Southern Oregon Business Journal - June 2022

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The Journal for Business in Southern Oregon CROWDSOURCING BROADBAND DATA WITH FASTER INTERNET OREGON PAGE 5

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OREGON’S LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY BY GUY TAUER PAGE 22

June 2022

A RAPID AND DRAMATIC SHIFT TOWARD LESS AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN OREGON BY DAMON RUNBERG PAGE 28

Meet Local Innovator Jeff Sharpe, Life-long Entrepreneur and Community Advocate, Founder and CEO of Stracker Solar Page 6

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The Southern Oregon Business Journal extends sincere thanks to the following companies for sponsoring the journal. Without their support we could not produce a FREE resource for Southern Oregon businesses.

A Few Words from Jim June 2022 Innovation The state is about to award every region that asked for it, an innovation grant to hire a consultant that will help the region go after a much larger and harder to get innovation hub grant.

I’m serving on the task force that is working hard to get the rst grant, hire the consultant and come up with an award winning plan that the state will want to fund. The idea is to make innovation intentional in business development in the region.

I’ll let you know how this progresses.

Speaking of Innovation, one thing I plan on doing is to nd and share stories about innovators in Southern Oregon and this month I’m featuring Ashland’s own Jeff Sharpe. I have known Jeff for a couple of years and I think his invention, the Stracker, is very cool. It’s a two axis solar tower that follows the sun to maximize exposure. It’s been fun to see Strackers go up all over Southern Oregon. I think I even saw some on my last road trip to Idaho. I encourage you to read the articles about Jeff and a couple of his latest installations. They are very impressive and you can see them in person at various locations.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AMERITITLE - PAGE 4 PEOPLE’S BANK - PAGE 40 PROJECT A - PAGE 32 MANAGED HOME NET - PAGE 33 SOU - LEADERSHIP BEGINS HERE SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY PAGE 35 UMPQUA BROADBAND - PAGE 38

Rebuilding Talent lost over 60% of its businesses in the Almeda Fire back in 2020. Mayor Darby Ayers-Flood has been laser focused on recovery and most of her time since the res has been on getting the families able to move back to Talent. This work is moving forward now at a good pace and now she is able to focus on the business community. I attended the celebration of a grant to help rebuild the iconic Malmgren Garage. It was well attended and even through it was an emotional event it was a celebration. The owners of the building are committed to rebuilding and along with their new neighbor, Talent Maker City, the downtown business corridor will soon be taking shape.

OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY PAGE 38

I left there excited about the future of Talent’s business community and wondering how I could get more involved.

Thanks for reading.

Looking forward,

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Jim Jim@SouthernOregonBusiness.com fi

Greg Henderson ghenderson703@gmail.com Greg started the Southern Oregon Business Journal in 2015 and retired in 2020.

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Founder

Cover photo of Jeff Sharpe provided by Stracker Solar

5350 HWY 66, Ashland, Oregon 97520

www.SouthernOregonBusiness.com

A JOURNAL FOR THE ECONOMICALLY CURIOUS, PROFESSIONALLY INSPIRED AND ACUTELY MOTIVATED

JUNE 2022 - TABLE OF CONTENTS

Crowdsourcing Broadband Data with Faster Internet Oregon - 5

Interview with Jeff Sharpe, Life-long Entrepreneur and Community Advocate, Founder and CEO of Stracker Solar - 6 How an Ashland Dental Of ce Generates Maximum Solar Energy with the Smallest Footprint - 12 Franz Bakery partners with Stracker Solar to make new facility Net Zero electric - 14 ReWork Your Business - SBDC - 16 Siuslaw Pioneer Museum Receives Critical Funding From Bonneville Power Grant Through Florence Area Chamber Of Commerce - 18 KFDA Awarded $200,000 Revitalization Grant to Support Rehabilitation of the Arcade Hotel - 20 Oregon’s Leisure and Hospitality Industry - 22

A Rapid and Dramatic Shift Toward Less Affordable Housing in Oregon - 28 Ten SOU trustees appointed and con rmed - 34 The Plan - A Fine Line by Greg Henderson - 36 SOU Digital Cinema program launches unique “Crew Experience” - 41

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Southern Oregon Business Expo to be held August 4th, 2022 - 42

BROADBAND By press release https://hunter ber.com/crowdsourcing-broadband-data-with-faster-internet-oregon/

Crowdsourcing Broadband Data with Faster Internet Oregon coverage using crowdsoured data.

With this information, Faster Internet Oregon will be able to identify areas which lack highspeed broadband access and provide the state with accurate data to make decisions about the distribution of funds throughout Oregon.

FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING

additional funds to build out their broadband infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will allocate $65 billion to improving broadband internet throughout the country. The bill will distribute $100 million to each state for expanding internet access in unserved and underserved communities.

BETTER BROADBAND DATA

Funding will focus on bringing broadband to areas that lack adequate speeds, choice, and affordability. States with more unserved locations will receive

In preparing to equitably distribute the money, the state of Oregon is creating a broadband map which accurately represents internet speed, availability, and cost throughout the state.

Faster Internet Oregon is a coalition of economic development organizations, non-pro ts, and governmental entities whose goal is to create a map of real broadband

By running a speed test on the Faster Internet Oregon website, residents can participate in the crowdsourcing project.

To learn more about Faster Internet Oregon and run a speed test at your home, please visit fasterinternetoregon.org and then click on Speed Test The speed test takes less than a minute and will help the state identify gaps in internet availability and speed. The project only collects address and speed test data. No personally identi able information is stored and data will not be sold for any reason.

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LOCAL INNOVATORS

By Jim Teece

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Interview with Jeff Sharpe, Life-long Entrepreneur and Community Advocate, Founder and CEO of Stracker Solar

Strackers are manufactured in Ashland, Oregon at Oak Street Tank and Steel

Jeff Sharpe is the Founder and CEO of Stracker Solar, an Ashland-based solar manufacturer and installer rm.

He has been a professional engineer and the founder/ owner of various successful businesses for the past 35 years.

JT: Welcome, Jeff! Please tell us a little bit about your background. Where are you from? When and how did you start your career?

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Facing Page : Photo of Je Sharpe, Founder and CEO of Stracker Solar

JS: Thanks Jim. I grew up in Southern California. I studied at UC Santa Barbara and began my solar work with my dad in Bakers eld in 1976 where we designed and installed “bread box” solar water heaters. After college, I moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado where I built houses, earned my professional engineering license, founded, and sold several structural and mechanical engineering businesses; met my wife and started a family. Ten years later, we moved to the Bitterroot

Valley, Montana where we raised our children while designing and operating a certi ed organic 50-acre farm, goat dairy and cheese production facility.

JT: You have been doing a lot of different things, all centered around renewable energy and sustainable systems. When and why did you come to Ashland?

JS: I moved to Ashland in 2004 impressed with the riding trails, skiing, backpacking and Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 7

that holds the panels off the ground, we wouldn’t have to fence off valuable school grounds to generate solar energy. That is how the idea of elevated dual-axis solar trackers was born. But I went a step further: I wanted to design a large and robust solar tracker that accommodates more PV panels, generates more energy and, as such, is more appropriate for commercial solar installations. So, I incorporated Stracker Inc. in January 2017, brought together a great team of young engineers, and partnered with Oak Street Tank and Steel who had been manufacturing metal products for over 100 years in Ashland. Within 4 months, we had the rst Stracker prototype built, sold, installed and producing clean solar power for Oak Street Tank and Steel.

