Greetings and welcome to Friday! Also, welcome to a damp and windy November that seems to grow dark at 2:20pm!

 

First off, a huge thank you to our Directors and guests who braved the rain and the wind to join our in-person Board of Directors meeting yesterday. Our guests were Lynlei Gilleo, Executive Officer of the Lincoln County Board of Realtors, Lisa Norton, CTSI’s Chief Administrative Officer and Nina Vetter, Newport’s City Manager.

 

We had a great ice breaker (What’s your professional superpower? What’s your kryptonite?), a viewing of our new “No Wrong Place to Start” video, a great presentation by Leslie on the passport data collection system she developed for the Cafe Aquarium event, and an introduction to Paul’s Deck of Lenses: An Economic Development Thinking Tool. The Board also passed the by-laws amendment (Thanks Doug!). The Board also decided NOT to have a December meeting, but to move the grant review meeting to January, to allow more time to score the grants (meeting info to come soon).

 

Stacie made our business center room and offices look awesome (as in organized!) for the meeting, and Sarah put together a wonderful charcuterie spread. Attendees also got to walk (float?) home with a just-baked loaf of Pacific Sourdough bread. In hindsight, due to the weather, we probably should have had a hybrid option as well (live and learn!).

 

Paul is off to the Game Designers Workshop conference in San Francisco this morning, He’s hoping his flights are still on (so far, all looks good). Or, in Paul “gamer speak” – He’s hoping to roll a natural 20 on his Travel Gods saving throw.

 

Here’s our weekly team update:

 

    • Partner Support/Community Support 
      • COG – Paul was part of the interview panel for two finalist interviews for the COG’s Community and Economic Development position (who is also the functional ED of CWEDD) – one in Albany on Monday and one virtual on Wednesday.
      • CWEDD – Sarah began editing the CWEDD video and coordinated the last interviews.
      • CWIH – On Wednesday, the Cascades West Innovation Hub Leadership Advisory group met to talk through a charter for the working group, as well as discussing some tweaks to the existing Vision and Mission statements. On Friday morning, Paul met with the core CWIH team.
      • Yachats – Paul is part of a small team scoring Yachats’ Community Development grant applications (many of the rules and scoring rubric based off of the county’s ComEcDev program) – the scorers will meet in person next Wednesday evening to reach a recommendation consensus.
      • Yaquina Art Association – On Wednesday Stacie attended the YAA members meeting to approve the budget and vote on changes to the Board of Directors.
    • Entrepreneurship
      • EDA Disaster Supplemental grant – Paul met with the team from Rural Prosperity Partners to dial in the specifics of an EDA Disaster Supplemental grant application to tackle the first steps in creating a Lincoln County business incubator.
    • Core Economic Development Services
      • ComEcDev Grant Program – Stacie created and posted a grant workshop reminder to Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Paul and Sarah will be facilitating the ComEcDev grant writing workshop next Wednesday afternoon. There are currently 27 registered attendees.
      • Major Employers Report – Sarah continued to reach out to local businesses for their employment numbers for the Major Employers Report.
      • Oregon Prospector – Sarah updated Oregon Prospector listings and added new ones. 
    • Community Connecting
      • Community Connector Presentation to the EDALC Board – This was a significant project this week (Leslie has many brag-worthy past projects, ongoing efforts, and potential upcoming projects and success stories to share!). Leslie ultimately narrowed it down to the mission Paul assigned: Focus on tangible results that showcase the intersection between community building and EDALC’s economic development priorities. While the weather and schedule/travel conflicts kept some board members from joining the meeting in Waldport for the live presentation, Leslie created an unlisted YouTube video of one of her practice recordings to share. Learn how one Community Connector Success Story from September’s Café Aquarium forwarded 8 of 9 EDALC Strategic Priorities, 3 of 5 CWEDD CED Strategic Priorities for 2025-2030, while also incorporating all of The Ford Family Foundation’s Rural Community Building Practices and Principles. 

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/VUMYI7fN1E8   

Presentation Slide Deck with links to more information

    • Organizational Management
      • Marketing & Communication Stacie shared relevant partner/regional posts on various social media channels – as well as the usual IG + FB story roundup of central coast goings on Friday.
      • Project Work
        • Stacie reviewed Leslie’s Rural Community Builder materials and provided feedback.
      • Admin
        • Stacie focused on cleaning/reorganizing the office in preparation for the board meeting and continued to work on the office tech inventory. 

 

That’s it for this week, thanks for ALL that you are doing out there. Keep us posted if you have anything you want us to share – we love hearing from you! Enjoy those King Tides!

 

Cheers,

 

-The EDALC Team (Paul, Sarah, Leslie and Stacie)