2018 Third Quarter
Sandy Area Sensational Business
Mt. Hood Eye Care

Mt Hood Eye Care

Optometrist Specializes in Personalized, Hometown-Style Care

By Brittany Allen | Sandy Post – October 03, 2018
Mt Hood Eye Care

Post Photo: Brittany Allen – Tony and Kim Turin have owned Mt. Hood Eye Care on Industrial Way for four years.

With leaves falling and football season in full swing, Sandyites are ready to cheer on the Pios, and the Sandy area Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to cheer on a new batch of Sandy Area Sensational Business award nominees. This quarter’s nominees are Mt. Hood Eye Care, Grocery Outlet and SandyNet.

The Post will run profiles of all three businesses in the following weeks to inform voters on their choices before the Oct. 18 voting deadline.

For Tony Turin, optometrist at Mt. Hood Eye Care, owning a business runs in the family. Ironically the business side of his practice is his least favorite part of the job.

Turin has owned his practice at 36840 S.E. Industrial Way in Sandy for four years and practiced optometry for eight years. The Welches native was looking for a way to return to the Sandy area and serve his home community when he found the office in Sandy.

“I grew up in Welches so I knew I always wanted to practice in the area,” he explained. “I’m the third generation in the area (and) I like the people and being outdoors.”

Tony Turin spends a lot of his out-of office time in local scenic areas with his wife, Kim Turin, and their children, and appreciates that owning the practice and setting his own hours allows him that time.

“It’s a good family job,” Kim Turin said. “You can work during the day then come home and be a dad and husband.”

Being so closely tied to the community, Tony Turin said he sees that “the personality of our practice is (that) we very much strive for great personalized care.”

“We never sacrifice long-term relationships for short-term profits.”

Being fairly new as a business in Sandy, Turin said he was shocked to be nominated for the chamber award.

“I was pretty surprised,” he noted. “There’s so many good businesses in the area.”

“We feel, being such a small and new practice, it’s humbling to know people would nominate us,” Kim Turin added. “

The Other Two Nominees

Sanders Automotive - Sandy, OR -SAS Nominee

SandyNet (Internet Service)

Bargain Market Recognized as Big Box Store with ‘Family Feel’

Brittany Allen | Sandy Post – Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Grocery Outlet

Post Photo: Brittany Allen – Grocery Outlet nominated for quarterly Sandy Area Chamber sensational business award.

 

With Halloween just around the corner, the Sandy area Chamber of Commerce is hoping to present a treat — the Sandy Area Sensational Business (SAS) award — to one new business on Oct. 24.

This quarter’s nominees are Mt. Hood Eye Care, Grocery Outlet and SandyNet.

The Post has run profiles of all three businesses in the past few weeks to inform voters on their choices before the Oct. 18 voting deadline.

The Shaffer family has owned and operated the Sandy location of Grocery Outlet at 36701 Highway 26, for two years. Last year, Dillon Shaffer took on the task of running the store. He said the nomination for the Chamber’s quarterly award “makes me excited that the community recognizes the good things (we are trying to do).”

In his short time at the Sandy Grocery Outlet, Shaffer has put not only his newer training in management to work, but also his higher education in physical education has driven him to support Sandy school sports teams and give back in related ways.

“I’m doing the best I can to help the schools,” Shaffer told The Post. “No task is too small. I try to support any worthwhile cause in the community. This community is definitely something I enjoy being a part of.”

Shaffer, through his role at the store, has also partnered with the Sandy Kiwanis Club to host a Christmas toy drive. The store raised $3,000 last July for the Sandy Community Action Center through its “Independence from Hunger” campaign.

“I don’t live in this community, but I’ve been really involved for the past year,” Shaffer said. “I feel like (operating this store) has been a great opportunity to help out with a lot of little things in the community. Little things go a long way in the community. There are a lot of people who don’t have the ability to help out the way I can, and I definitely don’t take that for granted.”

Shaffer attributes the nomination from the community for this award to the overall atmosphere and philosophy of the store.

