3
Ever Widening Horizons
By Robert M. Ashby
OSEA President
The trend of OSEA activities is very
well expressed in the above chosen
topic for this rather informal report.
There were times, and not long past
either, when the four letters OSEA
stood for or meant little to the general
public. This does not now appear to
be the situation as I will endeavor to
demonstrate in the forthcoming chron
icle of events.
At the start of 1950, OSEA was ap
proached for the first time by a coun
ty public service agency, requesting
that a representative of this group be
appointed to serve on their Planning
Board. The Marion County Infantile
Paralysis Foundation had heard of and
become acquainted with the ever
growing organization of the Oregon
State Employees. They could see the
strong possibilities for moral and fi
nancial support in enlisting the aid of
such a large and progressive group.
The outgrowth of this initial contact
was the appointment of the serving
District Director of District 2 of OSEA
to the Marion County Polio Board.
Your present State President was the
new appointee.
Regular monthly meetings were at
tended in ol*der to become acquainted
with the polio program and to deter
mine the Employees Association’s role
in this movement. It developed that
the foundation was up against a finan
cial crisis and needed the aid and
support of our Association. A choral
group of state employees was immedi
ately formed and 65 members strong
made their first public appearances on
May 26 and 27, 1950, in behalf of
the Marion County. Polio Foundation.
The net proceeds of the concerts
amounted to- $900 and was presented
as an outright gift to the Polio Foun
dation to assist them in their service
to the afflicted of Marion. County.
This gesture on the part of OSEA was
gratefully accepted by the Polio Foun
dation and our Association gained
tremendous favor in the eyes of the
general public.
Mr. Lyle Sacre, the present District
2 Director, is the OSEA representative
on the Marion County Infantile Paral
ysis Board for the year of 1951.
More recently the Marion County
Chapter of the National Tuberculosis
Association announced plans for an
X -ray survey of all the inhabitants of
this county. Again all civic organiza
tions were called upon to lend assis
tance and among such recognized
groups appeared the name OSEA. Out
of this movement developed a plan
for a valley-wide chest X -ray survey
encompassing eight counties; namely,
Washington, Y a m h i l l , Clackamas,
Marion, Polk, Linn, Benton and Lane.
The Oregon State Employees’ As
sociation members were pressed into
service immediately during the early
planning stages of this survey. Jason,
Lee, personnel consultant to the State
Tax Commission and an Association
member, was elected chairman of the
Marion County Tuberculosis Chapter.
As such he was selected as temporary
valley chairman to spearhead this
movement. As the plans progressed,
your State President was elected by
the eight county chairmen to be the
permanent chairman of the Willam
ette Valley X -ray Survey, Inc. In this
capacity, a great deal of time and ef
fort has been expended in organizing
and coordinating the activities of the
eight county Tuberculosis Chapters.
Throughout this initial work, members
of OSEA have been very much in
prominence and it is the writer’s opin
ion that this public service will in