Of All The Things I Never Thought I Would Do…
By Scott R. Cooper, Crook County Judge
This colum was originally published in the Central Oregonian, July 2006
On June 24, while the rest of Prineville was enjoying Crooked River Round-Up festivities, I quietly left town. In the six days that followed, covered about 12,000 miles on two continents and three countries. The journey included four international legs and stops at six different airports.
I travelled as a member of the Oregon Governor’s Trade Mission To Korea and Japan. My partner over and back was Governor Ted Kulongoski. Other notable delegates included the State Treasurer, the Director of Oregon Economic Development, the Director of Oregon Agriculture, the Director of Oregon Tourism, the Executive Director of the Port of Portland and the State Treasurer. Roger Lee and Bud Prince of Central Oregon Economic Development. I was the only representative of Oregon counties in the delegation. The mayor of Springfield attended on behalf of Oregon cities.
I personally paid my expense for transportation, and most lodging and meals. I had several reasons for wanting to do this trip: first, I was pursuing an active lead that EDCO has been working for sometime with a major manufacturing company looking to expand its operations in this area. The company has already purchased a potential site in Prineville. Having the Governor along to endorse the project hand-in-glove with a top elected official helped seal the deal. Barring any glitches, we could see results of this trip as early as 2008.
My second goal was to support the effort to promote Oregon as a potential investment opportunity. Our location between California and Washington sometimes puts us at a disadvantage competitively. California boasts the 6th largest economy in the world, its governor is recognized in every country and on every continent and San Francisco and Los Angeles enjoy world renowned. Likewise, Washington, having as it does the headquarters of Boeing and Microsoft has “star power” around the globe and Bill Gates is recognizable anywhere. While Oregon companies like Nike, Intel, Columbia Sportswear and Adidas USA are name-recognizable, somehow the world doesn’t connect them with Oregon. Thus, if we want more of those types of companies to come to Oregon, we have to get out there and sell ourselves to the World. That was an important part of this trip.
A third and very important reason for my going was to blunt the “Portland” effect of this mission. It is easy to demonstrate that Portland is business friendly to an international clientele. But proving the business case for rural Oregon is a little harder. That’s where I was able to shine on this trip, because believe it or not, Prineville has a great story to tell. Although we don’t often think about it, Prineville’s economy is tightly tied to international markets.
Our largest employer, Les Schwab, brings an enormous number of containers through West Coast ports from Asian shores. (You can see them stacked up by the warehouses at the top of the hill.) Our two large secondary wood products plants are heavily dependent on important raw materials to produce finished goods for resale. Ochoco Lumber, headquartered here in Prineville, among other activities, manages operations in Lithuania involving complex multinational financial transactions. If you stop to think about it, we are living proof that global businesses can not only survive but can prosper in rural as well as urban Oregon. That was a key message it was my job to deliver on this trip.
To be honest, I was surprised to be asked to be part of Oregon’s official delegation. I guess I’ve grown accustomed to being overlooked in favor of Portland, Eugene, Bend or Medford. Perhaps the fact that I was even asked is a measure of the degree to which Prineville has captured the attention of the rest of the state as an up-and-coming community with good economic prospects. Maybe the invitation had something to do with good relations that I’ve gone to great pains to build with key state officials. Or maybe none of the rest of my County peers were willing to torture themselves with a physically grueling international trek. Whatever the reason, it was an honor for me to be a part of this effort to sell Oregon and particularly Central Oregon to two important trading partners.
The significance of Japan and Korea to Oregon’s economy is widely recognized. But consider, Japan invests $1.2 billion in Oregon annually and is this state’s largest trading partner. More than 10,000 Oregonians are employed by Japan-based companies doing business in Oregon. Korea is Oregon’s second largest trading partner, behind Canada. Oregon exports $1.3 billion in goods annually to Korea, of which the majority is high-tech products. Despite this impressive track record, there is clearly room for expanded presence, and the purpose of this trip was to capitalize on that opportunity.
Trade missions are important because Asian culture places a very high value on personal relationships. A face-to-face meeting with the chairman of an Asian company will do much to encourage future business development. Asian business leaders value personal connections as at least as important as more traditional factors in business decision-making such as tax structure or property costs. In addition, Asian culture places a high value on status. Thus, having the Governor along was critical to the mission’s success.
Regular readers of this column will know that the Governor and I don’t always see eye to eye on state issues. I reserve the right to disagree with him in the future, but I have nothing but praise for Ted Kulongoski’s performance on this trip.