JT: Tell us a bit about the Strackers. What is so unique about them?

Je Sharpe - Founder of Stracker Solar, Standing under his invention

cultural opportunities the area offered. I also saw a strong potential for new sustainable energy businesses. So, I founded Sharpe Energy Solutions which became a prime contractor for the Oregon Department of Energy doing school energy-ef ciency projects.

JT: When did the idea of designing a completely

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unique solar solution and founding a new company start to materialize?

JS: We were working with Oregon’s SB1149 school program and the California Prop 39 program to bring energy ef ciency to schools.

While installing a smaller dualaxis solar tracker at Grenada Elementary in CA, I realized that if we could lift the array

JS: Looking like robust, all-steel sun owers, these elevated dual-axis solar trackers produce maximum solar energy with the smallest footprint. That’s our uniqueness. Since the large arrays of solar panels are lifted atop 20-foot single poles, Strackers allow full use of the grounds below, so fencing is not necessary. And, as they follow the exact position of the sun throughout the day,

Strackers at Southern Oregon University

Strackers generate 50 to 70 percent more energy than rooftop solar or xed groundmount systems. They are ideally suited for commercial solar energy projects over parking lots, elds, schoolyards, and agricultural operations, to name a few.

JT: Going back to Stracker Solar’s early years, how did you nd rst customers?

JS: To date, sales have been primarily word of mouth and direct contacts I made with interested individuals and business owners who seemed like a good candidate for a

Stracker project. I am excited to be hiring a dedicated sales team and for that burden to be taken off my shoulders. We have also gotten a fair amount of good publicity from industry magazines like Solar Builder, where we were nominated for Project of the Year in 2018.

Plus, we’ve gained some notoriety by winning nancial grant awards from the USDA and ODOE. JT: What notable Stracker installations would you like to mention that people can see in the area?

JS: In 2019, we designed and built Ashland’s rst community solar project at the ScienceWorks Museum in collaboration with ScienceWorks, Southern Oregon University and local business owner Brad Roupp of Abbott’s Cottages. Three more Strackers were added in 2021 and the power produced is now being allocated to ScienceWorks, seven vacation rental cottages, a home and an of ce. That project has made Abbott’s Cottages a net zero business in Ashland.

In September 2021 we installed two Strackers for

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Strackers at ScienceWorks

Ashland Family Dentistry which is now also a net zero business.

The same month, we completed a project for Oak Street Tank and Steel which is now home for each of the Stracker models we have created since 2017.

JT: What is net zero and why is it important to some businesses?

JS: “Net Zero” energy pertains to when renewal energy installations offset the customer’s full energy usage, as when a PV system generates all the power a business or facility uses. Typically, that results in the greatest savings available for a business as they 10 | Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022

will no longer be paying for the power from the local utility company. Solar generation in general, and net zero in particular, is a great marketing message for businesses and the public sector alike.

Customers, patients, students, and the local community highly value when an organization takes its fair share of climate action. And Strackers are a truly impressive visual statement of the owner’s commitment to a sustainable energy future JT: Do Strackers offer opportunities for businesses with low energy usage?

JS: In locations, like Ashland where community solar programs are in place, companies with extra land or large parking areas can lease their sites for community solar projects. Information about these programs is available on the Ashland Solar Co-op and the Oregon Community Solar program websites.

JT: Where are you now with Stracker Solar and what is your plan moving forward?

JS: We are in the middle of our Series A investment round which we initiated in January.

After receiving positive initial reactions from investors and commitments for more than

Prposed Strackers at New Franz Bakery - See page 14

one third of the total amount in the rst month, we are now in conversations with professional investor groups to secure the remainder of the funds. The money already received has allowed us to start expanding our team and to move into our new of ce at 645 A Street. We have positions still open (and listed on our website) as we prepare a national expansion program for the second half of this year.

JT: Congratulations on the investment and company growth! What projects is your team currently working on?

JS: We have several highpro le commercial projects to

install this summer. For Franz Bakery in White City, we have a six-Stracker installation coming up this month; a ve-Stracker project for TC Chevrolet in July, and a four-Stracker project for a new net zero bank branch in development. We are in the process of writing a grant for the City of Ashland to bring a resiliency project to the city service center, AFN and emergency operations center, as well as possible grant projects for area tribes and other developments. So, we are happily busy.

JT: Where could readers nd you or learn more about Stracker Solar and its elevated solar trackers?

JS: We can be found online at strackersolar.com, and folks are always welcome to stop by our of ce at 645 A Street. Shop tours at the Oak Street Tank and Steel manufacturing facility are also available by appointment. We are excited and passionate about bringing more solar energy and resiliency to our communities, and we encourage businesses and residents alike to get involved, share ideas, and offer feedback.

Our mission is to empower communities and we are always looking for collaboration with community leaders and interested members.

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SOLAR PROJECTS

How an Ashland Dental Of ce Generates Maximum Solar Energy with the Smallest Footprint

And reduced project costs by 60% with local incentives, federal and state tax credits Dr. Brandt Cullen, owner of Ashland Family Dentistry, has decided to go solar because of the long-term nancial stability and energy security it would provide his business.

When researching solutions and local solar installers, he found the elevated Strackers

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that were being manufactured right in Ashland. That was a plus but what he was most interested in were the numbers and how the different PV systems could meet his energy goal: becoming net zero.

With the size of their roof and city lot, Dr. Cullen has found that none of the other solar solutions available could even

get close to providing all the electricity the dental of ce needed with their 25 computers, lighting, and numerous dental equipment.

Two Strackers, on the other hand, could easily achieve net zero for Ashland Family Dentistry. After the installation of the project in the fall of 2021, Dr. Cullen has found that even during the winter months their system had been

“With the two Strackers installed in front of our of ces in September 2021, I achieved my net-zero energy goal and already saved a lot of money – I successfully depreciated the full cost of the Stracker project in year one while not paying for electricity usage on a monthly basis. My patients are impressed, too. Winwin. I’ve already recommended Strackers to several people with successful businesses.”

Solar presented him, the project will pay for itself in 6.3 years.

All the positive feedback Dr. Cullen had received has made him a On the nancial Stracker Solar side, Dr. Cullen advocate. Thanks could not be to him, other happier, either. He businesses, for has already saved whom generating Dr. Brand Cullen – Owner, Ashland Family Dentistry thousands of maximum solar dollars in tax energy with the credits and smallest footprint is energy production saves him depreciation – less than a year important, have become $6,400 annually. According to after the install, while the valued Stracker customers. the energy production and system’s 58,000 kWh/year nancial analyses that Stracker

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producing exactly as forecasted, and during summer the production meter is running backwards with all the extra energy that is being generated.

