Author: kcoenen

Rural Oregon Nonprofit Focuses on Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Posted on by kcoenen

By Annissa Anderson / The Roundhouse Foundation, The Daily Yonder

Learning how to work together as a community in the face of changing climate, resources and economies has been the focus of Lake County Resources Initiative (LCRI) since its inception. The economy of Lake County, located in south-central Oregon, was long driven by agriculture and forestry. After a decline in lumber production and subsequent loss of jobs in the late 1990s, county leaders such as LCRI founder Jim Walls began to look for ways to create a more sustainable economy and future.

Walls created the nonprofit in 2002 to promote local workforce training and sustainable forest management. Today, its mission is to demonstrate an economic, ecological and sustainable approach to natural resource management, climate disruption solutions, youth and community education, and increased economic development in the pursuit of continual improvement of the quality of life for present and future generations.

One of LCRI’s first collaborations was with the Lakeview Stewardship Group, formed in 1998 to redefine land management goals in Lake County’s Fremont-Winema National Forest, incorporating ecological restoration and community values.

“This is a role we still play today,” said Nick Johnson, executive director of LCRI. The area’s forest and land health–and more recently, ways to mitigate forest fire danger–are all approached on a restoration scale by the stewardship group that includes conservationists, timber workers, local government officials, and other civic leaders.

The other focus for Lake County Resources Initiative is its energy programs. LCRI provides information and resources on energy efficiency and renewable energy options to residents, businesses, and community organizations to strengthen the local economy and work toward a zero-emissions goal for the county.

“Solar and geothermal are the two most readily available renewable resources right now,” said Johnson. While tapping into the county’s geothermal energy is mostly in the planning phase, LCRI has helped to implement utility-scale and rooftop solar projects throughout the county. With the help of local governments and businesses in the area, a variety of solar arrays aim to create community resilience in the face of increasing climate change.

Johnson believes LCRI’s work to help Lake County move away from an extraction economy and into one that uses sustainable technologies and practices could be a model for other counties. Its role as an intermediary between land developers and the county facilitates the community’s ability to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

The Roundhouse Foundation in Sisters first learned about LCRI after watching the 2020 documentary “Other Side of the Hill,” about how and why these collaborations in rural Oregon worked. Erin Borla, trustee and executive director of The Roundhouse Foundation, was so impressed with what LCRI and their partners had accomplished to innovatively support the economy of rural Lake County that her staff reached out to learn more.

“After getting to know Nick and the small-but-mighty LCRI team, it was clear that they are doing great things with a very small staff. Offering support to help leverage additional funding so they could hire an office administrator was what made sense to our team,” said Borla.

That support made a difference for LCRI. “Thanks to Roundhouse, we hired one new, full-time employee supporting energy programs and administrative work so we can now serve our constituency better,” said Johnson. “It’s another huge step forward, and we’re very thankful to them for that,” he said.

Another way that LCRI acts to increase the county’s energy efficiency is as a community partner of Energy Trust of Oregon. Facilitating energy efficiency projects through Energy Trust helps both residential and commercial customers save money on upfront costs.

Johnathan Van Roekel, the renewable energy coordinator for LCRI, said LCRI’s role with Energy Trust is in helping homeowners and small businesses navigate the industry to capture available funds for projects like weatherization, HVAC and solar energy arrays.

“We help homeowners get their attics insulated for zero dollars,” said Van Roekel, whose position is made possible through the University of Oregon RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) AmeriCorps program. The RARE program aims to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level members who live and work in communities for 11 months. Van Roekel in his second 11-month term.

“The way RARE and LCRI have come into a partnership to host my position is through a USDA program known as Renewable Energy Development Assistance (REDA),” said Van Roekel. The REDA team, which consists of many statewide project partners such as Wy’East RC&D, Sustainable Northwest, Wallowa Resources, the Oregon Department of Energy, and Energy Trust of Oregon, enables LCRI to work with small businesses and agricultural producers on a statewide scale.

