HomeMy WebLinkAboutSesquicentennial Commission LetterASSOCIATION OF
OREGON COUNTIES
STRENGTH
"LINKING GOVERNMENTS LOCALLY"
Local Government Center c 1201 Court St. NE c P.O. Box 12729 m Salem, Oregon 97309
www.aocweb.org Phone: 503-585-8351 c Fax: 503-373-7876
MEMORANDUM
TO: County Judges & Commissioners
County Administrators
FROM: Bill Hansell, Umatilla County Commissioner
AOC Representative to the Oregon 15o Board
SUBJECT: County Sesquicentennial Commissions
January 4, 2008
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It has been my honor to represent you on the Oregon 15o Board. My goal has been to make sure
that County Government has a place at the table as we plan and implement Oregon's
Sesquicentennial observation. It is my understanding that counties played a key role in the
Centennial observance in 1959. Let's do it again!
I believe we have a great opportunity to further connect with your constituents and to produce a
local commemoration of the state's 150 birthday that is positive and affirming.
On November 15th at our annual conference, First Lady Mary Oberst requested that you
designate a commission of any size that reflects "broadly on diverse populations, cities, towns,
and economic, historic, cultural and other local interests." A memo outlining how this might be
accomplished was included in your conference folder (a copy is posted at www.aocweb.org
under Oregon 15o).
I would ask that you make assembling a Sesquicentennial Commission a priority. I would also
request that you designate a single point of contact to serve as a liaison to Oregon 15o, and to do
so as soon as possible. Some of you have already been contacted by members of the Oregon 150
Board, and are a step ahead of the rest of us in your planning.
As you may know, Oregon 15o, through the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, is
seeking $2 million in the February Special Session to encourage and support local
sesquicentennial projects and observances. If successful, funds can only be allocated if there is a
local commission and a local plan. This has the potential to be a great partnership.
I appreciate your attention to this request. I am working closely with James Hamrick, one of the
Oregon 150 staff. If you have any questions, please contact him at (503) 872-5448 or at
james.hamrick@state.or.us. He will also need to know your county contact person once your
commission is formed. Please feel free to contact me as well if you have any questions or
thoughts about the sesquicentennial planning.
Best wishes for a super 2008!
SUSTAIN THE SPIRIT
...m.m•T W W W.O lof. Gongse.0AG
BUILDING A COUNTY SESQUICENTENNIAL COMMISSION
WHAT:
In August, 2007, the Oregon 150 Board of Directors decided that the best delivery
vehicle for sesquicentennial planning, programs and grants would be through county
and tribal governments.
Oregon 150 is asking for two things:
• Counties create a commission that reflects diverse and perhaps unique
county interests, and
• Counties create a local sesquicentennial plan that reflects local priorities
but also is consistent with Oregon i5o's Strategic Plan and its Vision,
Mission and Values. These are available at www.oregoni5o.org
Availability of funding from Oregon 150 to counties and tribes as a consequence
of anticipated 2008 Supplemental Session legislative activity can occur only if
there is a Sesquicentennial Commission and local plan.
Ideally, County Sesquicentennial Commissions would be formed by December
3lSt, 2007, and plans completed before February 1, 2008.
The Association of Oregon Counties requested that Oregon 150 suggest types of
persons and organizations that might be represented on a Sesquicentennial
Commission. The suggestions are based upon these premises:
• Sesquicentennial Commissions will be named by the Board of County
Commissioners,
• The size of each Commission will be determined by each County, but the
Commission will have to be big enough to reflect broadly on diverse
populations, cities, towns, and economic, historic, cultural and other local
interests, and
• There is no expectation that every interest listed will be represented on each
Sesquicentennial Commission, or that commissions will have similar size or
member make-up.
1
WHO:
This list is not exhaustive or definitive. It presents suggestions from Oregon 150's own
diverse Board of Directors as a starting point.