SOLAR PROJECTS

Six elevated Strackers will power new Franz Bakery Outlet Store and Depot in White City, producing 170,000 kWh clean solar energy per year Ashland’s Stracker Solar was chosen to design and build a state-of-the-art solar installation for Franz Bakery’s new Outlet Store and Depot in White City, utilizing their unique elevated dual-axis solar trackers. The sixStracker installation in the parking lot will make the new location net zero electric (offsetting all the facility’s power needs), while accommodating possible future EV charging stations.

“Franz is proud to support sustainability energy efforts in partnership with Stracker Solar at our new White City Outlet

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Franz Bakery partners with Stracker Solar to make new facility Net Zero electric

Store and Depot location”, says Mike Petitt, Chief Financial Of cer at United States Bakery (DBA Franz Bakery). “We continually seek opportunities to reduce energy use – the solar trackers at this location will provide an optimal solution to reduce energy costs and support climate action in the community.”

conversations with Stracker Solar. “Bringing our clients best-in-class solutions is an essential part of how we do business, and solar is no exception. We chose to partner with Stracker Solar because of their unique product that is not only perfectly compatible with parking lots but also the most ef cient PV system available.”

Prime contractor JB Steel is leading the construction of the 21,000 sq. ft facility and its premises.

“We are thankful to JB Steel and Franz Bakery for choosing us for this project”, says Jeff Sharpe, Founder and CEO of Stracker Solar. “It is a great example of businesses working together to bring more energy resilience and sustainability to our local communities. Which is what Stracker Solar is about.”

“With the increased demand for green energy, we felt it was important that we have the ability to include solar generation into our projects”, said JB Steel Project Manager Alex Batzer about the time when the company rst started

As the need for solar energy continues to increase in both

the commercial and public sectors, renewable energy professionals expect greater demand for solutions like the elevated Strackers that maximize solar energy production with the smallest footprint. “Giving up large areas of valuable land for solar generation is not a viable path for most communities. For true sustainability, we need to preserve land use while generating as much clean energy as possible,” says Sharpe.

JB Steel started site work on the premises in January 2022 with the installation of the solar trackers planned for early June. We expect the full completion of the project around mid-summer 2022.

We hope the local community

will be excited about the brand-new Franz Bakery Outlet Store and Depot that is 100% powered by the energy of the sun.

About Strackers: – By following the exact position of the sun throughout the day, Strackers generate 50%-70% more solar energy than same-sized rooftop solar, carport or xed ground mount systems. This ef ciency translates to a 55%-65% lower carbon footprint as well.

– Stracker’s 20′ pole-mounting allows continued use of the grounds below with no need for fencing.

are documenting unparalleled performance across a variety of northern California and southern Oregon climates.

– Strackers are the only dualaxis trackers that carry the valued UL 3703 listing (proof of compliance with the highest electrical and mechanical engineering standards) and qualify for Energy Trust of Oregon incentives.

1 https://www.epa.gov/ energy/greenhouse-gasequivalencies-calculator

strackersolar.com

– Strackers are developed and manufactured in Ashland by Stracker Solar and

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SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER

By Marshall Doak, SOU SBDC Director

ReWork Your Business

W

ith the thought that emerging out of the COVID Pandemic business shutdowns we have a different economic environment and feel than when we went in, I have been reading an interesting book that offers alternate advice on how to move forward with a fresh outlook to problem-solving.1 Written prior to the Pandemic, it nonetheless offers interesting viewpoints to conventional thinking regarding how to succeed in business today. If you are wanting a different view into conventional wisdom, this book is a great place to start.

It does help to be in an industry that has the ability to print millionaires by the dozens in a rapid manner, such as Jason and David are in. Being the originators of Basecamp, a project management software with wide acceptance, explains the rapid growth of their company, and also affords the two the ability to stand on the pulpit and deliver wisdom to the rest of us by virtue of their success.

rather: “The real world isn’t a place, it’s an excuse. It’s a justi cation for not trying. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Scratch your own itch” meaning “The easiest, most straightforward way to create a new product or service is to make something you want to use. That lets you design what you know…”

“Less is a good thing”, or “Embrace constraints”.

“Less is a good thing.

Constraints are advantages in disguise. Limited resources force you to make do with what you’ve got.

There’s no room for waste. And that forces you to be creative.”

As a teaser, a few items of wisdom that aren’t necessarily mainstream contained in the ‘ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever’ book: “That would never work in the real world” is commonly heard with counsel to not listen,

“Decisions are Progress”.

Avoiding decisions create problems. “The problem comes when you postpone decisions in the hope that a perfect answer will come to you later. It won’t. You’re as

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

likely to make a great call today as you are tomorrow.”

Look for “Quick Wins.” I think this can be used by many businesses that are slow to react. “Momentum fuels motivation. Without it, you can’t go anywhere. To keep your momentum and motivation up, get in the habit of accomplishing small victories along the way.”

One of the things I like about ReWork is the individual thoughts are independent of each other and are arranged as stand-alone papers. The net result for me is that I do not have to dedicate time to read, rather casually picking up the book and lea ng through it to interesting thoughts works well with the book’s format.

It is important to have outside sources of information to your company so that you can import the best practices you are able to nd in order to improve your operations.

Keeping up with technological advances, with advances in systems integration, and with the best thoughts and counsel mentors can provide will keep you and your company competitive.

Here is something to think about: For the next few months, try looking at your systems, setting goals, accomplishing small wins and recognizing those who have made these victories possible.

The celebrations will build team spirit and improve you company’s performance. Set a goal. If you are not celebrating victories on a regular basis by the end of July, make a vow to seek and nd competent counsel on how you can apply positive incremental changes to your business. Start with a set of goals, develop a strategy for ful lling those goals, and then execute the plan while measuring your progress.

I’ve been spending some time this past year working with businesspeople who are preparing to exit their businesses and want to retain the value in the company to capitalize on the hard work spent over the years or decades building the company up. In some cases, the amount of work required to bring the company up to an acceptable, marketable level can be overwhelming. It takes time to institute the needed changes and to get them to integrate in order to work systems training

into the company. This implies that a person needs to start well in advance of retirement building the company into a sellable entity.

In many cases, the work required to bring company to be best in class for sale are the same tasks that could be performed over the years previously at a leisurely pace.

The advantage of building over time is that the costs are absorbed along the way and the pro ts are enjoyed for more years than what they would be after a late minute dash just before listing time.

Make the decision to get your business in order and enjoy the bene ts for the years you have it!

Remember………………

“Decisions are Progress”.

1Fried, Jason and Heinemeier Hansson, David.

(2010). Rework: Change the Way You Work Forever. Vermilion.

—Marshall Doak is the Director of the Southern Oregon University Small Business Development Center and a huge supporter of innovation and the community that forms around innovation in the economy. In private practice, he works with businesses that plan to transition to new ownership within the next ve years, assisting them to build value that can be converted to retirement income when the business sells. He can be reached through: mdoak06@gmail.com or 541-646-4126.

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Siuslaw Pioneer Museum Receives Critical Funding From Bonneville Power Grant Through Florence Area Chamber Of Commerce

By Press Release

Lifelong Florence resident Del Phelps has had a fear that kept him up at night. But he’s sleeping a little better these days. “An orange glow shows from the window. Soon, it radiates out another. And another.

Siuslaw region pioneers, local real estate professional, and avid community volunteer, currently serves as the museum’s board president.

Local history, and the preservation of it, is his passion.

Before the neighbors can call 911 the entire library wing of the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum is engulfed in a roaring inferno spreading unimpeded into the main building with all its priceless artifacts. The re department arrives in time to evacuate the block and save… almost nothing,” explains Phelps of his nightmare.

Phelps, a direct descendant of

Today Phelps and the museum’s volunteer board of directors are sleeping sounder and have nearly 88,000 reasons to celebrate.

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GRANTS

They set an $88,000 goal for a re suppression system for both museum buildings and the porch area: $41,000 for the system itself, $25,000 to

connect the building to a city water main, and another $14,000 to $15,000 for permits, delays, and some for possible overruns common to projects of this size. “That’s why the board budgeted $88,000 for its Artifact Preservation Initiative,” he explained. Phelps took action and secured a $20,000 private matching grant from a consortium of local families who share his passion for preserving Florence’s past.

Other board members went to the community and raised nearly $23,000 to meet the match. Board member Cindy Gentry started applying for grants, gaining an Oregon Heritage grant of $20,000.

“Thank you to our dedicated board, key community friends, museum operations manager Harry Zinn, Bettina, Susy, and the Bonneville Power Administration foundation, we’re there; the work on the re suppression system has already begun,” reported Phelps. “This incredible investment in the museum’s

safety and preservation of priceless and irreplaceable artifacts protects this historic building, items brought across the Oregon and Applegate Trails, prized pieces from local rst-nations people, industry

and household implements from the 1800’s, and archives of directories, yearbooks, and newspapers. Those treasures are an investment in the greater good of this community’s shared story and identity,” he added.

Those wishing to contribute to the museum’s general fund for new acquisitions, preservation, and maintenance can do so online at SiuslawPioneerMuseum.org, by mailing a check to the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, PO Box 2637, Florence 97439, or by dropping off a nancial gift at the museum, 278 Maple St. Contributions of $20 or more come with annual passes to the

museum. To learn more about the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum, its exhibits, hours, membership, tours, and admission, visit SiuslawPioneerMuseum.com or call 541-997-7884.

About the Museum: Visitors to the Siuslaw Pioneer Museum are transported through time by a diversity of exhibits showing slices of life from before white settlers made their way to the Siuslaw Region and up to life in the 1950s. On display are two oors of displays featuring items from an authentic dug-out canoe, and rstpeople’s tools and apparel, to household items of pioneer homesteaders; from early logging and shing implements to the control panel once used by the drawbridge operator; and one of the rst telephone switchboards. Visitors will learn about the hardscrabble life of those who started the logging and shing industries around Florence in the mid- to late-1800s and see examples of the delicate side of life through the place settings and handiwork of talented lace and quiltmakers.

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Bob and Kay King made a personal contribution of $5,000. In total the group raised nearly $78,000 in three months to preserve the area’s treasure trove of history. But it was a $10,000 grant from the Bonneville Power Administration, gained through a collaboration of Susy Lacer, local professional grant writer, and Bettina Hannigan, president/ CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, in connection with Tama Tochihara, Senior Historian at Bonneville Power Administration that helped push the group over the top to reach their goal. “We were able to leverage this grant with BPA for use in Florence, and the Chamber recommended the Museum and its re suppression needs as the recipient. The Chamber asked for and received the grant to protect our community’s historic treasure trove,” said Hannigan.

GRANTS

KFDA Awarded $200,000 Revitalization Grant to Support Rehabilitation of the Arcade Hotel

By Press Release

he Klamath Falls Downtown Association (KFDA) announces today that it has received an Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant (OMSRG) in the amount of $200,000 to support the rehabilitation and reopening of the Arcade Hotel in Downtown Klamath Falls.

Forefathers Capital, an investment and development group that includes a Klamath Falls resident, completed its purchase of the property on May 31 and will begin work to restore the property back to its historic use as a hotel. The group owns other properties in the Klamath Falls area and has experience in developing hotel properties and working with historic buildings.

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The grant will provide capital for the initial stages of a multimilliondollar renovation effort expected to be completed in 2023. When complete, the property will be reopened as a 22-room boutique hotel.

“This will be a transformational project for downtown Klamath Falls and represents the rst signi cant historic preservation project in Downtown Klamath Falls in over two decades” said Darin Rutledge, KFDA’s executive director. “The historic Arcade Hotel has been vacant for a number of years and we felt that it was running out of chances for any meaningful preservation opportunities.”

Robbie Janda, spokesperson for

Forefathers Capital, relayed his team’s enthusiasm for the project. “We are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to revitalize such an important landmark in Downtown Klamath Falls. The OMSRG was an essential part of getting this project off the ground, and without it another piece of history would likely have been lost. A special thanks to KFDA for their expertise in helping build out this complex capital stack and consulting on downstream incentives. We’re looking forward to a continual partnership with KFDA as we endeavor to return the Arcade Hotel to prominence on Main Street.”

KFDA evaluated a number of potential projects to include in its grant application, but the Arcade Hotel stood out as the project that would be most competitive.

“This project checks all the boxes that this grant program is built on – saving a historic building, catalyzing community investment, creating jobs, increasing property value and tax revenue, and creating vibrancy in our downtown. It will also provide a new lodging product that is unique in Klamath County,” said Kendall Bell, Chair of KFDA’s Design Committee and grant writer.

The Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant Fund was authorized by the Oregon Legislature in 2015 to provide capital to stimulate downtown revitalization projects around the state. It was rst funded in 2017 with a $2.5 million allocation, which was increased to $5 million in 2019. The fund was replenished with a $10 million allocation in 2021 to support a “catch up” cycle for 2022 and the regular grant cycle in 2023.

Creation of the fund and its succeeding allocations are the result of grassroots advocacy efforts on behalf of Main Street organizations such as KFDA around the state. Bell, one of KFDA’s founding members, was instrumental in the creation of the fund in 2015, testifying in Salem on multiple occasions throughout the legislative process.

Grant awards are made every two years in odd years, although the allocation in 2021 included an additional $5 million for 2022 since the allocation was postponed during the pandemic.

KFDA has received a grant award in all three cycles to date. Grants in 2017 and 2019 supported upper oor redevelopment projects that resulted in 25 new residential units in Downtown Klamath Falls.

The Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant is administered through the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department’s Oregon Heritage division and is available only to local organizations af liated with

Oregon Main Street. Eligible projects, which must be located within an Oregon Main Street district, include rehabilitation/ renovation of existing properties, compatible new construction, and in some cases, purchase of existing properties.

“We’re obviously thrilled to have received this grant three cycles in a row,” said Rutledge. “It speaks to the support of our community for its downtown and aligns with our mission to strategically balance the need for economic vitality with the desire to preserve the historic character of our downtown. We are excited to work with Forefathers Capital to further that mission and to catalyze additional investment in Downtown Klamath Falls.”

About the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant: The grant program was created during the 2015 legislative session and placed with the Oregon State Historic Preservation Of ce. The legislation established a permanent fund for the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant and provided an initial infusion of funds from the sale of lottery bonds. The legislature included the Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant in the lottery bond package approved in 2017.

