⁄From the Editor⁄ Weirded Out I SPRAINED MY ANKLE ON NEW YEAR’S DAY. I was out for a short walk after a cozy day spent mostly indoors, hit a patch of slightly uneven sidewalk and rolled my ankle. I’ve since learned that the precise way I rolled my ankle—with the foot twisting inward—is the most common kind of ankle sprain, and that ankle sprains are the most common injury seen in emergency rooms. I know what it’s like when a medical problem has doctors shaking their heads in bewilderment, and all things considered, I’d rather have a problem doctors can identify quickly and may even find a little boring. That was the good part. The bad part is that the thing still hurt. A lot. I spent the first couple weeks in January feeling a little sorry for myself, and I suspect I got a little weird. My first public outing after that ill-fated walk was, no joke, a repertory screening of Rear Window. Unlike the protagonist — a photojournalist whose broken leg has rendered him unable to do his job — I continued to work, though I moved my home work station to my office couch so I could keep my foot elevated. Also unlike that movie’s main character, I didn’t witness anything especially interesting when staring out the window —mostly just people smoking cigarettes, walking dogs or trying to parallel park. Even without an engrossing neighborhood drama to focus on, the intensified isolation during the darkest time of year put me in a pretty weird mood. My ankle is improving, slowly, and so is the weather. There’s still plenty to feel weird about; it seems like every few minutes I get a push notification about a national political development, roughly half of which are announcements that a drastic change announced just days ago has been blocked or rescinded. And there are things worth feeling good about, too. For “A Spirited Response” (p. 22), for example, Garrett Andrews spoke to the co-founder of Patricia Green Cellars, a Newberg-based winery whose 2020 crop was severely damaged by that year’s wildfires. But when life handed them smoke-damaged grapes, the owners decided to make…whiskey. It’s not an intuitive move—typically brandy, not whiskey, is made from grapes — but it seems to have worked for them. And for “The Analytics of Comedy” (p. 18), Melanie Sevcenko spoke to Naomi Fitter, a roboticist at Oregon State who also dabbles in comedy. She’s created a robot named Jon who does a little stand-up himself—and is learning how to gauge audience response and develop an appropriate reaction when a joke doesn’t land. And our cover story, the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon (p. 42), is our annual list of companies that have dedicated themselves to workplace best practices. It’s always instructive—and heartening — to review the results of our annual survey, and find out what companies across the state do to attract and retain the best employees, keep them happy and help them improve. VOLUME 48 ⁄ NUMBER 2 OREGON BUSINESS (ISSN 02798190) is published quarterly by MEDIAmerica Inc. at 12570 S.W. 69th Ave., Suite 102, Portland OR 97223. Subscription inquiries should be directed to 503-445-8811. Subscription charge is $15.95 per year, $27.95 for two years in the USA. Single copies and back issues available at above address and at selected newsstands. The editor is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. Copyright © 2025 by MEDIAmerica Inc. All rights reserved. All material is protected by copyright and must not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Printed in Oregon. Periodicals Postage Paid at Portland, OR. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Oregon Business, 12570 S.W. 69th Ave., Suite 102, Portland OR 97223 EDITORIAL EDITOR Christen McCurdy christenm@oregonbusiness.com ART DIRECTOR Joan McGuire joanm@oregonbusiness.com STAFF WRITER Garrett Andrews garretta@oregonbusiness.com STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Jason E. Kaplan jasonk@oregonbusiness.com COPY EDITOR Morgan Stone CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Andrew Fortgang, Melanie Sevcenko PUBLISHING PUBLISHER Courtney Kutzman courtneyk@oregonbusiness.com EVENTS MANAGER Craig Peebles craigp@oregonbusiness.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Evan Morehouse evanm@mediamerica.net ADVERTISING AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Greta Hogenstad gretah@mediamerica.net DIGITAL PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Alison Kattleman alisonk@mediamerica.net PRESIDENT AND CEO Andrew A. Insinga CONTROLLER Bill Lee BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN André W. Iseli PRESIDENT Andrew A. Insinga SECRETARY William L. Mainwaring TREASURER Win McCormack 4
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