This month, we are thrilled to introduce Brian McKay from Sprout Energy as our featured member. We asked Brian a few questions about himself and what it's like working at one of Idaho's leading providers of clean and sustainable energy. Here's what he had to say:

What is your favorite film?
Saving Private Ryan
 
What is the best book you've read recently?
The Undoing Project by Micheal Lewis
 
What sport do you enjoy watching most?
Boise State Football — Go Broncos!
 
Who is the most interesting historical figure?
Thomas Jefferson
 
What is your favorite hobby or thing to do during the weekend?
Catch a local concert and a dinner out with friends
 
Favorite Idaho escape?
McCall
 
Favorite place in Boise to take a visitor?
All of spectacular downtown
 
What is the most important trend in your business or industry?
More companies realizing very substantial energy savings as solar prices fall
 
What is the best advice you've received?
Admit you know nothing and then listen to those smarter than yourself.
 
Who is a local business or business person you admire?
My partner, Leif Elgethun
 
What is the number one reason to do business with your company or organization?
We practice integrity in all things.
 
What do you enjoy most about your company or organization?
We came together as a group of the best people in the energy and sustainability space. As a company, we practice professionalism and a business-focused approach for our commercial, industrial, and agriculture clientele. (Well, that and our company message board is always hilarious, because we are all quite the jokers and a great team.) Watching and managing our explosive growth has been very enjoyable. Every person we are fortunate enough to add to our team is the sign of being successful.
 
Tell us about a current or upcoming project or company-wide initiative.
The company has been working in sustainability consulting for the hospital industry. We consult on everything from energy and benchmarking to waste disposal. On top of presenting at hospital engineering conferences, we are working toward a separate division that specializes in sustainability and savings specifically for hospitals and health care organizations.

Hello everyone, and happy March! Let’s hope this month brings us the warmth needed for some April showers and May flowers — and less snow!

My name is Amy Aiello, and I’m the intern here at the Boise Metro Chamber. The WorkU Program at Boise State brought me into this opportunity, and I feel lucky to have been placed into such an outstanding organization. Here, I am working underneath Bill Connors, the CEO and President of the Chamber, to assist him with some advocacy and public relations projects.

At Boise State, I am studying communication and public relations, and will be graduating in May! I am originally from Tri-Cities, Washington, and was drawn to the university because of the city surrounding it. The moment when downtown Boise sneaks up on you as I-184 takes a slight turn coming in from the west and all the buildings seem to sparkle against a backdrop of the Boise foothills, is the moment I fell in love with this city. This moment happened four years ago when I made my first drive into Boise, and it happens now whenever I make that drive. I love Boise, and I’m honored to work with an organization that is as passionate about it as I am.

We have a lot of exciting events coming up this month, including Mega Marketing and Business Education Series: How to Maximize Your Online Advertising. I highly recommend checking those out! In addition to our events, you can also look forward to Jimmy Buffet performing at the Taco Bell Arena, and Treefort Music Festival rolling into town later this month.

I look forward to an amazing semester here at the Chamber! You might see my name around the blog more in the months to come … as well as some others, too.

This month, we are thrilled to introduce Keith Donahue as our featured member. We asked Keith a few questions about himself and what it's like working at 1 of only 3 schools of its kind — Sage International. Here's what he had to say:

What is your favorite film?
“The Castle” (Australian Comedy)
 
What is the best book you've read recently?
“Educated”
 
What sport do you enjoy watching most?
Mountain Biking
 
Who is the most interesting historical figure?
Helen Keller
 
What is your favorite hobby or thing to do during the weekend?
Trail running and time with family
 
Favorite Idaho escape?
McCall
 
Favorite place in Boise to take a visitor?
Our beautiful foothills and Ridge to Rivers trail system
 
What is the most important trend in your business or industry?
Connecting K-12 education with our business community through career technical education opportunities (i.e. internships). Also, effectively integrating technology into education as a value-adding tool, not a crutch or distraction.
 
What is the best advice you've received?
Take care of your people. Listen to them and make sure they know they are valued.
 
Who is a local business or business person you admire?
Chris Marshall. Chris serves on our board and is the former CEO of ECCO Group, a global company located here in Boise. He graciously shares his time and expertise with our school and with me personally as I work to lead Sage.
 
What is the number one reason to do business with your company or organization?
As a K-12 free, public International Baccalaureate school, we are globally unique (1 of 3 in the world) and are making a difference in the lives of thousands of Idaho children.
 
What do you enjoy most about your company or organization?
I enjoy working with a group of passionate, dedicated educators working toward a shared mission of improving and expanding the educational opportunities available to students and families through Idaho's public education system. As an IB school, we teach our students to be risk-takers, thinkers, communicators, principled, caring, and reflective. We also teach them to be engaged local and global citizens that are of service to their communities. What I love about Sage International is that our board, teachers, and support staff also embrace and model these attributes that we instill in our students as they grow into young adults. We are constantly taking chances, learning and growing together — sometimes with bumps along the way — as we work to educate and care for our 1,000 students. This is very meaningful work, and I feel fortunate to be a part of our team and mission.
 
Tell us about a current or upcoming project or company-wide initiative.
It is an exciting time for us as we recently broke ground on a second school in Middleton — Forge International. Forge International will serve 250 students next year and will grow to serve 650 students over the next five years. With Forge, we are replicating the successful IB school model we offer on our Boise campus, and bringing this school choice to multiple communities in rural Idaho — Middleton, Emmet, Star, New Plymouth, and a portion of Caldwell. We designed Forge International to be accessible to all members of the communities we serve. We will offer free bussing beginning year 1, which we were not able to do until year 5 in Boise; Forge will offer a federally subsidized lunch program for our low-income families; Forge's language focus will be Spanish, rather than Boise's French focus; and we aim to hire bilingual teachers and staff at Forge to the maximum extent. Being able to open a second school specifically designed to serve typically underserved families (rural, low income, minority) is an exciting next step for our board and leadership team.
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