“This is definitely a family-oriented place,” he noted. “Compared to a lot of big box stores, this has more of a family feel. We’re here to help. Here we’ll go out of our way to help you (and I tell employees to) go out of your way to get to know people — see how we can be a part of not only the community through donations, but get to know the people we serve.”

SandyNet Prides Itself on Local Fiber Internet Option

By Brittany Allen | Sandy Post – October 10, 2018

The temperatures may be cooling down, but the competition between the Sandy area Chamber of Commerce new batch of Sandy Area Sensational Business (SAS) award nominees is heating up.

This quarter’s nominees are Mt. Hood Eye Care, Grocery Outlet and SandyNet.

The Post will run profiles of all three businesses in the following weeks to inform voters on their choices before the Oct. 18 voting deadline.

SandyNet is a unique nominee in that it is a city-provided service.

The city of Sandy created SandyNet in 2002 because there was a need. At the time, then city manager Scott Lazenby tried to get a DSL line hooked up at City Hall and both the phone and cable companies said they couldn’t help them.

“Basically there was no other option,” said city Information Technology (IT) Director Joe Knapp. “(Lazenby) felt if the telecommunications providers are telling us that, they’re probably telling our residents that, and we have to do something about it.”

Knapp has worked with the city since 2007, and said SandyNet is part of what intrigued him about the job with the city IT department.

“We’ve definitely had people say we’re one of the reasons they moved to Sandy,” he said. “I think most people — we now have more than 3,000 customers — find out about SandyNet once they’re here and are pleasantly surprised. I thought ‘Wow. What an interesting idea. A city that’s running their own internet service.'”

The internet options in Sandy have expanded over the years.

“Now there’s WAVE and Frontier, who offer good options,” Knapp said. “There is a competitive landscape now, which we actually view as a success. It gives residents a choice.”

Though there are more options now, Knapp says SandyNet remains a competitor by being the most “local.”

“I think the big thing is with the fiber — it’s really stable and fast,” he said. “I think one of out strengths is we’re local, so we can provide good service. That local aspect is very important. All but one of us (on staff) live in Sandy. It’s our community. It’s our network. If something breaks in the middle of the night, it’s not a stretch to get one of our guys to fix it.”

SandyNet’s fiber option is even being offered to businesses for the same cost as it is to residential clients, and that is one feature of many Knapp attributes to the nomination of SandyNet for the Sandy Area Sensational Business award.

“I think (with this nomination) it is great to see the impact SandyNet is having on the community,” Knapp said.

2018 Second Quarter
Sandy Area Sensational Business
Peak Mortgage

Peak Mortgage

Local Mortgage Brokers Peak Community Interest

Brittany Allen | Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Peak Mortgage

Allison Roderick of Peak Mortgage attended the Chamber Lunch and Learn on May 24 to accept the business’ Sensational Business Award.

Peak Mortgage has been voted the latest sensational business by members of the community. Among the top three nominees for the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly award were Buddha Kat Winery, Peak Mortgage and H&R Block.

Brian Patterson and Paula Siverly of Peak Mortgage, 39120 Proctor Blvd., have been serving the Sandy community — by advising people on home loans and getting involved with annual events — for a combined 25 years.

The winner was announced at the Chamber’s monthly Lunch and Learn at AntFarm on May 23.

Patterson was recently named president of the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce Board. He and Siverly also are regular sponsors for family night at the Chamber’s Sandy Music Fair and Feast. Siverly is involved with the Welches Schools’ Parent Teacher Community Organization as well.

“If it’s community building and supports the large community employers, then we’re usually in on it,” Patterson said in an earlier interview. “I like to know my neighbors and know my community, so I like to get out and give my time — strengthen my community.”

Boh Patterson and Siverly attribute their recent award and nomination to their community focus.

“My business has evolved out of me contributing to my community,” Siverly added. “I think the pulse of the community is the volunteers that get involved.”

“We are honored and humbled to have received this award,” Patterson noted.

The Other Two Nominees

Sanders Automotive - Sandy, OR -SAS Nominee
Mt. Hood Hospice - Sandy, OR - SAS Nominee

Through the Grapevine: Chamber Nominates Buddha Kat for Award

Local Winery Gains Community Recognition for Famous Fruit Wines, Popular Ports.

