Baker City Couple Launches Drone Business, Offering Commercial and Community Services

Jeff and Marianne Tenbush launched Tenbush Aerial Solutions LLC in Baker City in April 2025, and within months the company had landed commercial clients, produced footage used in a Grocery Outlet social media campaign, and volunteered drone support for community search missions.

The couple operates multiple drone platforms calibrated to different tasks: smaller models for interior video work inside businesses and larger systems capable of cinematic exterior aerials. That practical split opened two distinct markets at once. One of their earliest commercial projects involved producing aerial footage for the Baker City Grocery Outlet, footage the store then posted to its own social media pages, giving the Tenbushes an immediate and visible local portfolio.

Marianne described the response from those clients as "incredible gratification," a reaction that reflects how quickly high-quality aerial video became a marketing differentiator for businesses that previously had no access to it at the local level.

Beyond the commercial work, the Tenbushes built community service into the company from the beginning. Marianne said the couple offers drone support for searches involving missing persons or pets at no charge, a commitment that positions Tenbush Aerial Solutions as a public-minded resource in a county where neighbor-to-neighbor assistance has long filled gaps that outside agencies cannot quickly close.

That combination carries real practical weight in a rural region like Baker County. FAA-compliant drone operators can provide aerial reconnaissance when roads are impassable, assist with roofing and infrastructure inspections, support wildfire spotting, and conduct post-storm damage assessments without waiting hours for state-level assets to arrive. For local emergency managers, a skilled pilot based in Baker City rather than Portland or Boise shortens that response window considerably.

The Tenbushes moved to Baker City several years ago and structured the company around both creative services, including real estate photography and promotional video, and utilitarian inspection work. That dual focus reflects the kind of flexibility that sustains small operators in rural markets, where no single niche is wide enough to build a business on alone.

For a local economy that has historically leaned on agriculture, timber, and tourism, Tenbush Aerial Solutions fits a pattern county leaders have been trying to encourage: tech-forward small businesses with both private revenue and a stated public-service role.