Molalla Board of Education
In April of 2000, as an elected member of the Molalla River
Board of Education, Jim saw the opportunity to utilize the Internet as a
means of keeping the public informed of information regarding the School
District activities and Policies they would otherwise be denied unless they
attended School Board Meetings and Worksessions. At his own expense he
established a 'template' for the School District'sfirst website (http://www.geneonet.com/MRSD/).
Although he suffered significant personal and professional criticism, he had the
courage to provide the public with information concerning School Board minutes,
policies, and other relevant information concerning the School District's public
decision-making and operations.
During Jim's tenure as an elected member of the Molalla River Board of
Education, he served upon the Policy Committee and Public Relations Committee.
He helped to organize the
District's "Key Communicators" group. The purpose of
the group was to provide an efficient and effective means of communication
between the public and the School District by engaging members of the District
constituency, occupying "key" positions in the community (faith-based,
volunteer, community service, commercial, and other organizations) leaders to
provide free and timely information exchange between the community and the
District.
While serving as a member of the Molalla River Board of Education from 1999 to
2003 Jim gained substantial knowledge and experience at developing policies and
procedures to implement State and Federal education mandates. It also gave him
the opportunity to lobby for revision of State CIM and CAM laws when Federal “No
Child Left Behind” mandates began to produce redundancy of testing programs and
overlapping standards. As a member of the District Policy and Public Relations
Committees he had many opportunities for public speaking, encouragement and
oversight of strategic alliances, planning, organizing, and outreach to
surrounding communities, the State and the region. While serving as a Public
Relations Committee member he assisted in the development of the District
website and initiating the District “Key Communicators” program to keep patrons
informed of District activities and decision-making, in addition to rumor
suppression.
Molalla City Council
In October of 2006 Jim was appointed to the
Molalla City Council and then won election in November of 2008.
In January, 2009, when Jim saw the effects of the current economic crisis reducing the ability of
government to meet the increased needs of the multitude who are suffering most,
it became clear that the City Council needed to make it a goal to engage
Molalla's social service stakeholders in a collaborative strategy session - a Community Summit. Thursday, May 28, 2009, over 40 social
service providers, a representative
from Congressman Kurt Schrader's office, city of Molalla, and local
faith-based, 501c(3), volunteer, and service groups met for approximately three
hours to discuss needs in the local area and ways to network the services
available. The summit was organized by the city of Molalla, Foothills Community
Church and Molalla Weed and Seed. There were four areas identified as primary
needs: Housing, Healthcare, Employment, and Family Skills. The
discussion which followed was directed toward indicating how each of the
participating organizations addressed those needs and what kinds of obstacles
these organizations encountered in providing their services. Another very
important outcome of this meeting was the development of the Molalla Area Social
Services Directory. The city is now exploring options for a
second
Community Summit to continuing to build upon the strong base
established in 2009.
Molalla received statewide recognition by the League of Oregon Cities for this
innovative approach to community-based collaboration,
communication, and coordination of resources. The
concept has caught on and Molalla TEAM (Team for Economic Action in Molalla) has
sponsored two "Business Summit" meetings, and the community
enhancement volunteers of the Molalla Main Street program are
sponsoring a much more comprehensive Community Summit to engage
stakeholders from Business, Social Service, Education, and Government at a
meeting which was planned for January 28, 2010.
He was
elected Chairperson of the Molalla Budget Committee in 2007, 2008, and again
in 2009.
Another unprecedented project the City of Molalla participates in is the Molalla
River Alliance, a coalition of many environmental and other organizations to
promote, protect and enhance the Molalla River Recreation Area, where Jim served as a member of the Outreach and Public Relations Committee. He was a
member of the Molalla Urban Renewal District advisory board and serves as a
member of the Urban Renewal Agency. The Urban Renewal District was a
critical component of the city's plans for developing new revenue sources to
fund road maintenance and development of blighted areas.
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