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Jim & Lisa (Smith) Buchan (1985)

Name
Jim & Lisa (Smith) Buchan
Class
1985
Category
HoF Lifetime Achievement
Induction Year
2020

Jim and Lisa are the first married couple to be honored for Lifetime Achievement in the R.A. Long Hall of Fame.  Both graduated from R.A. Long High School in 1985.  Lisa was a cheerleader for four years.  Jim was a varsity wrestler for three years and served as Team Captain, received Most Valuable Player, and placed in state his senior year.

Both went on to attend Lower Columbia College where they studied Lotus, Word Perfect, welding, and other business and vocational courses.  They married in 1990.  Prior to starting their business, Jim worked as a project manager for Triad Mechanical.  

In 2001 Jim and Lisa founded Alliance Industrial Group, with Lisa as Chief Executive Officer and Jim as President.  They started Alpha Iron in 2007 and purchased Vancouver Steel Painters, a steel coating business, in 2011.  Alliance Industrial Group employs about 120 employees and generates revenue of $40 million annually.  In 2008 through 2013 they were recognized in the top 100 fastest-growing companies with notable projects for Intel, Microsoft, and Apple.  They were also awarded the “2013 Manufacturer of the Year for Oregon and SW Washington. Their state-of-the-art equipment includes a fully automatic robotic CNC beam and fabrication line. They supply and install steel structures for such customers as Microsoft, Google, University of Oregon (Knight Arena, Hayward Field), Intel, PDX parking, Nike, and Apple.

Jim and Lisa’s family includes three sons:  Ethan, Levi, and Simon.  Ethan is a Construction Management graduate of the University of Washington.  Simon is an engineering graduate of Montana State University.  Levi is a University of Washington graduate and is currently a medical student in Chicago.  The Buchan family activities include skiing, golf, windsurfing, motorcycle riding, and marathon running.  Jim recently qualified for the Boston Marathon and will compete in 2021.