When Harry Sladich joined Red Lion Hotels Corp. 11 years ago as executive vice president of global sales, the company ran 58 hotels.

By the time he stepped down as its head of franchise operations in April, Sladich had helped RLH Corp. establish 1,200 hotels in its portfolio.

Now, the 60-year-old Sladich hopes to replicate similar success as full-time chief development officer of Spokane Valley-based GoJoe Patrol LLC, a 24-year-old company in which he invested in 2004.

The company was founded by Major and Corrina Bambino in the late 1990s. Major Bambino, a retired Washington State Patrol officer, says the job of franchising GoJoe Patrol beyond Spokane is exclusively in Sladich’s hands.

“It’s huge,” Bambino says of Sladich’s role in the company. “His background in hospitality, customer service, marketing, sales ... he just brings things to a whole new level.”

Sladich says the initial goal for franchising is to have measured growth.

“If I get one (franchisee owner) this year, that’ll be a home run for us,” Sladich says. “The concentration is in 2022. And we’re going to be very picky about our first five (markets). We’re going to grow it based on the quality of the partners. You want your partners to have the same values and desires that you do.”

That said, he asserts GoJoe Patrol can be in up to 100 different markets across the U.S. within the next five years. 

Sladich says security patrols can play a vital role in helping businesses and private citizens protect their properties.

The company has been working with consultants in franchising, marketing, and public relations fields in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Virginia, he says.

Citing information from consumer and data company Statista, Sladich says there are just under 700,000 police officers in the U.S. By GoJoe Patrol’s market research, however, Sladich estimates there are 810,000 outsourced security guards nationwide.

Bambino and Sladich decline to disclose GoJoe Patrol’s annual revenue, but they say growth was flat in 2020 from 2019.

Located at 7011 E. Trent, GoJoe Patrol’s 100 employees make 2,100 patrol stops at apartment complexes, businesses, and residential properties in the Spokane area in a typical week.