Month: February 2022

By Jessy Fabrizio-Stover, Outdoor Recreation and Wildlife Recovery Coordinator, Willamette Valley Visitors Association

It’s a big move, New York to Oregon. It’s nearly 3,000 miles and over 40 hours of driving. And it’s the trip that I decided to take last August, to come here to Oregon and become a RARE. At the time all I could see were the what ifs. Looking back, I forever grateful I took that leap.

The RARE experience is one of discomfort, new experiences, and personal and professional growth. It’s this chance to prove how amazing you are and how much you are capable.

Each community a RARE is placed in is one that is asking for fresh eyes and new capacity. They offer exceptional opportunities to get involved and professionally push yourself. My placement at the Willamette Valley Visitors Association has been just that for me, a place where I have been able to develop skills in community engagement, project management, and more. I have been able to join projects that interest and challenge me, and I feel immersed in my community.

One project I have worked on is developing an outdoor recreation map for Benton County in partnership with Visit Corvallis. This map will be an amazing resource for both local residents and visitors to the area, it will also help spread recreation visitation around the valley. Since coming on I have really developed how to prioritize and include accessibility information in the map. We are going to include a QR code or some connection to an evergreen website that will list relevant information about highlighted trails, so that everyone interested will have the information they need to determine if that’s the right trail for them. Working through the processes of what information do we need, what have others done, and what can we do within our capacity has been a huge learning experience for me. I have reached out to many to just hear what they did, and believe have built important relationships from that. It’s shown my organizations commitment to working towards inclusivity in our outdoor spaces.

I have also been the connector between my organization and two wildfire impacted communities, the Santiam Canyon and the McKenzie river region. I have built relationships with major players in each area and have been able to discuss how prioritizing tourist friendly development can supplement a waning Detroit lake season. Because I have been connected to their recovery progress I am able to accurately relay the communities interests to my supervisor and Travel Oregon.

A highlight to my experience thus far has been my cohort. My cohort is filled with remarkable individuals, representing diversity in background and
life experience. Yet, we come together as a cohesive group. From just the first day I knew I felt a connection with each member. Each one of us offers our unique experiences and background to positively impact each of our communities and each other.

I have had the privilege of building relationships with my cohort since day one, even while living all across the state. With one member I have been helping design a framework for all us members to travel together on weekend trips together throughout
Oregon. With two others I have bi-weekly Catan tournaments and went on a spontaneous Oregon coast road trip. Among RARE’s I share an industry with we share our projects, ideas, and professionally support each other.

That’s what’s characterized my RARE experience thus far, the opportunity to understand the overall impact of this program and its members on this state.

About the author, Jessy Fabrizio-Stover: Jessy was born and raised in Hong Kong before attending University in Upstate NY at the University of Rochester. She graduated in 2020 with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a minor in Chemistry. After graduating she completed her first AmeriCorps year with Rochester AmeriCorps at an Upward Bound program in the local public school. Jessy loves traveling and being outside. She is excited to immerse herself in the Oregon culture of loving the outdoors, community, and sustainability.

Interested in gaining community and economic development experience of your own? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program. Applications for Year 29 (2022-23) due April 25, 2022 by 5pm PDT.

By Patrick Holzman, Community Development Coordinator, Pendleton Development Commission

When I look back and think about my service year until now, no particular moment that defines the experience jumps out to me. I can’t seem to find one story, one day, or one conversation that perfectly captures my experience thus far. That is not to say that I lack particular and meaningful moments while living here in Oregon. I’m chock full of said moments, but I think what defines my experience here in Pendleton is a slow and thoughtful buildup of experiences. This slow growth could be attributed to the natural flow of working in small city government, but I think it more pertains to the thoughtful and deliberate choices we make as RARE members. Throughout my experience with RARE I’ve noticed that change doesn’t come from a flashy and penultimate moment. My work has yet to materialize into a spectacular crescendo where once it reaches the top my work is officially over. I did it. Change happened. No more work. In actuality, meaningful change happens from showing up to work every day. It is attending monthly committee meetings and getting to know the community members by name. It is months of deliberation regarding a grant for the restoration of a historical building and then once a decision is made, it is doing it all over again for a different building. Sometimes it may be difficult to notice the effect of your work when it progresses slowly, but over time you definitely do notice it. You notice that change within yourself alongside within the community you are living in.

I am currently working on updating the city’s inventory of historical buildings. This work has involved photographing all historical buildings in Pendleton and updating the historical information of these buildings. This slow process of research and photographing has given me a great sense of place. Through looking at and researching these structures I am going back in time and am able to see the transformation of my community. This perspective has given me a great adoration of where I am living and a new appreciation of how the past can interact with the present. I have never done any type of work relating to historical preservation before and I am so glad I am doing it now. It has completely changed the way I look at the built environment of cities. There are so many stories in the walls of our communities and it’s been fantastic to be given the time and work to explore these stories. This change in my own thinking is great, but when a community member thanks me for the work I’ve been doing, it feels much more consequential. The completion of the updated inventory will not only allow community members to have an updated history of their homes, but the city will also receive a grant for doing the work. Our work has a clear effect. It may take some time to notice, but in that time you will truly grow.

About the author, Patrick Holzman: Patrick was born and raised on the northside of Chicago a few blocks away from Lake Michigan. He went to school in Minnesota where he studied Environmental Studies and Management. Patrick loves the city of Chicago and the Midwest as a whole but he is more than excited to explore the nature of the Pacific Northwest. He loves photography and hiking, and he hopes to combine those two passions while here in Oregon and take photos of the diverse range of wildlife. He is interested in city and regional planning where he hopes to develop his professional skills and apply them in a meaningful way.

Interested in gaining community and economic development experience of your own? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program. Applications for Year 29 (2022-23) due April 25, 2022 by 5pm PDT.