• County government
• Local government(s)
• For-profit business and industry (large and small)
• Not-for-profit social service sector
• Civic leaders
• Education - K-12 (kids and school district represented), community colleges,
universities (public & private)
• Oregon youth (the Oregon 150 Board has two young Oregonian members)
• Historical societies and museums (county and local)
• Religious and cultural groups
• Libraries
• Arts community
• Ethnic populations
• County Cultural Trust Coalitions
• Chambers of Commerce or Visitors and Convention Bureaus
• Natural resource organizations
• Parks and recreation providers
• Local media
• Citizens at -large
QUESTIONS?
Contact James Hamrick, Oregon 150 Government Affairs Liaison
James.Hamrick@state.or.us or 503-508-1974
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Oregon's 150th Birthday is
February 14, 2009
and YOUR Community Can Join the Party!
How?
By joining local 150th planning efforts through your County
Sesquicentennial Commission.
Why?
A major state anniversary only comes once every 5 0 years.
Thousands of Oregonians remember the state's centennial in 1959.
This will be a great time to celebrate who we are as Oregonians and
create a legacy for future Oregonians.
What Can We Do?
Start by embracing Oregon 150's Vision: Appreciate the past,
Celebrate the present, Imagine the future.
Then, talk to others about how your community could
acknowledge, celebrate, commemorate and develop this important
anniversary between January -October, 2009. Use that information to
assist the County Sesquicentennial Commission in creating their plan.
Where Do We Start?
Look on the next few pages for ideas and suggestions!
Connect with the County Sesquicentennial Commission
During the Oregon centennial celebration in 1959, each county created a
commission to coordinate activities. Today, counties have once again been
asked to be the focal point of the anniversary. Contact your County
Commission for information on how to participate in planning, or to volunteer.
To locate your County Commission, go to www.aocweb.org
Connect with Your Community
How do you want to acknowledge the anniversary? Every
Oregon community is unique. Why not re -think an old tradition, or create a
new one? Undertake a legacy project. Have a festival Here are a few ideas to
get you started. What others can you think of?
• Click on A Day in the Life. Have citizens take photographs of their
community and each other during a single day, maybe even on February
14, 2009. Gather them. Have a contest. Put them in a time capsule. Put
them in the newspaper. Put them in a book.
• Participate in the Oregon Open House. Planning is underway for a
day in 2009 when all museums and historical societies would be open
free to the public. We will also encourage businesses and public
buildings to do the same. Please join us! Stay tuned to
www.Oregon150.org for more info.
• Theme Your Festival/Parade to Oregon 150. Take your Steer
Wrestling, Com Shucking, Watermelon Seed Spitting or the Whatever -
It -Is -That Makes -Your -Community -Special Festival and focus it on the
sesquicentennial. We'll put you on our calendar of events, 150 Great
Things To Do in 2009 (or some such snappy title).
• Have a Social. Celebrate Oregon's statehood with a party. Bake a cake!
Have a dance, or a picnic! On February 14, 2009, all Oregon National
Guard Armories will be available at -cost for community gatherings.
Contact Bill Godfrey at 1-877-789-0786.
• Host an Athletic Event. Get in shape in 2009! How about an all -ages
150 -mile relay, walk, or bike ride? Or, challenge other communities to a
softball tournament (150 Innings?). Or sponsor a 150 lap swim meet.
! Deleted:
• Put on a Pageant. Celebrate and stage your local or state history. Show
it at a social or at the county fair. Include children. Do your research at
the Oregon History Project, www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/ or
at your local historical society.
• Showcase Your Local Bounty. Produce, products, attractions. You
know and love them. Does everyone else? Have a Market Day! Do a
special promotion. Have a cook -off or a community picnic. Support or
create a local farmers' market. Go to www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org for
inspiration!
• Embrace Your Diversity. Every Oregon community includes
diverse cultures. Have a "Worlds Culture Day" or a community "Bite"
festival! Create ways for each of us to appreciate our different
backgrounds, foods, and traditions.
