By Don Murtha
Dodie Brockamp is ready to “jump right in” to her new job as director of the Silverton Senior Center after long and varied career working with people.
From attending Silverton schools to teaching in them, each step of Brockamp’s career has prepared her for her new role.
Brockamp comes to the Senior Center with experience in public school education, art, community services, chamber of commerce roles and for the last seven years activities director at Silverton’s Marquis Care Center. She also is an officer on the Silverton Hospital Auxiliary board.
As a state-certified activities director, Brockamp has used her training in a program Marquis calls New Chapters.
“It is a program similar to the Make-A-Wish program for young cancer patients,” she said. “But this is for older people who are not mobile any more. I had a lot of fun with it.”
The program gave residents of the nursing home an opportunity to fulfill wishes and dreams they can no longer realize by themselves.
“I remember the first one was for Harry Hagedorn who played professional baseball with the Boston Red Sox,” she said. “We contacted players he coached and those he played with and we got a wonderful response. Some people came to see him and the Red Sox sent a letter and a shirt. It was wonderful.”
Others who had wishes fulfilled were a woman who used to ride a motorcycle with her husband – she was given a ride in a side car, a man who wanted to go fishing once more who got a ride in a limousine to Detroit Lake, and man who wanted to go to a casino once more, among others.
“We had more than 30 who had their dreams realized by the New Chapters,” Brockamp said.
Now she said she is ready to move on to lead the Silverton Senior Center.
“There are a lot of good people here and I want to see that they get the maximum benefits of the new building and the services offered here,” she said. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
She said she will be planning and performing outreach, marketing and community relations, among other tasks.
“Silverton is a very giving community and whenever I have sought help they come through for me,” she said.
Brockamp was schooled in Silverton and graduated from Silverton High School. She went on the Oregon State University where she majored in art. She came back to Silverton where she painted signs for businesses in town.
“The lawyer, Dennis Bean, still has the sign I painted for him,” she said.
She worked at the Benedictine Nursing Center from 1990 until 2000. Subsequently she taught art at Chemeketa Community College. “I taught art, calligraphy, drawing and painting, but calligraphy has always been my specialty,” she said.
