Legendary Chicago Cubs infielder Ernie Banks was known for saying, “Let’s play two!” because he loved baseball so much, he was ready to play a doubleheader every day. I used to write a monthly “50 first names only” column – essentially an “If you know, you know” of folks in our communities.
Well, it’s back this month – and let’s double up!
I’ve recently reactivated my membership in Business Networking International’s Eugene Metro chapter, and the Springfield/Twin Rivers Rotary club approved my membership application in July. Both groups are filled with leaders contributing to our communities.
At Twin Rivers, I’ve gotten to know Mitch, Jameson, Ed, Joel (a former newspaper man), Mary, Larry (well-known former speaker of the house in Salem), Dave, Ralph C., Colleen, Les (who reminisces with me about Hialeah and our South Florida roots), Bob D., Bob F., Bill, Ben, Kay, Dick, John, Joe, Bob L., Ken, Megan, Greg, Ralph P., Angela (our chapter president), Nikki, Jim, Paul, Rich, Shawn (who started an ad campaign for his business), Jennifer, Mike Ta., Mike Tu., Eric, ElRay,and Steve. …
While he’s not in the Twin Rivers chapter, I spoke with Ron, humanitarian and founder of Public Health International. He helped support Rotary’s efforts in Togo – which The Chronicle has written about these past two weeks. …
Reconnecting with my friends and peers at BNI’s Eugene Metro chapter has been a morale boost. It’s so good to engage again with Adam, Alexandra, Ambar, Andrew (who’s helping produce the upcoming Mayor’s Revue), Brian (whose fencing and deck ads you see in the paper each week), Brie, Candice (who you’ll recognize on top of the weekly Puzzles page), Christina (who helped broker a partnership between Fox Sports Eugene and The Chronicle), Denise (our president and the area’s top business coach), Dustin, Dylan, Ed, James, Jason, Jayne, Jessa, Lada, Lorie, Margie, Mary (who recently helped arrange my appearance on Jefferson Public Radio), Patrick, Miranda, Robb, Ryan, Travis. …
Chris made sure Sanipac was positioned to support our high school sports coverage for the coming year. The company has been a stalwart in terms of supporting The Chronicle and hyper-local news and information. …
Jason and Kim with Best Roofing and Waterproofing, sponsors of our Athlete of the Week, are helping sponsor the North Star Volleyball Jamboree on Aug. 29.
Jeannie of HealthMart organizes the Ladies Lunch & Learn each Friday and, oh by the way, runs two pharmacies. The Creswell location earned a Top-3 finish among more than 5,000 stores nationwide. She’s getting ready to celebrate the store’s 7th anniversary already. …
Speaking of anniversaries, Jessica and Farmlands passed the 10-year milestone in June. …
It was a pleasure meeting Rischa at Magnolia Gardens in Cottage Grove, where she hosts regular social events for those interested …
Chuck and Stephanie of Olsson Electric were great partners this season around Drifters coverage. …
Listen for McKenzie, our new sports reporter, calling in with live updates from high school football games on Fox Sports Eugene this year. It’s been fun collaborating with Steve, owner and GM.
Rae, past president of the Springfield Rotary club, has helped coordinate marketing and promotion of the Mayor’s Revue. We’re all looking forward to seeing and hearing Curtis Salgado on Nov. 15 at the Wildish Community Theater in downtown Springfield. …
Our car lease expired in early July, so we visited Phil, Monique, Greg, and Richard at Kendall Subaru. Great car-buying experience; even better people. …
Tatum, Ember, AnnaLisa, and Sam have proven to be terrific reporting interns and quality colleagues. Seth and Kallie continue to make significant contributions to the paper with reporting and photography. And we’re excited that Trista (pronounced “3-sta”) has come on board as a sales associate. You can reach her at [email protected]. …
It’s always nice to receive recognition for your work from peers. We take pride in the journalism awards we receive each year in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association’s “Better Newspaper Contest.” Erin provides the leadership and direction that has led to The Chronicle earning more awards each of the past two years than any other paper in Oregon. That deserves a “wow.” Bob (seven awards overall and four 1st-place plaques), Amanda, Bobby, Ron, Sarina, and Dana all contributed to the haul. …
Jeff, the host of Jefferson Public Radio’s “Exchange” had Bert, editor of Ashland News, and myself on his show a few weeks ago. You can listen to our discussion, “Keeping journalism alive by staying truly local in coverage,” at:
I called Rev. Norm of Creswell a few weeks ago to touch base. He contributes monthly to The Chronicle Foundation nonprofit. “Is this Norm?” I asked. Long pause. “Does he owe you money?” came a hesitant reply. “No.” Long pause. “Then yes, you’ve reached him.” …
Caught up with Ben, who is working on a cool video project with the Oregon Ducks and Big 10 conference. …
Mark and Barbara are in their second year of publishing the North Peninsula Review. Theyreached out to talk shop. Check them out at:
Greg Hopper-Moore is leaving his post as general manager of the Wildish Theater; board president John Davis is stepping into those duties for now. …
One of the benefits of speaking publicly is experiencing the positive ripple effects. Molly invited me to particpate in the UO Law Day a few months ago, which then led to talking sports analytics with her son Lazarus a few weeks later.
Lastly, a note to Michael: Please stop falling off mountains and crashings ATVs. Your colleagues here in the newsroom and those at KLCC love and miss you. Take care of yourself!
Email:
