Business
AgLife
B
Thursday, December 30, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
SUZANNAH
MOORE-HEMANN
CHAMBER CHAT
Leaving it
better than
you found it
T
hree years ago, almost down to the
day, I was in the extensive process
of interviewing for the executive
director position with the Union County
Chamber of Commerce.
I remember the thrill and honor it was
to be selected to join the leadership of the
chamber. I had so many project ideas and
goals to accomplish upon starting my first
day. Every day was a new, wonderfully
exhausting adventure — and, truly, it has
not really stopped feeling as such. Which
made the decision to move on so much
more difficult.
Looking back, I feel like so many others
— robbed of a true experience thanks to
having to navigate “chamber life” through
a global pandemic, where so much of the
chamber’s mission is to connect people to
people. But it also provided the opportu-
nity to pivot and shift our focus to do what
we do best: connect people — only this
time, to resources and to larger promo-
tional opportunities, rather than face-to-
face. At the end of the day, coming into the
chamber, my main goal was to make the
organization better than how it was when
I started. Of course, there was already
momentum and a wonderful team in place,
so my whole objective was to build on it.
The final report I provided at the most
recent board meeting was an overview of
the things the organization accomplished
over the last three years. I will admit,
even I was surprised how much we have
achieved. Maybe it is because we tend to
get so focused on the day-to-day or project-
to-project, and you forget to look back and
say, “Hey, excellent job, team! Look how
far we’ve come.”
It’s crazy to think, despite COVID-19,
the chamber has grown its membership
base — from 220 when I started to 275. It’s
crazy to think, despite COVID-19 and not
having the ability to host our usual ban-
quets and events, the chamber has grown
into a position of strong financial sta-
bility. It’s also crazy to think, despite tem-
porarily reducing staff hours, we accom-
plished so much. Our bylaws and policies
manuals have been entirely overhauled
into beautiful, professional works (not a
super enticing project, but one the Gov-
ernance Committee and myself sure are
proud of). We developed a long-term stra-
tegic plan with performance metrics so the
chamber has a direction and long-range
goals to works toward, to keep the orga-
nization focused on its mission. And not
only that — we grew the Holiday Deco-
rating Competition, we have grown and
reengaged with our partners on the Grande
Ronde Farm Trail and we launched the
“Gift-UC” (say it aloud and the name is
way cooler) eGift card to help support our
local businesses. We built out our quar-
terly Shop Hops, a tangible way to connect
residents and shoppers by exploring local
businesses. And of course the rebranding
project (look how impressive and modern
our new logos are) and launch of a gor-
geous website.
The neat thing is the list continues. Our
ambassadors have been highly promi-
nent (and amazing) in their outreach to our
community. We have increased our part-
nerships with other organizations to build
on true community-spirit momentum. We
launched the Support Local video cam-
paign (the first of many, hopefully) to high-
light the benefits of supporting local busi-
nesses throughout our community — plus,
this is a regional project with our neigh-
boring chambers.
I cannot believe with the end of the cal-
endar year comes the end of my tenure.
As the ball drops over downtown La
Grande on New Year’s Eve, I will look
back with such fondness at my time with
the chamber. The opportunity to meet such
wonderful people and learn so much about
our county. How much personal and pro-
fessional growth this position has afforded
my own career trajectory. The people I
have worked alongside on numerous proj-
ects and activities. The people I have had
the opportunity from which to gain expe-
rience. If you can’t already tell, it’s the
people in Union County and the Eastern
Oregon region who have made this such a
special position to have held.
So, no matter what it is — always strive
to leave it better than you found it.
———
Suzannah Moore-Hemann is the execu-
tive director of the Union County Chamber
of Commerce & Visitors Information
Center.
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Enterprise Animal Hospital’s newest veterinarian, Chrissie Younggren, sits with her dog, River, at the clinic Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021.
The doctor is in
La Grande product
Chrissie Younggren
hangs out her shingle
in Wallowa County
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
E
NTERPRISE — There’s
a new doctor in town —
for animals, that is.
Dr. Chrissie Young-
gren, a veterinarian,
joined the practice at
the Enterprise Animal
Hospital about four months ago after
working 2-1/2 years in Baker City.
But it was the way she got the job that
proved to be interesting.
She and her then-fiance, Taylor
Murray, were rafting on the Grande
Ronde River.
“My dog got injured while we were
out shed (antler) hunting. He got cut
open in his chest,” she said. “We got
up early the next morning, rafted out
and drove to Flora. I called (Enter-
prise Animal Hospital owner) Severin
(Knudsen) and explained to him that
I was a vet and my dog was hurt and I
needed to get him into the clinic. So we
brought him here and (Knudsen) asked
if I wanted to do everything since I’m
a vet, or if I wanted him to do it. I said
I’d kind of like to do it for my own dog,
so he let me sew him up. We woke him
up and I said, ‘I’d like to pay (Knudsen)
for his time for coming in on a day off
because it was a Sunday.’ He said, ‘I
won’t charge you anything if you take a
job here and let me show you around.’
