Delta Park Business Center
March 23, 2015
731 N. Hayden Meadows Dr. Portland, OR 97217
503.249.7744
www.oame.org
Monthly Newsletter
In This Issue: Coffee & Issues | New & Renewing Members | Guest Contest Rankings | Stewart Marketing Group
Coffee & Issues Meeting
Remember our new
location in Delta Park!
Friday, March 27, 2015 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
OAME Large Conference Room, 731 N. Hayden Meadows Dr. Portland, OR 97217
A raffle is held at the meeting, please bring a raffle item and be ready to win!
Click HERE for event flyer
This event is free and open to the public.
Featured Speakers
OAME was founded in
1987 to promote and
develop entrepreneurship and economic development for ethnic
minorities in Oregon and
SW Washington, and
thereby reduce racism
and discrimination.
OAME has grown to
over 800 members in
representing 57 countries of origin.
All businesses are
welcome to participate
with OAME.
Everyone is IN, and
no one is OUT.
Charlie Hales
Mayor of Portland
Charlie will be speaking about City of Portalnd and its support of
MWESBs.
Chairman’s Report
Sam Brooks
Chairman, OAME
Each month at the Coffee & Issues meeting OAME's Founder and Chairman
Sam Brooks gives a brief report.
This Month's topic: "Building Our Access to Capital”
Sustainability Speaker
Ozzie Gonzalez
LEED AP BD+C, AIA - CH2M HILL
Ozzie will be speaking about issues of Sustainability and how they relate to
business.
OAME has Incubator Office Spaces Available
Starting at $350 per month
OAME has several offices available for rent in our incubator space. Parking and utilities included.
Access to centralized mailboxes with copy center and fax machine.
For more details, contact [email protected] or 503.249.7744
OAME Monthly Newsletter
March 2015
New & Renewing Members– March 2015
Thank you to our New and Renewing Members for their Support!
New OAME Members:
-Absolute Procurement
-Emery & Sons
-Northwestern Mutual
-Twin Eagle Exterior
-Catworks Construction
-Frontier Communications
-Restoration 1 Portland
-WFI Janitorial Services, Inc.
Renewing OAME Members:
-Aerotek
-City of Roses Disposal
-Copyman
-Cosco Fire Protection
-ExpoCredit
-Gourmet Coffee Brew Master
-Howard S. Wright
-HQ La Insurance Agency
-Kodiak Pacific Construction
-Mahshigian & Associates
-Mortenson Construction
-NUCA of SW Washington & Oregon
-NW Engineers, LLC
-Oregon Liquor Control Commision
-Oregon Translation
-OTAK, Inc.
-QJW Computer Consulting
-TRV Surveying, Inc.
-Turner Construction
-TwinStar Credit Union
2015 Meeting Guest Tally
Members are encouraged to bring guests to our networking meetings and help spread
the word about OAME! Here are the members who have brought guests so far this year:
8 guests - Sheila Askov
2 guests - Nancy Bebek
2 guests - Simone Brooks
2 guests - Rhonnda Edmiston
2 guests - Pamela Weatherspoon
1 guest - Neil Lee
1 guest - Tyrone Bailey
1 guest - Jan Mason
1 guest - Ruth Miles
1 guest - Ron Downey
1 guest - Ozzie Gonzalez
1 guest - Greg Lunc-Chaix
1 guest - Paul Tice
1 guest - John O’Havor
1 guest - Maria Cahill
1 guest - Sam Gollah
1 guest - Scott Rosenberg
1 guest - Summer Gorder
1 guest - Ned Nabeta
1 guest - Jeanette Shaw
Upcoming OAME Meetings in March/April
B2B Brown Bag in Beaverton
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | BESThq Business Café | 12745 SW Beaverdam
Access to Capital Orientation
Wednesday, March 25, 2015 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Amelia Conference Room | Delta Business Park
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. | Amelia Conference Room | Delta Business Park
Contractors & AEPT Meeting
Friday, April 10, 2015 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. | Large Conference Room | Delta Business Park
Brown Bag Lunch with Sam Brooks
Wednesday, April 15, 2015 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. | Amelia Conference Room | Delta Business Park
Coffee & Issues Meeting
Friday, April 24, 2015 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. | Large Conference Room | Delta Business Park
OAME Monthly Newsletter
March 2015
Spotlight on: Stewart Marketing Group
Michael Stewart was raised in Eolia, Missouri, about 80 miles north of St. Louis. His mother worked in a
garment factory and his father worked as laborer on a local farm. With a population of 306, the town was small
by most standards. His family home had electricity but no running water. Eolia had only three businesses at
the time; a grocery store, fur trader and hardware store. “I grew up in a town that had only one street light and
one pop machine. Fifty percent of our family’s food was either caught, shot or grown ourselves,” remembers
Stewart.
Michael was a good student and an accomplished athlete, primarily competing in basketball and track. He was
elected student council president for his class at Clopton High School. The area was so rural that students
traveled in from 10-15 nearby towns to attend the school. Being raised as African American in a primarily white
part of Missouri, he remembers that everyone in the school treated each other with respect. After his family
relocated his junior year, he graduated from University City High School near St. Louis. After a short time at
University of Missouri St. Louis, Stewart enrolled at Drake University, where he earned Bachelor’s in Business
Administration his major was in Retail Management and minor was Economics.
In 1976, Michael graduated college and accepted his first corporate position as Assistant Buyer with Target
headquarters in Minneapolis. The Target CEO was also a Drake alum and became a mentor to Michael.
Through the years, Stewart worked his way up to Buyer and then relocated to Huntington Beach, CA. as Sr.
Hardware Buyer. He went on to numerous other high level corporate level positions with Builder’s Emporium,
True Temper Hardware, Werner Ladder and Sunrise Packaging. Over the years, Michael says he clocked over 4
million air miles with the airlines; a testament to his frequent travel and previous hectic lifestyle.
In 2006, Stewart and his wife were ready for a change. Out of five possible cities, they chose Portland as their
future home. “We love the small city metropolitan element with greenery, bridges and most importantly….no
bugs!” joked Stewart. Michael established his own business, Stewart Marketing Group, and began to build an
advertising specialty sales distributorship. The company specializes in branded apparel, tradeshow products
and office supplies.
Stewart Marketing joined OAME in 2008. “The OAME network is incredible for finding opportunities. I really
look up to Sam. He functions with the same life principals I do. Don’t complicate things and treat everyone the
same. If the world would just take an example from Sam Brooks, we would all be doing the right thing,” stated
Stewart.
Currently the company has five independent sales reps and business is going well.
For more about Stewart Marketing Group, call 503.270.7857 or visit: http://stewartmarketinggroup.com/
About OAME:
We are an all inclusive organization that believes "Everyone is in, no one is out" and welcome anyone to our meetings to network
their business or utilize our small business services. Here are the services OAME can provide for your business:
Technical Assistance: OAME can help you with questions about business strategy.
Marketing: OAME can help your small business get exposure it needs.
Access to Capital: OAME is an SBA Microlender and can get you on the right track.
Business Incubator: OAME has affordable office spaces with support services.
Conference Rooms: OAME has large and small spaces available for meetings.
OAME is a diverse and all inclusive organization; everyone is welcome!
OAME was founded in 1987 to promote and develop entrepreneurship and economic development for
ethnic minorities in Oregon and SW Washington, and thereby reduce racism and discrimination.
OAME has grown to over 800 members in representing 57 countries of origin.
OAME Delta Park Business Center
731 N. Hayden Meadows Dr.
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 249-7744
www.oame.org
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OAME Monthly Newsletter
March 2015