Power of One is Sizable for Impact NW

Portland, May 19, 2015. Impact NW hosted the sixth annual Power of One Luncheon, celebrating the work made possible by individuals, businesses and organizations who supported Impact NW over the past year. Centennial High School Marschal Molina shared a smile with Frank Foti – CEO of Vigor Industrial and Susan Stoltenberg the Executive Director of Impact NW. Thanks to the generosity of many of event sponsors, including sponsor JPMorgan Chase & Co., and over 300 guests in attendance, the event raised over $60,000 for Impact NW programming.

The Power of One award was given to Alicia Snowden and several other members of the volunteer team at Umpqua Bank. The Umpqua team earned the prestigious award by donating over 1,300 hours of service to the AKA Science program.

Frank Foti, CEO of Vigor Industrial, and a generous supporter of the Impact NW Pathways to Manufacturing program, was this year’s keynote speaker. Vigor was one of many local manufacturing industry corporations present at the event, including Daimler, the Greenbrier Companies, and Coffman Excavation.

The Yolanda Award presented at the luncheon went to Joseph Miles-Kelly, a welder-fitter in the rail department at Gunderson who graduated from Centennial High School and the Pathways to Manufacturing program in 2014.

Susan Stoltenberg, Executive Director of Impact NW, also announced during the luncheon the receipt of a combined total of $150,000 for the Pathways to Manufacturing program – $50,000 from Vigor and $100,000 from Daimler.

The funds will increase Pathways to Manufacturing’s capacity to address industry workforce development needs, help lower the drop-out rate of high school students, and provide clear pathways to rewarding careers in manufacturing.