Van Roekel said his greatest success during his time at LCRI has been helping in the effort to raise more than $400,000 in USDA REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) grants that have gone to help people with costs for implementing renewable energy projects statewide. “It is through the REDA effort that I have helped write requests for the REAP grant applications,” said Van Roekel.

“When we are helping leverage money that needs to be spent in the community, we are helping to establish how this money is distributed statewide,” said Van Roekel. “I am inspired to think that we can make this more accessible for people.”

Annissa Anderson writes for The Roundhouse Foundation, a private, family foundation, based in Sisters, Oregon, since 2002. The Foundation believes that solutions to the unique challenges of rural communities can be found through creative thinking and problem-solving, innovation, and collaboration. We partner with community organizations to develop, implement and sustain creative, place-based approaches and programs designed to strengthen and celebrate rural Oregon and beyond.  The foundation provides grant services to rural communities and tribal regions throughout Oregon and operates Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture in Sisters. 

This article first appeared on The Daily Yonder and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

City develops new tool for business builders

Posted on by kcoenen

By The News-Review

People who are interested in building a business in Roseburg have a brand-new tool at their fingertips. For the first time, an online interactive map is available to help locate developable spaces.

The Developable Business Lands map, made available by the Roseburg Community Development Department, shows the commercial and industrial parcels of land that are available for development with the city. It targets parcels that are vacant or could be redeveloped.

Real estate developers, business owners and entrepreneurs may find the tool useful to identify options for locating a business within Roseburg.

“We wanted to make something that takes public information from local, county and state agencies and puts it in one place,” Kate Bentz, the city’s RARE AmeriCorps service member who has worked as a long-range planning assistant in the RCDC since September, said in a news release.

Located on the city website’s ‘Economic Development’ webpage, the map also provides users with additional information about each site. It allows users to filter out parcels based on size (acreage), zoning and existing use. Users can then browse a list of narrowed-down locations to find parcels that best match what they are looking for. Users can also search by address if they already have a specific site in mind.

“We hope that members of the public find this tool to be helpful in exploring Roseburg and gaining a better understanding of what to expect when they find a commercial or industrial property that they want to develop,” said Bentz. “Our goal is to give people the info that they might need before calling us and applying for permits.”

The map is accessible and available in two formats that are optimized for desktop computers and mobile devices. A full tutorial to walk new users through all the features is also included.

For more information, contact RCDC at cdd@cityofroseburg.org, kbentz@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-6750.

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT IS BRIDGING THE DIVIDE BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND PRACTICE

Posted on by kcoenen

By the US Economic Development Administration, eda.gov

Whether it’s developing a business incubator, building new broadband infrastructure, or expanding a wastewater management system, economic development is often a heavy-lifting activity. Sometimes, though, no challenge is as great as bridging the divide between academia and practice. At the University of Oregon, the Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE) is helping Oregon’s economic development community remove the barriers that separate research from action.

Home to an Economic Development Administration (EDA) designated University Center (UC), IPRE lends the expertise of the University of Oregon (UO) to economic development practitioners in the Pacific Northwest, helping them integrate best practices and emerging research into innovative solutions to regional economic issues. Its past successes include an expansive study on the economic impacts of the 2017 solar eclipse that is helping communities prepare for future events, and the award-winning Disaster Planning for Heritage Resources guidebook.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020, however, IPRE faced its biggest challenge yet. Faculty and staff sprang into action, mobilizing resources to provide strategic guidance on resilience and recovery to Oregon’s policymakers and business leaders.

“In June of 2020, we put out a white paper on a framework for economic recovery from the pandemic,” recalls Bob Parker, recently retired as Executive Director of IPRE and now serving as its Director of Strategy and Technical Solutions. Presciently, the white paper identified widespread testing as a key component in securing the state’s successful emergence from the pandemic and laid out the position that the expense of action would be outweighed by the cost of inaction in terms of jobs lost. “Obviously we didn’t know at that point that the federal government would have the response that they did.”

