SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016
Fourth
from 1A
Fire Marshal Sean Barrett
said, “We received the normal
ATV calls for a holiday week-
end.” This included aiding a
hiker with an emergency on
Hobbit Trail, north of Florence
off Highway 101.
Barrett also said the fire
department put out several
fires from illegal or improper-
ly used fireworks in the
Florence area.
“We usually get one call
like that a year,” he said.
Starting on June 28, the
department received a call
about legal fireworks set off in
a driveway that ignited nearby
grass. Other incidents through
the weekend involved fire-
works too close to dry grass
and brush.
“One fire moved towards
the new, nice Sandpines West
subdivision. It could have
been bad, but we got there in
time,” Barrett said.
Five fires began in the brush
— most likely from fireworks
— on South Jetty Road on
July 4, before Siuslaw Valley
assisted with the Port of
Siuslaw and Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce’s
annual fireworks display in
Old Town Florence.
“Be careful where you use
fireworks and keep a bucket
and water on hand,” Barrett
said. “Be aware of your sur-
roundings and make sure noth-
ing gets out of control.”
Siuslaw Valley firefighters
got the chance to enjoy the
holiday weekend by participat-
ing in Wings and Wheels Fly-
In and Car Show on Saturday
at the Florence Municipal
Airport.
“They enjoy getting to do
that,” Barrett said.
7 A
CELEBRATING OUR INDEPENDENCE
More photos from
the area’s 4th of July
weekend events
Voice your opinion! Submit letters to:
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from 1A
The chamber has been the
City of Florence’s tourism and
marketing coordinators for the
past two years. Its mission is
to “champion the future of the
greater Florence community as
an innovative leader in eco-
nomic vitality and active
lifestyle.”
As such, it focuses on mar-
keting and tourism, economic
development, annual and sea-
sonal events and member serv-
ices.
Chamber Executive Director
Bettina Hannigan said, “Our
vision for Florence is a place
to live, grow and raise our
families and enjoy our golden
— or, as my mother-in-law
says, rusty — years. This is
what we at the chamber call
our leadership purpose.”
One way the chamber is
“making the circle bigger” is
by collaborating with the
Florence Events Center, Port
of Siuslaw and the City of
Florence to extend the influ-
ence of the region.
The Marketing Team, led by
Chairwoman Cindy Wobbe,
also brings together key mem-
bers.
“We get all the partners at
the same time to discuss how
we can collaborate and lever-
age our marketing dollars, for
we all have a limited pot to
work with,” Wobbe said. “It’s
FRAA ART CENTER
really energizing to get differ-
ent people in the same room
who are excited about our
community and what we have
to offer, and taking it to the
outside world.”
Using the slogan “Too Much
to Do in Just One Day,” the
chamber has worked with the
Transient Room Tax “to fuel our
outreach to tourists, as tourism
funds funnel into our overall
economy,” the report said.
Wobbe also showed the eco-
nomic impact of several of the
chamber’s biggest events.
“Visitor spending at cham-
ber events is $2.3 million,” she
said. “It’s important to see the
impact those three days of the
Rhododendron Festival have
on our community, bringing in
$2,109,079. That’s directly
injected into our local econo-
my. It’s our signature event.”
Old Town promotional
events, such as Monday’s
Fourth of July Fireworks and
Pie and Melon Eating
Contests, the Chowder Fest
and Wine Walk, Florence
Holiday Festival and Florence
First Friday, bring in $15,000.
This past weekend was the
chamber’s Independence Day
Festival, bringing in a project-
ed $56,000 in visitor spending,
and the Wings and Wheels
Fly-In and Car Show on
Saturday, a collaboration with
the Lions Club, bringing in
$70,000.
“It’s important to put a dol-
lar value on why we market
our community to the outside
world, and what that repre-
120 Maple Street
Phone: 541-997-4435
Hours Open: Wed-Fri noon-5pm,
Sat 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm
Classes and Workshops
How to Place Glass/Shiny
Objects into Watercolor
Paintings with Barbara Moore
Learn the technique to make vases/
bowls in your watercolors look realistic.
July 25th and 26th 9 am - 4 pm and
July 27th, 9 am - 12:30 pm
$140/member, $155/non-member
Pre-registration at FRAA required 10
days prior to class start. Contact Polly
918-453-3244 or Barbara
918-869-8718 for questions
Material list available at FRAA
Whimsical Hand Building
Ceramics with Alissa Clark
Every Wednesday, 3 - 5 pm
Per weekly session: $10/member, $15/
non-FRAA member, Clay/Firing extra
No experience required.