• Get Citizens Young and Old Together. Link high school "seniors"
with "senior citizens" for an oral history project. Think of other possible
pairings. See how Astoria, Oregon did it at
http://www.crmm.org/Orar/020History°/020Proj.html
• Consider What It Means to Be an Oregonian. Have an organized
conversation about civic life and responsibility.
Good places to start are: Oregon State Archives, Government 101
http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/banners/exhibits.htm, and the League of
Women Voters, http://www.lwvor.org/civicparticipation.htm
• Complete a 2009 Legacy Project. Put up a statue, put up a plaque, put
up lots of plaques, commission a mural or other work of art. Do an
invitational art contest. Do a time capsule. Create a legacy for your
community to appreciate in 2059 for the Oregon Bicentennial.
• Spiff Up for the Sesquicentennial. Clean up, fix up, show off your
community. Fly banners, plant flowers. Oregon only turns 150 once.
• Read! What if, in 2009, everyone in Oregon read the same book? The
Oregon Library Association, in cooperation with hundreds of libraries
across the state, wants every Oregonian to read and discuss Stubborn Twig
by Lauren Kessler. Go to www.oregonreads2009.org. At the same site,
download the Oregon 150 Reading List —150 books that tell the Oregon
Story.
• Write! Log on to www.oregonencyclopedia.org , see what you can add
to the Oregon Encyclopedia, a one -stop -shop with essays and entries
covering the significant people, places, institutions and events in Oregon,
from 10,000 years ago to the present.
Connect with Oregon 150
Oregon's sesquicentennial birthday celebration starts and finishes at the
community level.
A statewide non-profit group, Oregon 150, appointed by Governor Ted
Kulongoski, has developed several statewide projects that are meant to involve
all Oregonians in the 150th anniversary and complement local commemorative
efforts. Information on all things sesquicentennial can be found at
www.Oregon150.org
The Oregon 150 Signature Projects include:
• Take Care of Oregon Day. May 16, 2009 is a day when all Oregonians
will be asked to give back to this state, which has given us so much.
Oregonians in every corner of the state can roll up their sleeves together
and volunteer for a service project, such as clearing trails, cleaning up a
historic cemetery or planting trees, or painting a school. This could be
the biggest day of volunteerism in the nation and set a standard for the
rest of the country! The project will be managed by SOLV, Oregon
Volunteers, and the Rural Development Initiative. Go to
www.Oregon150.org for details on getting involved.
• Oregon Stories. Oregon 150 wants to hear from you! We are asking
Oregonians to tell us their stories....to document who we are as a
people, how our state developed, and where we want to take Oregon in
the future. Learn how to do it at www.Oregon150.org/oregonstories
Your story might be played on the radio or reprinted online or in
newspapers.
• Youth Legacy Projects. Organized and lead by Oregon's young
people, these projects expect to rehabilitate or restore parks as an
Oregon Bicentennial legacy and bring Oregon youth together in 2009 to
discuss their vision for Oregon by 2059.
• Travel Oregon 150. We're encouraging all Oregonians to travel 150
miles from home and see the diverse landscapes, people, and places of
their home state — and to show off their community to others. Go to
www.traveloregon.com
40 Oregon Dreams Blog. We want to gather our hopes and dreams for
the next 50 years. Make your contribution at our website!
You can always find the latest Oregon sesquicentennial information at
www.Oregon150.org . There you will find the Board's Strategic Plan and
Oregon 150's Vision, Mission, and Values. You can also sign up to receive
newsletter updates.
Already planning a project? You can now be an official Oregon 150 Partner.
You can use the official Oregon 150 logo and we'll showcase your project or
event on our website and in our PR materials.
For more info:
Oregon 150
1211 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite L 17
Portland, OR 97204
503-445-7120
info@Oregon150.org