Wednesday, June 9, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
21
Bill Bartlett
People behind The Nugget...
...
REPORTER IS DRIVEN BY CURIOSITY
SITY
What9s with the stone
blocks along Highway 20
by the Sisters Mobile Home
Park? Where does the hay
that leaves Sisters farms end
up? What brings a new busi-
ness to Sisters?
Lots of folks ask them-
selves such questions 4 but
Bill Bartlett isn9t satisfied
till he gets answers. That9s
a quality that makes him a
perfect fit for a community
newspaper.
<I9m curious to a fault,=
Bartlett says.
Bartlett is putting his curi-
osity 4 and his chops as a
photographer and a writer 4
to work as a freelance con-
tributor to The Nugget.
<Bill is a tremendous
asset,= said Editor-in-Chief
Jim Cornelius. <His back-
ground and interests give
him a fresh perspective and
insight into the activities of
Sisters Country. He made a
significant contribution to
the Sisters Oregon Guide
this year, and I look forward
to his work each week for the
newspaper.=
Bartlett9s writing and
photography work grew out
of business enterprises.
<I spent my 20s and 30s
in advertising in St. Louis,
Chicago and New York
working on the promo-
tion side for major national
brands,= he said. <I ran cam-
pus and spring break pro-
grams for Anheuser-Busch
and Reynolds Tobacco,
among others. (I) created
the Budweiser Comedy
Club, co-produced the first
Billboard Music Awards and
am credited with shopping
cart advertising. I took the
Gilley9s (Texas) mechani-
cal bull national as part of
a long neck campaign for
Budweiser.=
He was a success 4 but
an epiphany shifted his
course.
<One day I woke up and
realized that while legal, I
was basically in the busi-
ness of conspicuous con-
sumption to young 4 very
young adults4 of harmful
products,= he recalled. <So
I quit and bought a printing
company. That branched into
desktop publishing predating
Kinkos, and office supplies.
Over the next 35 years I was
a serial entrepreneur starting
and/or buying and selling a
variety of small businesses:
women9s equestrian apparel,
collectible toys, animal
flooring, grooming tools,
sports and music memora-
bilia. Some succeeded, some
failed& All of my endeav-
ors, successful or not, were
immeasurably personally
satisfying.=
The fire of curiosity
fueled Bartlett9s move into
international travel.
<I can read about some-
thing, but I9d rather see it
with my own eyes,= he said.
<In theory, I retired early in
2005, but as I had travelled
internationally for years
for business I found myself
with this little travel agency
4 Cascade Travel & Photo
that is a boutique, concierge
level travel shop operated
PHOTO PROVIDED
Bill Bartlett’s curiosity fuels his passion for international travel, backcountry exploration, and for writing about
and photographing the life of Sisters Country.
from home.=
Bartlett9s photographs
were his entre into freelanc-
ing for The Nugget. He sub-
mitted several news and fea-
ture photos, then confessed
to the editor that his true pas-
sion lies in writing.
Writing clear, compelling
business proposals honed his
skills, and set him apart from
competitors.
<Writing served me well
in the business world,= he
said. <Writing has been a
cornerstone of my success in
business,= Also, I just derive
great pleasure from it.=
<It wasn9t exactly bad
news that Bill Bartlett the
photographer wanted to
become Bill Bartlett the
columnist and reporter,=
Cornelius said. <Having a
high level of competence in
both writing and photogra-
phy isn9t as common as you
might think. It9s great for a
freelancer to be comfortable,
capable 4 and enthusias-
tic 4 across the board with
both. And then Bill combines
it with that relentless curios-
ity about all things, great and
small. That9s a combination
that9s hard to beat.=
Bill and his wife Anne
are active in the commu-
nity, having moved here
just three years ago from
Ashland. Anne, is a retired
Episcopal priest. Bill serves
as President of Rotary Club
of Sisters and is a therapy
dog handler volunteer at St.
Charles. Anne is a mentor for
Circle of Friends. The couple
has four children and eight
grandchildren.
While Bartlett comes
across as an extrovert 4
ready and willing to talk to
anyone about anything, espe-
cially in pursuit of a story 4
he notes that <there9s a con-
templative side to me.=
He feeds that side with
solo treks into the Sisters
backcountry.
<I go out every day, seven
days a week, with the dog,=
he said.
He enjoys exploring on
foot or on his bike, and dur-
ing the winter he skis and
snowshoes.
TELLING THE STORIES
OF THE SISTERS
COMMUNITY
Through boom and bust,
good times and hard times,
for more than four decades.
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541-549-9941 • 442 E. Main Ave., Sisters
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