Thursday, Sept. 19,
7 to 8 p.m.
Silverton Community Center
421 S. Water St.
By Kristine Thomas
Both Stacy Palmer and Chuck White want people to feel empowered and to know they can make a difference in their community.
To achieve both goals, community members need to be informed, they agree.
That’s why they are encouraging community members to attend “Get Involved Silverton” Thursday, Sept. 19, 7 to 8 p.m. at the Silverton Community Center, 421 S. Water St.
The event is sponsored by local Realtors of the North Willamette Association of Realtors in collaboration with the Silverton Chamber of Commerce.
A retired school administrator, White is a real estate broker with Silverton Realty. Palmer is the executive director of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce.
“The North Willamette Association of Realtors, which includes Silverton and Mount Angel, became aware of other Realtor groups in other communities who sponsored similar events to encourage volunteerism within their communities,” White said.
“The goal is to help community members, who may have thought about becoming more involved, attend a low key informational meeting to receive more information and ask questions about becoming a part of a local community group.”
At the Get Involved Silverton meeting, there will be presentations by the city of Silverton, the Silver Falls School District, the Silverton Fire District and the Silver Falls Library District.
“The hope is qualified, concerned members of our community will take the time to attend to find out what is required to become a member of a planning commission, a budget committee or a volunteer firefighter,” White said.
Every month, Palmer attends the Silverton City Council meetings and “very rarely are there more than a handful of people in the audience.” Often times, she added, it is the same people attending month-after-month.
What citizens should remember is the city council and school board members are making decisions for them.
“How many times has the public gotten upset after a decision is made,” Palmer asked. “The more people that get involved, the more at ease they may feel when decisions are made on their behalf. By having more voices at the table I believe you get better outcomes.”
“As a retired school district administrator, there were many meetings I was a part of over the 13 years I served in that role where the public was not involved, unless it was a hot topic of conversation,” White said.
On the other hand, he added, Silverton has had community members who have been committed to attending school board and city council meetings to share their views and add to the decision-making process.
“I’m hoping events like Get Involved Silverton will stimulate more participation and involvement from citizens who have a passion for keeping Silverton a great place to live,” White said.
Both Palmer and White understand citizens have busy lives with numerous responsibilities.
“We have to find the time to stay informed about the issues and participate when the opportunities are present. Living in a democratic society and making sure all voices are heard requires hard work and involvement by all of us as citizens,” White said. “Local citizens have the ability to make a difference in the decisions made at the school board and city council levels of government.”
Being involved and having the correct information leads to a feeling of empowerment, Palmer said.
“To attend is to gather information whether it’s a nonprofit board meeting or a school district or city council meeting. Knowledge is powerful and rather than relying on the traditional ‘gossip’ route – attending the meetings gets your questions answered first hand or gets you up to speed with what’s going on in our community,” Palmer said.
