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January 19. 2011
IN S ID E
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FredMeyer
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S ports
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Working for Equity
H ealth
Lifetime of work
honored on
MLK Day
pages 6-7
el
O bservador
C alendar
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L inda B anks, a hum an resources
diversity specialist at P ortland G en
eral E lectric, M onday received the
prestigious Lifetim e A chievem ent
A w ard from the W orld A rts F o u n
dation.
B anks received the aw ard at the
f o u n d a tio n ’s 2 6 th c o n s e c u tiv e
“ K eep A live the D ream ” event in
celeb ratio n o f the life and w ork o f
Rev. Dr. M artin L uther King Jr. at
the H ighland C hristian C en ter in
northeast Portland.
B anks w as recognized for her
m ore-than 20 years o f service to the
co m m u n ity including serving as a
W orld English Institute volunteer
for 12 years, a board m em b er for
U niting to U nderstand R acism for
11 y e a r s , a v o lu n te e r fo r th e
M ulticultural R esource C en ter for
the W orld A ffairs C ouncil, and c o
creato r o f P G E ’s D iversity Sum m it,
one o f O re g o n ’s prem ier diversity
training conferences that exam ines
w orkplace diversity and best p rac
tices.
B anks is currently leading the
planning the upcom ing PG E D iv er
sity Summit 2011 : Maximize the Power
o f a C hanging W orkforce set for
Friday, A pril 15 at the O regon C o n
vention C enter.
Linda Banks receives a lifetime achievement award from the
World Arts Foundation which was recognized Monday at the
foundation’s annual “Keep Alive the Dream" Martin Luther King
Jr. Day tribute in northeast Portland.
“T h e L ife tim e A c h ie v e m e n t
A w a rd is a te sta m e n t to L in d a
B a n k s ’ u n w a v e rin g c o m m itm e n t
to th e c o m m u n ity an d a c k n o w l
e d g e s h e r o n g o in g w o rk in the
a re a s o f e q u ity an d d iv e rs ity ,”
sa id A rle e n B arn ett, P G E ’s vice
p re s id e n t o f a d m in is tra tio n .
“ L in d a is o n e o f o u r stro n g e st
d iv e rs ity a d v o c a te s a n d h e r c o n
trib u tio n s h a v e h e lp e d sh ap e o u r
d iv e rsity p ro g ram s at PG E . W e are
very p ro u d o f h er and th is a c h ie v e
m e n t.”
B anks also is recognized w ithin
PG E for h er com m itm en t to d iv e r
sity. She has earned aw ards such as
the PG E E xcellence in D iversity
A w ard for her w ork in shaping PG E’s
diversity program s since the 1980s
w hen she had the idea for the cre
ation o f P G E ’s first diversity n et
w ork, the A frican A m erican N et
work.
PG E is a longtim e su p p o rter o f
the W orld A rts Foundation, a non
profit estab lish ed in 1978 to pro
m ote and preserve A frican A m eri
can co ntributions to A m erican c u l
ture.
Critical Help for Heating
Timely boost as winter cold peaks
C lassifieds
F o o d
page 16-17
O r e g o n ’s S e n a to rs
Je ff
M erkley and Ron W yden an
nounced Friday that that the State
o f Oregon will receive approxi
mately $44 million to help families
who are unable to pay their heat
ing bills during the winter.
The funding am ount is an esti
mate from the U.S. D epartm ent
o f Health and Hum an Services.
As part o f the federal Low In
com e Hom e Energy Assistance
Program (LIH EA P), the grant is
adm inistered through local C om
munity Action Agencies across
the state.
The program provides low-
income fam ilies with assistance
paying for energy bills, hom e
w eatherization, and en erg y -re
lated repairs.
“Fam ilies sh o u ld n ’t have to
choose between paying their utility
bills and paying for the next meal,
but all too often they do,” Merkley
said. “This energy program pro
vides critical assistance to Oregon
fam ilies struggling to pay their
monthly heating bills. The pro
gram stimulates the economy and
helps keep families warm.”
“With temperatures dropping in
Oregon and only a third o f the way
through the winter, this announce
ment couldn’t come at a better
time,” Wyden said. “Low-income
families have enough to worry about
in this difficult economy without
having to choose between heating
their homes or putting food on their
tables.”
Inform ation on eligibility re
quirem ents and how to apply for
assistance is available through
Oregon Housing and C om m unity
Services at oregon.gov or call 1-
800-453-5511.