A Brush with the Executive Wing

A few months ago, Bob had the lucky chance to get seated next to David Zimmel, a Portland real estate developer on a flight back from Hawaii. Bob and Dave hit it off and spent the entire flight talking about Portland, Bob‘s Red Mill, and Dave’s real estate in Hawaii. At the end of the flight, the two parted ways and that was that, or so we thought.

During the hustle and bustle of December, Bob received a phone call from Dave inviting us to include some of our favorite products in the Oregon-only welcome baskets he was making. The gift baskets would welcome the families that were renting his homes in Hawaii for the Christmas holiday.

And guess what?

The person renting the home was none other than President-elect Barack Obama and his family. Of course, we were very excited to be included in the gift baskets for the Obamas and their guests. We hurried around the mill and collected granolas, cereals, pancake mixes, oats and anything else we could think of that he or his girls might like.

A few days ago, we heard from Dave that our products were well received by the Obamas. The chef cooking for them was familiar with our products and prepared them for the guests.

Some of the other fine Oregon companies that were included in the baskets were Tillamook Cheese, Pelican Brewery, ArborBrook Vineyards and the Trailblazers.

To read more about the Obamas’ stay in Hawaii, check out this great article from the Portland Tribune.

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