Pocatello, Idaho – Fun and Fortune in the Friendly City

On August 5, 1948, Pocatello’s city council passed an ordinance prohibiting “frowns, grimaces, scowls, threatening and glowering looks, gloomy and depressed facial appearances generally all of which reflect unfavorably upon the reputation of Pocatello, Idaho, ‘The Friendly City’ ”.

By Ed Haag SkyWest Magazine

http://www.skywestmagazine.com/

Maybe that’s why the residents of Pocatello, population 46,000, are so hospitable. Or maybe it’s just because they have had plenty of time to get it right. The area’s role as official greeter to weary travelers has spanned nearly two centuries—dating to the days of the fur traders who established Fort Hall in 1834 just nine miles north of what is now Pocatello. Later that settlement served as a primary supply center on the Oregon Trail. Some folks suggest that Pocatello got its name from an abbreviated identifier for two popular Fort Hall commissary items—pork and tallow. More widely accepted is the theory that the city received its handle from a Shoshone chief who granted the railroad right of way through the Fort Hall Reservation.

Whether you believe the war chief or culinary explanation, pork and tallow no longer grace any restaurant menu in Pocatello or surrounding Bannock County. Instead, today’s discriminating diner has access to a wide selection of culinary delights, ranging from the Italian dishes at Remos and European-style, full-course gourmet meals at the Continental Bistro to flavorful Hispanic cuisine at Eduardo’s.

Lodgings, too, have taken on a distinctively civilized air since the Oregon Trail days. For those into luxury accommodations, the Black Swan Inn offers a variety of theme suites featuring waterfalls, aquariums, enchanted forests and tropical isles. A variety of other accommodations—including bed and breakfasts—are available to those seeking more
conventional quarters.

Although food and lodging no longer resemble the rough fare available to the pioneers, local history still plays an important role in the community as demonstrated by the wide range of museums open to the public. For the natural history experience featuring fossils and skeletal remains of dinosaurs and other creatures that once roamed the area, visit the Idaho Museum of Natural History located on the Idaho State University campus.

For those interested in more recent human history, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Museum on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation offers insights into the history and culture of Native Americans residing in the area. Artifacts of pioneer life are on display at the Bingham, Bannock and South Bannock County Museums.

To experience “living” Pocatello history, tour Old Town with its historic buildings or wet your whistle at the Green Triangle, the city’s largest and liveliest cowboy bar. Known to the residents as the Green T, the Pocatello landmark, located on the outskirts of town, is owned by Rick Hillman, and hosted by his daughter, seven-time-world-champion, woman’s quick-draw artist, Dana (Two Gun) Hillman. She is the only woman to hold both the standing and riding titles simultaneously.

Hillman is a direct descendant of Pocatello pioneer lineage—her great-grandfather participated in the original 1905 land rush—using a string of ponies to race the claim train only to have his final mount pull up lame. Her grandfather was the first mayor of the city as well as the founder of the city’s horse race track and the Green T family memorabilia dating back to a bygone era is prominently displayed throughout the building.

Pocatello Celebrates Summer Outdoors
The active outdoors person finds a lot to love in Pocatello, Idaho. From summertime hiking, biking, horseback riding and river rafting to wintertime snow boarding, skiing and snowmobile fun, the area offers activities year-round.

For those interested in communing with unspoiled Western grandeur, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, less than a half a day’s drive east of Pocatello, offer a broad variety of summer outdoor experiences ranging from low-impact guided walking tours to the daunting challenges of technical rock climbing.

Closer to home, outdoor recreationists can raft the South Fork of the Snake River, spend a lazy day tubing the Portneuf, enjoy a round of golf at one of the city’s well-groomed courses or stroll through Pocatello’s recently renovated zoo. There, indigenous creatures from ground squirrels to grizzlies can be found in conditions replicating their native habitat.

Those wishing to attend organized summer events will not be disappointed. Pocatello’s calendar is dotted with them. A classic street rod show in May, a Mountain Man Rendezvous in June and an International Dance festival in July are just a few of the scheduled events taking place in or around the city every summer.

When CEO Chris King is asked why she selected Pocatello, Idaho, as corporate headquarters for AMI Semiconductor, the New Jersey native smiles and replies, “I always wanted to be a cowgirl.”

A rather unorthodox response from the first woman in the world to run a major semiconductor firm, but for King it is not out of character. AMI Semiconductor’s CEO is passionate about everything she does, whether it’s learning the fine points of how to sort and pen cattle on horseback, or marketing one of her company’s cutting edge, high-tech products. “What can be better?” said King. “I can be a cowgirl in the West and run a high-tech company at the same time.”

Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, an unabashed admirer of King, is not surprised by her unconventional answer. He sees her independent nature as a real asset to his state. “When Chris was told she could locate AMIS’ world headquarters in one of two communities, Idaho was not included as one of the options. [San Diego and Dallas were the choices.] Yet Chris chose Pocatello,” said the Governor. “It’s just one more example of her determination and fighting spirit.”

That determination always served her well. As a young mother, abandoned by her husband, she was forced to apply for welfare assistance. “I knew I had to get an education,” she recalled, adding that she cut a deal with her New Jersey caseworker so she could attend junior college and use some of her assistance money for childcare.

After receiving a two-year engineering degree, she landed a job as an IBM lab technician in 1973. Over the next 27 years she rose through the ranks of IBM, excelling in what was then a male-dominated corporate culture.

By the time she was tapped for the top position at AMI Semiconductor in 2001, King had transformed IBM’s Microelectronics Division from an internal supplier with no outside customer base to the number-one vendor of application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) with revenues of $2.75 billion annually.

King, a self-professed workaholic, enjoyed the challenges her work at IBM afforded but still longed to take the helm of a corporation. “I always wanted to be a CEO,” she recalled. “I thought it would be the best job in the world.”

AMI Semiconductor’s offer particularly intrigued her. The company was an ASIC pioneer, founded in Santa Clara, California, in 1966. Four years later it built its manufacturing plant in Pocatello. In 2000, new ownership positioned AMIS for a fresh level of success.

King accepted AMI Semiconductor’s offer with the understanding that she could select the location for the company’s corporate headquarters. Insisting on Pocatello was not as capricious as it might seem. Although she and her husband Jack Telefus—a retired engineering colleague from IBM—love a lifestyle that allows them to saddle up within eyeshot of AMIS’ manufacturing plant, there were other reasons for selecting the Idaho location over San Diego and Dallas.

AMIS builds chips that power pacemakers, auto safety devices and essential communication interfaces. These applications required a level of precision and dedication that extended well beyond the conventional manufacturing process. King recalled that she wanted to locate in a community that reflected and supported the kind of attitude needed to get the job done. “Besides being a beautiful place to live, people here have a great work ethic and are really success driven,” she said, adding that in a community that celebrates hard work and achievement, recruiting the employees necessary to maintain AMIS’ exacting standards is not a problem.
King also saw cost-to-do-business advantages in the state. She viewed Pocatello as a resilient, business-friendly community that would allow her company to expand without budget-busting overhead and land acquisition costs.

Finally, King found, in Idaho State University (ISU), a willing community partner. “We are working very closely with ISU to bring high-tech programs in,” she said. “Conversely they are working with us on developing facilities and providing us with a great work force.”

Now, moving into her third year in charge, King is convinced that her original assumptions about Pocatello were correct. The 2,500-employee company has prospered in its current location. In 2002 AMIS acquired Alcatel Microelectronics, a Belgian-based firm. In May of 2003 it opened its Engineering and Research Center in Pocatello, and in September the company went public with a listing on NASDAQ. “Last year we were the largest technology public offering in the world at $600 million,” said King proudly.

As for the notion that Pocatello is too remote to effectively function as a corporate headquarters locale, King said the opposite is true. “Being in Pocatello sets us apart from our competitors,” she said. “Customers like to come here because they can experience things they can’t get anywhere else.”

She said the same applies to the engineering talent she recruits out of North America’s major technology centers. “Pocatello isn’t for everyone,” she said. “But for those favoring an outdoor lifestyle in a smaller community, it doesn’t get much better.”

A tour of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons—both just a few hours from AMIS’ corporate headquarters—has become a much-anticipated side trip for both customers and potential employees visiting Pocatello.

King is the first to admit that offering an exotic destination to customers is just half of the equation. With over 40% of AMIS’ revenue generated from Europe, she and other AMIS personnel maintain rigorous travel schedules—literally circumventing the globe several times a year to keep connected with both customers and manufacturing facilities. (AMIS also operates plants in Belgium and in the Philippines.)

She credits the success of her company in the global economy to the excellent flight connections in and out of Pocatello. “You get on a SkyWest plane [and] practically everyone on there is coming to AMIS,” she said laughing. “We all get to meet each other on SkyWest.”

And when King and her colleagues arrive back in Pocatello after a long business trip abroad, she is thankful for one more thing. “There is a huge sense of community here compared to other places I have been,” said King. “It is definitely a great place to live.”

For King that means time with her husband and friends and time to ride her quarter horse through the foothills surrounding Pocatello. What more could a highly motivated CEO want—a great place to do business, a great place to bring clients, a great place to hang her hat and, finally, a great place for a New Jersey cowgirl to saddle up and ride off into the sunset.