Point Of Order

Drafted as an assembly delegate in my role on the 2024 PRSA Oregon Chapter board, I returned to the leadership assembly of the Public Relations Society of America at its annual meeting on Monday, October 14 at the Anaheim Marriott. The PRSA Leadership Assembly is a deliberative body with governance responsibilities for the organization, including the consideration and selection of PRSA officers and directors.

Assembly delegates also amend bylaws, approve the organization's dues structure and address other governance issues. Chapters, districts and sections all send representatives to the annual meeting. Having served as an assembly delegate about a dozen times over the years, I was surprised to learn that much had changed as the wheels of governance ground on in my absence since the "Boston Tea Party" in 2017.

Departing Eugene on Saturday, October 12, my first order of business was to figure out how I could track the Duck football team play the Ohio State Buckeyes in what had been billed as the college football game of the week. After cooling my heels at the terminal during my layover in Seattle, I boarding my flight to Anaheim. Kickoff was nigh, and much to my delight, the game was on television my flight What a break!

The first half was a competitive slugfest with numerous lead changes, and the Ducks would lead at halftime, 22-21. Unfortunately, my plane had landed at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, and I would need to deplane, find my way to the baggage claim and hail a cab for a ride to the Anaheim Marriott. Missing most of the third quarter, I opted to head to the hotel bar before checking in to the Anaheim Marriott.

Ordering a stiff drink, I utilized the game tracker application, an adequate, but exasperating, way to keep up on a game.

With the clock stopping on every single called time out, play review and injury time out, the game continued to see-saw down to the wire until the Ducks would ultimately prevail, 32-31, when the clock read 0:00.

On Sunday, October 13, it was time for me to continue my review of the issues that would be addressed at the 2024 PRSA Leadership Assembly, As is the case with many organizations and trade associations, trends in governance tend to ebb and flow over time. Since my last stint as an assembly delegate for either my chapter or district, PRSA has been tilting toward a more top-down, rather than egalitarian, leadership model.

After conducting a review of the nominating process in 2016, PRSA initiated a more hierarchical approach to the selection of officers and directors. The organization also planned to review of the process after five years. Historically, PRSA Oregon and its colleagues from chapters throughout North Pacific District had resisted attempts to limit broad participation by the electorate in the selection of PRSA officers.

So I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this year, two amendments returning to a more representative approach to the selection of PRSA officers and directors.

PRSA Oregon universally concurred that support of the two bylaw amendments is warranted.

Based on my admittedly subjective impressions of the tenor of discussions in virtual sessions with delegates prior to meeting in Anaheim, the assembly promised to be a return to those thrilling days of yesteryear when the meeting more closely resembled the frontier legislature scene in John Ford's The Man Who Fought Liberty Valance.

The first amendment would return the authority to select PRSA officers and directors to the Nominating Committee, providing greater diversity of viewpoints reflected by involvement of several PRSA sections and districts. The second amendment would provide for two sitting PRSA board members wot participate in the selection process. As expected the discussion was lively, but both amendments passed.

Other subjects covered at the assembly included reports from PRSA Chief Executive Linda Thomas Brooks, 2024 Chair Joseph Abreu, APR CPRC, and 2024 Treasurer Jessica Graham, APR, Fellow PRSA, followed by leadership elections for 2025 PRSA officers and directors and sereral enlightening panel discussion on subjects of interest, including artificial intelligence, mis/disinformation and education affairs.

For much of the rest of the conference, I focused on events centered on the PRSA College of Fellows, including a welcoming reception and induction ceremony honoring 11 new members for 2024. Established in 1989, the PRSA College of Fellows includes more than 750 professionals and educators nationally and internationally who have demonstrated a significant impaction the public relations and communications profession.

As the professional advisor for the University of Oregon Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, I also attended the PRSSA Champions Breakfast with the UO executive team members in attendance. As a member of the first cohort of UO PRSSA members when the chapter was established in 1972, I was also celebrating 30 years as either the professional advisor or faculty advisor for the group.

Upping Your Game

"Elevate Your Communications Playbook" was the theme of the PRSA 2024 NW Communicators Conference held at Portland State University on September 19-20. The two-day conference featured keynote speakers, breakout sessions and roundtable discussions focusing on the latest case studies and trends in public relations research and evaluation, strategy and tactics, and storytelling in communicating with target audiences.

