Here’s who to contact to participate in Our Valley What’s Next community improvement project
We have just concluded publishing a series of stories on the Our Valley What’s Next that explains the background and potential impact of this grass roots-inspired community improvement effort. The series can be accessed freely through our Art of Community web site (artofcommunityncw.com), a digital space dedicated to celebrating and fostering creative community building in our region.
By the way, in my column on Wednesday, I misidentified Lisa Parks, the executive director of the Douglas County Port District as being with being the port executive from the other side of the Columbia River. Sorry about that, Lisa.
Several people have expressed an interest in getting involved in this ongoing, cooperative effort that is built on what people are willing to do to make a difference. Here’s the contact information for a few of the key players in the Our Valley What’s Next core team. Coordinator Steve Maher ([email protected]), Wenatchee Valley Chamber Executive Director Shiloh Schauer ([email protected]), Parks ([email protected]).
These are the other core team members: Alan Walker, United Way of Chelan and Douglas Counties executive director; Gustavo Montoya, El Mundo newspaper editor and publisher; Stacy Luckensmeyer, business and industry liaison for Wenatchee Valley College’s Center for Entrepreneurship; Norma Gallegos, Hand In Hand Immigration Services owner; Allison Williams, City of Wenatchee executive services director; Lori Barnett, City of East Wenatchee planning director; Steve King, City of Wenatchee economic and community development director; Gil Sparks, Community Foundation of North Central Washington board member; Steve Sandman, Frontier Communications general manager in Wenatchee; Sara Rolfs, Wenatchee resident and Shayne Magdoff, East Wenatchee resident.
Their work builds on the foundation of the Connecting the Dots TEDx Conference a few years ago. They are championing a valley that is united by our common interests and our willingness to help each other.
That cooperative approach is what makes this valley special and it’s absolutely vital that we strengthen that foundation for our communities to thrive in the future.