Honoring Donna Eslick!

Anyone who knows Donna, will agree that she’s the happiest person…always positive, always smiling and the best colleague anyone would want to work with!

Donna began working at the Exchange in 1982, at the original office on Sprague & Pines in Opportunity, now known as Spokane Valley. 

She did sales, payroll, administration, purchasing and kept Aaron and Pat, the original owners, on track. Speaking with customers was her forte, everyone loved working with Donna. Her biggest challenge was when the computers became a common workplace tool, but she adapted quickly.

The last decade or so, Donna has managed the Horse Previews Magazine, working closely with Helen Boyd-Schwartz.

It’s been a pleasure working with Donna and we always look forward to hearing all about her latest adventures. Thank you Donna!

Donna has worked at Exchange Publishing forever: going on five decades now. It's been all for the better.

Back in the old days, when we started business and leased from Maxine & Harlan Douglass at Sprague and Pines in the Spokane Valley, even before Denny's built the restaurant on the corner, Donna's husband, Jim, stopped by and told us we needed somebody to "run the place." Jim sent Donna to us and, as usual, he was right.

From the minute she stepped in the door, we could tell she was one of those rare people who just always know what they are doing. All these years the company has benefited from that knowledge. So have many thousands of customers and readers.

In those early days we gathered all the classified ads from walk-in customers and phone calls, and mail-ins; then we copied them on "inserts" to be mechanically typeset and printed. Counting, sorting, proofing, tracking, scheduling, and payment were tedious and exacting, all done by hand. Papers piled up and Donna suggested we measure our weekly progress by "weighing" the stacks for progressive comparison. She brought a scale from home: problem solved. She never lost the big picture.

With Donna, we couldn't miss; we started making enough money to hire help with the publishing work. It was exciting! Donna calmly provided the standard of professionalism that brought in new business and return customers while creating an office atmosphere that made it easy to attract good, serious, smart people to work with us. When we got ready to tackle the digital revolution, Donna was the ideal leader and supervisor: fair, friendly, and sharp.

Tempus fugit! After a few years we added a location downtown to meet the competition while Donna anchored the Spokane Valley office. We added Horse Previews Magazine to our business and she took on the roll of leading sales person. When we expanded distribution, her versatility proved invaluable. Whatever came up, Donna was game. Everybody in the company recognized that Donna knew plenty and learned quickly; she made it look easy. If you picked up the phone you typically heard a customer say: "May I speak to Donna, please?" I was there for a few decades myself and I never knew anyone who worked with us that couldn't get along with Donna. Her mainstay from the start has been good judgement, guided by integrity, tempered with humor. 

For me retirement since 2015 has been a breeze. I remain well aware that all the work Donna has put in out of loyalty to the company and dedication to its customers has set a worthy example. She began the tone which sustains the company's position as the regional market leader. She's the best!

- Aaron

The Exchange is Proud to Partner with Independent Brokers of Spokane

We are proud to consider the Independent Brokers of Spokane an important business partner. They are one of the most welcoming, educational, and fun groups in the area.

Independent Brokers (IB) were founded as a non-profit organization in 1985 to offer support, networking, shared knowledge and experience among its Spokane broker members. IB is a group of Real Estate offices and Affiliate members numbering 23 brokerages and over 40 affiliates in the Greater Spokane area. The privileges and opportunities available to this entrepreneurial group, by not being associated with any national or local franchise, allow for superior expertise and service to be offered to the end user. Many IB members serve in leadership positions on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and with the Spokane Association of Realtors (SAR); a further testament to the strength of The Independent Brokers of Spokane.

The knowledge of each member is enhanced by attending regular meetings which feature informative speakers, special events, clock hour classes, and seminars. Every year it is our pleasure to be a sponsor of the IB Christmas Charity Auction & Party, where we help with the some of planning, assist with printing the programs & auction bid sheets.