Topics ranged from the broad (strategic pianning, reputation management and research and evaluation) to the specific (marketing, employee relations, writing, and media relations). Keynote speakers addressed measuring trust in the world of artificial intelligence and empowering businesses and their employees to create a culture of well-being. Sponsors included The Oregonian Media Group, UO SOJC, TTHM.COM and PSU.

Aldo Leopold Society Redux

Any excuse for a party, right? But when one of the charter members of the Aldo Leopold Society ventures from Toronto, Ontario, Canada all the way to the Center of the Known Universe at the Owl Conservatory, then it becomes a clarion call not unlike a gathering of the pirate collective.

And so it was. As former U.S. Forest Service trail dogs, wilderness rangers and firefighters on the Lake Wenatchee and Leavenworth Rangers Districts on the Wenatchee National Forest, we look forward to a reunion of our tribe to cavort and spin tall tales from days of yore in the North Cascades.

Back To The Future

Everybody loves a good comeback story. Yet to experience a comeback, you must have weathered a setback.

 

At the 2018 PRSA International Conference, the University of Oregon PRSSA Chapter, the oldest in the Pacific Northwest since its founding by UO Associate Professor Jack Ewan in 1972, was as strong as ever.

 

At the conference, UO PRSSA accepted PRSA’s Certification for Education in Public Relations on behalf of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication from PRSA Chair Anthony D’Angelo and Chair-elect Debra Peterson at the PRSSA Champions breakfast. Life was good.

 

Lily Gordon (above, left), UO PRSSA Chapter President for 2018-19, reported that by the end of fall quarter, the chapter had 75 active, dues-paying members, with 24 members participating on the events and communications committees.

“Average chapter meeting attendance increased by 25 percent during the fall quarter of 2018 compared to the previous year,” said Gordon, “and we launched a new website that was more user-friendly and featured career resources and video content. For 2019, we anticipated expanding our Seattle professional development tour to include a networking function with the PRSA Puget Sound Chapter.”

 

The next year, UO PRSSA ramped up for another record-breaking year after riding the wave of success inspired by previous executive teams, with no signs of slowing down.

 

But then, COVID-19 made its way to America, affecting institutions and organizations everywhere. UO PRSSA was no exception to the difficulties and challenges during this period. 

 

In 2019-20, Amelia Bennett served as Chapter President for UO PRSSA. She recalls that the pandemic presented myriad issues in continuing to support members.

“Fearful of the unknown, we transitioned our meetings to Zoom,” said Bennett, “and as a team, we relied on each other to remain optimistic about the future as we passed the baton to the next leadership team.”  

 

As classes continued online, University of Oregon student groups, if they even met at all, utilized virtual methods to connect with one another through Zoom and FaceTime. The first year of the pandemic proved to be the most difficult of times, and the challenges continued into the 2020-21 school year.

 

After two years of pandemic shutdowns, UO PRSSA membership numbers practically fell off the map, dwindling from over 75 in 2018 to only five in 2022. The low water mark for the chapter came in spring 2021, when only six candidates applied for five leadership positions for the 2021-2022 school year.

 

UO PRSSA had lost its momentum, but then leadership found new ways to accomplish their stated goals, according to 2021-22 Chapter President Madilyne Nguyen-Acosta.

“When the pandemic hit, we had to get creative with programming for our chapter” said Nguyen-Acosta. “Despite the challenges of navigating a virtual landscape for the first time in class, and also with our extracurricular activities, we made the most of our circumstances.”

 

The UO PRSSA executive team, taking advantage of the virtual environment to expand its reach, and understanding that members often seek public relations positions in Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles, introduced the West Coast Connection: a collaborative, virtual speed networking event hosted by PRSSA chapters from University of Oregon, University of Washington, and University of Southern California.

 

“The event was a success in expanding networks for our members both horizontally and vertically.” concluded Nguyen-Acosta.

 

By spring 2021, the UO PRSSA team acknowledged that while they couldn’t turn back the hands of time, they could pivot in rebuilding their chapter by modeling approaches that professionals across the U.S. had begun to implement, according to 2021-22 President Ellie Shalvarjian.