So we ended up moving.”
Always wanted to be a vet
After growing up in La Grande,
Younggren worked for a vet there who
told her about Ross University on Saint
Kitts — officially Saint Christopher
Island — formerly a part of the British
West Indies but now independent. She
graduated in January 2019 and has
worked as a veterinarian ever since.
It turns out another of Enterprise
Animal Hospital’s vets, Kala Grover,
also attended Ross.
Younggren said she’s always wanted
to be an animal doctor.
“I can’t remember wanting to do any-
thing else,” she said. “In fifth grade, you
do that thing about spending a day at the
place you want to work and I went to a
vet clinic.”
She often finds animals easier to
relate to than people.
“I find it’s a lot easier for me to
get along with animals than it is with
people. I’ve always loved them,” she
said. “My first pet that was my very own
was a rabbit, then cats and then I got a
dog when I was working over in Baker.
I’ve had all of them.”
Her dog — the one that introduced
her to Knudsen — is River, appropri-
ately named given her and Murray’s love
for the river life. River is a 3-year-old,
mixed-breed cowdog.
Unlike many who choose veterinary
medicine, Younggren didn’t grow up on
a farm or ranch.
“We had rabbits and chickens, but we
lived in town,” she said.
Prefers smaller animals
She said she prefers the smaller pets
— cats and dogs — to work with, but also
likes working with the larger animals.
See, Doctor/Page B2
Survey shows broad support
Business
for keeping Snake River dams planning
NEOEDD
By MATTHEW WEAVER
classes
start Jan. 19
Capital Press
SALEM — A new survey
commissioned by Northwest
RiverPartners indicates broad
public support for keeping the
Snake River dams.
Less than 30% of respon-
dents favor removing the four
dams.
The survey, conducted by
DHM Research, an indepen-
dent and nonpartisan research
firm in Portland, reached a
total of 1,200 Northwest res-
idents — 400 each in Idaho,
Oregon and Washington.
According to the survey,
60% of respondents indicate
support for “the use of hydro-
electric dams on the lower
Snake River to produce elec-
tricity” while 17% oppose it,
and 23% don’t know.
Only 29% of respondents
agreed that the dams should
be removed to protect wild
animals and their habitats.
The rest opposed removal or
didn’t know, according to the
survey, which did not indi-
cate the percentages for other
answers.
Asked to rank their top
concerns about removing the
dams, respondents most often
highlighted higher electricity
costs, losing a source of car-
bon-free energy and impacts
on agriculture.
About 14% said they had
The Observer
including dam breaching, as
reasons for his uncertainty.
“People are being told that
their neighbors essentially
support dam breaching, and
I don’t think that’s the case,”
he said. “It’s important for
the public to know it’s only a
smaller minority that believes
this would be good policy for
the Pacific Northwest.”
Miller hopes policy makers
such as Inslee and Murray
pay attention to the survey’s
findings.
“We want to find the most
productive ways of helping
salmon without harming
society,” he said. “If we’re
LA GRANDE — The North-
east Oregon Economic Develop-
ment District is scheduling free,
in-person business planning
classes in La Grande starting
in January, and potentially in
Baker City and Enterprise as
well.
The “Business Founda-
tions” classes starting Jan.
19 in La Grande are the first
in-person workshops scheduled
by NEOEDD in two years, Lisa
Dawson, the district’s executive
director and class instructor,
announced in a press release.
The classes, at the IGNITE
Center, 104 Depot St., are free
thanks to a Community Devel-
opment Block Grant through the
city of La Grande.
Preference is made to people
with low to moderate incomes,
and income verification is
required.
The six-week workshop is
designed to help entrepreneurs
and small business owners
build the basis for a successful
operation.
The classes in La Grande
will take place Wednesdays
See, Dams/Page B2
See, Classes/Page B2
The Associated Press, File
Ice Harbor Dam, one of four dams on the lower Snake River. A new survey
commissioned by Northwest RiverPartners indicates broad public support
for keeping the Snake River dams.
no concerns about the poten-
tial removal of the dams.
Kurt Miller, executive
director of Northwest Riv-
erPartners, told the Capital
Press he wasn’t sure what to
expect prior to commissioning
the survey.
“I was definitely pleased
with the results,” Miller said
of the survey. “I was heart-
ened, gratified to see that.”
He pointed to messaging
from advocacy groups and
media attention surrounding
Idaho Rep. Mike Simp-
son’s proposed plan for dam
breaching and Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty
Murray’s federal-state assess-
ment of salmon recovery,