Pacific Northwest Outreach, Community partner

More than 40 years ago by Don Cline founded Pacific NW Outreach with the mission of “working hand in hand with Native Americans… physically and spiritually.” Located in Gresham, Oregon, the nonprofit organization aims to spread the Word of God to Native Americans while also providing physical assistance to relieve pain and hunger.

The organization is not sponsored or supported by any particular denomination, church, or agency; instead, it is funded through donations made by the local community. They collect and distribute food, clothing, vehicles, furniture, and other household items that have all proven to be very effective in meeting the needs of minorities who have historically experienced great difficulty in adjusting to a different culture and society. Commodity items are distributed to communities across the Pacific Northwest on multiple eighteen-wheelers.

Pacific NW Outreach also operates a Community Store in Gresham, Oregon that serves the greater Portland and Vancouver areas. Customers enjoy a wide selection of goods – from groceries to household goods – at a low price. Sales from the Community Store help provide the financial support necessary to fulfill the organization’s mission in outlying communities.

Houston’s is happy to support Pacific NW Outreach with a donation including a Torani Real Fruit Lemonade and Real Cream, Two Leaves and a Bud tea, and a variety of olives, onions, sauces, and syrups. Donations such as this one benefit many local communities directly and through sales at the Community Store.

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Eugene Apuya, Employee of the Month – Feb. 2018

Eugene Apuya started with Houston’s as an Order Picker 16 years ago. He joined our family after working in both warehouse and office settings, but discovered that he much prefers the freedom of movement that a warehouse role affords him. These days, Eugene is able to get around our warehouse even more quickly than when he started since he’s now a Forklift Driver.
One of his favorite things about working at Houston’s are his coworkers. He said that, “everyone is cool” here and the amount of work keeps him busy enough to stay engaged throughout the day. He dislikes being bored, so he feels right at home in our busy warehouse.

When he’s not at work, Eugene enjoys playing console games (usually of the FPS, Sports, & Racing variety). In fact, he is not shy to pronounce Forza Motorsports as the best racing game there is; followed closely by Forza Horizons. He likes both his work and his play-time fast paced and full of excitement.

This holds true when he spends time with his family: including his 5 young grand-children. He even taught his oldest grand-daughter how to play Forza and he did such a good job, that now she beats him to the finish line!

Currently, he’s looking forward to spending as much time as possible with his daughters and grand-kids before they move out of the state. One is moving to Hawaii and the other is moving to Wisconsin. He’s disappointed that they won’t be so close, but both of the moves will be good for their families. So, he’s glad that they can take advantage of these opportunities and it gives him a great reason to plan an out-of-state vacation.

A somewhat more unusual past-time that Eugene enjoys, serves him very well with his 4 grand-daughters: he likes going to the Mall. Whether he’s shopping or just looking around, he finds that the mall is very convenient and has many of the shops he would want to visit all in one location. So, when his family wants to go there – he’s happy to join them!

Eugene was born in the Philippines and grew up there, in Cabite City. He lived there until 1984 when he came to Oregon with his Mom & younger brother, to live with his new Step-Dad. One of his favorite things to do after moving here, was to go trout fishing at Hagg Lake. He also really enjoys Oregon’s weather – finding the cloudy, cool weather to be much more to his liking than the weather in the Philippines.

“His flexibility is one of the things that made him stand out for Employee of the Month,” says Angie Buffeta, “Eugene is always willing to lend a hand whether its in receiving, UPC, or overflow. He’s a hard worker who is dedicated to doing better today than he did yesterday, and supports his team.” These things and more are what make him an all around role-model and highly deserving of this month’s distinction.

Congratulations, Eugene, and thank you for all of your hard work!

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“He is currently atop the autostocking productivity chart. Recently, on our slower days, he has also been helping out receiving at night doing put away. Jose is always read to lend a hand if someone needs help, from wrapping pallets to providing answers if someone has a question. Jose likes to learn new skills and we have plenty of opportunities for him to do so,” adds Dave.

Jose enjoys the variety his job provides him, making the chances of boredom unlikely. At the start of his shift, 3:00pm, he turns on his music, Spanish Reggae to start because it gets him focused and the right frame of mind (Gondwana is his favorite band in this particular music genre), and dives into his tasks. By the end of his shift he tends to switch from Reggae to Spanish Rock (Soda Stereo is his favorite) for more energy to finish out the day.

A running theme with interviewees when asked what they love about working for Houston’s is “great atmosphere and the people” and Jose is no exception to this. He loves the group of people he works with, and that he is allowed to listen his tunes, both of which make his job enjoyable.

When asked what a typical day looks like for him, Jose laughed, “it really depends on the day.” There are always orders to pull, trucks to load, product to receive, and product to put away. But Jose is also part of a rotation with two other employees to work on the Hotlist, meaning that every 3 weeks he will work off a list of product that needs immediate restocking on the shelves. For example, if an order puller finds that a pick slot if short on product necessary for their current order, that item pops up on the hotlist and Jose (or one of the others on rotation) will pull the product and restock the shelf so the puller can fill the rest of the order.

When you see Jose around the warehouse or office be sure to say hi and ask about his latest Max ride down to the Waterfront just to enjoy the scenery or who his favorite Doctor is on the BBC show, Doctor Who.

Congratulations, Jose, on being chosen as Employee of the Month for January 2018, and thank you for all you do!

