Thursday, July 14th
Called to Order by Karen Bolin: 12:00
Approx 20 in attendance
1- Introductions/Testimonials
Intros from all in attendance
We welcomed Dr Paul from Back to Basics Chiropractic, he is a new member.
Leon Taylor stated that he enjoys The 649 Taphouse for its menu and microbrews
Diana Fairhurst of Curves thanked the ABA for having its booth at the Farmer’s Market and providing it as an opportunity for Member Businesses.
Kody Harris thanked the ABA for having its booth, and thanked Coffee Station for their support of the Farmers Market
Sally Fabre and Agape Insurance were praised for being positive to work with and for their rates.
Karen Bolin recommended Lupe’s Escape for meals.
Karen Bolin brought up the new auto parts store in our area and brought to our attention that rather than hiring from within our community they had paid for out of state employees to come here for the setup of the business. This increases our awareness of the need to work harder to get the ABA name out into the community, and to increase jobs here.
2 – Board Update / Community Activities
The ABA had no July Board Meeting
The ABA’s current focus is membership and the website
The ABA is working with an outside party to make the website more search friendly and functional
August 2nd is National Night Out from 4 – 8pm. We are hopeful Thriftway will again help with a “hot dog, chips and drink for $5” as they did last year. The ABA looks at NNO as a way to help build community spirit.
The Library is collecting grants for library functions, however it still needs community support given via donations to raise funds for decor, improved functionality and most importantly sound insulation between the Peppermill Bar and the Library itself. The estimate of this cost is $100,000.
3 – Committee Reports
Treasurer Report – Michael Holcomb reports $1468.94 in bank. June cash flow was $300 in and $1056.40 out, loss of $756.40. The Year to Date Cash flow shows a gain of $437.78
Membership Committee – Karen Bolin reports that her focus is on new members. This month Back to Basics Chiropractic joined us
Community Partnerships – Sally Fabre reported that Aloha Baskin Robbins along with Washington County Sheriff’s Office will again be hosting “Scoop with a Cop” raising funds to donate school supplies for Hazeldale Elementary. This will occur on August 31st.
Upcoming Meetings/Programs – the Guest Speaker for August’s Luncheon will be TVF&R Deputy Fire Marshall Steve Candela speaking on Safety in the Workplace.
4 – Program Speaker –Christian Kaylor – Christian.R.Kaylor@Oregon.gov – Government Economist, Oregon Employment Department.
Christian began his presentation by introducing his assistant Emily who will be taking over our area in the future. He then went on with a 20 minute, highly educational insight into the forecast for Washington County’s future economic situations, as well as a reflection on the past and where Washington County is today. In 2008 – 2009 this area experienced a bad recession. 70,000 jobs were lost in the region over the two year period and Unemployment doubled. Since then, however there has been close to 100,000 new jobs within the past 6 years. In Washington County jobs falling under the category of “Construction” rank as #1 in job growth, followed by Healthcare, Leisure and Hospitality. Manufacturing is flat and has shown no job growth in the past year, this is troublesome due to the fact that 17% of all jobs in Washington County are in manufacturing (higher than in any other county in Oregon). Manufacturing and Construction jobs are the core of Middle Wage jobs and support of the middle class. Washington County has seen an 18% growth in low wage jobs, compared to 3% in mid wage, and 13% in high wage jobs. Higher wage jobs are growing in Washington county, however the county has lost over 7000 mid wage jobs, and is instead adding lower wage jobs. Mean worker income in Aloha is $50,512/year, this is on the low end for the state. The Aloha population (during the last census) was 52,902 (Beaverton is 95,109). Aloha is larger in population than Tigard but stands at half the population of Hillsboro or Gresham. Aloha is also the largest “unincorporated” area in the region. This area is experiencing a population growth rate of 11% which is very fast and second only to Wilsonville. This growth rate places a large amount of pressure on the existing infrastructure. In Aloha only 28% of residents have a college degree or higher. Fortunately for the area, Aloha is seeing both a growth in residents as well as jobs opportunity. However this won’t last forever as nearly every 10 years there is a recession. Currently residential construction makes up the bulk of construction jobs, however sky high housing cost is still due to a lack of supply and currently there are no major infrastructure projects in development.
5 -Spotlight Speaker – Leadercast Video Presentation – Sally Fabre –
The Leadercast Video highlighted what it takes to be a “leader” in our community. The top factors showcased in the video are: Team Building, Trust, Collaboration and Diversity. The video highlights that trust is not permanent, it must be earned and maintained. The video also emphasized that while it is all too easy to hire someone “just like me” it is important to hire from a diverse pool to increase alternate ideas for problem solving as well as to accomplish goals.
6 – Announcements – Our next Luncheon will be August 11th
Meeting Adjourned 1:00pm
Next Meeting: August 11th, 2016
Steve Candela | Deputy Fire Marshal
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue
2nd Thursday of every month
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM at Peppermill Restaurant
Please invite someone to join!