Ranger Confidential

A half century ago, a collection of wilderness aficionados and dirtbag climbers arrived at the Lake Wenatchee Ranger Station on the Wenatchee National Forest to work as backcountry rangers, trail dogs, lookouts and fire prevention guards. With shared values and common purpose, the unlikely ensemble has endured, and we continue to meet to this day with periodic gatherings in a communion of fellowship. 

We have come to call our group the Aldo Leopold Society after the noted ecologist, forester and author who penned the Sand County Almanac. His collection of essays on natural history and wildland ecology energized the environmental movement and stimulated interest in a land ethic.

They came as far away as North Dakota, Connecticut, California and Oregon, and many had worked previous gigs in national parks like Yosemite, Crater Lake and North Cascades, and national forests like the Malheur, Gifford Pinchot and Mt. Hood. Most were were either college students or recent graduates working as seasonal employees. They all had a zest for the backcountry and a need to fund their educational pursuits.

With last year's summit meeting scrubbed due to numerous wildfires throughout the Wenatchee National Forest, this year's gathering would remain in doubt when the Little Giant Fire exploded up the Chiwawa River on July 15. During a reconnaissance mission in August, the pyrocumulus cloud (left) from the fire was clearly visible from Coles Corner.

The mission was a mixed bag. The first few days were clear and sunny, as witnessed by this shot of a Canadair C415 "Super Scooper" over Lake Wenatchee. But the last few days were not. The air quality was poor, with over 600 AQI, and I had to hunker down in our cabin. Breathing was particularly difficult at night when the smoke settled in. My lungs ached. The Little Giant Fire had grown to over 172,000 acres, or 270 square miles.

Yet by Labor Day, fire crews had substantially contained the blaze and air temperatures had cooled, so the Aldo Leopold Society reunion at the Owl Conservatory would proceed as planned.

The air quality and daytime temperatures were excellent. The view of Glacier Peak from Glacier View Campground (above) was simply stunning.

It would indeed a great couple days at the Owl Conservatory. Good conversations, good food, good times. Weather was remarkably warm and still summer-like, so we all hiked into Hidden Lake on Nason Ridge. The trail traverses through old-growth fir and large cedars, providing peek-a-boo views of Lake Wenatchee and Dirtyface Mountain.

Time Tunnel

In Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson's character "Gil," a screenwriter and aspiring novelist, finds himself drawn to the charms of The City of Light. A nostalgia buff, he's especially enamored with that group of expatriate authors who lived in Paris, like Hemingway and Fitzgerald, from the Lost Generation. One night, he inexplicably travels back to the Jazz Age of 1920s Paris and meets both writers. Later, Gil travels back even farther in time, to Le Belle Époque period of the 1890s.

Much like Gil, I took my own foray back in time in September, first to the 1970s, joining my fellow trail dogs, backcountry rangers and dirtbag climbers from the Aldo Leopold Society for a reunion at the Owl Conservatory. Afterward, I traveled back even farther in time, to the 1960s, for a high school reunion at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland. Each event was an awakening. The next two posts of GonzoPR will focus on each reunion individually, in order to do justice to each.

Ada Station

Growing up in Portland, we spent summers at the family beach house in Road's End in Lincoln City. Despite living in Brookings for a time as an adult, I hadn't explored the Central Oregon coast much, so we booked a home at Ada Station on Siltcoos Lake near Dunes City for the whole family. The fact that eldest granddaughter is named Ada was a happy coincidence.

Considering its proximity to the Oregon coast, Ada is about as as remote as any other far-flung location in the state. Winding roads leave U.S. 101 south of Florence and weave a web of backroads into estuaries and hills of the Coast Range, most of it heavily logged timber country. One false move, as we experienced, and we found ourselves in "banjo country."

 

At the summit of the first wave of hills in the Coast Range, we turned around and headed back down the hill, taking a right instead of a left this time, and passed the Ada Grange. The community was named after Miss Ada Wilkes, the daughter of Benjamin and Jaretta Wilkes, longtime residents of the area, and was a station on the Coos Bay Rail Line.

The rental home was gorgeous. Advertised as a "tranquil lakeside living meets coastal adventure in a serene, deeply quiet pocket of Siltcoos Lake, this home offers the ultimate peaceful waterfront escape" with "the best of the Oregon Coast right at your fingertips." I spent considerable amount of time refining my summer tan on the beautifully appointed redwood deck.

Considering that Siltcoos Lake has an abundance of fish, including largemouth bass, yellow perch, bluegill and black crappie, brown bullhead catfish, coho salmon, cutthroat and rainbow trout and steelhead, we fished off the dock mornings and evenings when the water was calm. Granddaughter Ada caught both a bluegill and a yellow perch.

Another Fine Day In The Flat

We kicked off summer after solstice with the first trip of the season to the Owl Conservatory for a bit of rest and reorganization. Unfortunately, the first trip always requires an exercise in spring cleaning and coordination for the rest of the season. While productive, we also made sure it was relaxing.

In years past, the primary objectives on the first week of summer prior to the Fourth of July were the pursuit of fruit and fireworks on the Yakama Indian Reservation. This year, cherries were in and the first crop of peaches as well. We passed on fireworks, which are forbidden in areas of high fire danger.

Instead, we spent a quiet few days visiting with some of the local denizens of the Aldo Leopold Society in between important chores like setting up the screen tent to provide a safe space from mosquitoes outside. Once we were set up, we enjoyed our time on the deck, along with a bit of exploring Shugart Flats and a few sauna sessions in our multi-use well house.

The Beat Goes On

Doesn't seem possible, but another school year has come and gone, and the University of Oregon chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America continues to grow and thrive. Thanks to student leadership teams that have increasingly stepped up since the global pandemic nearly decimated UO PRSSA in 2020-21, the beat goes on.

