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Purdy honored for excellence

the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader - May 14, 2008 - Blythe Lawrence

When Pam Dionne, president of what is now Discovery Bay Games, came to Kathleen Purdy after developing her first game in 2001, Purdy sent her - and her business plan - back to the drawing board.

quot;I was tough on her," admitted Purdy, who runs the Olympic Peninsula branch of Washington State University's Small Business Development Center (WSU SBDC), a network of 22 offices throughout the state.

When Dionne came back with a revised business model, Purdy looked it over and had her start over a second time.

Dionne, who said that working with Purdy was one of the best experiences she's ever had, wasn't deterred.

"Kathleen is one of those rare people who collaborates with you," said Dionne, whose business got off the ground after she developed her third model; it now has seven full-time employees. "Working with Kathleen is a pleasure, but it is also an education."

Others in the business community think so too, which is one reason why Purdy has become a recipient of this year's Ron Battles Excellence Award. The award, including certificate and $500 cash prize, honors Battles, a longtime WSU SBDC counselor, who died of cancer in 2005.

"He was one of those people who required excellence from his clients and from himself as well," said Brett Rogers, state director of the WSU SBDC and a good friend of Battles. He sees the same qualities in Purdy, whose main office is in the Mt. Baker Block Building downtown and who also has a satellite office in Port Angeles.

"I can always count on Kathleen for friendly, no-holds-barred feedback," Rogers said. "I know that Ron Battles would be very, very happy Kathleen would be recognized for this."

As a business counselor, Purdy has worked with the Water Street brewpub and many other Port Townsend businesses. The Ron Battles award is given based on nomination from clients, and Rogers, who came from Spokane to present Purdy with the award, said Purdy's clients have been especially vocal.

"Kathleen's just an incredibly competent business advisor," Rogers said. "When [clients] are happy with the service they received, I hear about it."

The award was a surprise, said Purdy, who holds a master's degree in business administration (MBA) and has more than 30 years of experience in her field. She knows she has some satisfied clients, she said, because they often return.

"A lot of times they come back," she reflected over a celebratory pastry with Dionne and Rogers at the Tyler Street Coffee House on Thursday afternoon. "I've worked with them on a project, and two or three years later they come back."

Purdy has been with the Washington SBDC since 1995, serving the North Olympic Peninsula. She is the director of the local center and a certified business advisor, and also serves on the faculty of Washington State University. She brings to her clients more than 30 years of business experience as a consultant, entrepreneur and executive for large and small businesses in a variety of industries.

In addition to her master's degree in economics/finance from Trinity College and an MBA from the University of Hartford's Barney School of Business, Purdy has also earned a certification in economic development finance from the National Development Council. In 1997 and again in 2000, she was named "star performer" by the Washington SBDC for her success in assisting small businesses.

Purdy provides confidential business management counseling for existing or start-up businesses, and often works with clients on an ongoing basis as a business coach. Her major areas of counseling include feasibility analysis, business plan development, sources of financing, marketing, analysis of current business and development of long-term strategy, buying or selling a business, and turn-around assistance.

The Port Townsend office is located at 211 Taylor Street, Suite 401 A, phone 344-3078.

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