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Merchandising

Saturday, December 16th, Wilsonville-based employees gathered at the local Holiday Inn for our annual Houston’s Christmas Party. Upon arrival, employees were handed their usual gambling “funny money” and goodie bag, but this year the baggies contained an extra gift for attendees – a Houston’s branded Fifty-Fifty drink bottle. The bottles proved to be a big hit with both Wilsonville and Kansas City employees (who were also given bottles at their Christmas party), as we’ve seen many of the bright blue bottles traveling around the office and warehouses.

The familiar atmosphere and many of the activities of past Christmas parties returned for 2017, including the bar, casino games, bingo, and earning tickets to put towards a variety of raffle prizes. Jose Coral was the big winner of the night, and took home the annual cash prize.

Inside Sales

This year also saw a host of new entertainment activities in the form of air hockey, shuffleboard, basketball, and the very popular photo booth. Provided by David Efaw Productions, along with the casino and other games, the photo booth was accompanied by an assortment of funny hats, glasses, other props for employees to pose with. The booth provided fun for all employees, including the Board of Directors and those who chose to sit or stand nearby and take in the action throughout the night.

Many employees also dressed for the occasion, donning extra festive attire. As the man who inspired this tradition with his festive suit last year, Greg Estes was sure to wear his holiday best again this year – a bright blue suit with Santa and gift box print.

As always, the food provided by Holiday Inn was delicious. The hors d’oeuvres selection was comprised of a variety of cheeses, fruits & vegetables, and meats (including two different kinds of shrimp)! Salmon, roast beef, prime rib, chicken, and turkey were served as the main entrées, accompanied by three different salads, mashed potatoes, rolls and more. The decadent desserts were all by wiped out by the end of the night, which was to be expected when there was carrot cake, flour-free chocolate cake, pecan pie and an assortment of small bite-sized treats.

Employees enjoy casino games at the Wilsonville 2017 Holiday Party

Throughout the night as attendees enjoyed their meals, a rousing game of bingo, or just sat and chatted with their coworkers a slideshow of the past year’s events and accomplishments played on large screens highlighting that we have a lot of to be proud of as 2017 comes to a close.

The afternoon of the Christmas party, some Houston’s employees engaged in a friendly bowling competition between Outside Sales and corporate employees at Wilsonville Lanes. Despite the extreme difference in bowling experience, both teams were good sports and there were many laughs.

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Alex Villareal, Employee of the Month

Alex Villareal started with Houston’s in August of 2000 helping to fill various warehouse operations roles. Her dedication to helping multiple departments function at their highest possible level has earned Alex Employee of the Month honors for August 2017.

“Alex is a tireless worker,” describes UPC Room Supervisor, Mike McCoy, “With her experience in the UPC department, she can complete any task assigned with speed and accuracy.” In addition to working in the UPC Room, Alex is also very knowledgeable in the receiving and product put away processes, and recently began training other employees in receiving all the while continuing to help out in UPC. Alex’s on-the-job versatility and commitment to excellence make her an invaluable asset to the functionality of our Wilsonville facility. Receiving Supervisor, Brenda Hart, adds, “It is not uncommon for Alex to go from receiving to UPC at a moment’s notice, and she always has a positive attitude.”Maintaining a positive attitude when functioning at such a high level isn’t always easy. Regardless, “Alex comes to work every day with a great attitude, and greets people with a smile every morning,” says Mike.

Outside of Houston’s, Alex enjoys taking walks, reading, and cooking among other things. She also loves to visit her favorite city, San Diego, where she can enjoy the warm weather and beaches. Alex is very proud to be a new grandmother to a “lovely, smart 7-month old little boy,” whom she spends as much time with as she can while visiting family in San Diego.

Congratulations! And thank you, Alex, for your hard work and commitment to Houston’s!

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The Wilsonville crew gathers to view 99% totality. Credit: R. Phillips

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking all or part of the sun’s light for approximately three hours, from start to finish. August 21, 2017 was the first time since 1979 that the continental U.S. has seen a total eclipse, with the longest period of totality lasting about two minutes and forty seconds.

Both of our facilities were within or near what was deemed the thin “path of totality.” And each facility held a viewing party, at which Houston’s provided employees with special eclipse glasses (ISO 12312-2 compliant, of course)! Our Wilsonville crew convened outside just after 10:00am PDT to witness 99% totality, and our Kansas City got to experience 100% totality just after 1:00 CDT. While it never got completely dark like in Kansas City, Wilsonville employees witnessed a strange, dusk-like coloring of their surroundings.

The Kansas City crew gathers to view 100% totality!

Just before totality, unique crescent-shaped shadows were cast by the trees and shadow bands could be seen across the parking lots, making it appear as though the ground was moving. According to NASA, “Shadow bands are thin wavy lines of alternating light and dark that can be seen moving and undulating in parallel on plain-coloured surfaces immediately before and after a total solar eclipse,” and have been noted throughout history. While scientists don’t yet clearly understand what makes these shadow bands, it appears that, “the intensity, motion and direction of these bands seems to be related to the same phenomenon that makes stars twinkle.”

99% Totality in Wilsonville, Oregon as seen through the (eclipse glasses). Credit: C. Graiff

Thank you, to all employees who joined us for the viewing parties! Additional photos from both Wilsonville and Kansas City can be found on our company Facebook page. Please feel free to tag yourself, or share the photos.

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