Averaging more than five meetings each day, he sold Oregon with passion and conviction. I know. I was right there with him. Bone-weary, he gave two rousing speeches to rooms packed with the top business leadership of Seoul and Tokyo. He was a great “closer,” and he brought home several deals worth millions by the trip’s end. Through salesmanship and statesmanship, Ted K really brought it home for us this week.
And what did I do?
I spent one day with the Governor selling Central Oregon’s virtues to the Korean-based company mentioned earlier. The Governor and I sat side by side for two hours selling the chairman of a multi-national company worth billions based in 28 countries on the virtues of building his next plant in our region. The next day I flew inland Korea with three others to spend a day at the company’s factory and to meet the rest of the company leadership. This project is no pipe dream. The company has already purchased 25 acres not too far from Prineville, and I am confident that the very good meeting we had in Seoul will help push the project to conclusion.
The rest of my time was spent like all the delegation, promoting Oregon’s virtues. I talked about the Les Schwab story. I promoted the City of Prineville Railroad as a logistics manager to help international companies manage their regional freight needs. I promoted Redmond’s excellent air service with international connections as a business opportunity. I pushed investment in the region’s destination resorts. I preached the tourism agenda, especially with the underserved but English-proficient and nature-crazy Korean market. I discussed with one Tokyo bank president the needs of Oregon businesses for additional financial services, especially in the area of transactions involving international currency exchange and potential expansion of agricultural lending.
In short, I was an Oregon ambassador. I bowed a lot. I ate a lot of raw fish. I sacrificed my knife, spoon and fork for four days of chop sticks. I wore black suits and crisp white shirts for hours on end in some of the hottest muggiest weather I’ve ever encountered. I spent my own money to promote a state and a community in which I believe passionately.
This trip was never on my radar screen as one of the opportunities this job might provide. And I’m humbled and privileged that the Governor trusted me enough to allow me to represent counties around the state. I’m thankful to my regional colleagues for having the confidence that I would represent them well in a strange culture.
At the end of our trip, the Governor remarked to an assemblage of Japan’s 400 top business executives gathered in a Tokyo ballroom that trade missions often just set the stage for future returns. By contrast, this trip produced some immediate results, and I am confident that greater returns will be realized, both for Oregon and for Prineville, in days, months and years to come.
Meanwhile, I’m glad to be home, where the language is English and the food is beef. I’m wiser and more worldly than I was when I left, but I’m also as confident as ever that Oregon as God’s Country has no equal.
This colum was originally published in the Central Oregonian, July 2006
Selling Oregon Abroad
On June 24, while the rest of Prineville was enjoying Crooked River Round-Up festivities, I quietly left town. In the six days that followed, covered about 12,000 miles on two continents and three countries. The journey included four international legs and stops at six different airports.
I travelled as a member of the Oregon Governor’s Trade Mission To Korea and Japan. My partner over and back was Governor Ted Kulongoski. Other notable delegates included the State Treasurer, the Director of Oregon Economic Development, the Director of Oregon Agriculture, the Director of Oregon Tourism, the Executive Director of the Port of Portland and the State Treasurer. Roger Lee and Bud Prince of Central Oregon Economic Development. I was the only representative of Oregon counties in the delegation. The mayor of Springfield attended on behalf of Oregon cities.
I personally paid my expense for transportation, and most lodging and meals. I had several reasons for wanting to do this trip: first, I was pursuing an active lead that EDCO has been working for sometime with a major manufacturing company looking to expand its operations in this area. The company has already purchased a potential site in Prineville. Having the Governor along to endorse the project hand-in-glove with a top elected official helped seal the deal. Barring any glitches, we could see results of this trip as early as 2008.
My second goal was to support the effort to promote Oregon as a potential investment opportunity. Our location between California and Washington sometimes puts us at a disadvantage competitively. California boasts the 6th largest economy in the world, its governor is recognized in every country and on every continent and San Francisco and Los Angeles enjoy world renowned. Likewise, Washington, having as it does the headquarters of Boeing and Microsoft has “star power” around the globe and Bill Gates is recognizable anywhere. While Oregon companies like Nike, Intel, Columbia Sportswear and Adidas USA are name-recognizable, somehow the world doesn’t connect them with Oregon. Thus, if we want more of those types of companies to come to Oregon, we have to get out there and sell ourselves to the World. That was an important part of this trip.
A third and very important reason for my going was to blunt the “Portland” effect of this mission. It is easy to demonstrate that Portland is business friendly to an international clientele. But proving the business case for rural Oregon is a little harder. That’s where I was able to shine on this trip, because believe it or not, Prineville has a great story to tell. Although we don’t often think about it, Prineville’s economy is tightly tied to international markets.
