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By Sharon Dunham; Today’s
News-Herald; Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Sunday, January 20, 2005
Young entrepreneur minding his own business
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Submitted Photo:
Lake Havasu City, Arizona 1991
Charlie Stanley at a Parks & Recreation
Summer Field Trip to Rotary Park on the lake.
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When first-grader Charlie Stanley started going to
the Lake Havasu City Parks and Recreation's after-school program, all it
offered was crayons, Connect Four and gym games. But when program staff
added their attention and interest over the years, it was all a little
boy needed to provide motivation and inspiration.
Stanley is now nearly 22, supporting himself in Portland, Oregon, where he
owns a internet technology company that he started last year. He sends
the Parks and Recreation crew a message - that without them he wouldn't
be the success he is today.
With Stanley's mother ill and his father working out of state, he and his
younger brother, Aaron were on their own. The brothers spent most
days after school in the Parks and Recreation’s After School Program,
and summers at their Summer Program held at Starline Elementary School.
As Stanley grew up he eventually became part of the Volunteen program
offered by Parks & Recreation that offered young people the ability to
work for a scholarship to gain work experience before they turned 16.
But the Parks and Recreation folks don't think they did anything unusual
in giving Stanley the support he thrived on.
"The Stanley brothers were put in our laps and we did what we were
supposed to do," said Donna Carlton, the current Lake Havasu City
Recreation Management Specialist, who also held the job when Stanley
lived here.
He joined the Volunteen program a year before he reached the minimum age
because Carlton saw his potential and wanted to give him an opportunity
and a chance to try something new.
Stanley agreed, saying, "I was given responsibilities, I had friends
there, and learned the importance of taking pride in your work."
He called his Parks and Recreation duties "the reason I succeeded" saying,
"They were there for me, so many people always there to help and support
me as I learned."
He took to the office work, producing a City Department newsletter and
making photocopies. When the department's first computers arrived,
Stanley read the owners' manuals, figured out how to make them work, and
then helped instruct the staff.
That was the forerunner to Stanley's chosen occupation. Stanley's father
moved the boys to Idaho in late 1997 when Stanley was 14. Without Parks
and Recreation as a safety net, Stanley started a new life. After
traveling for a while and going to school in 18 schools all over the
west coast, the family settled in Portland, next door to Cyber Exchange,
a small software and computer store. Stanley said he "bugged the store
owner, Scott Hendison until he finally gave me the opportunity to work
there and prove myself," and the shop quickly became a second home as he
worked as a cashier and computer salesman.
He graduated from Parkrose High School in 2000, and moved up to become the
Store Manager at 17, but the store closed its retail doors in 2002 when
competing chain stores opened nearby.
By then, Charlie had learned the day-to-day operations of a business,
including hiring employees, making payroll, and handling inventory.
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Charlie
Stanley in Redmond, Washington
during his time with
AT&T Wireless working as an Executive Specialist in the Office of the
President & Chairman of the Board. |
He worked next as Web
Developer and Systems Coordinator for one of Cyber Exchange's customers,
an electric utility distributor, General Pacific. Two years later, he
was hired in the Receivables Management and Payment Fraud division of
AT&T Wireless, and then as a Resolution & Escalation Consultant,
soothing unhappy wireless phone customers.
After a year, he moved to the Seattle area, working in the Office of the
Chairman for AT&T where he resolved legal and regulatory matters as an
Executive Regulatory Affairs Paralegal, and tripling his salary. He was
the youngest staff member on the team at only 21 years old.
But the constant tension took its toll. Missing his friends and family, he
returned to Portland every weekend and soon decided to move back, taking
a back-office position within their Receivables Management & Credit
Investigations division with a pay cut at Cingular Wireless, which had
acquired AT&T Wireless earlier that year.
His old boss from Cyber Exchange, Scott Hendison, now an independent
technology consultant, sent web design work his way. As he made more
money from that than his day job, he considered going into business. A
month later he christened the business Fierce Thought, a name he chose
because it represented something new, fresh, young-blooded, and
fast-paced.
In November he made $3,000 after living on savings since August. The
business targets small businesses, offering web design, web hosting and
technology consulting services.
Stanley said when not working on his business he spends free time
snowboarding, playing paintball and spending time with family and
friends . He talks about getting a college degree and has taken some
classes. He has fully supported himself since high school.
Life is good, he said, but he would not be where he is without the
foundation from Lake Havasu City's Parks and Recreation.
"I had a job history at age 14," he said. "I was given a chance at Cyber
Exchange because of that. I grew up fast and they were there to guide
me. They went that extra mile.'
The memories are there and they run deep. He told the staff in an e-mail,
"As I was unpacking boxes for my move back to Portland from Seattle, I
found a trophy from the Lake Havasu Flag Football team in fifth grade
and another from Soccer in sixth grade. It brings back memories of where
I come from and who I have become." Carlton said Stanley was the
exception to the rule, that he could have gone either way, choosing
success or failure.
"It's easy to take care of easy children who are supported by their
parents," she said. "But to have a child walk though the door and say,
'I want to learn,' and then do his part is wonderful. It makes me cry."
But it really is no big deal, she insisted, her voice growing shaky.
"We're here for a reason," she said. "We were here, and we said 'yes.'
It's as simple as that."
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