An October 2021 study by researchers at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy validated the strategic jumpstart IPRE offered Oregon policymakers, finding that Oregon was among seven states with the strongest pandemic-era job growth relative to February 2020 employment levels.

In 2021, EDA awarded additional funding to UO through a CARES Act grant to support expanded pandemic recovery work. Those resources, in combination with support from the Ford Family Foundation, allowed IPRE to grow its successful Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program. RARE embeds AmeriCorps Volunteers into Economic Development Districts (EDD), helping expand the geographic reach of the university’s expertise well beyond UO’s Eugene campus.

RARE’s AmeriCorps staff underwent IPRE-administered training in economic development principles and, once deployed, helped rural EDDs put those principles into practice. During the pandemic, they assisted EDDs in completing complex COVID-19 needs assessments, helped businesses source funding for renewable energy infrastructure, and even collaborated with farmers to facilitate the launch of a new local food brand, Klamath Grown.

The RARE expansion was just one of several tactics activated by IPRE to help Oregon recover and rebuild from the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. It also collaborated with social impact consultancy X4 Health to launch Community ROCKit, a COVID-19 recovery planning tool; it undertook a series of state-wide attitudinal surveys to support business leaders and policymakers preparing for the post-pandemic economy; and it participated as a key component of the university’s Community Recovery Branch, which served as an interlocutor between UO and local government on pandemic issues.

“I think it’s one of the most unique things that the federal government does,” Parker explains, in reference to EDA’s University Center program. “It allows us to work with communities in a way that moves the discipline of economic development forward. That partnership of bringing the capacity of higher education into practice is so important.”

EDA’s UC program enables institutions of higher education to establish and operate University Centers focused on leveraging institutional assets to build regional economic ecosystems that support innovation and high-growth entrepreneurship, resiliency, and exclusiveness.

Learn more about the UC program at eda.gov.

A 29-year-old gamer aims to shake up John Day as city manager

Posted on by kcoenen

By Antonio Sierra, OPB

Just a few months after moving to John Day, 29-year-old Corum Ketchum was promoted to city manager.

Corum Ketchum graduated from his master’s program and is now running his own city less than a year later.

The John Day City Council appointed Ketchum as an interim city manager May 10. The appointment is on a trial basis: Should both Ketchum and the City Council remain satisfied with the arrangement, he’ll be made the permanent CEO in six months.

Ketchum now manages a 14-person staff in a town of about 1,600 people.

For a 29-year-old who once considered a career as a pro gamer, the sudden upswing in his career wasn’t expected. But Ketchum said he’s ready for the job.

Running John Day wasn’t a part of Ketchum’s original plans. He attended the University of Oregon as an undergraduate so he could become a public planner.

His career outlook changed after he joined Americorps’ Resource Assistance for Rural Environments program. He spent two years in Veneta, a town of 5,000 people west of Eugene, working with the city administrator on economic development projects.

Ketchum learned to enjoy working in a smaller community, where trying to get things done wasn’t as difficult as it was in larger and more “calcified” cities.

“The bureaucracy is always much thicker, where if you spend time in a rural community, you get to meet the couple dozen people who are really excited about investing in their place,” he said.

He returned to the University of Oregon to get his master’s in public administration with the intent of seeking a leadership role, but another passion almost took him down another path.

Ketchum grew up playing video games and was good enough at games like Overwatch and Team Fortress that he helped form an e-sports team. The team was competitive if not exactly lucrative.

“We never really made any money,” he said. “I’d say we earned pizza money. If we placed low on a tournament, we’d get paid like 100 bucks as a team, and then I’d divvy that six ways. We’d get like, 10, 15 bucks.”

As Ketchum wrapped up his master’s degree in 2021, the University of Oregon was looking to start its own official e-sports team and was looking for someone to manage it. He didn’t get the job after applying, but a university administrator encouraged him to think bigger.

It was around this time that Ketchum read a John Day investment plan that was focused on a project to build a water reclamation facility that would repurpose the city’s wastewater for other uses like agriculture.

John Day was looking for a community development director and Ketchum felt like it was a good match for him based on his work in Veneta.

