Getting there....

My loyal blog followers (or should I say follower)- you may have noticed that I have been motivated to write more about the great people I’ve met since I got here and all the fun I’ve been having. However, I assure you that I have been attending my vocational visits and I have been learning a lot. Many of the towns I’ve visited so far are small and like all cities and towns in the US they are governed by their own laws- state laws and further by their own city laws....in other words the laws are different in Ashland, Oregon to those in Klamath Falls, Oregon- which kinda makes things complicated. Don’t you agree? But they have their reasons- the people, population, climate, demographics, issues and needs are different in each city.
Oregonians have faced the challenges of increased taxes and little to no grants since before the economic downturn and have survived. What I admire the most about Oregonians is that when they see a need in their communities for schools, youth activities, hospitals, libraries, museums, hospices, children’s homes, community gardens etc. they find creative ways to complete it or make it happen and many times this is facilitated through service clubs such as Rotary. There is a high level of volunteerism and fund-raising here – something I wish we had more of at home. Many institutions in Oregon are open and functioning strictly because of people who volunteer their time. Imagine only volunteers! Nerys and I saw many such institutions during our vocational visits at Klamath Falls and had the opportunity to say a few words to the Klamath County via an interview with the Herald and News which reiterated our admiration for their spirit.

My vocational visits and group explorations to date in Ashland and Medford,Oregon:
Thursday 29 April: South Oregon Regional Economic Development Institute (SOREDI); Ashland, Oregon. Ken Ogden, GSE coordinator for the Ashland District and a great architect accompanied Liesl Harewood and I to SOREDI. After a very informative session we attended the Ashland Rotary Club’s Meeting. There, I was not surprised to see a Rotary Club of Port of Spain West Banner already up. The world to me becomes smaller with every passing day.

Thursday 29 April: Ashland City Hall with Martha Bennet (City Administrator) and Ann Seltzer (Director of Communications); Ashland, Oregon. After the Rotary Meeting, we walked the streets of Ashland for a while- unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs- before my meeting with the City of Ashland. Ann Seltzer shared vital information about their branding initiatives, the city’s communication methods and the challenges they face in the Government Service. Branding is one of the many projects the Ministry of Finance in Trinidad has been working on and hopes to achieve in the coming year. After an absolutely delightful dinner at the Winery House with Ken Ogden, Lisa James and other Rotarians, we were lucky enough to see Pride and Prejudice (Yes my absolute favourite book written by Jane Austen!) performed at the Shakespearian Theatre. It was wonderful!!!!



Friday 30 April: Lanphier Associates with Ric Moir ; Medford. At this vocational, I was lucky enough to see an advertising firm in action developing a range of ads for a hospital in the area. I even gave my two cents here and there. I was very impressed by the quality of their work and the way they meet their clients’ expectations. Ric (a Rotarian as well) and I then left for the lunch time Medford Rogue Club Meeting where the GSE team received a standing ovation for our presentation. Kingsley Kelley, the President of the Club, will always start his meetings off with a poem about whoever is on the head table and presenting. He’s a fun guy. Poem? Our afternoon was spent exploring the historical little town of Jacksonville and having our pictures professionally taken by yet another Rotarian- David Gibb. The ice-cream in Jacksonville was GREAT! Dinner was at Greg and Allison Koenig’s- everything was so yummy….I can still remember that heavenly tiramisu.

Saturday 1 May: We climbed Table Rock! Yay…Getting to the top was worth it. The view was “absolutely gorgeous”..a very Nerys thing to say…lol… she’s gonna kill me if she reads this.





Sunday 2 May: Wine tasting and KTVL Channel 10 with Kingsley Kelley, General Manager and Host Father … … The pictures say it all.

 A great day! This was our last day in Medford and to say thank you to my host family, in my drunken stupor (after all the wine tasting), I wrote them a poem. Ahum
Diana it’s a while since I’ve met someone so pretty and kind. I’m sad to go now…I feel I could cry.
Kingsley, you made me laugh so much-such a great host. Log on to my blog now and then…read all my posts.
Can’t thank you enough for breakfast, lunch and movie. Mr. Kingsley Kelley? Did I mention you’re a looney?
I had so much fun that words cannot tell. Ooh thank you for our day of wine tasting as well.
I hope Trinidad is on your list of places to visit. Gimme a call when you’re ready and I will arrange it.
This is not goodbye…Cause I’ll be in touch..I’ll end with four words…Thank you so much.

Not bad for an amateur right?... Anyways…I’m sleepy and tomorrow is another long day……Stay tuned for details on Klamath and Lakeview… I’m still way behind on my blogging but I’ll get there…