Category: Press Release

Press Release: Oregon Startup Conference: Fueling Innovation in Mid-Willamette Valley

Newberg, OR (June 4, 2025) – The Mid-Willamette Valley entrepreneurial spirit takes center stage at the Oregon Startup Conference, set for Friday, June 20, 2025, at George Fox University. This premier event brings together founders, investors, and innovators to celebrate and accelerate the region’s burgeoning tech and innovation ecosystem.

At its core, this Conference is about building momentum and turning small-town ideas into world-changing solutions. Its purpose is to elevate Mid-Willamette Valley into a global hub for tech, innovation, and purpose-driven entrepreneurship.

The Conference’s main highlight is the Startup Pitch Competition, where Oregon startups take the stage in a high-energy, Shark Tank-style pitch session, vying for attention, advice, and investment.

Other highlights include the Success Panels, where established founders share the challenges and breakthroughs that shaped their journeys, and the Access to Capital Panel, where investors and funders show how to position a business for funding from pre-seed to scale-up.

The Conference also has a concurrent Resource Fair, where business owners can meet ecosystem partners for access to valuable resources, such as funding, mentorship, training, or peer support.

Bob Dalton is the keynote speaker for the Conference. Named a CNN Champion for Change in 2024, Mr. Dalton is a serial social entrepreneur whose Sackcloth & Ashes donates one blanket to homeless shelters for every blanket sold. He amplifies the efforts of grassroots organizations through his Love Your City foundation and his LOCL platform.

The Conference is powered by Launch Mid-Valley, the region’s innovation hub supported by Business Oregon. Launch Mid-Valley is a collective effort backed by ecosystem builders who believe innovation should be inclusive, accessible, and locally grounded. The initiative is weaving a stronger entrepreneurial fabric across Marion, Polk, and Yamhill Counties one startup at a time.

Aside from Business Oregon, the event is made possible by organizations just as invested in the region’s future: SEDCOR, McMinnville Economic Development Partnership, Chehalem Valley Innovation Accelerator, Chemeketa SBDC, Indy Idea Hub, Latino Business Alliance, WaFD Bank, Coldwell Banker Professional Group, Catherine Summers, and Sacred Fire Creative.

For founders, innovators, and community builders committed to the future of local business, the Oregon Startup Conference is an opportunity to fuel the innovation firing up Mid-Willamette Valley. Visit www.oregonstartupconference.com for more information and to register.

NAWBO Oregon Past President Chosen for Exclusive Accelerated Growth Training

NAWBO Oregon past president and Sacred Fire Creative founder Malee Ojua joins a select group of 25 women business owners undergoing the NAWBO Accelerated Growth Program, a 10-month business leadership training created by NAWBO and sponsored by Wells-Fargo.

Portland, OR, March 2021—Sacred Fire Creative (SFC) announced the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) selected SFC CEO Malee Ojua as part of its new learning program. Open to only 25 participants, the NAWBO Accelerated Growth Program helps women business owners scale up their enterprises.

The NAWBO Accelerated Growth Program aims to increase its participants’ market competitiveness.

The NAWBO Accelerated Growth Program is an offering of the organization’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Development. The program, launched in 2021, is a top-tier educational plan designed to help women business owners increase their competitiveness in their respective markets. It’s also meant to set them up for higher levels of growth and expansion. Wells-Fargo sponsors the program.

Participants are to attend eight one-hour online learning sessions for four months. Topics covered in these sessions include developing a leadership mindset, building successful teams, strategic planning, and brand messaging. After completing the program, they will take part in mentorship/mastermind groups for six months. They will also receive other benefits that will help them grow their business.

According to NAWBO, women own 40% of all privately held companies in the country today. Still, the size of their revenues remains significantly below other types of businesses. Educating women business owners enables them to progress to the same or greater levels.

NAWBO is a network of women business owners in the US formed in 1975. Its purpose is to share resources and to provide mutual support among its members. It also lobbies economic and public policies benefiting women entrepreneurs.

Sacred Fire Creative is named one of the top digital marketing agencies in Portland.

SFC is a Portland-based digital marketing agency specializing in helping its clients build a legacy through solid branding. With a unique and robust brand, SFC clients can forge deep connections with its customers, thus creating a loyal community. Among the companies that SFC has worked with are ArisGlobal Software, RiverWest Acupuncture, Johnson & Johnson, and NYU Langone Medical Center. Expertise.com named SFC one of the top digital marketing agencies in the city.

Aside from her role as SFC head, Malee Ojua is also involved with NAWBO’s Oregon chapter. She is the chapter’s current program director and served as its president in 2020. Additionally, she hosts bimonthly virtual forums on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). Ojua participated in the Goldman Sachs 10KSB program in 2019. A former aeronautics engineer, she founded SFC in 2014.

Allstate Insurance’s Heidi Doebel Hosts Hit Star Wars Viewing at Regal Cinemas

Portland, OR (December 19, 2017) – Heidi Doebel, a multi-awarded Allstate Insurance representative, has hosted an exclusive viewing of Star Wars: The Last Jedi at Regal Division Street Stadium 13 on December 16, 2017. This private viewing was attended by Ms. Doebel’s clients and their families.

“This is the third year I have hosted a Star Wars movie for my customers,” Ms. Doebel said. “Customers look forward to the movie every year and we fill the event within a few hours. I love the opportunity to interact with my customers at a fun event like Star Wars.”

Ms. Doebel considers her annual movie viewings as a way to keep in touch with her clients in a more personal way. She uses these events to have fun with them and catch up with what’s going on with their lives. Moreover, Ms. Doebel believes these yearly showings benefit her clients as well. It can be a chance for them to network and make friends with each other. Click for the pictures here.

Ms. Doebel emphasizes that she hosts these movie showings to show her appreciation for her customers. “Without my customers, I wouldn’t have a successful agency,” she stated. “The movie is a great opportunity to let my customers know I appreciate them.”

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the second installment in the third film trilogy of the immensely successful Star Wars media franchise. This installment continues the story of the Resistance’s fight against elements of the dark side of the Force amid the Skywalker family’s personal tragedies. The movie marks the final performance of Carrie Fisher as the iconic Leia Organa. Ms. Fisher passed away on December 27, 2016 after completing work on the movie.

Regal Division Street Stadium 13 in Portland, Oregon is a branch of Regal Entertainment Group’s theater circuits. Regal Entertainment Group is one of the largest and most diverse network of cinemas in the US. It has 561 theaters in 43 states and Washington, DC, as well as in US overseas territories like Guam, American Samoa, and Saipan.

Heidi Doebel is a multi-awarded personal financial representative for Allstate Insurance, since 2004. With her marketing background, she helps families in Oregon and Washington find ways to protect what they value. Included among the Allstate products Ms. Doebel offers are home insurance, landlord, renters insurance, life insurance, business insurance, and various forms of vehicle insurance. For more information on Ms. Doebel and her services, please visit https://agents.allstate.com/heidi-doebel-happy-valley-or1.html.