BRIAN COLE RESUME

Experience

Principal
Orbis Group, Inc.
January 2003 - Present

Chairman
Baker County Board of Commissioners
January 1999 – January 2003

Built and led a management team for a 150-employee organization with a $24 million annual budget, and provided leadership for county of 17,000 population.

Management: revamped budgeting process to increase employee involvement, increase efficiency of public funds, and improve customer service. Revamped union negotiations process to increase employee involvement and team building. Established mission statement, core values, and goals by department. Dramatically improved employee morale, facilities, customer service, and fiscal health of county.

Leadership: Developed and maintained strategic plan for county; established effective outreach efforts to all communities in county; initiated natural resource strategy; established taskforces to create state of the art telecommunications, identify power generation opportunities, rebuild fairgrounds, build an armory/conference center, and restructure the chamber and economic development efforts.

Proactive management and leadership have positioned Baker County to advance forward amidst a nationwide governmental and economic environment struggling to break even.

Regional Development Officer
Oregon Economic Development Department
January 1994 – January 1999

Served five eastern Oregon counties by managing business development cases, marketing business finance and community grant programs, connecting communities to infrastructure resources, supporting at-risk businesses, and assisting communities with priority projects.

Managed business recruitment cases that added over 2000 jobs in eastern Oregon. Assisted with financing, infrastructure, tax abatement, job training, land and building availability, and community relations. Result:
stronger, more diversified communities in five counties.

Created new process to assist the state in engaging communities to effectively meet infrastructure and facility needs. Result: the State of Oregon uses a variation of this process today.

Authored community capacity assessment document that allows community leaders to objectively evaluate their capacity to define and advance community and economic development goals. Result: the document has been used to assist communities throughout the state.

Established the Baker Community Partnership which changed Baker County’s grant seeking approach from a competitive to a collaborative dynamic for top community development projects. Result: $4.2 million from regional foundations for 12 projects.

Economic Development Director
City of Baker City/Baker County
June 1987 – December 1993

Hired as Baker City and Baker County’s first-ever economic development director. Created program from scratch. Pursued six goals: business recruitment, business assistance, business start-ups, community capacity, grant writing, and tourism development.

Primary community staff person for development of the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill. Chief grant writer and state liaison. Result: development of a national tourist attraction that has brought well over 1,000,000 visitors to the region.

Lead business recruitment professional for county. Results: job creation that substantially outperformed other rural Oregon counties; managed the most active Enterprise Zone in the state.

Crafter of program to revitalize Baker City Historic District. Architect of two planning and incentive programs to redevelop historic buildings. Result: restoration of 75 buildings with a total investment exceeding $10 million.

Managed various community and economic development projects including the recruitment of a state minimum-security prison, development of Oregon’s only new state park in 25 years, and establishment of a job training center and industrial park.

Project Estimator
Marvin L. Cole General Contractor
June 1984 – August 1985

Assisted in project bidding estimations and marketing pre-engineered metal buildings. Expanded company’s presence in the metal building market.

Education

Masters of Business Administration for Business, Government, and Not-For-Profit Businesses
Willamette University
May, 1987

Bachelor of Science, Business Administration
Oregon State University
June, 1984

Skills

Community Development, Business Development, Government Relations, Public Administration, Municipal Budgeting, Union Negotiations, Grant Writing, Public Speaking, Team Building

Honors

Baker County Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year, 1990

Council for Economic Development in Oregon Community Award, 1990

Outstanding Couple for Baker City Rotary Club, Rotary International, 1990

People Serving People Award from the U.S. Forest Service, 1991

Host Family for International Exchange Students, 1991, 1997, 2001

Rotary Club President of the Year for District 5100, 1992-1993

Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Foundation, 1993

Meritorious Service Award from the Oregon Trail Preservation Trust for work on National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill, 1993

Service Above Self Governor’s Citation, Rotary International, 1993

Award of Excellence for America’s Great Outdoors Program, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, 1994

Promotion of Rural Tourism Development Award, Bureau of Land Management, 1994

Outstanding Dedication Service Award, Baker County Visitor and Convention Bureau, 1994

David E. Fredriksen Business Development Award, Livable Oregon, 1997

Pacific Program for Leadership Training, 1998

National Leadership Award, National Center for Small Communities, 2000

Oregon’s Leaders of the Pack: 20 Who are Rising to the Top, Oregon Business Magazine, 2001

Honorary 10th Anniversary Chairman, National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill, 2002