Local business leaders help community with CEO Pay it Forward Challenge

IDAHO FALLS — Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot was challenged. So was Cortney Liddiard, the CEO of Ball Ventures.

Both are business leaders in eastern Idaho participating in the Idaho CEO Pay it Forward challenge.

The movement started a few months ago in Boise. Saint Alphonsus Health System CEO Odette Bolano brought breakfast to employees at the St. Luke’s Health System’s Meridian testing site, according to BoiseDev. She challenged three other executives to do an act of service.

VanderSloot was challenged by Charlene Maher, the CEO of Blue Cross of Idaho. He decided to purchase two specialized EVA cameras, worth $5,400 each, for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center. The devices combine the capabilities of a video colposcope and a digital camera to perform exams on victims of sexual assault and strangulation.

“These are very high tech cameras. They’re designed for a special purpose and are only used by nurses that are trained to do this kind of forensic work,” VanderSloot says. “It’s going to provide them and law enforcement with the kind of evidence they need so (offenders) don’t get away anymore. It’s going to help nail perpetrators of crime.”

The center currently has two cameras to use among four locations in eastern Idaho so VanderSloot’s donation will mean a quicker response time for victims who need exams.

“I’m usually not left speechless but when (I learned) that Mr. VanderSloot had chosen us for the CEO challenge and was donating not just one but two of these cameras…it was just an amazing feeling,” says Teena McBride, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center. “It was just like, ‘Wow. That is so awesome.'”

VanderSloot is also having a climate-controlled food storage unit installed outside the Idaho Falls Community Food Basket where donations can be dropped off for those in need. It will replace an old utility shed that has been used for years.

“I never thought I’d be excited about a shed but I’m excited,” says Aeriel Jackson, Executive Director of Idaho Falls Community Food Basket. “You can put your food in there and know we’re going to get to it the next day. It will be temperature-controlled and we have never had that. During the winter, when people were dropping off food, we had to pray cans didn’t explode or if people wanted to bring fresh food, they had to call us to come and get it before it hit the temperature danger zone.”

Over at Ball Ventures, Liddiard was challenged by Kent Oram at Idaho Central Credit Union.

“We decided to serve the community by giving back to the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center,” Liddiard tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We assembled and donated 1,000 hygiene kits along with a check for $3,800 from our employees and Ball Ventures.”

The company also delivered hundreds of KN95 masks, hand sanitizer, infrared thermometers and snacks to the Idaho Falls Police and Fire Departments.

Liddiard says it was nice to help out local organizations during the hardships of COVID-19 and now he’s ready to challenge three other CEOs.

“We nominated Mario Hernandez, Travis and Crystal Zmack of Teton Toyota along with Casey Jackman and The Idaho Falls Community Hospital,” Liddiard says. “We thought those were a couple of great targets for this project.”

VanderSloot is also calling on other leaders to get involved.

“I’m challenging three people. Drew Facer from Idahoan, Jeff Solis from EIRMC and Josh Tolman from Mountain View Hospital. These are three gentlemen that I know well and they’re in a position to do some good in our community,” VanderSloot says. “I’m anxious to see what they come up with.”