8A | SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS
BUSINESS BEAT
541-997-3128
290 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439
www.FlorenceChamber.com
www.facebook.com/fl orenceoregon
www.twitter.com/FlorenceOrCoast
May 8, 2021
Welcome New Mem-
ber!
NEW BUSINESS PARTNER
MEMEBERS
Glo Beauty Lounge & Boutique!
490 Hwy 101 541-997-1844
Glo Beauty Lounge is a full-
service boutique salon. We off er
Tanning, Hair services, Facials,
Waxing, Lashes, Manicures,
Pedicures, Teeth Whitening,
and many other services. Our
boutique features handmade, high
quality, local goods. https://www.
vagaro.com/globeautylounge/
US Bead Warehouse
3015 Hwy 101 541-997-0109
Your number one beading supply
store! Check out our beautiful
selection of gemstones, beads and
Silver or Gold over Copper core
fi ndings, jewelry making supplies
and tools.
2020-2021
Corporate Underwriters
Banner Bank
Drift wood Shores Resort
Th ree Rivers Casino Resort
TR Hunter Real Estate
Distinguished Sponsors
101 Th ings to Do Magazine
Bi-Mart
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Christina Voogd, Principal Broker
Berkshire Hathaway
Coast Radio
Fred Meyer Stores
Korando Dental Group
Lofy Construction
Oregon Pacifi c Bank
PeaceHealth
Peace Harbor Medical Center
Sea Lion Caves
Spruce Point Assisted Living
Th e Siuslaw News
Torex ATV Rentals
Be sure to thank these members for their
investment in our community!
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From the Director’s
Desk
By Bettina Hannigan
President CEO
I got nuthin’.
I think I can
honestly say that
this is how many
of us are feeling
right now. I hear it
from many of our
weary leaders and
team members. As
I pondered what to write this month, I
thought, “What do I write to inspire and
motivate our businesses and community
stakeholders that actually read my
monthly article?” Well, you’ve heard
me say many times leaders don’t lead
from their feelings – we think, and we
do what needs to get ‘er done. Are we
disappointed? Yes. Are we “over this”?
Yes, we are. Are we going to give up?
Hell, NO we are NOT!
Business Matters:
Science and the
Florence Economy
By Russ Pierson
Chamber Board Past
President
If
you’re
reading this, you
probably
realize
my day job is as an
educator, but most
of my education
came later in life.
I worked for non-profi ts and faith-based
ministries for the fi rst half of my adult
life, then spent a decade in construction
management, and now for the past eleven
years, I have worked in higher education—
initially in facilities management.
My roots are decidedly blue-collar.
I am not an ivory tower kind of guy.
Th is past pandemic year I have picked
up trash from the college parking lot,
vacuumed several times, done dishes, and
crawled under desks to unplug PCs. I like
Unfortunately, some folks are so
“over it” they’re taking it out on their own
community. Political polarization, fear,
and ‘my way or the highway’ attitudes
are making a pandemic-sized crisis even
more diffi cult. Th ink you’re right? Don’t
we all. I know that like many, I bite my
tongue until it bleeds, and my ears burn
with opinions that I don’t agree with.
But we still see our community trying
to bring what we can to the table in this
topsy-turvy world, investing their time,
talents, and resources to enhance our
traumatized society. Please join the team.
We don’t have to agree on everything to
team up for Florence.
Sometimes the best way to get
over our feelings is to adopt an attitude
of GRATITUDE! Don’t want to? I
understand, but let’s do it anyway. How
about we start with where we live? Even
through this horrifi c pandemic, Florence
is still one of the most beautiful places
on the planet. We can hike, fi sh, golf,
shop, eat, and play in a place many from
all over the world come to vacation. And
we get to live here! We have a powerful
Chamber of Commerce advocating for
our businesses and a City that is staff ed
with talented people that genuinely care
about our community. We have much to
be grateful for.
Over my diversifi ed career I’ve
learned many powerful lessons, on the
top of the list is “Humility will get you
everywhere.” And I’ve learned things
from people I didn’t like, even if it’s
just “I don’t want to be like (blank).”
Sometimes when we listen with our
hearts, we will hear what is missing from
the conversation. Th is applies to business
and to our personal lives. When we’re
selling a product or a service, many times
the way to connect is to stop talking
and listen with our ears, our eyes, and
especially our hearts.
Florence, we have the biggest heart
of any community I know. Let’s give
each other the benefi t of the doubt,
smile behind the masks, be kind fi rst,
and continue to be proud Florentinians
#TOGETHER.
to “get ‘er done”.
But I also believe in science.
Scientists make mistakes all the time.
But that is the genius of the “scientifi c
method”. You observe something and
propose a way of understanding or
adapting or using that thing. You test your
theory, let others know what you did and
how they might replicate the results, and
you put it all out there for others to try, to
tweak and to test.
Your favorite tennis shoes? Th ey’re
a product of science. Th e internet, cars,
heart surgery, refrigeration, electricity,
your titanium hip joint—it’s all science.
I still remember how I felt on Sunday,
June 20, 1969 as a pre-teen boy watching
Neil Armstrong take that “one giant leap
for mankind” as part of the Apollo 11
mission. Science again.
So I cannot understand how
science has become a matter of opinion
used as a political wedge between us. It
seems to have begun at a meta level with
something like the changes in the climate
that have become increasingly obvious.
But somehow this has taken a tragic
turn through the pandemic era with
the polarized responses to public health
measures.
Th e best way to restore the local
economy is to end this pandemic, and
wishing it away or arguing with one
another won’t stop the virus. Almost
all of us know a scientist—our doctor,
nurse practitioner or other healthcare
provider. Talk to them, get your questions
answered, get the vaccine and fi nd a mask
that doesn’t drive you crazy.
Viruses continue to mutate until
they’re stopped through herd immunity.
We are racing against these mutations, to
beat back the virus before a new mutation
enables the virus to fi nd its way past the
defense off ered by the available vaccines.
Let’s beat this thing and get back to
work! Listen to science.
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