Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Madden partners with college

Photos and story by James Hill

For Ken Madden, it just makes sense to be a part of Portland Community College.Madden is vice president of sales and marketing for the Beaverton-based Madden Industrial Craftsmen, Inc., a third-generation family business providing staffing needs for companies in the trades. It is listed as a top-100 business in Oregon. Founded in 1988 by his father Ron, it is known for its dedication to hard work and service and has won many awards for service and dedication to the community.Madden Fabrication, another Madden-owned business, consists of a fully tooled shop in northwest Portland with steel fabrication projects for the Crater Lake Lodge rebuild, d’cor at the Spaghetti Factory and the Union Station bus mall.Recently, the Madden family created an endowed scholarship fund through the PCC Foundation to provide tuition, fees and books for students in the colleges Building Construction Technology program. They also established a $1,000 annual scholarship so the first award can be made right away while the endowment fund grows.Madden, whose company often hires PCC students, says partnering with community colleges is all about the company’s core values."Quality is always number one with us," Madden explains. "We saw how community colleges were turning out good students and employees and were taking pride in their work. Those are the people we want to attract."Madden has been a long time member of the Building Construction Technology and Welding programs’ advisory committees at the college. "It is a mutually beneficial partnership. We support the program and the program supports us with potential employees," Madden said. "It helps me keep a pulse on the programs since I deal with a multitude of employers in this business and it helps me to make sure they are being represented within the programs."The Madden family is dedicated to helping students gain a foothold in the trades, which not only helps PCC but helps them as well."We’ve always been involved in the community because being involved supports our core functions and values," said Madden. "I’m extremely blessed to have a job I love doing, working with people I love and having the opportunity to give back to the community."