The funds must be used to award grants to participating Oregon Main Street Network organizations to acquire, rehabilitate or construct buildings to facilitate community revitalization. The program also requires that at least 50 percent

of the funds go to rural communities as de ned in the bill.

About KFDA: Klamath Falls Downtown Association (KFDA) is an accredited member of the National Main Street Center and Oregon Main Street programs and is an IRSapproved 501(c)(3) nonpro t organization.

Among many principles, KFDA believes in downtown revitalization, historic preservation, shopping local and supporting the small businesses that are the cornerstone of our community.

Every day, we advocate on behalf of not only the downtown merchants, but the community as a whole so that our rich history is preserved, and future generations are proud to call Klamath Falls home. The work of KFDA is made possible in large part by the contributions of its Major Supporters. ChampionLevel Supporters: Amerititle; Fair eld by Marriott Inn & Suites; Fisher Nicholson Realty; KCEDA; KLADFM92.5; Klamath County; Klamath Insurance Center; Oregon Tech; Paci c Power; SmithBates; The City of Klamath Falls; Tillberg Studio & Gallery.

And Promoter-Level Supporters: Discover Klamath; NIS Labs; Thai Orchid; Holiday Market; Rodeos Pizza & Saladeria; The Residences@621; Bell Hardware; Craft3; Klamath County Association of Realtors; Klamath County Developmental Disabilities Services.

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Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 21

EMPLOYMENT Published at: https://www.qualityinfo.org/-/oregon-s-leisure-and-hospitality-industry

by Guy Tauer Oregon Regional Economist Coos, Curry, Jackson, and Josephine counties

L

eisure and hospitality businesses employed 174,800 workers on average in 2021, up from 162,100 workers in 2020. Of those, roughly one out of nine were employed in accommodations, about the same as in arts, entertainment, and recreation. About threefourths of leisure and hospitality workers worked in food services and drinking places. These annual average gures mask how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally impacted this sector of the economy.

In spring 2020, mandated closures or curtailments for entire business categories, as well as changing consumer spending patterns in response to the pandemic, resulted in massive job loss in just a short time.

From February 2020 to April 2020 the leisure and hospitality sector shed 52% of payroll employment, compared with a loss of

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22 | Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022

Oregon’s Leisure and Hospitality Industry

14% across all Oregon industries. Consumers quickly changed food buying habits under the Stay Home- Save Lives mandated closures, and much of the population was in a hunker-down mentality as the pandemic swept in.

Leisure and hospitality had 216,500 jobs in February 2020 and by April 2020 employment fell to 104,400, essentially erasing the industry’s previous 30 years of job gains. Of the 282,000 payroll jobs Oregon lost during that time, 112,100 of those, or nearly 40%, were in the leisure and hospitality sector.

Now two years into the employment recovery from the depths of the pandemic recession, the leisure and hospitality sector has recovered just 83% of the jobs lost, compared with 88% for the all-industry average. Leisure and hospitality is down 19,400 jobs compared with prepandemic employment, or 9% below its peak.

Nationally, data from the Census Bureau’s new Business Pulse Survey continues to show the leisure and hospitality component industries of arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services reporting the highest share of businesses stating the COVID pandemic has had a large negative impact on their business. During the most recent week of the survey from April 11 to April 17, 44.7% of accommodation and food services businesses reported the pandemic having a large negative impact on their business. About one-third of arts, entertainment, and recreation businesses said they were also experiencing a large negative impact due to the pandemic, compared with the all industry average of 21.6%. However, this is an improvement from two years ago when more than three-quarters of leisure and hospitality businesses

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reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had a large negative impact on their business. One surprise nding from the Census Business Pulse Survey was that the pandemic was reported by about 7% of accommodation and food service businesses to have had a moderate or large positive impact on their businesses. More can be found at https:// www.census.gov/data/

experimental-dataproducts/small-businesspulse-survey.html.

The saw-toothed look on the graph shows the seasonal nature of work in this tourism-related industry, as well as the precipitous declines and recovery seen in the past two years.

During the Great Recession, employment in this industry fell by 6.1% from 2008 to

2010. Oregon’s all-industry employment decline was slightly steeper, with payroll jobs declining by 7.4% from pre-recession peak to trough. By 2018, leisure and hospitality employment rose by 30.1% compared with a gain of 19.3% for total industry employment. As of February 2020, the month before the pandemic hit our economy in earnest, leisure and hospitality was still showing modest over-theSouthern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 23

year job growth, rising by 1.8% (+3,700 jobs).

Over the most recent 12 months ending in April 2022, the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry gained 4,600 jobs or a gain of 23.2%. Accommodations added 3,000 job, an increase of 16.1%. Food services and drinking places employment increased by 20,200 jobs statewide, a gain of 15.5%.

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24 | Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022

Within the food services component, the gain was uneven with full-service eating places up by 11,000 jobs or 20.7% and limitedservice eating places gaining 4,400 jobs, a slower increase of 6.7%. Full-service restaurant employment fell more sharply early in the pandemic than limitedservice establishments.

One blessing in disguise occurred during the

pandemic when the Almeda, Obenchain, and Slater res hit Southern Oregon. Many of those who were evacuated or lost homes were able to nd temporary or long-term shelter in the area’s hotels and other lodging places. Had it been a normal non-pandemic summer near the peak of tourist season, it is likely that many of those hotels would

have been lled with usual summer travelers.

Connection to Tourism We often think of leisure and hospitality as a tourism industry. While many jobs in this industry are reliant upon tourism, local spending also plays a signi cant role. The Oregon Tourism Commission contracts Dean Runyan Associates to produce travel spending impact analysis for Oregon.

According to their Oregon

Travel Impacts 19912020 report’s preliminary estimates, travel spending generated 75,400 direct jobs in the accommodation and food services sector in 2019 and fell to 59,000 in 2020. In 2019 there were 20,600 direct jobs in the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector, which fell to 16,300 in 2020.

Combined, these jobs made up about 82% of total direct travel-generated employment that year. Retail

and wholesale trade, professional and business services, and transportation were other industries that had direct travel-generated employment in Oregon.

While tourism is undoubtedly critical to the growth and success of many leisure and hospitality jobs, there are likely even more that depend upon local business and customers.

Dean Runyan Associates’ most recent visitor volume and travel impact report can

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Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 25

be found at: https:// www.travelstats.com/reports.

Leisure and Hospitality’s Sales and Share of Oregon’s Gross Domestic Product According to the 2017 Economic Census, sales in Oregon’s accommodation and food services industry totaled $11.8 billion among 9,261 rms. Five years earlier, total sales in Oregon were just under $8.5 billion.

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26 | Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022

The arts, entertainment, and recreation industry had $1.7 billion in sales among 1,362 Oregon rms in 2017. The Economic Census is only conducted every ve years.

Oregon’s gross domestic product (GDP), the estimated value of all goods and services produced in the economy, is also estimated for the leisure and hospitality sector. The Great Recession drove leisure and hospitality

industry GDP down 10% between 2007 and 2009.