“It seemed like a really natural fit for my skill set and who I really am, and more or less a calling for me to come out here and fill that gap,” he said.

Ketchum grew up in Eugene but he has family ties to Grant County. His grandfather was a ranger for the U.S. Forest Service and worked in the Prairie City district.

During that time, his grandmother taught at Grant Union High School and his father learned to swim at the pool in John Day. His grandfather eventually transferred to a different district, but Ketchum said he still has family who live in Eastern Oregon.

In March, Ketchum started work under City Manager Nick Green, who had built a reputation on introducing novel ideas to John Day, like building 3-D printed houses and the water reclamation project.

Ketchum wanted to absorb as much knowledge from Green as possible since Green was already planning his exit. Ketchum had only been working for the city a few months when Green entered his office.

Green told him the city could spend thousands of dollars on a search firm, but he had a feeling they wouldn’t find a better candidate than Ketchum. The City Council agreed and gave Ketchum the top job.

As the city manager, Ketchum said he wants to continue Green’s initiatives, while also offering more “short-term wins” for John Day, like more community events, downtown investments and outdoor trails.

Housing is also a concern for Ketchum. Although Grant County was the only county in the state to lose population in the 2020 Census, Ketchum said John Day has a less than 1% vacancy rate in its housing market.

Anticipating growth fueled by Boise to the east and Bend to the west, Ketchum said the city is working toward making more of its land developable for future housing. After decades of stagnancy, Ketchum said 40 houses will be built this summer and another 70 in the fall.

Ketchum only brought a few years of experience to the job by the time he became city manager and he’s now a part of a profession where most of his peers are 40 and over. But Ketchum said his youth is a good match for the town.

“I think my youth is a real asset,” he said. “My demographic is the exact kind of person that we want to be seeing more of out here in John Day. People my age going into their 40s, the prime earners, the people that have families, the people that start businesses and are really in the rocket years as professionals.”

 

Matthew Klebes prepares for The Dalles new city manager position

Posted on by kcoenen

By Alana Lackner, Columbia Gorge News

When Matthew Klebes first came to The Dalles eight years ago, he never intended to stay.

Klebes’ arrival in The Dalles was with his work. He was with AmeriCorps Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, preparing to be part of a program that was set to last less than a year.

“I came to The Dalles expecting to be here over (a period of) 11 months,” Klebes said. “And here I am, eight years later, with a house and two kids and getting ready to take the city manager position and everything. I had no idea coming in that was going to happen.”

With AmeriCorps, Klebes was a volunteer with The City of The Dalles, working to establish a local branch of Main Street. Klebes was working out of the chamber of commerce, helping to grow and strengthen the organization so they could move into their own building.

“We built a volunteer base and revenue stream and grew the organization that way,” he said. “And a lot of the work that I did at Main Street was in partnership with the city.”

At the end of Klebes’ 11 months working with AmeriCorp, Main Street hired him on to continue working to grow the organization. He was the first official staff member they were able to have.

“There had been volunteers who had been talking about it and trying to get the Main Street program going,” Klebes said. “And they had some of the pieces coming together, but they needed a staff person to do that work and answer the phone, have the lights on, just those basic things.”

After his transition into working for Main Street as an official full-time job, he stayed there for two years, before taking a job with the city, as the assistant to the city manager. There, Klebes worked closely with current city manager Julie Krueger.

“One of the things I liked about Main Street … is that I worked with a lot of business owners, property owners, restaurant owners, retail owners, breweries,” Klebes said. “You get to kind of learn about and dive into all these different worlds, the world of a brewer, the world of a restaurant, the world of a property owner, and you get to have conversations with them. You learn what their challenges are, their opportunities are, and then take a step back and see how that aligns with all the other entities, and where Main Street can help.”

Klebes said this kind of approach was useful in his new position as assistant to the city manager, and that there was quite a bit of overlap.

