INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Barn Tour & Workshop 1

Chamber Announcements 2

Visitor Report 2

Oregon State Fair 3

WV Wellness Center 3

WorkSource Oregon 4

Wallowa County Events 5

EOVA Guide, Oregon Media 6

WALLOWA COUNTY

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

309 South River Street, Ste B

PO Box 427

Enterprise, OR 97828

Phone: (541) 426-4622

Email: info@wallowacounty.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Joe Wanner, President

Jessie Cunningham, Vice President

Ruby Lathrop, Treasurer/Secretary

Cynthia Warnock, Past President

Kathy Casper, Director

Michael Vali, Director

Jenni Word, Director

Bridget Brown, Director

Liz Neveau, Director

Marc Stauffer, Director

John Williams, Director

Tammy Strampe, Director

Nancy Rudger, Director

Cheryl North-Coughlan, Director

Heather Tyreman, Director

Doris Woempner, Ambassador

CHAMBER STAFF

Vicki Searles, Executive Director

Diane Knox, Admin. Assistant

September 2017

Update on the Wallowa County Barn Tour

The Chamber identified a 2017 goal to bring back the barn tours. The chamber committee for this goal is led by Cheryl Coughlan the arts director for the Chamber and the executive director of the Josephy Center for Art & Culture.

The chamber has identified over 40 barns as candidates and has collected information on each barn. The goal is to complete a barn tour brochure for Wallowa County. The committee is in-terested in completing a Wallowa County Barn Tour Book III in 2018. The NE Oregon Agritour-ism Committee of EOVA has submitted a grant to Travel Oregon to pay for the printing.

The Wallowa County Chamber and Wallowa County Grain Growers have come together as local sponsors for the Annual Heritage Barn Workshop (below).

Restore Oregon Presents the 2017 Annual Heritage Barn Workshop Heritage Barn Owners from Around the State Gather to

Share Best Practices & Techniques

Saturday, October 7, Restore Oregon will host their 2017 Annual Heritage Barn Workshop in Union Oregon where barn owners will learn about practical solutions from experts on how to maintain, rehabilitate, and adapt old barns for today’s needs. Learn about the history and tech-nology of barns as well as barn maintenance, adaptive reuse, and preservation. The workshop will also highlight funding options available for owners of heritage barns in Oregon.

Heritage barns remain an iconic symbol of rural America and our agricultural heritage. Just as the number of heritage barns decreases, so does the number of skilled craftspeople with work-ing knowledge of barn preservation and restoration. Restore Oregon has pulled together some of the state’s remaining and most well-versed “barn people” to share their skills and expertise with other barn owners.

The Annual Heritage Barn Workshop will be held in Union at Eastern Oregon Agricultural Re-search Center’s 1914 “big red barn.” Restore Oregon has partnered with the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association, Oregon State University Extension, Wallowa County Chamber of Com-merce, Wallowa County Grain Growers, and Baker County Tourism to provide this exceptional educational opportunity.

Event Details: 2017 Annual Heritage Barn Workshop Saturday, October 7, 2017 from 9am – 4:30pm

Cost is $10 per ticket, includes snacks, beverages, and lunch Held at OSU Eastern Oregon Agriculture Research Center in Union

372 S 10th St., Union, OR 97883 Workshop Flyer Inside Newsletter

Page 2

2017 Citizen Awards

The banquet date will be set October 1. Planning for the Citizen Awards Banquet of 2017 will start this month. If you would like to join the Chamber in planning for the banquet contact us at 541- 426-4622. All comments and suggestions are welcomed. Nominations for citizen awards are open throughout the year. Please contact the chamber If you are ready to work on a nomination for 2017 and you have questions. A 2017 Citizen Awards Application will be in the October Newsletter.

Information Contacts August 2017 July 2017 Year to date August 2016

Walk-ins: Visitors/Business 378 323 1731 371

Information Packets Mailed Out

42 66 427 82

Phone Calls, Web & Emails 399 536 2688 730

Total Contacts 819 925 4844 1,183

Website Visits

14,992 16,394 78,177 12,289

Membership Referrals 2490 1,826 10,443 3130

Chamber Visitor Report for August

Wallowa Lake 129

Wallowa Lake Tramway 199

Joseph, Arts & Galleries 171

Hells Canyon & Over Looks 136

Hells Canyon Scenic Byway 124

Wallowa Mountains 123

Wallowa Valley & View Points 16

WC Events 61

Fishing, Hunting, Outdoor Rec. 153

Visit Family & Friends 18

Family reunions, wedding, etc. 14

Other: Oregon’s 7 Wonders 25

Eclipse

New! Why do Visitors

Come to Wallowa County

Chamber Announcements 2018 Chamber Board Elections Open October 1st

Nominations for the 2018 Board of Directors will open October 1 and will close 5:00 pm October 31. The positions that are open will be announced in the October newsletter. If you have an interest in serving on the Wallowa County Chamber Board please call our office. Chamber Bylaws were changed in 2016 and this will effect our elections.