Our largest employer, Les Schwab, brings an enormous number of containers through West Coast ports from Asian shores. (You can see them stacked up by the warehouses at the top of the hill.) Our two large secondary wood products plants are heavily dependent on important raw materials to produce finished goods for resale. Ochoco Lumber, headquartered here in Prineville, among other activities, manages operations in Lithuania involving complex multinational financial transactions. If you stop to think about it, we are living proof that global businesses can not only survive but can prosper in rural as well as urban Oregon. That was a key message it was my job to deliver on this trip.
To be honest, I was surprised to be asked to be part of Oregon’s official delegation. I guess I’ve grown accustomed to being overlooked in favor of Portland, Eugene, Bend or Medford. Perhaps the fact that I was even asked is a measure of the degree to which Prineville has captured the attention of the rest of the state as an up-and-coming community with good economic prospects. Maybe the invitation had something to do with good relations that I’ve gone to great pains to build with key state officials. Or maybe none of the rest of my County peers were willing to torture themselves with a physically grueling international trek. Whatever the reason, it was an honor for me to be a part of this effort to sell Oregon and particularly Central Oregon to two important trading partners.
The significance of Japan and Korea to Oregon’s economy is widely recognized. But consider, Japan invests $1.2 billion in Oregon annually and is this state’s largest trading partner. More than 10,000 Oregonians are employed by Japan-based companies doing business in Oregon. Korea is Oregon’s second largest trading partner, behind Canada. Oregon exports $1.3 billion in goods annually to Korea, of which the majority is high-tech products. Despite this impressive track record, there is clearly room for expanded presence, and the purpose of this trip was to capitalize on that opportunity.
Trade missions are important because Asian culture places a very high value on personal relationships. A face-to-face meeting with the chairman of an Asian company will do much to encourage future business development. Asian business leaders value personal connections as at least as important as more traditional factors in business decision-making such as tax structure or property costs. In addition, Asian culture places a high value on status. Thus, having the Governor along was critical to the mission’s success.
Regular readers of this column will know that the Governor and I don’t always see eye to eye on state issues. I reserve the right to disagree with him in the future, but I have nothing but praise for Ted Kulongoski’s performance on this trip.
Averaging more than five meetings each day, he sold Oregon with passion and conviction. I know. I was right there with him. Bone-weary, he gave two rousing speeches to rooms packed with the top business leadership of Seoul and Tokyo. He was a great “closer,” and he brought home several deals worth millions by the trip’s end. Through salesmanship and statesmanship, Ted K really brought it home for us this week.
And what did I do?
I spent one day with the Governor selling Central Oregon’s virtues to the Korean-based company mentioned earlier. The Governor and I sat side by side for two hours selling the chairman of a multi-national company worth billions based in 28 countries on the virtues of building his next plant in our region. The next day I flew inland Korea with three others to spend a day at the company’s factory and to meet the rest of the company leadership. This project is no pipe dream. The company has already purchased 25 acres not too far from Prineville, and I am confident that the very good meeting we had in Seoul will help push the project to conclusion.
The rest of my time was spent like all the delegation, promoting Oregon’s virtues. I talked about the Les Schwab story. I promoted the City of Prineville Railroad as a logistics manager to help international companies manage their regional freight needs. I promoted Redmond’s excellent air service with international connections as a business opportunity. I pushed investment in the region’s destination resorts. I preached the tourism agenda, especially with the underserved but English-proficient and nature-crazy Korean market. I discussed with one Tokyo bank president the needs of Oregon businesses for additional financial services, especially in the area of transactions involving international currency exchange and potential expansion of agricultural lending.
In short, I was an Oregon ambassador. I bowed a lot. I ate a lot of raw fish. I sacrificed my knife, spoon and fork for four days of chop sticks. I wore black suits and crisp white shirts for hours on end in some of the hottest muggiest weather I’ve ever encountered. I spent my own money to promote a state and a community in which I believe passionately.
This trip was never on my radar screen as one of the opportunities this job might provide. And I’m humbled and privileged that the Governor trusted me enough to allow me to represent counties around the state. I’m thankful to my regional colleagues for having the confidence that I would represent them well in a strange culture.
At the end of our trip, the Governor remarked to an assemblage of Japan’s 400 top business executives gathered in a Tokyo ballroom that trade missions often just set the stage for future returns. By contrast, this trip produced some immediate results, and I am confident that greater returns will be realized, both for Oregon and for Prineville, in days, months and years to come.
Meanwhile, I’m glad to be home, where the language is English and the food is beef. I’m wiser and more worldly than I was when I left, but I’m also as confident as ever that Oregon as God’s Country has no equal.
Labels: Selling Oregon Abroad
posted by Scott Cooper | 10:07 PM
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