“We learned how to take our meetings from fully remote to hybrid to in-person,” said Shalvarjian, “but another wave of COVID cancelled our first in-person professional development tour in over two years, so we continued to rely on the practicality of the West Coast Connection.”

 

But the issues facing UO PRSSA were far more significant than the pandemic. Internal processes concerning budgeting had changed dramatically and support systems for the chapter were in flux. For example, instead of writing checks to become members of UO PRSSA, an electronic portal process through the PRSSA website had been instituted.

Yet a clear resurgence would develop in the 2022-23 school year. That previous spring, UO saw a 100 percent increase in the number of members interested in leadership positions, from five to ten. Momentum, however modest, was building, and an enthusiastic new leadership team was in place.

 

While working to address the electronic portal process, UO PRSSA received a timely assist from Public Relations Society of America Headquarters in New York. Senior Vice President of Programs Jeneen Garcia appealed to the PRSA Foundation to help fund membership dues for the new UO PRSSA executive team, providing a jumpstart for the school year.

The energy of the new team was palpable, with bold visions for the upcoming school year, including a trip to the PRSA/PRSSA International Conference in Dallas, Texas. Unfortunately, the group didn’t quite have its sea legs yet when negotiating internal policies and procedures within the University of Oregon, and the effort fell short.

 

So the group pivoted strategically and focused on providing professional development tours for members in Seattle, Portland and Eugene. With each tour, the leadership team learned valuable skills for providing meaningful and transformative experiences for growing membership. 

 

“Not only did students finally get the opportunity to engage face-to-face with an expansive network of PR professionals,” said 2022-2023 Vice President Megan O’Keefe, “but we witnessed beautiful friendships growing between our members that I believe played a vital role in restoring the group’s spirit.” 

 

The 2023-24 UO PRSSA immediately began to build upon the success from the previous year, and the leadership team, led by 2023-2024 President Karrigen Hansen, attended the PRSA/PRSSA International Conference in Nashville, the group’s first ICON since 2018-19.

“Attending ICON in Nashville for the first time in five years bonded our team and allowed our chapter to ignite the passion projects we hadn’t seen for a while,” said Hanson. “Back in Oregon, our numbers grew to the point that we were able to curate a guest speaker series and professional development workshops that truly benefited our members. Even outside Allen Hall, our executive team worked diligently in nurturing and continuing to grow the chapter.” 

 

“For example, we worked with PRSA Oregon in collaborating with other PRSSA chapters like George Fox University,” continued Hanson. “More specifically, we learned the ins and outs of what it takes to finance a club.  Beyond that, we were determined to advocate for ourselves as an organization that should be taken seriously.”  

 

Much like the phoenix, the immortal bird from Greek mythology that cyclically regenerates, UO PRSSA is now back to its former position of strength and vitality. Thanks to the diligent efforts of student leaders and their mentors, the recovery was gradual but steady and consistent. These students literally willed UO PRSSA to succeed while emerging from the pandemic.

 

“It’s been gratifying to witness their perseverance, and continued growth to their former position of strength,” said UO PRSSA Professional Advisor John Mitchell, APR, Fellow PRSA.

As for the future, current UO PRSSA Chapter President Jillian Gray said the future is bright and 2024-25 is shaping up to be an exciting year for members.

 

“Last year, we had more applicants than ever for our executive board,” Gray noted, “and full classrooms packed with eager members ready to learn from inspiring guest speakers from companies like Dreamworks, Starbucks L’Oreal, Edelman, Airbnb, Dutch Bros, and Allison."

 

“There’s real energy in our chapter right now,” Gray continued. “We have an incredible team leading our chapter and more members than ever attending meetings, with new faces each week. We’re also in the process of planning robust professional development tours in cities like Seattle and Portland.” 

 

Indeed, these Ducks appear to have risen from the ashes.

Editor's Note: 2024-25 UO PRSSA President Jillian Gray, (below, right) contributed to this article.

Too Close For Comfort

A lightning bust sparked a wildfire on Bee Sting Hill across Shugart Flats from the Owl Conservatory on Saturday, August 17, initiating an evacuation notice for homeowners. The fire initially covered 10 acres when firefighters and air support from the State of Washington Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service arrived to battle the blaze.