“At the city, it’s kind of similar, where you have public works, planning, airport, police department, and then you have your department head in each of those areas, the specialists,” he said. “We get to work with them and learn about the same thing: their challenges, their opportunities. And as city manager, you have to step back and figure out okay, where’s our overlap? Where’s their alignment? How can I support each one of these individuals and their departments and staff?”

Klebes said he enjoyed his time working with the city manager, as he worked with the city for about three years. He said he was able to work with a variety of people and groups. He was also able to work on special projects for the city manager.

One of his special projects was a “Local Government Academy,” which strived to increase transparency in local government and help teach residents about the city and what it does and doesn’t do.

“Ultimately, the hope was that we would have graduates from the academy that volunteer to serve on different city committees and commissions, because they now have a better understanding of their own local government, and they feel more comfortable or confident with it,” he said.

Though the Local Government Academy was put on pause with COVID, Klebes said it was a project he was proud to be a part of. He said there are hopes to return some time in the future, likely with one class a year, rather than the two they did before.

After three years with the city, Klebes moved to working as the Wasco County Administrative Services Director, which is the position he currently holds and will be transitioning out of as he switches to his new role as city manager.

As administrative services director, Klebes said he was able to work with the county and develop a better understanding of how the county operates, how it interplays with the state, and how that affects cities. In some ways, Klebes said, this prepared him for the city manager role in a different way, as he now has an understanding of what happens at the county level.

Klebes said he’s excited to take on this new position as city manager, and to return to the city to continue the work that he’s been doing.

“I’ve been really lucky and pleased with this progression that I’ve had, working and focusing in the downtown core. We’re stepping back a little bit more and working across the city, stepping back even a little bit more and working with the county,” Klebes said. “And so the opportunity to stay in this community, continue to do that work and continue to build upon that, well, it’s hard to pass that up.”

The city council officially approved Klebes’ contract at the regular city council meeting on April 11. Klebes will start his new position as city manager on May 16.

City of Talent to receive support to create more ‘resilient’ power grid

Posted on by kcoenen

By Erik Neumann, Jefferson Public Radio

The City of Talent in the Rogue Valley is one of three communities in Oregon that will get help from the Department of Energy on a new program to create a more resilient power grid.

Along with Pendleton and Warm Springs, Talent was recently selected for the Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative, a new program of the DOE’s Office of Electricity aimed at “underserved and frontline communities.” As a participant, the Pacific Northwest National Lab will provide technical assistance to assess battery storage feasibility, locations for community solar projects, and do economic analysis, among other things.

The non-profit Rogue Climate applied for the initiative to prepare Talent for future energy challenges in the face of extreme weather.

“Essentially trying to create a system that would be more resilient to potential power outages and things like that by incorporating battery storage,” says Maeve Hogan, an AmeriCorps member working with Rogue Climate.

“The [Energy Storage for Social Equity Initiative] supports underserved communities’ use of energy storage as a means of increasing resilience and maximizing energy flexibility in the face of a changing climate,” reads a statement from the office of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, who announced the participating Oregon towns.

The exact details of Talent’s energy project are not defined, but Hogan says this initiative will contribute to the town’s clean energy plan and hopefully lay the groundwork for a “shovel-ready” project that could incorporate battery storage and community solar in the future.

“Battery storage enables us to ensure access to power even when it goes out, even for a limited amount of time which can be really life-saving. As we’ve seen, extreme heat and smoke and fire can be really life-threatening,” Hogan says.

Talent, Pendleton and Warm Springs are among 14 communities nationwide that are participating in the program.

Talent in Federal Energy Storage Program

Posted on by kcoenen

By Jerry Howard, KDRV

Washington, DC — Talent is one of three Oregon cities which are part of a new technology project today to store energy.

Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week announced Talent, Pendleton and Warm Springs were chosen by federal officials for “a cutting-edge energy storage program to increase energy resilience in the face of increasingly dangerous weather events and a changing climate.”

Oregon is the only state with multiple cities chosen for the program supported by assistance for those three Oregon communities and 11 others from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Storage for Social Equity (ES4SE) Initiative. ES4SE supports underserved communities’ use of energy storage to improve energy resilience and maximize energy flexibility in the face of a changing climate.

