teamed up with Hormel Foods to donate more than 1,000 Hormel Cure 81 hams to local nonprofit organizations in Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties during the holiday season. R

ecipient agencies for the hams included the Arlington Food Bank, Helping Hands in Skagit County, the Anacortes Food Bank, the Lighthouse Mission in Bellingham and the Ferndale Food Bank, according to a news release issued by Brown & Cole Stores, the parent company of Cost Cutter and Thrifty Food Pavilion.

“Hormel’s ‘Ham for the Holidays’ is a wonderful, generous program,” said Sue Cole, Public Affairs Director for Brown & Cole. “We are grateful that their generosity helps us take care of the needy in our communities.”

Frontier Bank earns five-star rating
Everett-based Frontier Bank has earned a five-star Superior rating from independent bank analyst Bauerfinancial Reports Inc.

The rating denotes “the highest level of strength, safety and performance,” Bauerfinancial said in a news release.

“With so much uncertainty in the world today, it’s good to know we can depend on steadfast community banks, like Frontier Bank, that are able to shine even in the most difficult of circumstances,” said Karen L. Donway, Vice President and Director of Research for Bauerfinancial.

Established in 1978, Frontier operates in Snohomish, Kitsap, Whatcom, King, Pierce, Skagit, Clallam and Jefferson counties.

Also: Frontier Bank lauded for business aid

Frontier Bank recently received the Presidents Award from the Snohomish County Economic Development Council in recognition of what the council called its notable support during 2001.

The award was presented during the EDC’s annual meeting in mid-December.

The bank helped the council with a loan earlier this year, during the early stages of its fund-raising and expansion campaign, said Frontier Vice President John Dickson.

“We’re very concerned about the health of the local economy and the attraction of new business into the county,” he said. “We had faith in the EDC and extended them a line of credit so they could accomplish some of their objectives.”

PUD puts Planet Power into action
Starting this month, Snohomish County PUD is offering the Planet Power program to its customers.

The program, mandated under a new state law, enables customers to support environmentally friendly energy by purchasing blocks of renewable power for an additional fee beyond their normal electricity bill.

The program primarily uses wind-generated energy from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves as a broker for green power, according to a news release issued by the PUD.

Under the program, participants can buy blocks of Planet Power for $3 per block per month. Each block represents 150 kilowatt-hours — about 15 percent of an average customer’s monthly usage. There’s no limit to the number of blocks that can be purchased. Customers can sign up or discontinue their participation at any time, the PUD said.

“Each block of renewable power that is purchased represents additional power being generated by environmentally preferred generating sources,” said Bob Nicholas, PUD Manager of Product Development.

EdCC’s tech center offers
new round of classes
The Edmonds Community College Business and Technology Center is offering a variety of technology classes beginning this month.

While the onsite Prometric Testing Center includes certification exams in high-tech programs such as A+, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Novell and Certified Internet Webmaster, the software and technical training includes:

• Information Technology Fundamentals.
• A free High-Tech Careers Information Seminar.
• PageMaker.
• Database Design.
• Dreamweaver 4 Basic.
• QuickBooks 2000.
• Train the Trainer.

For more information on class times, cost and location, call 425-640-1840, send e-mail to btc@edcc.edu or visit www.btc.edcc.edu on the Web.

Tesoro opens Mirastar gas station
Tesoro Petroleum Corp. has opened its 52nd Mirastar gas station, located at 8820 Quil Ceda Blvd., near the Wal-Mart in the Tulalip Tribes’ Quil Ceda Village.

Mirastar is the fuel brand developed by Tesoro Petroleum exclusively for Wal-Mart locations, and anyone using a Wal-Mart shopping card at the station receives three cents off the posted price of each gallon of gasoline.

Tesoro is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products. The company operates five refineries in the western Unites States with a combined capacity of approximately 390,000 barrels per day, making it the second-largest independent refiner and marketer in the region.

Puget Sound Center develops
training courses for IT companies
The Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology, with funding support from the U.S. Department of Labor, has developed classes for information technology companies.

Classes, designed with the guidance of a consortium of local IT managers, include:

• Managing Technology Professionals: A four-part series for tech professionals coming into team leadership roles. Workshops include Management Vision and Motivation, Team Building and Management Style, Motivating and Documenting High Performance, Putting Theory into Practice — On-Line Discussion. Workshops can be taken individually for $30 per class or together as a set for $80.
• Elements of Software Engineering and Application Development: A four-week series for the self-taught tech professional who may benefit from a better understanding of the full scope of the programming cycle. Workshops include Programming Principals for $160 and Effective Software Project Management for $120, or sign up for both for $240.

Another program, Value Creation for Information Technology Companies, has expert business consultants helping to assess opportunities for improving business processes. Program attendees then form a team of their employees to work on the project while receiving on-site technical assistance and attending four interactive workshops over four months.

For more information on this program, call Rhea Wallace at 425-497-1609.

For more information on any of these training courses, visit Puget Sound Center online at www.pugetsoundcenter.org.

Verizon extends reach into Seattle area
Snohomish County’s phone company is going head-to-head with King County’s in competing for business in downtown Seattle.

Verizon Communications announced plans in December to open a new fiber-optic network this month that would offer data transmission and long-distance services to businesses and governmental agencies in Seattle, an area served by Qwest Communications.

If things go well, the company could compete for local voice customers as well, said Melissa Barran, spokeswoman at Verizon’s Northwest headquarters in Everett.

Microsoft names Intermec
partner of the year
Microsoft has named Everett-based Intermec its partner of the year among manufacturers who incorporate Windows software into their equipment.

Intermec, an early bar-code pioneer, has gone on to produce a variety of inventory-control equipment, including mobile computers designed to withstand harsh environments.

“Intermec was an ideal candidate for the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) category of the Windows Embedded Partner of the Year award because it has delivered the kind of highly reliable, full-featured and rugged Windows Powered handheld devices that customers require,” said Scott Horn, Director of the Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft.

Intermec adopted Windows CE early on for its power and suitability for mobile computing, said Intermec President Larry Brady.

Scuttlebutt’s ale takes home
first-place honors
Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. of Everett recently won the First Place Favorite Ale award for its Giant Sequoia Red Ale during the 14th annual Phinney Neighborhood Association Beer Tasting event in Seattle, according to a news release issued by the company.

The ale “is a model of harmony between malted barley, oats and Yakima-grown hops” that was originally brewed to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the first brew day in company history, according to the release.

New businesses, locations, names
n Dr. Jean Dydell has moved her obstetrics/gynecology practice from Everett to Kirkland. Her new office is at 12303 NE 130th Lane, Suite 450, in Kirkland. The telephone number is 425-899-5000.

n Encore Limousine/Allstar Transportation of Lynnwood has opened for business. The phone number is 425-353-3842. The e-mail address is jay@encoreworldwide.com.

n Quik’n Easy Signs, 6923-A Evergreen Way, Everett, has changed its name to Main Media. The company, which has been in business since 1989, changed its name to reflect the growth and diversity of the business, President Lars Linder said. The company makes indoor and outdoor signs, vehicle wraps, digital murals and trade-show graphics.

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