The fire grew to 15 acres before saw crews dug fire lines along the irrigation ditch on the west side of Bee Sting Hill.Other firefighters prepared buffer zones around nearby structures. Fire activity then moderated with heavy rains. The next morning, a Forest Service air tanker strafed the fire with water from Lake Wenatchee to dampen the flames down more.

Initial attack crews then fell hazard trees and reinforced existing control lines for the rest of the week before establishing direct control lines and mopping up hot spots and heavy fuels. The steepness of the hillside terrain led to burning materials and rocks rolling downhill, creating hazardous challenges for firefighters. Hose lays were installed to provide firefighters with water support to mop up the conflagration.

Crews continued to create containment zones using hand crews on the sides and lower edges, and a bulldozer along the top edge. Multiple air resources were used to drop water within the fire's perimeter. Air resources included two helicopters with buckets, two "super scoopers," four "fire boss scoopers," and an air attack aircraft used to coordinate air traffic. The fire was declared contained on Thursday, August 22.

The Chiwawa-Wenatchee Irrigation District canal flows along the west side of Bee Sting Hill, and its summit stands about 600 feet above the little mountain community of Shugart Flats. On a clear day, the summit provides an excellent perspective toward the south, overlooking the pastoral village of Plain, along with Natapoc Mountain, Beaver Hill and Icicle Ridge near Leavenworth, Washington in the background.

Return To The Mountain

One of the benefits of growing up in East Portland was its proximity to Mt. Hood and environs. My grandparents, Carl and Emilia Cargni, shared a cabin in Welches with my great-uncle and great-aunt which we would frequent often. The town sits squarely in the middle of the Mt. Hood Corridor near the peak, along with other little towns and villages like Brightwood, Wemme, Zigzag and Rhododendron.

It would be the beginning of my lifelong love affair with the mountain, known as Wy'east to the indigenous peoples of the Sandy, Zigzag and Salmon River drainages. Since those early years, I have continued to make pilgrimages to "the mountain," as it's simply know to locals. My Dad (Rhododendron), sister (Welches) and uncle (Zigzag) have all owned homes along the Mt. Hood Corridor over the years.

The Mt. Hood Corridor, now known as U.S. Highway 26. follows the old Barlow Road, built in 1846 by Sam Barlow and Philip Foster. The toll road was constructed to allow covered wagons to cross the Cascade Range in reaching the Willamette Valley. Before the opening of the Barlow Road, pioneers floated down the Columbia River from The Dalles to Fort Vancouver, in those days a hazardous and expensive journey.

In keeping the family tradition alive, we spent a week on the mountain this month at a dog-friendly Airbnb located between Brightwood and Wemme. Brightwood appears to be one of the few little villages along the Barlow Road that was bypassed by the Mt. Hood Scenic Highway, primarily because the town was unfortunately located on the north side of the Sandy River, unlike Wemme, Welches, Zigzag and Rhododendron.

As a result, Brightwood is not unlike some of the small towns along U.S. Highway 66, more popularly known as Route 66, when major interstates bypassed the little burgs and left many outposts essentially marooned. A prime example is the Brightwood Tavern, a throwback in the center of town. The old log cabin structure is dark on the inside, with little natural light, and reeks of cigarette smoke from the casino in the back.

The rental was reasonably priced and featured a fenced yard with play area, hot tub and swimming pool, a perfect spot for a weeklong hiatus on the mountain. A highlight was a trip up to historic Timberline Lodge, which was built and furnished by local artisans during the Great Depression. Timberline Lodge was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Another Roadside Antiquity

When I entered school in 1959, the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park was already 30 years old and a premier attraction in Portland, Oregon. At that point, the park, adjacent to the Columbia River, was already on the wane. Yet its primary feature, a wooden-framed roller coaster known at "The Big Dipper," still drew throngs throughout the 1960s.

The roller coaster ride was wild and woolly, and when schools celebrated "Safety Patrol Day" or other summertime events at the park, youngsters turned out in droves. The Big Dipper was widely known as the biggest and the best roller coaster ride in the West. The park also featured swimming pools, other thrill rides, midway games and a carousel.

