Local business leaders help community with CEO Pay it Forward Challenge

IDAHO FALLS — Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot was challenged. So was Cortney Liddiard, the CEO of Ball Ventures.

Both are business leaders in eastern Idaho participating in the Idaho CEO Pay it Forward challenge.

The movement started a few months ago in Boise. Saint Alphonsus Health System CEO Odette Bolano brought breakfast to employees at the St. Luke’s Health System’s Meridian testing site, according to BoiseDev. She challenged three other executives to do an act of service.

VanderSloot was challenged by Charlene Maher, the CEO of Blue Cross of Idaho. He decided to purchase two specialized EVA cameras, worth $5,400 each, for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center. The devices combine the capabilities of a video colposcope and a digital camera to perform exams on victims of sexual assault and strangulation.

Over at Ball Ventures, Liddiard was challenged by Kent Oram at Idaho Central Credit Union.

“We decided to serve the community by giving back to the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center,” Liddiard tells EastIdahoNews.com. “We assembled and donated 1,000 hygiene kits along with a check for $3,800 from our employees and Ball Ventures.”

The company also delivered hundreds of KN95 masks, hand sanitizer, infrared thermometers and snacks to the Idaho Falls Police and Fire Departments.

Liddiard says it was nice to help out local organizations during the hardships of COVID-19 and now he’s ready to challenge three other CEOs.