By Morgan Murray, Program Manager, City of Warrenton
This is a short story about The City of Warrenton on the north coast of Oregon. Most folks are sleeping on the magic that is this rural community. They come here to buy their groceries at one of the four large box stores and maybe a frosty from the Wendy’s with the loooooong line at the drive thru window before heading back home.
I am the fourth RARE to be place with Warrenton. The first 3 all completed their terms of service before 2010, so it has been 10 years since Warrenton and the program have collaborated.
The first three RARE participants all built out an extensive park and trail system. I am continuing that work but I am also building capacity and excitement within the community for more engagement and events.
Warrenton has not had a large-scale event before but this year we hosted the first ever Fall Festival. Roughly 4,000 people attended, from all over Washington and Oregon. We even had a group of tourists from Morocco hear about the event while they were in Portland and came to check us out.
In the winter we hosted a tree lighting ceremony, dinner with Santa, and a craft night. We also had/have plans for the spring and summer for more events that were/are estimated to draw in more than 12,000 folks from all over. The current pandemic has postponed many plans for more events but luckily the work that former RAREs completed has allowed our community to enjoy the 26 miles of trails that link our city.
The RARE program breathes life into these rural environments and helps add the capacity to achieve next level community engagement. The potential exists in each community and partnering with the RARE program is a wonderful way to catalyze your passion for creating a lasting impact.
About the author, Morgan Murray:Morgan hails from the tiny town of Steuben, NY. She attended The College at Brockport and earned a degree in Therapeutic Recreation where she had the opportunity to complete her clinical at the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah. Through this experience Morgan realized how important planning and policy are to creating effective and lasting changes in the built environment—something that must be done to improve accessibility. Morgan is passionate about inclusion, sustainability (economic, equitable, and environmental), and universal accessibility. She is confident that through service with RARE she will discover creative ways to engage the community in conversations surrounding these growing issues. Morgan is a recreation enthusiast and lover of all things outdoors. In her free time she can be found riding her bike, skiing, kayaking, or camping. Morgan’s favorite tree is a Blue Spruce but she gives major props to Cedar trees.