In reality, the park was a marketing ploy by Carl Jantzen, a partner in Portland Knitting Mills, to promote swimsuits used by the Portland Rowing Club. The park, however, remained wildly popular even after the Vanport Flood wiped away the nearby residences in 1948. Eventually, Jantzen Beach Park closed in 1970 and is now a shopping mall.

Jantzen Beach was the premier summertime attraction in Portland in the 1960s. We went there frequently, riding our bikes on the ten-mile trek from Mt. Tabor to the Interstate Bridge. The park was a great place to meet kids from other neighborhoods, and The Big Dipper was the main attraction, though the wooden construction seemed dubious, even in those days

As kids, we would stop at another roadside attraction on the way to our beach house on the north side of Lincoln City on the Central Oregon Coast. Spawned by a themed restaurant known as "The Pixie Kitchen," the park, known as Pixieland, seemed like a good idea at the time, but Pixieland only lasted a mere six years before closing for good.

Jerry Parks, an entrepreneur with Disney connections, worried that the State of Oregon would bypass the Pixie Kitchen, his highly successful restaurant during a reroute of U.S Highway 101, so he purchased 57 acres nearby to build a new western-themed amusement park. The new theme park was just minutes from the Pixie Kitchen in Lincoln City.

When it opened in 1968, the 44-acre park near Otis featured a 600-foot log flume ride not unlike the one at Knott's Berry Farm, a steam train with 2,000 feet of trestle, a recreational vehicle camping site and a western-themed main street with food vendors, arcade and opera house. Though nitially successful, the park ceased operations in 1974.

A laundry list of reasons plagued Pixieland: short tourist season further diminished by rainy coastal weather, a gas crisis, undercapitalization and corrosive salt air eroding wood and metal. But the real deal killer was the fact that the Forest Service was under mandate to restore the wetlands near the Salmon River, dooming the future of Pixieland.

One of the more unusual attractions from my youth was known as "Wally's Dam" located in rural Clackamas County southeast of Portland. In 1966, Wally Hubbard built a 320-foot long, 180-foot high fiberglass slide over a wide swimming hole on Sieben Creek that had formed on his property. Soon, youngsters like myself and many others were coming from all over Portland.

The slide -- an adrenaline rush from top to bottom -- was a delight on hot summer days. Wally charged no admission fee, but he had a set of rules clear posted at the entrance: no cussing, no smoking, no drinking and a commitment to go to Church or Sunday school twice a month (a requirement met with ease for those of us who were Catholics).

A rural postal carrier, Wally's route was usually completed by noon, so he was on-site watching the kids have fun. A lifelong bachelor with a severe stutter, Wally was not shy about sharing his faith with kids or chasing off troublemakers if they caused problems. Though Wally had a pension and Social Security, he lived like a pauper and supported many causes.

Some days, Wally said he counted as many as 400 youngsters riding the slide on his property in the foothills of the Boring Lava Field southwest of Mt. Hood. Inevitably, there were bound to be injuries at Wally's Dam, and Clackamas County officials obliged Wally to cut the slide back. Eventually, he took it down, another roadside attraction lost to the ages.

Just up the Willamette River from Jantzen Beach and the Interstate Bridge is the only amusement park still operating in the City of Roses: Oaks Park. One of the oldest continuously-operated amusement parks in the country., the 44-acre park was conceived as an attraction timed to accompany the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.

But Jantzen Beach wasn't the only amusement park affected by the Vanport Flood of 1948. The rising water submerged the park, killing a third of the stately oaks on the bluff, warping most of the rides, damaging the skating rink, and closing the park for about six months. Eventually, Oaks Park experienced a resurgence after Jantzen Beach closed in 1970.

In 1985, the owner of Oaks Park donated the site to the nonprofit Oaks Park Association, which continues to operate the park as "an affordable and family-friendly recreation attraction open to the general public" to this day. In 2005, Oaks Amusement Park celebrated 100 years of continuous operation, making it the oldest amusement park in the United States.

Oaks Park was located in the Sellwood District, so it was fairly easy access for from where I lived, first in Eastmoreland, and later Mt. Tabor. The park includes midway games, about two dozen rides that operate seasonally, a year-round skating rink and picnic grounds. Most of the year, our focus was on the skating rink, which was a good place to meet girls.