Selected as part of the new project’s first phase, chosen communities get technical support to assess their energy challenges, evaluate solutions and find partners to help the communities meet energy goals.

“Building out energy storage capacity is key as families in Oregon and across the nation have suffered severe impacts in recent years from the climate emergency in their communities – some losing power for days because of winter storms, and others losing their homes because of wildfires sparked by downed power lines,” said Senator Ron Wyden, who has introduced legislation to harden power grids nationwide.

Senator Jeff Merkley says, “Strengthening our energy storage capacity is an important step to keeping lights on in our businesses, schools, and homes. I’m grateful these three Oregonian communities are leading the way and will be considered to receive additional assistance to increase storage capacity. These weather events aren’t going to disappear overnight, and I will continue to do everything I can to secure the necessary resources to ensure our community’s energy sources are safe and dependable.”

The project’s second phase will focus on energy storage project development and deployment, where up to five communities will start installing and commissioning their projects.

Rogue Climate in Talent is one of the participants.  It sees this effort as an opportunity to work on resiliency and storage aspects of the City of Talent’s Clean Energy Plan.

“In the aftermath of the Almeda fire, incorporating resilience is more urgent than ever. Talent aims to include clean energy infrastructure in the rebuilding process with an equity framework at the forefront, and the technical assistance with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will help us prioritize those who will benefit most from a more affordable and resilient energy system, while allowing our City Planning Department to prioritize their energy on rebuilding and bringing our community members back home. We are excited for this opportunity to work closely with the City of Talent, Solarize Rogue, and PNNL to create a shovel-ready project that the city can implement going forward,” said Maeve Hogan, Rogue Climate’s RARE AmeriCorps Resilience Organizer.

Nationally, more than 65% of low-income households face a high energy burden and more than 30% of all households have experienced some form of energy insecurity.

Warm Springs Community Action Team from Warm Springs and Coyote Steals Fire Energy Group from Pendleton are the other selected Oregon participants.

“Coyote Steals Fire Energy Group (CSF Energy) is supporting the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation with the installation of a solar PV powered microgrid with energy storage capabilities for the Tribal community. CSF Energy is a Umatilla Tribal Member owned energy project management and consulting firm based in Pendleton, Oregon that’s been bringing energy to the people since 2021. The project team extends its sincere gratitude to all those who have supported this endeavor, including the Energy Storage for Social Equity technical assistance program and Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley,” said Patrick F. Mills, Vice President of Operations at Coyote Steals Fire Energy Group.

Roseburg Has New Floodplain Map

Posted on by kcoenen

By KQEN News Radio 1240

The City of Roseburg Community Development Department has just created a new Floodplain Information Map: https://roseburg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/sidebar/index.html?appid=aed6e1b7dbef413084ad92a0f711c5d4

A release said property owners, homebuyers, realtors and insurance agents can use the map to find floodplain-related documents needed for property sales and flood insurance purposes for properties in or near flood zones.

Community Development Director Stuart Cowie said the documents had already been on the City website. Cowie said locating the important documents and data online is now faster and simpler, thanks to an interactive web map that uses the cloud-based geographic information system mapping software from Esri called ArcGIS Online.

The release said the purpose of the map is to provide floodplain documents – such as elevation certificates or letters of map amendments – for existing houses or other buildings.

The Community Development Department hired RARE AmeriCorp member Kate Bentz to work for a year as a long-range planning assistant so she could tackle this and similar projects. She reworked the Floodplain Information webpage, which also contains a link to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program that provides information to property owners, renters and businesses.

Cowie said he hopes the new map can be a successful tool for realtors, insurance agents and the general public searching for important floodplain documents on specific properties within Roseburg.

For more information call 492-6750 or email: ccd@cityofroseburg.com.

