Growing up, I fell in love with Oregon’s mountains, fast flowing rivers, lush valleys and diverse scenery whenever my family traveled from the Midwest and California to visit family in Oregon. Fortunately, decades later after living in California’s metropolitan cities, my own family moved to the Willamette Valley in the mid-1980s to live a slower paced lifestyle that encouraged family life and community involvement.
Living in Lane County allowed me to stay at home to care for and teach my two daughters. When they started school, I volunteered regularly in their classrooms, coached their Kidsports teams, and worked part-time in retail while completing my undergraduate education at Lane Community College.
It was during my career exploration that I discovered a fit for my life experiences and skillset – the community impact of public transportation! When I started as a part-time bus operator, I felt right at home with this opportunity to serve people regardless of income level, education, culture, employment, age, and status who used public transportation for a variety of reasons. It was also unexpected that I would meet and marry a regular bus rider, JD. We’ve been married 23 years.
Through my position as a transit planner and executive director of a rural transit agency, I have seen the direct correlation between the quality and accessibility of public transportation and a community’s economic health and vitality. That is why I have invested my time and expertise to help advance the goals of the citizens, business owners/operators, realtors and community leaders, and to be informed of their needs and challenges.
Often, I choose to serve in a leadership role on committees and action groups because I’m not interested in being a spectator or adding to my resume. Seeing a project completed or to experience successful collaboration that meets a need is its own reward and keeps me motivated to serve.
The list below illustrates the leadership and involvement I believe in as a community volunteer:
Treasurer
Rotary District 5110 Interact Exec. Comm.
Oregon
2019-present
Member
Community Stakeholders, City of C.G.
Cottage Grove
2018-present
Member
Soup Meeting sponsored by So. Lane Sch. Dist.
Cottage Grove
2017-present
Secretary
Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce
Cottage Grove
2017-present
President, Member
Main Street Cottage Grove Board of Directors
Cottage Grove
2014-present
President, Treasurer
Beds for Freezing Nights Board of Directors
Cottage Grove
2010-present
Greeter, Tourism Committee
Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce
Cottage Grove
2012-present
Treasurer, Member
Rotary Club of Cottage Grove
Cottage Grove
2012-present
Club Advisor
Rotary Interact Club @ C. G. High School
Cottage Grove
2012-2015, 2018
Secretary & Treasurer
Cottage Grove Community Dev. Corp.
Cottage Grove
2012-present
Treasurer/Member
REBOOT Recovery Board of Directors
Tennessee
2012-present
(merged with Branches of Valor based in Eugene)
Treasurer
Restoration Fellowship Church
Springfield
2012-18
Treasurer
Oregon Crafted Board of Directors
Eugene
2007-12
Event Coordinator
Western Oregon Women’s Conference
Eugene
2005 & 2006
Area 31 Governor
Toastmasters International
District 7
2004-2005
Club Officer Roles
Springfield Toastmasters
District 7
1998-2007
Recognitions
First Citizen Award, Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce, 2014
Sigma Beta Delta, International Honor Society in Business, Management, and Administration, 2009
American Public Transportation Foundation, Raymond C. Miller Scholarship award, 2008
First Citizens Award for Project Homeless Connect, presented by Mayor Kitty Piercy for helping advance the City Council homeless elimination agenda, 2007
Leadership Eugene-Springfield Graduate, Eugene & Springfield Chambers of Commerce, 2003