The MFJS Reporter — Winter 2020 M-W

Alaska Structures manufactures and sells military grade fabric building and camp systems. Bishop’s 18 years of heart and drive for the company has now coined her the titles of: executive vice president of the commercial sales division of AKS and she is on the board of directors for the Hotes Foundation.

Being in sales is risky business with harsh deadlines and large quotas to meet every quarter. Though it’s an easy field to break into, even without having a degree, being successful in it is the hard part. Internships are readily available for this line of work and has entry level positions that pay as much as 60,000 dollars.

The emotional toll this kind of business takes is not in the job description. Bishop spends a lot of time on each project and puts a lot of thought into each one, just to be denied by a customer. 

“You grind it out on the phone with delayed gratification and no guarantee. I can work on a project for three years and it could be a 10 million dollar project and I don’t get it. It happens all the time.” 

Selling tents, for Bishop, is the best and worst part about her job. Each day she has a call list of 40-50 prospective clients and works with her small team of salesmen and women. She makes a salary plus commision which is relatively standard for her line of work. She knows if she wins the projects she’s working on she can not only change her life, but the lives around her, which is an opportunity she knows she’s very lucky to have. 

“You’re a liar if you say ‘oh I love selling!’ It’s hard. But that’s ok! You can hate aspects of your job but you can love your team and love what you’re trying to accomplish. We are using this as a vehicle to do bigger things.” 

Initially unaware of the opportunities the CEO of Alaska Structures: Richard Hotes, had in store for her not only in sales, but in nonprofit work for his foundation called: Hotes Foundation, Bishop has always found a way to be involved. 

Before Hotes had an official nonprofit, he had been using resources earned from AKS to provide relief in Africa by himself or with a small team and donated structures at ground zero during 9/11.

He was giving resources to people when he could and somewhere along that timeline a colleague suggested that he start his own private foundation. So, he did. In 2005, the Hotes Foundation came into fruition. 

The foundation is a little different from the average non profit. Taking a look at their website, you’ll notice there is no “DONATE” button. This is because he uses his own resources to fully fund any and all operations of the Hotes Foundation.

Bishop states his mission is to simply, “Find the poorest people on earth and help them when disaster strikes.”

These missions have led her to the project that she holds closest to her heart. After tragedy struck Haiti with the hurricanes and 2008 followed by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010, The Hotes Foundation stepped in. They hand delivered tents, food and supplies to the country that was not equipped to deal with devastation like this. 

In 2012, Bishop took her mom back to Haiti to make their usual rounds of donating food and kitchen supplies to a particular village called Lake Azuei. There she found one of the kids of the village beat up real bad and she knew she had to do something more. 

Bishop, with tears in her eyes, stated, “ Elove had two big black eyes. He just wasn’t safe there. It was then that I understood that this is more than poverty, this is poverty creating violence.”

The Hotes Foundation has since stepped in and helped build the village in Lake Azuei, quite literally, from the ground up. With the development of many programs in a place that was once so cruel, the people of the village now have an emphasis of humanity. The people of the village no longer beat up Elove, instead they serve as his protectors. 

“Before they just wanted to survive, and had survival skills like a dog has. Now they feel like a person who can make choices.” 

In business some of her bigger monetary volume projects are accomplishing but missions within the foundation bear the most fruit. Because of everything Bishop has experienced through her intense travel around the world she has a unique idea of what skills prospective sales workers must have. 

“Skills are meaningless. You have to be open to change because in business it changes everyday. An employer can teach people skills but they can’t teach someone to be positive or open to new information.” 

Bishops career is not one you come across often. She uses her sales job to better the world around her. She has since started her own foundation called: The Willing Foundation, that takes children that are used for slave labor and takes them out of those situations.

Eventually she will need to hire people for her own foundation and she has advice on what she looks for in prospective workers.  

“I’m not interested in someone who’s looking to ride a desk and is happy just taking care of themselves. They have to be really wanting to change the situation on the ground, and that’s just humility.”