1,374 Miles in one week

This is an email I sent to
some friends after the OEA
Session in Review at
Salishan Lodge in August.
I stayed on the road
for a "campaign sweep"
across much of Region III.

Hi, All!

This is Just a quick note to let you know how my trip went. I traveled 1,374 miles from start to finish and got home late Tuesday night. I saw lots of wildlife but avoided hitting any. Vern and the cats were happy to have me home.

The Eugene meeting (South Coast UniServ retreat) went well. There were 3 members from Coquille, 2 members from Siuslaw and 2 members from Reedsport as well as Lynda Sanders, the board director. I enjoyed visiting with folks and asked about the South Coast area since I've never been there. Interestingly, the first 5 people I spoke with were raised in the area
and came back to teach. It sounds like they love it there and have a real devotion to the area. That sounds a lot like Eastern Oregon.

I hung out with Judy Richards at Talent for a few days. She graciously offered to let me stay with her while I visited Vern's Mom and sister (I spent some good family time there and picked blackberries on the Rogue River . . . I have good cobbler in my fridge!). June Buck joined us for dinner one night and we had a good chance to visit about OEA politics. I hope to return to Medford soon.

I felt good about the Klamath-Lake UniServ Council retreat. Bonita Fillmore let me stay with her (she said later that I am the first non-family person to stay with her in probably 30 years!) and gave me a nice tour of the town as well as giving me a feel for the local politics. Never having been there I enjoyed that and feel like I learned a lot about the way Southern Oregonians think in Klamath County. The folks at the retreat were really warm and welcoming and I felt good about the opportunity I had to speak. Larry, Gail and Kelvin were all there and we were each given the task of giving an example of something our UniServ Council does that is effective. Larry then talked about the legislative session, Gail about the OEA Foundation and Kelvin about the Senate commission on which he serves. I expanded my discussion to LCT and urge members to contact their legislators and just keep picking away at them to let them know we're all watching. I knew more people there than I thought I did and am continually amazed at how many people I’ve met at OEA functions over the years.

I got to Redmond for the Cascade UniServ retreat just as things were breaking up (it was a tight squeeze for me to try to be at Klamath Falls and Redmond on the same day!) but I got to visit with 3 presidents who were still there. One was from Culver (she'd been at the new president's training and remembered me) and another was from Warm Springs. Ken Steiger gave me their meeting dates for the year, fresh from the retreat, and I wrote them into my planner.

Overall I thought the trip was useful for my campaign and very enjoyable for me. It was fun to meet some great people and to have an excuse to see more of Region III.

I hope you're all well and enjoying the last few days of summer. It is slipping away fast and the classroom is calling loudly now. Take care and I'll keep you posted as things develop.



Judy