Starting off the school year with a trip to Washington, D.C. for the 2025 PRSA/PRSSA International Conference, the team spent time hearing keynote speakers like Lauren Graham, award-winning actress, producer and New York Times bestselling author, and Tina Beaty, Chief Brand and Marketing Officer for the Society for Human Resource Management.

In addition to individual breakout sessions and panel discussions, socials and networking activities, UO PRSSA members had time to tour the nation's capital. Then in November, members participated in a professional development tour in Portland by visiting Gard Public Relations and Wieden+ Kennedy, both top rated agencies in the City of Roses.

Over the years, I have toured some outstanding advertising and public relations agencies in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix and more, but the Wieden+Kennedy tour was a first for me. All I can say is "big wow." The agency is -- in a word -- unique.

Best known for its work with Nike, Wieden+Kennedy is one of the largest independently owned agencies in the world and has developed campaigns for many other recognizable brands like Starbucks, Coca-Cola, ESPN, Honda, Microsoft, Miller Brewing and Procter & Gamble, among others. The employees we met on tour at W+K truly love their jobs.

In February, UO PRSSA journeyed south for another professional development tour to "Baghdad by the Bay," as San Francisco humorist Herb Caen called it, touring agencies like Weber Shandwick and We Communications, and visiting Oracle Park, home of the Giants, in addition to a skull session with the unimitable Gerard Corbett, APR, Fellow PRSA.

UO PRSSA had a busy April, with both the Pacific NW CommCon, sponsored by PRSA Oregon and PRSA Puget Sound, and UO PRSSA's Meet the PRos event in Eugene. UO PRSSA and Allen Hall Public Relations both played critical roles at CommCon, held this year at UO Portland, providing both logistical support and panelists for breakout sessions.

A highlight of the CommCon was a breakout session on "Meet Your Audience: Gen Z" featuring UO SOJC students (from left) Madison Price, Denali Williams, Allie Geraci-Novy and Sam Rinaldi, and moderated by Jonathan Yost, MA, APR, APIO (right). The well-attended session offered the opportunity for an enlightening peek into Gen Z perspectives.

The session featured an engaging discussion that allayed many Gen Z stereotypes and misconceptions. On the premise that Gen Z is lazy: "Lazy? No. Anxious? Yes." On the notion that Gen Z is not taken seriously: "We're smarter than we look." On where they get their news: "Substack, Instagram, podcasters and influencers, and if interested, (they) follow up."

On what's important: "Want to be able to use skills in a fast-paced, collaborative environment." "Work/life balance. (We) want to be able to leave work at work" "Authenticity is important. When it comes to polished messaging versus real people, real people is more valuable" to Gen Z. "Not impressed with titles." And finally, "Hire us!"

Later in April, UO PRSSA sponsored a "Meet the PRos" Allen Hall, a panelist event with professionals from AIRBNB, Wieden+Kennedy, Columbia Sportswear, Rula Mental Health and Comcast. Tip of the fedora to an outstanding 2025-26 UO PRSSA executive team (clockwise, from bottom left): Tessa, Harry, Grace, Jade, Madison and Ellie.

Scaling The Summit

As the 2026 Northwest Communicators Conference celebrated its 30th year, it's safe to say that this year's event, sponsored by PRSA Oregon and PRSA Puget Sound, was one of the best ever. A tip of the fedora to to Allen Hall Public Relations, the UO School of Journalism and Communication's in-house public relations agency directed by faculty advisor Kelli Matthews, for its stellar efforts in helping make the conference a success.

Matthew Marcial, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Relations Society of America based in New York, kicked off the conference with an overview of what's been happening -- and what's to come -- with PRSA as an international organization serving the communications community. What's changing, he noted, was an increased effort to becoming "trusted advisors to leadership" and "an ethical compass in a complex environment."

The strategy now, he said, is to align communications with business outcomes, anticipate risks earlier and influence leadership decisions. Addressing the "trust gap," execution still matters and precision is needed over volume: "Audiences are skeptical and authenticity is required in bridging the chasm between words and actions.

Held at the University of Oregon's Portland Campus, Marcial also addressed the state of the society. The focus areas, he noted are "revenue, retention and recruitment." Challenges facing the society include the economic environment, competition and perception gaps, but "passion of membership" will drive the society to new heights as it goes virtual with its lease on 120 Wall Street expiring in February 2027.

The 2026 Northwest CommCon featured compelling keynote speakers like Elizabeth Edwards speaking on "AI and the New Trust Economy," Pulitzer Prize Winner Nigel Jaquiss from the Oregon Journalism Project, Katie Garcia of the Logos Institute speaking on "What You Can Do to Reverse Marginalization of the PR Profession," and Mark Mohammadpour, APR, Fellow PRSA on "Leading with Empathy in the PR Profession."

Two sessions stood out for me. Katie Garcia's premise that "we don’t (necessarily) deserve a seat the table where decisions are made. We have to earn that seat at the table" resonated; and University of Oregon student comments in "Meet Your Audience: Gen Z." "Company culture and authenticity are important; beware of companies that lack vision or who fail to acknowledge employees. We're smarter than we look."

Pearl Jubilee

In 1996, the Oregon-Columbia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) pursued the idea of a professional development conference in Portland, and invited the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) to help organize the event as a joint venture. Originally called the Portland Communicators Conference, the event is stronger than ever after three decades.

According to friend and colleague Tom Unger, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, who was president of the local chapter of IABC in 1996, the conference was the brainchild of Julie Piper Finley, Vice-President of Professional Development at the time. Since then, I have attended and presented at numerous CommCons over the years. Congratulations to the Northwest CommCon on its pearl anniversary celebrating 30 years!