15 Fascinating Oregonians

Bryan Sims, DJ Wilson, Randal O'Toole, Ellen Waterston, Tim Leatherman, Linn Goldberg, Cindy Cooper, Alex and Brett Harris, Ed Armstrong, Barbara Sidway, Merritt Paulson, Rachel Solotaroff, Jessica Gregg, William Bernstein, Jaye Taylor
If there's a theme for this year's 15 Fascinating Oregonians, it would have to be energy. Pure human energy. The 15 individuals in the pages ahead exude energy. Their efforts and accomplishments light up the world around them. And lucky for us, they all live in Oregon, in towns big and small around the state. We hope that reading their stories will compel you — to think bolder, to work harder, to act fearlessly, to help generously, to try mightily, to write honestly, to aim higher, to believe in the impossible, to achieve your dreams — because these 15 fascinating people really are just average Oregonians. If they can do it; you can do it. That's what every one of them would tell you.

Below is a small sampling of the 2008 15 Fascinating Oregonians …
Bryan Sims
Corvallis
By Alaina Buller

Bryan Sims was faced with the reality of money at an early age. At 14, he watched his parents struggle to pay exorbitant medical bills and lawyer fees as a result of a car accident. After Sept. 11, his dad lost his job and had difficulties finding a new one.

Sims knew what he had to do. He might not be able to remedy the immediate situation, but he promised himself he would become successful in life. He knew he had to make enough money to support the people he loved.

So he dove in head first. Sims started reading everything he could on business, finance, investing, marketing. At the time he worked as a janitor at a local athletic club for $8 an hour. Using his newfound knowledge, Sims invested his meager paycheck in the stock market.

And when his high school business class required him to write a business plan, he started a teen investment club. Almost 45 students invested nearly $25,000 from allowances and part-time jobs in the stock market.

"We had people who were football captains, people who were chess champions, people who normally had nothing in common, but the one thing they all had in common was money," Sims says. "Everybody has to pay bills. And when the person sitting next to you can help you make money, everybody came together."

They grew to be the largest investing club in the nation. Time magazine once called the club asking them to predict the economic impact of Sept. 11.

As his parents' financial situation worsened, Sims knew it was time to live up to his promise. He wanted to take the same concept of his club — making investing interesting to young people — and broaden it to a national level. Sims created a business plan for a lifestyle money magazine for young adults by young adults. He left college to focus entirely on the endeavor.

Today brass magazine, based in Corvallis, is in its fifth year, has 500,000 readers nationwide, employs 37 people, and works with 190 credit unions across 39 states. And Sims, at age 24, runs the entire operation.

Though the business grew quickly, the path to success was not necessarily a smooth one. Sims was recently the keynote speaker for a crowd of 1,500 credit union board members at a National Center for Credit Unions conference. He shared his experience of attempting to secure original investors — a goal he tackled with his dad, currently the chief operations officer of brass.

"Keep in mind, this is the middle of 2003. People are not investing in blue chip stocks, let alone a lifestyle money magazine based out of Corvallis, Oregon, started by a 19-year-old dropout and his 53-year-old unemployed dad, who, by the way, have no experience doing this," he told the audience. "Would anybody in here like to invest?"

With a little persistence, they were able to secure eight investors from the 200 people they spoke with. The investors included two stockbrokers, a former doctor, a former teacher, a real estate developer, a bus driver who won a lawsuit, and two Japanese onion farmers from eastern Oregon — quite the crew. But they all believed in the project, and Sims and his dad began publishing in February 2004.
Since the first magazine rolled off the press, Sims has expanded the business to reach out to readers in a variety of ways, which include a blog and podcast on their website. But he is probably most proud of the brass Student Program.

Currently brass is distributing a student edition of the magazine to every public high school in New York and Wisconsin. They also provide teachers with lesson plans and a social networking website. In August, brass will be launching their student program in Oregon public high schools.

Sims cited a survey by Visa in 2005 as one of his main inspirations for this project. The survey found 74 percent of parents of high school students were more concerned about their kids' financial habits and ability to handle money than they were about drug and alcohol use.

"We're really hoping to tackle this problem of educating young people about money," Sims says, "which particularly now, more than ever before, is on people's minds."