© 2001
The Nugget Newspaper
Sisters, Oregon
All rights reserved

Send us an email

Company shuts down Sisters operation
By Jim Cornelius

Northwest Direct telemarketing has shut down its operation in Sisters and canceled plans to move to Bend.

"We're no longer relocating," said Todd Sprague, a manager at the Sisters office. "We're shut down as of today (Thursday, November 15)."

Sprague referred all further questions to a corporate spokesman in Lake Oswego, who was reportedly out of the office and unavailable to comment.

The company employed approximately 50 workers in Sisters, but company officials said the company needed a broader labor pool than was available locally.

Northwest Direct (then known as NorthWest Telemarketing, Inc.) moved to Sisters from Wilsonville two years ago.

The company received incentives to move to Sisters and provide jobs in the community.

Among the incentives was a $30,000 grant from Deschutes County and a $50,000 forgivable loan from the state Economic and Community Development Department.

According to the department's regional coordinator, Jacki Yoder, the company probably met most of the requirements to have the loan forgiven -- except one critical criteria:

The company was not to relocate before September 30, 2002.

According to Yoder, shutting down the Sisters operation will likely trigger repayment of the loan.

Back to front page