When Patrick moved to Prineville in middle school, he met neighbors who were anything but boring. It’s not uncommon for exceptionally smart youth to become bored and look for interesting outlets to occupy their minds. Faced with this, many kids find constructive pastimes: sports, science, or maybe volunteering. In this case, Patrick found those offered up by his neighbors: selling drugs, stealing, and making pipe bombs.
His family life had been brutal, his stepfather making home a place to avoid. At seventeen he had seven felony convictions and a judge gave him a choice. He could live with a foster family he didn’t like or go to J Bar J Boys Ranch. He chose J Bar J. He was inspired by the Program Manager and the entire staff helped him envision the future he wanted and motivated him to work toward it.
After graduating from the Boys Ranch, he lived with a foster family for a short time. They moved away and left him on his own. He got a job at Izzy’s Pizza and lived in a motel in Bend. Realizing how much of his paycheck went to cover the nightly hotel rate, he saw that he needed more support before becoming self-sufficient. He moved in with his birth father in Portland. Determined to break into a better paying field, he applied at the Benson Hotel. He rode his bike there daily hoping to be hired. On the 58th day of asking for a job, the no finally became a yes.
Patrick went to work and over the following years built his own businesses including a full circle return to Central Oregon with the purchase of Bend Awards and Engraving. He currently owns seven businesses in Oregon and Northern California!