Class held at Alissa’s Studio at 180
Laurel Street. Register at FRAA or
with Alissa. Contact Alissa for
questions: 503-957-5222
Ceramics for Kids with Ben
Calhoun and Alissa Clark
Thursdays, 4-5 pm starting July 14th
Fees and location same as class
above. No experience required.
Will ship at cost.
Oil Painting with Michael Wood
Wednesdays 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Contact: fmwood@msn.com for
details, fees, and more information
Painting with John Leasure
Saturdays (July 2, 9, 23 and 30)
Fridays (July 15 ) 9:00 - 12 noon
Contact: jnleasure@hotmail.com or
541-991-2754 for details and fees.
For more information about classes, visit fraaoregon.org. To register for
these classes, please call or visit FRAA at our art center on Maple Street.
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Towns in America” in April
and The Oregonian named
Florence “People’s Choice”
for best Oregon coast getaway
earlier this year.
“The dollar amount effect is
incalculable, and we’re going
to ride this Expedia wave for a
long time,” Wobbe said.
Many chamber members
and others are now displaying
the award icons on their mar-
keting.
Councilor Joshua Greene
said, “Congratulations on what
you’ve done. I’m so excited
for the focus and refocus that’s
happened with social media. It
really is the way we operate
today.”
Wright said, “We’re making
sure our online presence is
doing everything we need for
us and we’re pushing it for-
ward.”
“It’s working,” Wobbe said.
“This year will be even more
exciting. We think we’re your
marketing solution for the City
of Florence and we think
we’re rocking it out of the
park. I hope you do too.”
The councilors thanked the
chamber membersfor the pres-
entation.
“You have a great team in
place,” said Mayor Joe Henry.
“Stable economic develop-
ment, tourism, education and
community all play a signature
part of the chamber’s overall
focus,” Hannigan said. “We
can all agree that we want to
see a city that brings opportu-
nities for our families and our
children.”
Shelter
Turning 20
The Oregon Coast
Humane Society
Tanya Garrett
And
Alison Taplin
T
Spoken Word Poetry Class for
Teens with Noah Schultz and
Stephen Fowler
Teens will be guided through writing
their own poems and performing
them. At the end, there will be a Teen
Spoken Word Poetry Slam for them to
perform their work. Free to all.
Mondays, Jul 11 - Aug 29, 3 - 5 pm
For questions call Bettie Egerton,
503-910-3625
Creative Writing Workshops -
Writers on the River with
Catherine Rourke
Upcoming classes: July 16th, August
20th 9 am - 11 am
$20/member, $25/non-FRAA member
To register, call 541-708-2120 or
email CJReditor@gmail.com
sents to shop owners, busi-
nesses and employment,”
Wobbe said.
To better target the outside
market, the chamber has shift-
ed focus to online marketing
and social media.
Robbie Wright, owner of
Siuslaw Broadband, is on the
chamber’s Technology
Committee.
“One of the biggest things
we did was migrate the site to
a very mobile-friendly web-
site. It was really critical for
us to do, especially before
Rhody Days,” he said.
Now, florencechamber.com
is more navigable for smart-
phones, tablets and people on
the go.
“Our website is our single
most important marketing
tool,” Wobbe said. “From
there, traffic distributes into
areas of interest.”
Easily shareable content —
vital for users of Facebook,
Twitter and other social media
sites — and the instant success
of local resident Deborah
Heldt Cordone’s video of
orcas on the Siuslaw River
helped bring the chamber into
a new realm of visibility.
Wobbe said, “We’re getting
noticed all over the place. It’s
the power of social media.
Influential people like blog-
gers, travel bloggers and peo-
ple from Expedia have noticed
us. We’ve received two awards
this year due to the effect of
social media.”
Expedia ranked Florence
one of “The 30 Most Beautiful
O
A
Coming and
Going
Conversations with the
former and incoming school
superintendents
Ethel Angal
And
Andy Gzreskowiak
Sponsored by:
Andy Baber, Edward Jones Investments
Holloway and Associates, CPAs
PeaceHealth, LCC Florence
The Archives, Photo Restoration Specialists
Siuslaw Public Library
The Power of
fl OreNcE
Kaylee Graham
and
Ava Glowacki
Florence
Relay for Life
Bobbie Harris
Wednesday,
July 6th
4-6 PM on
KCST, 106.9
and
Thursday,
July 7th
10 - Noon on
KCFM
AM1250/FM 104.1
With Host
Bob Sneddon
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
PHOTOS BY SIUSLAW NEWS STAFF
