Greetings and welcome to Friday!
FYI, this Saturday is the unveiling of the Louis Southworth bronze sculpture at the Alsea Bay Bridge Visitor Center in Waldport. The event runs from noon to 4:00pm with the unveiling ceremony at 1:00pm; hot cider and pastries from Pacific Sourdough and live fiddle music, too.
Here’s our EDALC update for the week:
====
Blue Economy/O2IH::
On Tuesday, Business Oregon held the official kick-off of the Blue Sector Survey data project that will be managed by the Eastern Research Group (ERG). This is the one funded by the Oregon legislature. We learned that the timeline is WAY short (final report is to be delivered to the legislature in early March), which calls into question the depth of the data dive they can do. In a follow-up call, Mark Farley told me that “nobody can circle the wagons like the coast!” Mark, myself, Melissa Murphy, Paula and Gil Silva all acted as a unified “squeaky gear” to make sure this project keeps a realistic and useful focus. Mark and I also discussed tapping ERG to do some “deeper dive” data work that can more directly assist in our O2IH priorities. – Paul
Broadband::
Yesterday, I attended our monthly Broadband Action Team meeting. Much of the conversation focused on the FCC dropping their new national broadband maps today and how our regional counties can work together with local address and GIS data to make sure the data set is complete. We also had our check in with Solarity on the broadband feasibility grant work (for Linn, Lincon and Benton counties). I worked with spouse Susan to pull together information on the Faster Internet Oregon speed test for the LCSD’s next newsletter and Lesley helped me connect with the right team members at Samaritan to help get the word out through their channels. – Paul
In other broadband news, Pioneer Connect was awarded a $24 million USDA ReConnect grant to bring Fiber-to-the-Home to 1,528 locations in Benton, Lincoln and Polk counties. (insert loud “Wah Hooo!” here) You can read about it here:
https://pioneer.net/news/pioneer-connect-receives-reconnect3-grant-to-provide-rural-high-speed-internet-to-over-1500-underserved-homes/
Communication/Marketing::
I created a post announcing the opening of the Community and Economic grant application on Monday. -Sarah
I updated the opportunities for entrepreneurs slider on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. -Sarah
Tuesday afternoon I went around Waldport and Newport and got some background shots for the community and economic development video and other future promotional videos. -Sarah
On Wednesday, I shared a Faster internet Oregon video on Facebook and worked on editing the community and economic development grant video. -Sarah
On Thursday, I got some background film of Toledo and interviewed Dave Price about the community and economic development grant. -Sarah
On Friday, I edited the community and economic development grant video and got some background film of Siletz. -Sarah
Community Connecting::
This weekend celebrates The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI), who became the first Tribe in Oregon and the second Tribe in the US to be restored to Federal recognition in November 1977. (links and info in detailed report)
I compiled this list of free online resources for Nonprofit organizations. As board members, you’re getting a sneak preview of the document that will be shared with workshop attendees on November 29th. Thanks to Paul for recommending I put together this “scream sheet” of free, easy-to-use resources available to help Nonprofits with the wide range of challenges they navigate!
Link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AuukwC0z7JsKKRdQaKX03JGJ02k4K6r1/view
I joined Paul for an inspiring evening at the new Artsea Craftsea Arts & Crafts Studio. The most recent Central Coast CO.STARTERS class shared snacks, beverages, business pitches, lessons learned from their experience, and celebrated the network of entrepreneurial support system relationships they’ve gained. I felt the camaraderie and magic that Misty Lambrecht built in this cohort, and I look forward to seeing folks’ new businesses grow with the support of their new network. Congratulations to all the graduates!
– Leslie
Here is the link to Leslie’s full report and a recap of her week’s highlights (always a great read!):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qyWLje_eD842NiThLL5_l8hKsNgWNTnN8YL0X177uT0/edit?usp=sharing
Community and Economic Development Grant::
On Monday, Leslie and I participated in the Affordable Housing Partners meeting via Zoom – we had a chance to do a deep dive on the grant program as well as talk about the larger Impact grant pool and the potential for an award for a worthy housing project. Also, we already have nine sign-ups for our grant workshop on the 29th. – Paul
On Monday, I created a new “Grant Resources and Opportunities” page for the EDALC website, which includes information about the Community and Economic Development Grant program as well as other avenues of funding and resources to learn more about grant writing. -Sarah
Creative Economies::
I reviewed ART Toledo’s vendor forms to make sure their Spanish translations were accurate and looked into ways of making the form accessible to people without a google account. -Sarah
Organizational Development::
Leslie, Sarah and I met yesterday afternoon for a team check-in and conversation at the end of the day at Wolf Tree Taproom. It’s always great to connect and converse outside of our normal working offices and schedules to both problem solve and brainstorm future work. What an amazing team we have here at EDALC! – Paul
Project Work::
I updated old Oregon Prospector Listings on Wednesday and added new listings on Thursday and Friday. -Sarah
I edited the November board meeting minutes on Thursday. -Sarah
I updated the average rent for commercial buildings in Lincoln County report on Friday. -Sarah
Presentations::
Yesterday afternoon, I was honored to be a part of a three person panel (with Dave Price and Oscar Juarez) focusing on childcare for the November League of Women Voters meeting at the Newport campus of the OCCC. We had nearly two hours of great conversations on local, regional and country-wide issues and potential solutions to our systemic childcare challenges – it was part of a much larger statewide LWV research project on the topic. – Paul
Rural Opportunity Initiative::
Wednesday night, EDALC was honored to help celebrate (and provide the snacks for) the second cohort of graduating CO.STARTERS entrepreneurs from Lincoln County. EDALC was able to subsidize the tuition of the business students through our Rural Opportunity Initiative funds. The course was taught by rockstar business instructor Misty Lambrecht. The celebration was held at Artsea Craftsea in South Beach, a new art-based business and also a graduate of the program. Way to go! We can’t wait to see the businesses you are going to build! – Paul
Upcoming::
On Monday morning, the EDALC team with be meeting with CTSI Assistant General Manager Lisa Norton and CFO Dan McCue. We’ll be sharing our projects and priorities over the next two year to see if there are any Venn diagram overlaps and potentials for future collaboration. – Paul
Huzzah::
Lesley and team took home the Design-Build Institute of America’s 2022 National Merit Award for Healthcare Facilities for their Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital project at the award ceremony in Las Vegas. Way to go!! See all the winners here: https://dbia.org/awards/project-team-awards/2022
FYI – no EDALC BoD meeting in December – we’ll be setting up a meeting in January for grant review.
As a reminder – your Board of Directors resource page is here:
Thanks for ALL that you are doing out there! Please reach out to me if you need anything at all.
Cheers,
-Paul 🙂