The industry fully recovered by 2012, with GDP totals above the pre-recession level and continuing to grow until 2019 when about $8.8 billion was generated in Oregon’s economy. With the growth in recent years, the relative share that leisure and hospitality contributes to Oregon’s overall economy has slowly risen from about 3.0% of total GDP in 1997 to

about 4.0% during the ve years preceding the pandemic. In 2020, leisure and hospitality’s share of Oregon’s GDP fell to 2.8% and recovered slightly to 3.2% in 2021. Total leisure and hospitality GDP plunged to $6.0 billion in 2020, before rebounding somewhat to reach almost $7.1 billion on 2021, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Most Oregon Leisure and Hospitality Establishments Are Small In Oregon, there were just 44 leisure and hospitality establishments that had 100 or more workers at the beginning of 2021. Size of establishment data are published for only the rst quarter of each year, typically the slowest season for leisure and hospitality, so that may skew these values.

An establishment may have no paid employees during the slowest winter months, and then bring on seasonal workers during the busier summer months. The greatest number of establishments had between one and four workers, and

slightly fewer employed between 10 and 19 workers.

Of Oregon’s 157,000 leisure and hospitality jobs in March 2021, 103,626 were in establishments with 10 to 49 workers.

Coast Most Dependent on Leisure and Hospitality The coastal counties Clatsop, Lincoln, and Curry are the most leisure and hospitality dependent in Oregon, with more than twice the share of employment as in Oregon statewide. Other counties including Coos, Deschutes, Tillamook, and Hood River counties also have a strong concentration of leisure and hospitality jobs.

The map displays the location quotients for the leisure and hospitality industry within Oregon.

Location quotients are a measure of industry employment concentration.

If a county has a location quotient of 1.0 that means its relative percentage of leisure and hospitality jobs compared with the allindustry total is the same share of employment in that industry as the statewide

total. Oregon as a whole has a very similar concentration of leisure and hospitality jobs to the United States.

Tourism hot spot counties such as Hood River and Deschutes have strong leisure and hospitality location quotients.

Conclusion While below the prepandemic total, nearly 200,000 jobs can be found across Oregon’s more than 14,000 leisure and hospitality establishments.

As the economy eventually recovers from the pandemic, we can hope that this industry recovers as well.

Many Oregonians, including myself, started their careers working in restaurants.

Those skills, such as getting along with coworkers, providing quality customer service and countless more, are essential and transfer to many other industries and jobs. Recovery from the pandemic will bring many opportunities to apply those skills, in Oregon’s leisure and hospitality businesses and beyond.

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Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 27

HOUSING

by Damon Runberg Oregon Regional Economist Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, Klamath, and Lake counties

The COVID-19 pandemic shock resulted in signi cant impacts to the housing market across the nation. Early lockdowns, a push to more work-from-home, and the large millennial demographic reaching prime family-formation age dramatically increased the number of buyers on the market.

The surge in demand led to a shortage of housing and large price increases.

Despite these higher prices, very low interest rates and strong wage gains led to more affordable housing through 2020. However, we are experiencing a rapid erosion of affordability that began in summer 2021 and continues today.

According to the National Association of Realtors, only 950,000 existing homes were for sale in the U.S. as of April 2022, only about two months of inventory. Before the pandemic closer to 1.4 million existing homes were for sale, roughly three months of inventory. Here in Oregon the situation isn’t any better. In fact, in many markets

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A Rapid and Dramatic Shift Toward Less Affordable Housing in Oregon across the state we continue to see inventory measured in weeks rather than months. For instance, in the Bend market supply has hovered between three and four weeks of inventory since summer 2020 compared with three months of inventory before the

previous year. Before the pandemic the statewide housing market was seeing annualized gains of closer to 3%. The fast growth in home prices the past two years has pushed real (in ation adjusted) housing prices in most markets across the state higher than levels in 2007 during the housing bubble.

Incomes, Interest Rates, and the Cost of Homes

pandemic.

There are a variety of reasons behind this low supply state we are facing, including demographic-induced demand, years of underbuilding, and low interest rates through most of 2021. Regardless of the reasons for the lack of supply it is important to know that when supply is tight, prices rise.

According to the Zillow All-Home Index, Oregon real home prices for rst quarter 2022 were up a blistering 10.6% from the

The cost of housing is a critical, if not the most important, component of housing affordability, but it isn’t the only factor that impacts the affordability of housing.

In order to better understand affordability trends across the state, we need to take into account how much income Oregonians are bringing home and the cost of borrowing. Outside of home prices themselves, the largest factor affecting affordability is wages. How much money you have in your pocket (or bank account) is going to impact how much home you can buy.

There was a period of strong wage gains for the average worker in Oregon through much of 2020, but those gains stalled in 2021. It’s likely some composition

issues are affecting these trends.

For instance, low-wage workers were disproportionally impacted by job losses at the onset of the pandemic. Taking these low wage workers out of the average wage calculations increased the average wage in 2020. As those workers were rehired, it put downward pressure on the average wage.

Most of these composition issues have likely worked their way through the economy, yet real wage gains have largely stalled. This is due to increased in ation eroding the nominal wage gains many workers have seen over the past year. The average payroll worker in Oregon saw their wages rise 6.1% by the end of 2021; however, after accounting for a 6.5% increase in the cost of goods and services over the past year the average worker saw their real wages fall 0.4%. To put it another way, after accounting for the changing costs of goods and services, Oregonians were making less money on average than they were a year prior.

Earlier in the pandemic, lower in ation and larger real wage gains helped to blunt the impact of rising housing costs. Although

most workers would prefer to increase their discretionary spending, new buyers were able to eat those higher housing costs with higher earnings. Today, that trend is beginning to reverse as

workers are seeing real declines in their income while at the same time home prices continue to rise.

The last major variable that impacts housing affordability is the cost of borrowing, or interest rates. Most of us do not have enough cash on hand to buy a home, particularly those of us concerned about affordability. In order to buy a home we need someone to loan us money and the cost of a loan is a signi cant factor in housing affordability.

During the past few years, 30year xed mortgage interest rates have been very low from a longterm perspective, but those rates moved to historic lows after the onset of the pandemic. Many home buyers (and those re nancing) were able to lock in

rates below 3% during most of 2020. Similar to wages, the low interest rate environment helped slow the trend towards housing becoming less affordable.

However, those rates began to rise dramatically at the end of 2021 and in the rst half of 2022.

Buyers looking to get a 30-year xed rate mortgage are getting quoted rates near 5.5%, a 2.5 percentage point increase from a year ago. That may not seem like a large increase, but each percentage point increase to the 30year xed rate mortgage results in roughly 10% less house that buyer can afford. That means that in the past year the average buyer with a mortgage can afford roughly 20% less home while at the same time the price of housing continues to rise.

A Less Affordable Oregon What do we see when these three variables are put together?

Our housing affordability index looks at the monthly mortgage of the average house as a share of the average wage in a particular geography. As rst quarter 2022 wages are not yet available, these wages were modeled based on recent trends in order to produce an estimate with housing data through March 2022. Across the state, the average monthly

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Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 29

mortgage through the rst quarter of 2022 was roughly 39% of the average monthly wage, a considerable increase from 27% the same time last year.

Affordability varies quite dramatically across the state. The least affordable of the communities highlighted was Hood River, where the average monthly mortgage accounted for 64% of the average monthly wage. The lack of affordability in places like Hood River or Bend are twofold. First, the average monthly wage of workers employed locally is lower than the statewide average, in Hood River’s case by more than $1,400 a month. Second, the average monthly mortgage was around $450 higher than the state. Bend also ranked poorly in housing affordability; the average monthly mortgage was around 59% of the average monthly wage. Surprisingly, the Portland Metro Area was generally more affordable than the state as a whole due to higher wages that helped to balance the relatively high housing costs. The Salem metro area matched statewide affordability, with an average mortgage accounting for 39% of

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30 | Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022

the average monthly wage.

A time-series of this housing affordability measure shows that concerns about affordability are very real for prospective buyers.

The higher home prices, rising cost of borrowing, and at wages over the past year led to a dramatic reduction in housing affordability. Not only are real in ation-adjusted home prices near or above the peak from the

mid-2000s expansion, but affordability metrics are also fast approaching concerning levels not seen since the peak of the housing bubble in 2007. In fact, the rapid erosion of affordability in the past year was faster than at any time during that mid-2000s housing bubble.

The real driver in the trend towards less affordability today are interest rates. The historic low interest rates held the dramatic increase in house prices largely in check during much of the pandemic, but that trend has

since reversed. The average worker who buys the average house with today’s interest rates will spend a signi cantly larger share of their income on that mortgage than they would have at this time last year.

We all live in the real world and housing affordability is more complex than this simpli ed index. It is important not to downplay the role of higher home costs. More expensive housing means buyers need a larger down payment. If you were saving to get a 20% down payment on your rst house and you were looking at a $450,000 house you would need $90,000 saved. The average home price in Oregon rose by more than 10% over the last year so that $450,000 house would now likely cost around $500,000. That means your down payment now needs to be $100,000 to get to 20% and avoid mortgage insurance. With real wages largely at for the average Oregon worker, how could they save for that extra down payment?

Pandemic job losses disproportionally impacted lower-wage workers. Due to high demand and low supply, the more affordable homes in most markets have seen the largest

price increases over the past year. The barrier to entry for rsttime buyers is high and remains a distinct challenge for many Oregonians. That being said, there are some signs on the horizon that housing supply is improving. Higher interest rates are moderating demand for housing and helping to increase inventory in many markets. New housing construction has also been strong for many communities across the state, leading to more inventory.

Increased inventory will help to slow home price appreciation as we move further into 2022.

Originally posted at https:// www.qualityinfo.org/-/a-rapidand-dramatic-shift-toward-lessaffordable-housing-in-oregon

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32 | Southern Oregon Business Journal May 2022

Southern Oregon Business Journal October 2021 | 33

By Press Release

Three new and seven continuing members have been appointed by Gov. Kate Brown and con rmed today by the Oregon Senate to serve on the Board of Trustees of Southern Oregon University.

The new trustees are Brent Barry, superintendent of the Phoenix-Talent School District; SOU faculty member Andrew Gay; and SOU alumna Christina Medina, regional business manager for Paci c Power, a division of Paci Corp.

“The Board of Trustees is truly excited to welcome aboard these exceptionally quali ed individuals,” said Daniel P. Santos, the board’s chair. “Each will add a unique perspective and expertise to the university’s governing board. I appreciate Gov. Brown’s appointment and legislators’ con rmation of these community leaders, whose service will enable the university to continue to meet the needs of our students and the challenges of higher education.”

Returning to serve additional terms as trustees are Lyn Hennion and Bill Thorndike, who have served on the board since its inception; Sheila Clough, who was appointed to ll a vacancy and then completed a full, four-year term; Jonathon Bullock, Shaun Franks and Barry Thalden, who have completed their initial terms on the board; and Debra Fee Jing Lee, who was appointed last year to ll a board vacancy.

The terms of all of the new and reappointed trustees begin July 1 and run through June 30, 2026, except for that of faculty member Gay, whose term, by law, is two years.

Outgoing SOU faculty member Deborah Rosenberg and non-faculty staff member janelle wilson, as well as community members Paul Nicholson and Steve Vincent, are completing their service June 30 as members of the SOU Board of Trustees.

“I sincerely thank these trustees who have given SOU two full terms of service and are now retiring from our board,” Santos said. “We are a stronger SOU today because of their service, dedication, guidance and expertise.”

Continuing trustees are Santos, an SOU alumnus from Salem, and SOU student member Mimi Pieper. Non-faculty staff member Katherine Cable, a registration systems analyst at SOU, was appointed in February to the board’s SOU staff

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34 | Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 fi

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Ten SOU trustees appointed and con rmed

HIGHER EDUCATION

position and will begin her term July 1. One vacant seat on the SOU board will be lled at a later date.

“Each of our trustees – new, continuing or retiring – demonstrate their outstanding commitment to SOU,” President Rick Bailey said. “These trustees all have essential roles in helping us to steer this beautiful ship. Under their watch, our university embraces opportunities, negotiates challenges and commits each day to excellent service to our students and community. We all look forward to moving the university forward under their leadership.”

SOU was granted authority by the state to form its own independent Board of Trustees beginning July 1, 2015, following the legislature’s dissolution of the Oregon University System and State Board of Higher Education. SOU’s board is responsible for governance and oversight of the university.

Trustees are gubernatorial appointees, subject to con rmation by the Oregon Senate. As many as 11 at-large trustees serve four-year terms and one position each is reserved for an SOU student, a faculty member and a non-faculty staff member, each of whom serve two-year terms. The university president serves in a non-voting, ex of cio capacity on the board, bringing total membership to 15.

New trustees Brent Barry Barry has served ve years as superintendent of the Phoenix-Talent School District, and a total of 18 years in various roles with the district. He was named the Oregon Superintendent of the Year for 2022 by the Oregon Association of School Executives (OASE) and the Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA). Barry was vice principal and athletic director at Phoenix High School, then principal at the district’s Orchard Hill Elementary and nally assistant superintendent for academics and student programs before being promoted to superintendent in 2017. He has also taught health and math in Prineville, Oregon City and Medford. He was born and raised in the Rogue Valley, attending Medford schools and then earning his bachelor’s degree at Lin eld College and his Master of Education

degree at SOU. He currently serves on the boards of the Rogue Valley Family YMCA and Rogue Power Pack, and is a member of the Bear Creek Valley Rotary Club.

Andrew Gay Gay is an associate professor and chair of Communication, Media & Cinema at SOU, teaching digital cinema courses in storytelling, screenwriting, directing, producing, production management, lm festival programming, career design and development, and short lm production. He earned the university’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2021. Gay is an active scholar and media artist, with a variety of recent academic and creative works to his credit.

He is the former board president of Film Southern Oregon, sits on the board of the Oregon Media Production Association, is a programmer for the Ashland Independent Film Festival and serves on the Teaching Committee for EDIT Media (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Teaching Media). He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy/religion from Flagler College, and both a bachelor of ne arts degree in lm production and a master of ne arts degree in lm and digital media from the University of Central Florida.