Travel Oregon Announces Travel & Tourism Industry Achievement Awards

Posted on by kcoenen

By Travel Oregon, Oregon Tourism Industry Events

Last night, the Oregon Tourism Commission (dba Travel Oregon) announced the recipients of the 2021 Oregon Travel and Tourism Industry Achievement Awards, presented at the 2022 Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism at the Sunriver Resort.

The 2021 Oregon Travel and Tourism Industry Achievement Awards were announced in the following categories:

The Oregon Governor’s Tourism Award represents the culmination of our industry’s deep appreciation for long-time commitment, accomplishment and service by an individual or individuals who have enhanced the Oregon visitor experience and elevated the travel and tourism industry.

This year, Governor Brown honored Eric Aebi. Eric has been with Chemeketa Community College for more than 20 years, where he developed hospitality and tourism management credential programs. He continues to advocate for Oregon’s tourism industry by volunteering his time with the Oregon Hospitality Foundation and many other organizations.

The Oregon Tourism Rising Star Award recognizes an individual in each region of the state who is new to the tourism industry – within the last five years – and has shown leadership, commitment and a passion for Oregon’s tourism industry.

This year, Central Oregon’s Rising Star Award was presented to Serena Bishop Gordon of Visit Bend. Serena has worked at Visit Bend for just one year, but in that time the long-time Bend resident has turned her competitive nature and passion for the outdoors into major impact at Visit Bend and for the community. Leading their sustainability program, she has been instrumental in developing and implementing the data-driven Bend Sustainability Fund that takes care of the places that take care of “us” by investing in what makes Bend such a special place. In its first round, the fund awarded $840,000 to local community organizations and efforts that will steward Central Oregon’s core visitor assets, providing amazing experiences and building a sustainable tourism economy.

The Portland Region’s Rising Star Award honored Wela Negelspach with the Columbia County Economic Team. Wela willingly jumped in to help the group organize and manage their efforts even though the project was outside of her regular duties with the non-profit. Wela has helped to keep the coalition together and moving forward for more than three years, utilizing her exceptional people skills and passion for tourism to help others forge new connections and envision a more robust tourism economy for the communities of Columbia County.

Willamette Valley’s Rising Star awardee is Katie McFall with the Willamette Valley Visitor’s Association. Katie has been a key part of initiatives in the Willamette Valley since she came on board as a Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) placement in 2019. She was heavily involved in aspects of the Willamette Valley Visitor’s Association’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has worked tirelessly to secure resources and coordination for wildfire and pandemic affected communities and businesses, and has helped WVVA coordinate and secure partnerships for responsible river recreation now and in future endeavors.

The Rising Star Award for Southern Oregon went to Jessica Batchelor with Experience Roseburg, formerly Lake County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. Jessica spearheaded new staffing and board development, co-designed a collaborative community vision, developed partners and community support with traditional and non-traditional stakeholders, and built an organization while focusing on growth, expansion and development. Jessica’s infectious enthusiasm and drive helped generate massive engagement and momentum throughout Lake County. In late 2021, Jessica transitioned back to her hometown of Roseburg to support tourism development and main street efforts. She was recently hired by Experience Roseburg to coordinate their tourism development and stakeholder outreach efforts.

Eastern Oregon’s Rising Star Award was presented to Kate Harbour with the Eastern Oregon Visitor’s Association. In Kate’s first year and a half with the organization, she has increased connectivity throughout the recreation and trail stakeholder communities, coordinated collaborative funding approaches to support regional stewardship of public lands and trails, and increased capacity and infrastructure to support outdoor recreation assets. Kate shows up to meetings with curiosity and intention, and her approachable demeanor has been a real asset in helping to build connections between groups and organizations.

The Rising Star of the Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge Region honored Marlee Boxler, City of Troutdale. Marlee almost single-handedly created Troutdale’s official tourism information provider: Explore Troutdale. She led a small team of city staff to reinvigorate Troutdale’s First Friday Art Walk. Prior to COVID-19, it had been a sparsely attended event, but she arranged for the city’s main street to close for the evening to allow businesses and vendors – and of course attendees – to have more space to enjoy the event. She has also reimagined the city’s holiday tree lighting from a 30-minute ceremony into an all-day holiday market with live music. Residents have loved the fresh new look and feel of the events, and so have visitors.

