"I have been relatively successful here," he said, "not because I was very smart, because I wasn't --I had trouble keeping a 'C' average -- but because I was willing to work hard and that's what I learned from my dad and it's the root of my success."

Johnston recently made a donation of $7,500 to the Sisters High School Library/Media Center in honor of his parents. Usually this kind of gift is in the form of a memorial, but in Johnston's case both his parents are still living.

The plaque commemorating his gift reads, "Library Contribution of $7,500 in honor of Ruth & Robert Johnston. For the parents you have been."

Johnston said that his father "built many substantial homes in and around Eugene and the University of Oregon. I was his clean-up kid even when I was in my very young years, seven or eight years old."

He said that he learned the contracting business from his father.

After his military service (part of which was in Vietnam) he became a superintendent for his father's company.

There he "learn(ed) that in business, eight hours a day is not enough. He taught me that a work ethic of moral and honest business practices is essential."

His parents were responsible for his move to Sisters.

"I came over to Sisters in 1977 to build a house for my mom and dad at Black Butte Ranch," he said. "They lived here two years and couldn't wait to get back to the rain in Eugene. Me? I liked it here so much I built myself a house and stayed."

Johnston said that his father "gave him the knowledge to attain the skills he has to be a carpenter and a contractor. My mother was my moral and ethical coach through the years of my growing."

He has three children: Wes, a graduate of Sisters High School, now at Oregon State University, Cascades Campus; Miles, 15, at Sisters High School and Drew, 12, at Sisters Middle School.