Coolest. Tour. Ever!

Yesterday, the 2009 class got to tour Portland by way of a jet boat on the Willamette and Columbia rivers. A city that I thought I knew so well, I got to see from a brand new angle.

The Port or Portland offered the tour, which included the port’s various terminals, a plethora of civilian and military water vessels, a gorgeous, up-close look at Portland’s many bridges, and exports and imports ranging from pot ash (a kind of salt used in fertilizer) to Toyotas.

We also got to see an eagle and its nest on Ross Island.

And, because we’re, seriously, not the most grown-up group of all time, the pilot talked us into three spinning maneuvers that included revving the jet boat up to about 50 knots, then taking a 90-degree turn and killing all forward momentum, leaving us shrieking, soaked, and bobbing in the middle of our own wake. Way cool.

It truly was one of the most fun and most informative tours of our year in Leadership Portland.

dana

They said that being part of Leadership Portland would be beneficial to our day jobs. And it’s already proven true for me.

Our six-person project team (which has absolutely mastered the ability to turn a happy hour into a committee meeting) picked Open Meadow for our project. Open Meadow is an alternative middle and high school program in Portland that has a 20-year track record for taking students who have dropped out, or who are about to, and getting them to graduate and get into college.

I was so moved by my tour of the Open Meadow schools that I asked if any of their alumni were at Portland Community College. That’s where I work, as the college’s public affairs manager.

Sure enough, they told me about Adrian Thompson, who is a student leader at our Cascade Campus in north Portland.

As luck would have it, my quarterly magazine, PCC Communities, was in need of a student feature for the summer issue. And the story of a guy who went from drop-out to student leader in college seemed as compelling as any I’d ever heard.

Adrian’s story appears in the summer issue of PCC Communities, which gets mailed out to 300,000 homes in the metro area next week.

Dana

I thought showing up at the Leadership Portland April happy hour would get me a free drink and the good company of my fellow Leadership Portland alumni. It was all that, and more. Much more. Imagine my surprise when, in addition to lively conversation with cool people (and yes, a free drink), I won an overnight stay at the Portland Marriott!!! And all I had to do was show up. I encourage my fellow Leadership Portland alums (those from the BEST EVER class of 2008, and all the previous years) to make time for future LPAA happy hours in your busy schedules. You never know what you might win!

Early registration for Leadership Portland alums and current Leadership Portland class members for the EMERGE raft trip.

 A special series of events has been scheduled around the first EMERGE summer raft trip. Participation is limited to 100 participants.

Get Acquainted Pre-Raft Trip Reception
Thursday, June 18
4:30 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.
NW Natural Gas
Hospitality Room, 4th Floor
220 NW 2nd Ave., Portland OR 97209

All-Day Raft Trip Down the Deschutes River
Tuesday, July 14
(Continental breakfast, bus transportation, raft, guide, and lunch provided)

Post-Raft Trip Dinner and Raft Trip Slide/Video Show
Thursday, October 1
6:00 p.m. Cocktails
6:45 p.m. Dinner – business attire
(You are asked to bring a bottle of wine to share for the evening)
University Club
1225 SW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97204

The cost of the raft trip is $225 (pre-reception, rafting fee and October dinner) or $125 (for pre-reception and rafting only).

For more information on registration, please contact Don Krahmer, Jr. at dkrahmer@schwabe.com. At this time, registration is limited to  Leadership Portland alumni and current Leadership Portland class members.

Join the fun in the 2009 EMERGE Raft Trip

Greetings, awesome leaders.  Yes, you are busy.  Yes, summer is nearly upon us.  Yes, your friends miss you.  What can you do about this situation?  Come to the URBAN FARMER  (525 SW Morrison, 8th floor) on 20 May for some happy hours with friends and fellow alums from the Leadership Portland program.  We begin the happiness at 5:30.  Come check out one of the hottest happy hour places in town and toast some of the coolest leaders in town…all on the perfect spring day of 20 May!

By the way, my cohort, class of 2008, typically shows up in a 5:1 ratio to all other classes.  Any class bold enough to step up and join the fray?  Call your friends and mark your calendar.  See you there.