Christina Medina Medina is the regional business manager for Paci c Power, a division of Paci Corp for Jackson County and northern California’s Del Norte County, and is responsible for managing the accounts of signi cant customers and performing governmental affairs, economic development and community and stakeholder relations functions. She has served 20 years in the electric utility industry and is bilingual in Spanish. Medina earned her bachelor’s degree at SOU in innovation and leadership, with a minor in psychology. Her volunteer roles include service on the board of directors for Asante Hospital System, as an Oregon American Leadership Forum fellow, president of Remake Talent, coconvener of R3V Reimagine Rebuild Rogue Valley, co-chair of the Medford Vision Task Force, community advisory council member for Rogue Retreat and executive board member for the Medford/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

“Between the biology program and our Army ROTC program, SOU helped prepare me for my doctorate program at Texas A&M and leading my infantry platoon in the Texas Army National Guard.”

HALE I G H WAG M AN ‘20 FIRST FEMALE I N FA N T RY O FFI C E R PRODUCED BY AN ROTC PROGRAM IN OREGON

sou.edu • 855-470-3377

Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 35

by Greg Henderson

36 | Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022

The Plan

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

A

s often as we hear

to share just what the plan

be introduced by the sixty

about A Plan we

might be. Glee in describing in

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detail what the problems are

legislators in one session.

plan that is the thing. It isn’t.

that these candidates are

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The execution is the thing. To

apparently ready to cure is

reviewed and approved in the

arrive at the execution stage

meant to be enough to

six months of meetings these

requires a proof of concept

convince we voters that they

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stage. Proving the concept of

can be trusted to actually

the end it has not been

an idea can be a time-

deliver an earth shattering,

unusual for a mere 10% – or

consuming process of

amazingly brilliant, and

400 – bills to become law. So,

research, study and hard work.

instantly effective way to rid us

these bills, or Plans were just

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of fears of all the terrible

ideas that have been rejected

plan choose to avoid,

circumstances they have

before any real plan of

regretting it later.

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detail. I’m thinking maybe,

The process is often tedious

maybe not.

and unproductive.

imagine, who have their

Plans come in all shapes and

There is truth in the quote,

names on election ballots

sizes. There are short and

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around the country. These are

simple plans that take very few

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year. By the fth year nearly

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50% of businesses will fail.

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Users Guide to Governance”.

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Dog Catcher, your Mayor, your

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include a lack of a business

Judge, your congressman or

they have a plan and then is

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unable to explain the plan.

make corrective changes as

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includes a sincere promise that they “Have a Plan”. As soon as elected they will share the plan with us.

Plans to many people are what should be called ideas. There are a lot of bad ideas.

Consider the bills introduced

For campaign reasons, and

by our state leaders every year

fear of divulging marketing

or two in the chambers of the

secrets, they are not yet willing

state capital. 4,000 bills might

the execution of that living plan that will improve the likelihood the business will survive.

Greg Henderson is the retired founder of the Southern Oregon Business Journal. A University of Oregon graduate and a six year U.S. Air Force veteran. Contact him at ghenderson703@gmail.com

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Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 37

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By Press Release https://news.sou.edu/2022/05/sou-digital-cinema-program-launches-uniquecrew-experience/

After a two-year pandemic delay, Southern Oregon University has launched its innovative, new, 12-credit spring immersion course called “The Crew Experience.”

Student lmmakers spend an entire term learning on location, collaborating under the supervision of faculty and experienced industry mentors on the set of a signi cant lm project designed to emulate the professional working environment.

SOU Digital Cinema program launches unique “Crew Experience”

two full C500 Mark II camera packages with cinema lens kits, providing students the opportunity to work with professional-grade gear as they develop their skills. Students who successfully complete the Crew Experience are eligible to receive SOU’s new microcredential in Set Skills for Cinema Production, in recognition of their achievements.

Students had to apply and interview for their crew positions and were placed based on the experience, skill levels and portfolios of work they have accumulated in preceding classes. No other lm or media program in the Paci c Northwest offers such an experiential approach to professional production training.

“This is truly ‘higher’ education, what college ought to be,” said Andrew Gay, associate professor and chair of Communication, Media & Cinema at SOU, and the principal architect of the Crew Experience.

“Today’s lm student is savvy,” he said. “They know they can learn the buttons of a camera or editing software on YouTube, so why spend the tuition on lm school? What we’re offering is professional immersion — hands-on training, working side-by-side, onset with both faculty and industry veterans.

It’s about learning the set culture, the lingo and procedures that mark professionals from amateurs. You can’t get that from a YouTube video.”

Thanks to a generous sponsorship from Canon USA, SOU students are working with a higher caliber of camera equipment than ever before. The company has loaned SOU

Ashland-based producer and founder of Film Southern Oregon Gary Kout is one of the industry mentors working with Digital Cinema students in their nal week of production. Kout also kicked off the term with an inspiration keynote address encouraging students to make the most of this unique opportunity.

“Filmmaking is as much a craft as it is an art, and the inner workings of a lm set is an understandable mystery to those who’ve never been on one,” Kout said. “So to get a real education in lm production, one has to get their hands on the gear and their bodies on a set. The Crew Experience provides this invaluable opportunity to SOU lm school students that will bene t them greatly as they move into careers in the industry.”

Courtney Williams, another local writerproducer, 1st assistant director, and board member for the Oregon Media Production

Association (OMPA) is another set mentor this term.

“Hands-on experience is one of the most valuable ways to learn lmmaking,” Williams said. “The Crew Experience is just that. Students experience rigorous planning, on-their-feet decision-making, creative-problem solving, and unexpected inspiration — what it really takes to make a movie!”

The Crew Experience has been shooting throughout the Rogue Valley this term and will continue production through Sunday, May 29. Gay said the project chosen for the Crew Experience was created speci cally to pose signi cant production challenges for the students to overcome as a crew – such as working with a large crowd of extras during COVID and having to shoot in remote, rugged locations. The lming locations have included the Medford Railroad Park, downtown Medford, Porters Restaurant in Medford, Rogue Valley Roasting Co. coffee shop in Ashland, the Mill Creek and Barr Creek Falls trails in Prospect, and a private residence in Medford.

Rick Bailey, president of Southern Oregon University, commented on the unique program. “We are very proud of the students, faculty and staff who make The Crew Experience possible,” he said. “It is a great example of interdisciplinary collaborations leading to powerful experiential opportunities for our students.

Opportunities like this make Southern Oregon University a truly one-of-a-kind institution.”

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Southern Oregon Business Journal June 2022 | 41 fi

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HIGHER EDUCATION

Southern Oregon Business Journal 5350 HWY 66, Ashland, OR. 97520 www.southernoregonbusiness.com

Southern Oregon Business Expo to be held August 4th, 2022

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Calling all Southern Oregon business professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners! Join us at the Rogue Valley Country Club on AUG 4th, 2022, for the V3Connect Business Expo bene ting the local 501C3 SORIN – Southern Oregon Research and Innovation Network! This will be an upbeat business event with DJ Veach keeping it fun and professional! This is a ticketed event and 100% of the pro t from tickets goes to SORIN! Tickets will be available on July 1st, 2022 for the cost of $10.00. To request information about sponsorship, vendor tables and tickets email us at: v3cexpo2022@gmail.com