Brittany Allen | Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Lorie Dilley has owned and operated Buddha Kat Winery in Sandy for six years.

 

Sisters Lorie and Barbara Dilley have called their winery at 17020 Ruben Lane in Sandy home for six years now, and customers have really responded to Lorie’s signature fruit port-style wines and classic white and red blends.

Last year, the community voted Buddha Kat Winery Best Local Wine in The Outlook and Sandy Post’s Readers Choice Awards, now it’s continued its show of appreciation by nominating them again to be recognized by the chamber.

“It’s an honor to be nominated,” Lorie said. “That was very nice of (the community). (The SAS awards) are a nice program, I think it brings more light to the businesses in Sandy.”

Buddha Kat is fairly well-known, accolades aside, and both Lorie and Barbara have made themselves known to the community by hosting events at the winery and taking their various vintages out to farmers markets in downtown Gresham, Beaverton, Sunnyside in Happy Valley, and on Hawthorne and Woodstock boulevards in Southeast Portland.

Recently, the pair have really fleshed out their calendar by offering more and more events, many taking the form of booth malls. On April 7, the duo hosted a vendor fair called Sweets and Wine to raise funds for the chamber. Even with the intensely rainy weather, several people came out to taste wines from local wineries, eat lunch and peruse art and other products sold by local residents.

“We like to get some of the local vendors to show their craft and arts and try to build that community,” Lorie noted.

Lorie said she is happy to help other’s without brick and mortar businesses by offering her space, especially as the community has been so supportive of her viticulture venture.

“There are some really good people in this town,” Barbara said.

2018 First Quarter
Sandy Area Sensational Business
Timberline Meat

SAS Winner Mt. Hood Eye Care

Local Meat Shop Makes Final Cut for Chamber of Commerce Award

By Brittany Allen | Sandy Post – February 14, 2018
Timberline Meat

Timberline Meat General Manager Dale Rasmussen and Store Manager Ben Kolibaba appreciate serving new and familiar faces at the new Sandy butcher shop.

As a company, Timberline Meat is fairly new to Sandy, celebrating its grand opening last summer just in time to supply the barbecue supplies for Fourth of July festivities. Dale Rasmussen and Ben Kolibaba, respectively the general and store managers, however, are no strangers to the Mount Hood area. Both worked in the kitchen at Resort at the Mountain previously, and Rasmussen is from Boring. The duo still see many of the people they’ve served come into the butcher shop at 38525 Proctor Blvd.

Business at the meat shop picked up quickly and has seemingly maintained throughout the past nine months. Both managers feel the store and its practices have been well-received by the community, and were happy to find people appreciated their work enough to nominate them for an award.

“For us, this being our first venture into this, it’s nice to have people that support us,” Rasmussen told The Post. “(The Sandy community was) excited that we were here. It had been so long since there’d been a meat shop so conveniently located in town.”

Kolibaba said he thinks the local aspect of the shop’s employment and inventory definitely appeal to customers.

“Our staff is extremely friendly,” Rasmussen noted. “They’re all local too.”

Within the first few months of operation, the staff was already expressing its local pride by participating in the chamber’s annual Trick-or-Treat Trail and helping with its Christmas family adoption.

Kolibaba said his ability to offer recipes also attracts customers.

“If (people) have a question about something new that they haven’t cooked, I can walk them through it. I think it’s a big (attraction). People see something in the case they think looks neat and they can talk to Ben, go home and look like a rock star.”

Besides recipe ideas, and of course, prime cuts of meat, Timberline also offers a plethora of options for side dishes already prepared and ready to be taken home — perfect for people who dread fixing dinner after a long day.

“They can pop in and pick up a roast to take home and the sides are there,” Rasmussen said. “So there’s not a lot of work for them when they get home.”

For the not-so-everyday meals, like Valentine’s Day and Christmas, Timberline also offers specials, usually accompanied by a custom recipe card made by Kolibaba.

For Feb. 14, the shop is offering “sweetheart” ribeyes — steaks cut into heart shapes — lobster tails and beef Wellingtons.

