ERIC SAWYER: SHORT PUNNY CLEVER
Written by Olive Gallagher, Contributing Writer
Adaptability. Deep faith. Positivity. Common qualities found in many uncommon heroes, quietly going about their lives. Like Eric Sawyer. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, his family moved to California when he was a baby and eventually settled in Hockinson,WA. Brought up observing a mother who gave back to others, Eric claims his Mom inspired him with her optimism and ability to positively deal with change, teaching him, “If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you find an excuse.”
A solid student and enthusiastic football and baseball player, Eric also played drums in the band, and graduated from Prairie High School in 1989. Legendary band director (and girls basketball coach) Al Aldridge led the band to win numerous jazz festivals as well as a European tour, playing two of the largest jazz festivals in the world, North Sea in Holland and Montreux in Switzerland.
After earning a BA in Communications from Central Washington University, Eric, an aspiring sports broadcaster, faced a career requiring continual moves from market to market. Married with one small child and a mortgage, Eric decided “to make an adult decision” and move to the advertising/sales side of radio and TV.
That choice was golden. Eric discovered his knack for building relationships and communicating in person and by microphone. In 2000, Eric moved back to Vancouver and took on a new career as a loan officer with Capstone Home Loans. In 2009, after significant changes in the mortgage landscape, he joined BBSI’s corporate office in Vancouver, working for the original founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board Bill Sheretz. That position allowed him to continue to grow solid relationships in the community. Then, in 2021, Eric made another transition away from BBSI, returning to real estate, this time as an agent with Windermere Northwest Living and the Elevate Group.
In 2017, Eric experienced a remarkable moment. While waiting at The Heathman for a meeting with a client who was late, he bumped into Erin Stepanek, an employee there, who told him about a meeting that had happened the night before: the first meeting of 100 Women Who Care. He asked Erin if there was a like men’s group. When she answered “no,” he replied, “Well, then I’m starting it!” A few months later, he was invited by 100 Women founder Kathryn Morris, to join them at their quarterly meeting. He was blown away.
To get started creating this Clark County organization, he called on key relationships, recruiting Monte Phillips as his first Board member, then Brady Willkerson, GM of The Heathman, and Don Stanton, CFO of The Heathman. Max Ault, Marc Neidlinger, and Henri Morreau were added, too. Together, they created the nonprofit and were off and running. By 2018, the organization had 126 members and this past year, membership approached 175.
The business model is simple and productive. Each member pays a quarterly amount of $110; $100 goes into the pot and $10 covers administration costs and hospitality at The Heathman. Every quarter, at an in-person, evening event, three Clark County nonprofits present their mission/vision/impact to membership, who then vote. The two runner-up nonprofits each receive $1000. The winner gets the remainder. This past quarter, the winner received $14,000! To date 100 Men has donated $300,000 back into the non-profit community in Clark County.
For more information on 100 Men Who Care, please call Eric at (360) 521-8877 or visit www.100mencc.com.
