Feature Story

A FAMILY OF INVENTORS
PULLMAN --Reid P. Forrest is not your average college field-goal-kicker. This 21-year-old Ephrata, Washington native already has one official patent and another pending. Born in Fairbanks, Alaska the 6-0, 193 lb. kicker enjoys hunting, fishing and wakeboarding, while also working towards his major in social science.
Forrest is a kicker on the Washington State University football team. In high school, Forrest earned three letters each in football, basketball and baseball and was a two-year captain in each sport. His senior year he started every football game at quarterback and punter and threw for 1,972 yards with 24 touchdowns. In addition, he was a three-year starter at point guard on the basketball team and a three-year starter on the baseball team as a center fielder and pitcher. At age 16, he played in the Babe Ruth World Series in Virginia.
Forrest’s achievements on the playing field are numerous, however, there is much more on his plate than just sports. In his high school leadership class he was given an assignment which led to his first patented idea. It was at this crucial point in his life where he came up with the idea of individually wrapped slices of peanut butter. He then elaborated on his idea this past Spring Semester in his Marketing 360 class, which gave him the task of creating his own product, which he, luckily, already had. He then talked to a patent lawyer where he had to legalize his ownership of the idea. Although he has the patent finalized, there is more work required to make the idea a reality. The next objective is to design ingredient, production, packaging, and pricing plans. Forrest says his father; James, has been assisting him with outlining these technical terms.
Forrest’s second idea is still in the works. He has not finalized the patent because there are a few problems that need to be solved. As an avid hunter Forrest has acquired knowledge about GPS devices. Forrest described a day he was on the football field and was having trouble seeing where the ball actually crossed the playing boundaries. This issue got him thinking and he came up with an idea of placing a GPS device in a football. He thinks this technique will help officials know exactly where the ball goes out of bounds or whether the ball crosses the goal line or not. Forrest indicated that he has spoken with a survey company who believes the idea is possible however, he will need to figure out cost issues and how to put the GPS device in the football. Forrest is excited and optimistic about the possibilities his ideas may offer, but realizes that it will be a long process to make them a reality.
Forrest is not the only one in his family who has the knack for inventing. His mother, Kaye, has her own line of sauces called, “Shaka Sauces.” The sauces come in flavors of Shaka Teriyaki, Shaka Chile, and Shaka Sweet & Sour. She has recently gotten the recipes approved by the Sysco Corporation. The bottle labels have been designed and she has received a license to start producing her product. Kaye was previously a part-owner of a catering company and even has a published cook book.