Nominees must be a member of the Chamber in good standing. A form is available in this newsletter and may also be obtained from the WC Chamber office. Please include the full name, phone number, and the board position. Nominators must also be a member of the Wallowa County Chamber in good standing.

The Chamber is often asked “What makes a good candidate for the Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce Board?” Besides willing-ness to participate and learn, there are three areas to consider (1) you love Wallowa County and want to promote the county in the framework of a team , (2) you are willing to participate in chamber programs, and (3) you are committed to the well-being of the county and support business development.

After October 1st you may submit nominations by mail, email, or directly to the chamber office. For questions about Board positions contact the Wallowa County Chamber office and speak with Vicki Searles, 541 426-4622.

Business Leader

Employee of the Year

Leader in the Arts

Leader of Education

Natural Resources, Timber and Agricultural Leader

Leader in Nonprofits/Events

Unsung Hero

AWARD CATEGORIES:

Page 3

2017 Oregon State Fair, August 25 through September 5!

Wallowa County Chamber Attends the 2017 Oregon State Fair.

Below are a few pictures of the Chamber booth at the State Fair. Over 250,000 were expected at the fair. This is the 5th time the Chamber has attended the event since year 2000. The Chamber would like to thank the Wallowa County Commissioners for supporting the Chamber to attend this event.

Vicki Searles worked the booth and handed out 2100 visitor guides to fair visi-tors. She said, “We displayed an outdoor recreation experience and answered questions from thousands of partakers of the fair about events, Joseph, Hells Canyon, Tram, Wallowa Lake, and a collection of general questions. We had the opportunity to hear of many other journeys to Wallowa County.”

The Oregon State Fair is an 11 day annual event was held August 25, 2017, Friday to September 4, 2017, Monday. The venue of this event is Oregon State Fair & Expo Center and it is located in Salem, Oregon. This event offers high quality exhibits, products, compe-titions, educational opportunities, and the exciting range of entertainment such as concerts, arena events etc.

The Oregon State Fair will showcase a wide range of products and services related to state & county fair sectors from the leading exhibitors. Over 500 exhibitors are expected at this event to showcase their products and services. Over 250,000 visitors are ex-pected at this event. The first year of this event is 1862.

Sponsored by the Wallowa County Chamber & Wallowa County Commissioners!

Chamber staff talked with thousands of visitors. Right: the award winning cake at the fair.

The incredible camping and outdoor recrea-tion available to visitors was displayed.

Ground Breaking Ceremony, BBQ and Town Hall Meeting

New Wallowa Valley Wellness Center Building

August 12th there was an exciting groundbreaking event to celebrate the construction of an integrated health services building and meet our members of Congress in a town hall style meeting. Senator Hansell and Representative Barreto provided us a face-to-face update from Oregon's State Capitol and what's on the docket for the new biennium.

Page 4

Enterprise

Jenni Word, Enterprise City Council

Joseph

Tammy Strampe Copper Creek Mercantile

Wallowa Lake

Michael Vali, Vali's Restaurant

Wallowa/Lostine

Kathy Casper, Wheatland Insurance

Health Care

Bridget Brown

WV Wellness Center

Education

John Williams,

WC Extension Office

Farm/Ranchg

Jessie Cunningham Rockin J Ranch

Rural/Outlying

Liz Neveau, Double Arrow Veterinary

Natural Resources

Cynthia Warnock,

WC Soil & Water CD

Small Business

Ruby Lathrop, Umpqua Bank

Public Relations

Marc Stauffer, Stauffer Refinishing

Culture & Heritage

Nancy Rudger

Arts

Cheryl North-Coughlan

Josephy Center for Arts

Tourism

Heather Tyreman Bronze Antler B&B

309 South River Street, Ste B PO Box 427 Enterprise, OR 97828

Oregon Media Comes to Wallowa County

Monday, September 25—27th

To sell the 2018 Eastern Oregon Visitor Guide

Why is this important to Wallowa County?

In 2016, visitors to Eastern OR pumped $350 million into the local economy. Join the regional team in supporting the Eastern Oregon tourism marketing effort as we continue to roll out an appealing, compelling brand message for the region that will bring visitors to your door. As an advertiser in the Eastern Oregon Visitor Guide your message will get into the hands of not just guide readers, but also people who see EOVA’s advertising, social media, and online content at visiteasternoregon.com where highlighted links and an electronic, page-turning version of the Visitor Guide will give your business constant exposure to potential visitors.