Lastly, of the Rising Star Awards, the Oregon Coast’s Karen Olson with the North Coast Tourism Management Network took home the award. Karen has been the network manager of the North Coast Tourism Management Network for just over a year and in that time has supported a dynamic and ever-changing network of partners focused on sustainable tourism on the North Coast. She has navigated difficult topics like public safety, stewardship and COVID-19 restrictions on businesses. In response to the challenges of the pandemic, Karen created a takeout campaign to support local restaurants, and organized a transportation solutions project. To say she’s been an asset to the North Coast is an understatement.

The Oregon Leadership Award honors individuals championing the value of tourism, whose vision and commitment help make our communities, tourism regions and state stronger visitor destinations, and whose leadership behind the scenes contributes significantly to the recognition and impact of Oregon’s travel and tourism industry.

This year, the award celebrates Jeff Knapp, Executive Director of Visit McMinnville. Over the years, Jeff has built the organization structure, brought on key staff, and been involved in many community organizations to bolster McMinnville’s growing visitor economy and support local small businesses. And, since the onset of the pandemic, he’s worked tirelessly to support tourism businesses to stay open through projects like McMinnville’s Dine Out(Side), which closed streets to traffic to accommodate outdoor dining and safe tourism. He is the true embodiment of starting with “why,” he stays authentic to himself and the regions he represents, and he consistently and constantly is a cheerleader at all levels for the power of the visitor economy in rural communities.

The Oregon Partnership Award recognizes a creative partnership that enhances the visitor experience and/or promote a region or destination. By leveraging traditional and non-traditional partnerships, organizations and businesses can maximize budget, capacity and skill set, creating an increase in efficiencies and a higher-level aligned outcome.

The award was presented to RARE Program Director, Titus Tomlinson. RARE is a unique AmeriCorps Program serving rural Oregon to strengthen communities, economies, food systems, and the natural environment. The RARE program has had a significant impact around the state, especially in our rural communities. Titus’ passion for the program and rural Oregon is contagious, and the enthusiasm he brings to the participants and their supervisors is equally inspiring.

The Oregon Tourism Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Award celebrates a business or destination that has demonstrated leadership in raising awareness, or facilitating change, to build a more inclusive and welcoming environment for visitors to Oregon.

This award honored Gwen Trice, Founder of Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center. In 2001, Gwen Trice learned of her family’s ties to Maxville in Wallowa County. From 1923 to the early 1930s, Maxville operated as a company town for a Missouri lumber company. Among its households were more than 50 African Americans from southern states who’d been recruited to work in the woods of Wallowa County. Gwen’s father was one of them. The story of Maxville captured Gwen’s heart and she began working to develop the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center, where she now serves as the executive director. Located in downtown Joseph, the center offers a view into the past with displays of artifacts, photos of loggers, horses and equipment, a replica baseball uniform and a map of the town plotted with the houses and the names of the families who lived there. Gwen’s family story has been featured by OPB, and she has been awarded by the Oregon Commission for Women for her commitment to diversity and equity and preserving Oregon’s rich history.

Congratulations to the awardees who make Oregon such a unique place for residents and visitors alike. Your contributions to communities across the state richly impact the industry and we’re grateful for your service.

RARE AmeriCorps Member Applications for 2022-2023 Now Available!

Posted on by kcoenen

Are you interested in community building, natural resources, food security, natural hazard planning, economic development or land use planning? If so, you should consider applying to serve as a Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps member.

2022-2023 RARE AmeriCorps member applications are now available! 

For more information about the RARE AmeriCorps application process please visit the Application Process section of our website.

To access the 2022-2023 RARE AmeriCorps member application, click here.

If you have questions about the application process or about the RARE AmeriCorps Program, please contact RARE Program Coordinator Victoria Binning at rare@uoregon.edu or 541-632-3147.

Skip to toolbar