O Wines

Opportunity abounds

Let this be a lesson to us all. How many times have you been sitting around, generally over a drink, and had the greatest idea ever!? How many of those ideas have you acted on? Exactly. On Halloween in 2006, Kathy Johanson and Stacy Lill had just such a moment when they heard the amount paid for a local winery. The "we can do that" spirit kicked in and by the next morning, after some late-night work and phone calls back and forth, a business plan had been drafted.

Photo: Stacy Lill (left) and Kathy Johanson

It’s pretty impressive that two people (with great support) have created a company and produced a wine in less than two years. More impressive is the reason behind it—funding scholarships for underprivileged and at-risk young women in Washington state. This isn’t the end of their dream, however. Their goal is to fund one million scholarships and eventually build an academy to provide a safe place to learn for motivated young women who wouldn’t be able to afford a higher education. Ultimately, they’d like the money to help both young women and men. But first steps first.

"We’ve had different experiences in our lives," explains Stacy. "But we each have an innate drive to help others. We particularly want to help other women right here in Washington. We believe education is the root we need to reach to break unhealthy cycles." Both women have full-time jobs. Stacy is an event manager and also involved with husband Greg’s business, DeLille Cellars. Kathy is a manager at Boeing. "For two years, I was an outsource manager," she says. "I couldn’t find candidates in science, technology, engineering or math in the U.S. We have an educational crisis here. People from other countries come to our schools. We need to ensure that our young people are getting that education, too. In order to receive one of our scholarships, you have to be a U.S. citizen."

Photo above: Stacy and husband Greg

It also has a lot to do with self-esteem. They quote the statistic that 82% of abused women have less than a high school education. "We’re lucky to be where we are now," says Stacy. "I have a friend who started a foundation called Make the Dash Count. It’s about the dash between your birth and death dates. You’ve got to make that time count." Kathy agrees. "It’s important that we do this, but we also want people to know how fun it is to give back. If we can do it, you can do it. You can do something that makes a difference." Their differences are part of what makes the partnership work. "Stacy is the best project manager ever," says Kathy. "I love research and statistics. I’m the nerd who comes up with a million ideas and Stacy is the filter who picks out the important issues."

Photo above: Kathy and husband Bob

The program they’ve put together, Opportunity for Success Scholarship, is administered by the College Success Foundation. The Foundation is funded by Washington State and all overhead costs are paid by the State. This means that 100% of what Stacy and Kathy donate ends up where it should—with scholarship recipients. Right now, they donate 5% of each bottle sold. O Wines is a self-funded company. As it grows, they hope to eventually donate 50% of each bottle.

On July 22, 2008, Kathy and Stacy met the recipient of their first scholarship, Angel Paullin (center). Angel has wanted to become a medical doctor since she was 12 and wants to start a free clinic for children in Rwanda. At 16, she worked 35 hours a week, took care of her younger sister and maintained an A average in school. She'll receive a full scholarship to Northwest University in Kirkland. Along with the $20,000 from O Wines, she's receiving several other scholarships.

Each scholarship is for $5,000 per year for four years. This is matched by the state. To be eligible, girls must be between the ages of 11 and 18. Both Stacy and Kathy feel it’s very important to reach girls at a young age to build their self esteem. Once chosen, girls must accept a mentor and be motivated—the mentor will be part of their lives from the time they’re accepted through their graduation. Acceptance is also based on their fiscal situation. Scholarships are awarded by the College Success Foundation. Stacy and Kathy set up the criteria, but do not have a say about recipients. "This keeps it fair and consistent," says Kathy. While in school, the student must maintain a 2.75 grade point, a Washington State standard. "One of the important points for us is that the student chooses the post-secondary education they want," explains Stacy. "They can go to a community college or a four-year university. They can study to become a police officer, a hair technician or an engineer. We just want them to get the education."

Making this concept even better is the fact that the wine is so good. Grapes are sourced from Horse Heaven Hills and Yakima Valley. Working with Washington vintners at Columbia Winery, they’ve created their own blend. "We’ve done so many tastings, including blind tastings, to get the flavor profile that appeals to the women in our focus groups," says Kathy. "I go with my gut instinct—it’s yuck or yum! After all, I’m part of the demographic we’re looking to please." They’re very cognizant about the price point—for them this is about the cause and they want as many people as possible to be able to afford it. It’s working, too. Their distributor has told them they’ve never seen a new product take off so quickly.

Perhaps next year they’ll add a red blend to O Wines. "We need to keep the cost down to ensure we can give more to the scholarships," says Stacy. "People have been asking for a red, but that will be it. We’ll keep it to just the two wines.

Passion always wins out. This wine, this company, this cause are very personal to Stacy and Kathy for a number of reasons. Join them in making education a reality for as many young women as possible. And enjoy a heck of a glass of wine while you’re at it.

Connie Adams/August 2008

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