Month: February 2017

The Same Boat in Silverton

Posted on by Titus Tomlinson

By Mark Christensen

It is early November in the quaint town of Silverton, Oregon. It has been dumping buckets of rain for several weeks now and Silver Creek is raging. Yet, despite the torrential precipitation of the past several weeks, November 3 is a crisp, sunny day. I am driving to Silverton from Salem, about a 10-mile drive through some of the most productive farmland in the world. The Community Development Director of Silverton is expecting me at 3:00 p.m. and I am not quite sure what to anticipate.

I reached out to meet Jason for a supplemental project I had been envisioning. The project is essentially an economic development/ Main Street advertisement project in which local business directory maps would be transformed into user-friendly, accessible web maps. The project donned on me as a way to increase economic vitality in a fast and effective way. I reached out to a few City Managers to see who would be interested in meeting me and discussing the potential project. Silverton’s city manager responded, assigning Jason, the Community Development Director, to coordinate a meeting with me.

I pull up to 306 S. Water Street in Silverton about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Those who know me understand I can be a little too punctual. I walk upstairs to the Community Development Office and let them know Jason is expecting me. Of course, because I am still about 15 minutes early even after wondering around the block, I have to wait a few minutes. Jason walks out and introduces himself to me and it is clear we are in the same boat. We do not know what to expect.

We go into his office and begin our chat. I introduce myself, my background, and the RARE program in general as I go through the work I will be doing for Marion County Community Services and SEDCOR. I explain another project I have been planning to undergo if there is community interest, the Story Maps. Jason’s countenance changes with each passing sentence. The pressure in the air is starting to dissipate as it becomes clear I am here to help and the project may benefit the current business directory system in place for downtown Silverton. We had been in the same boat of not knowing what to expect, but, after about 5 minutes in the office, we jumped ship to sail into collaboration.

We leave Jason’s office to stroll the beautiful streets of downtown Silverton. Downtown is adjacent to Silver Creek, which provides a magnificent backdrop to many restaurant and café patios. As we walk across the covered pedestrian bridge and through the streets, Jason is telling me all the great things the community has done over the past several years. Redevelopment and urban renewal, murals, and vibrant parks can be found in Silverton’s core, and Jason knows the story behind every block. We take to Jason’s car to drive around the striking community. Jason’s knowledge proves to transcend the boundaries of the downtown district. We investigate the new subdivisions of the periphery, observe the foundations of Silverton’s economy, and venture to the Oregon Garden to see the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in the Pacific Northwest. At the end of our tour, Jason hands me the current business directory map, and I assure him that we will be in touch.

Although there have sense been slight technical difficulties in the story mapping process coupled with my primary project of Business Retention and Expansion gaining momentum, I will always consider my meeting with Jason to be a quintessential RARE experience. The meeting taught me:

  • Oregon is a beautiful place with unique communities
  • You are new to the Oregon experience, but people are open to you and your ideas
  • Oregonians care about their communities and will work to make them better
  • Getting out into the communities will require some initiative
  • Rural means some much more than low populations

Every RARE participant experiences something different in his or her respective placement. I can say without a doubt that my position at county level government in the Capitol City is much different from Will Wright’s position at the Lakeview Community Partnership. Nevertheless, I truly believe everybody who participates in Resource Assistance for Rural Environments is in the same boat and will find a Jason that cares and knows about his community and is ready to jump ship into collaboration.

A bit about Mark Christensen:

  • B.A. in Geography/Environment and Natural Resources – University of Wyoming
  • People may be surprised when they learn that I like viewing planning documents in my free me! I enjoy seeing how a community would like to grow, seeing goals a community sets, and reviewing the quality of life the community strives for!
  • My most significant accomplishment is putting myself through my undergraduate education. Through countless scholarship applications and hours of work, I achieved my goal of graduating debt free!

Does community development work interest you?  Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon?  Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program via our website: https://rare.uoregon.edu/

A RARE Experience

Posted on by Titus Tomlinson

By Marina Brassfield

A highlight from the past four months in my RARE position as an Economic Development Specialist has not been one single occurrence, but it has been the continuous building of relationships with community members – specifically, with one volunteer who has been engaged, motivated, and possesses an excitement that’s contagious to those around her.

At our first ad hoc committee meeting, dedicated to business relationship building and networking, the group brainstormed potential projects we wanted to focus our energies on for the next 11 months. This particular volunteer came up with the idea to plan an event celebrating the local products and businesses unique to the Fern Ridge Area. Not only would it encourage residents to shop local, but it would also allow for business-to-business networking and encourage membership in the local Chamber of Commerce.

She’s had lots of ideas since then, such as talking to the Eugene Chamber of Commerce for event planning advice, fundraising ideas, entertainment and game ideas for the day of. She also reached out to venue owners, and because of her efforts, our event will be held at one of the nicest spots in West Lane County, free of cost.

I’ve found that we are extremely effective in working together. After meetings with her, I always leave motivated, with improved ideas and plans I had been contemplating but unsure of how to execute. For this committee, my focus has mostly been project management and organizing, research, and outreach; however, I feel she has been most forceful in moving this project forward, by exciting other committee volunteers and coming up with creative ideas to work through.

This volunteer is still in school for Business Administration, and recently asked me more about my position, besides the context she works with me in. She said she is interested in pursuing economic development as a career; surely, she would have found a passion with or without having a RARE placement in her community, and the ad-hoc committee I am working on would have likely progressed with or without me. But being a part of someone’s experience, and sharing the work of a meaningful project with someone who loves, cares about the future of their community, and gives back to it has been an incomparable experience.

A bit about Marina Brassfield:

  • B.A. in Environmental Studies and a Minor in Planning, Public Policy, and Management – University of Oregon.
  • I spent each summer of my childhood sailing in the Hawaiian Islands with my dad and my sister. When I was nine years old, we sailed across the Pacific Ocean to return the sailboat from Honolulu, Hawaii to Port Townsend, Washington.
  • Before studying abroad in Italy, the experience seemed very attractive to me but unattainable. I worked restlessly to apply for loans and additional scholarships, sold possessions I did not need, used savings from high school, and continued to save a little from each paycheck. Through my planning and efforts, I obtained enough for the program and travel costs.

Does community development work interest you?  Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon?  Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program via our website: https://rare.uoregon.edu/