The Other Two Nominees

Sanders Automotive - Sandy, OR -SAS Nominee
Mt. Hood Hospice - Sandy, OR - SAS Nominee

Sanders Automotive Revs Up Positive Reviews with Professional, Personal Care

Brittany Allen | Sandy Post –  February 07, 2018

Sanders Automotive

Nick and Adrienne Sanders opened up shop at 16584 S.E. 362nd Drive last May.

 

Among the top three nominees for this quarter’s award, to be celebrated at the next quarterly luncheon, are Mt. Hood Hospice, Sander’s Automotive and Timberline Meat.

The Sandy Post will feature each nominated business in an effort to better inform the community’s voting process in the coming weeks.

Sanders Automotive is a fairly new Sandy business. Owners Nick and Adrienne Sanders opened shop at 16584 S.E. 362nd Drive in May 2017.

Although this is Nick Sanders’ first venture as a mechanic, he has worked in the automotive industry for nearly 25 years.

Originally from Reno, most of Nick Sanders’ experience came from working in the military as a reservist in Portland and working for independently owned shops in the area. He started working on cars in high school out of “necessity.”

“I couldn’t afford to not know how to fix my own car,” he said. “I like being self-sufficient. I’m more of a dig in and figure it out kind of person, and I like cars. To me, it’s not monotonous. Every day is a new (challenge).”

Owning his own shop was the next logical step.

“It almost seemed like it was the right progression,” he said. “It’s kind of been an aspiration of mine since I started. You can only go so far in this business as an employee.”

The couple chose Sandy because they “the market (was) in desperate need of professional mechanic,” Nick Sanders said.

“The people out here are very loyal,” he noted. “You’re not just servicing one person’s vehicle. We’re servicing the whole family’s vehicles. That’s kind of our bread and butter — that personal touch.”

“It’s nice to be part of the community,” Adrienne Sanders added.

Nick Sanders’ range of experience means he can work on “a little mix of everything.”

“There’s not a whole lot we turn down,” he explained. “That’s been the benefit of not working for a dealership. I’ve gotten to work on a spectrum of vehicles.”

Nick Sanders added that he thinks the reason his business was nominated for this award is that “we take the time to listen to customers, and we don’t try to oversell.”

The couple tries to keep prices reasonable and works to maintain long-time connections by not charging more than their customers can afford.

Mt. Hood Hospice has Provided Families in Sandy Area with Quality Care Since 1980

By Brittany Allen | Sandy Post – January 31, 2018

Mt Hood Hospice Team

The staff at Mt. Hood Hospice remain strong after dealing with death on a daily basis by making the hospice a home and each other family.

 

The staff at Mt. Hood Hospice have made it their mission for the better part of 40 years to provide “the best quality (hospice) care.

It opened its doors in 1980 with the beginning of the innovative hospice care movement. Executive Director Lindy Blaesing said Mt. Hood Hospice has held true to that tradition over time by really trying “to anticipate needs (families and patients) may have physically and emotionally.”

“We don’t project or judge how a family would like their own death to be,” she added.

Working with death on a daily basis can be difficult, Blaesing admitted, but she has said her ultimate “goal is to help people that are in (their final stage of life) — to provide any amount of comfort that we can,” and she thinks this nomination shows people’s recognition of that effort.

Founders Macy Brader and Pat Spradling opened the humble hospice because they saw a need in the community. Now, with a staff of 25 people, Blaesing explained that Mt. Hood does not aspire to be a “large hospice.”

“We are the only community-based not-for-profit (facility) in the east Portland area,” Blaesing told The Post in an earlier interview. “Because we’re small, we all wear multiple hats. I love going out with the staff. I try to meet the patients as much as I can. I feel like when we’re talking about a patients or a family, if I don’t know them it’s hard to make decisions about that person.”

The organization’s reach extends from the Willamette River to Troutdale and all the way up Mount Hood to Government Camp. Mount Hood Hospice also belongs to four different chambers: Sandy, Mount Hood, Gresham and Estacada.

That said, Blaesing explained, “we definitely consider Sandy our community.”

“I was very pleased (to hear about the nomination),” she added. “It’s always nice to be recognized for your hard work.”