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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2019)
6A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • MARCH 6, 2019 Family Relief Nursery announces new executive director After an extensive search, Family Relief Nursery recently announced it has chosen Peg- gy Whalen as its new executive director. The board of directors revitalized its executive director search in January, when current executive director Diane Ha- zen announced she would be retiring this year. Since the po- sition’s announcement in Jan- uary, many qualified local and national candidates submitted applications. “The competition was intense and the board interviewed many qualified and talented ap- plicants,” said Hazen. “Each in- terviewee partook in a thorough three-part interview process with teams comprised of rep- resentatives from the nursery’s board of directors, leadership staff and community partners. The planned executive direc- tor transition started in 2018, but was put on hold when Ha- zen offered to remain in place until a time when recruiting efforts would be the most effec- tive. “There is a seasonality to hir- ing and I am dedicated to Fami- ly Relief Nursery and maintain- ing its community relations and fiscal health,” Hazen said. “The board and I wanted to wait She has received both until the new year to start our Nonprofit Management renewed executive search. And Program and Advanced we are so happy that we waited. Nonprofit Management We feel Peggy is the perfect per- Program Certificates son to spearhead Family Relief through Lane Commu- Nursery’s success for the next nity College. Her edu- 25 years.” cation and long history Hazen said she is committed of non-profit leadership to overseeing a smooth tran- makes her the perfect can- sition as she aids in the hiring, didate to lead Family Re- on-boarding and training pro- lief Nursery. cess. “Serving the Nursery has Since 2016, Whalen has been enormously fulfilling and helped guide Eugene Sci- it will be difficult for me to leave ence Center’s revitaliza- my position, but now is the COURTESY PHOTO tion efforts and its recent perfect time to transition to a planetarium campaign as permanent, full-time executive New Family Relief Nursery development director. director,” Hazen said. “Fam- Executive Director Peggy Whalen “I am so excited to be ily Relief Nursery is in a place joining the staff of Family of strength with a supportive mestic violence. board, awesome leadership She also worked at the Uni- Relief Nursery. I have long been team and staff, financial stabil- versity of California, Davis impressed with the important ity and solid community part- Campus Violence Prevention work the nursery does to help nerships.” Program which provided sexual stop the cycle of child abuse Whalen grew up in the small, assault, stalking and domestic and neglect through prevention rural town of Red Bluff, Calif. violence education and inter- and early intervention,” said Whalen. “Having worked most and comes from an interven- vention on campus. tion, advocacy and support After moving to Oregon, she of my career helping women background with over 38 years guided Womenspace for nine heal from the intergenerational of experience working with years, from 2006 until 2015; she impact of abuse, I am thrilled to survivors of trauma and abuse. started in 2006 as assistant di- be working with children and While in California, Wha- rector and moved into the exec- families at such a crucial stage in their development. len worked at both Rape Cri- utive director role in 2009. “Family Relief Nursery’s pre- sis Intervention in Chico and Whalen is a graduate of Cal- WEAVE, Inc., in Sacramento, ifornia State University-Sacra- vention work has amazing out- which provided services to vic- mento with a bachelor’s degree comes and can help stop the tims of sexual assault and do- in Communication Studies. cycle of abuse, which I saw so many times in my career.” After Whalen is fully embed- ded in her new position and community, Hazen said she plans on moving back to the nursery’s board of directors, where she can continue to serve Family Relief Nursery and its mission to keep children safe. “When I joined the Found- ing Board in 1993, we had a vision of supporting parents, strengthening families and giv- ing children the opportunity to be successful by achieving their full potential in life,” said Hazen. “Over the last 25 years, we have grown and we foresee even more growth over the next few years. Peggy is the person to help facilitate that growth. “She is an energetic and pas- sionate leader committed to serving children and families. I am excited to be introducing her to the community and our partners.” Whalen began at Family Re- lief Nursery last Friday, March 1. Her first activity will be to at- tend a statewide meeting of the Oregon Association of Relief Nurseries. Her first months will be comprised of learning more about Family Relief Nursery’s therapeutic processes, meeting community partners and using her many years of direct ser- vice experience to build rapport with nursery families. Family Relief Nursery began serving children in August of 1994, and will be commem- orating its 25th anniversary this summer. Since then, more than 2,500 children and their families have received program services, including therapeutic early childhood classes, home visits, parent education classes and respite care. Families voluntarily seek support for addressing many challenges. While a typical fam- ily faces 1 to 3 stressors, a fam- ily entering the Family Relief Nursery faces an average of 22 stressors. Individualized plans are cre- ated for each family to promote stability by lowering risk factors, developing family strengths, and nurturing children. As a result, the Nursery has proven success at keeping fam- ilies out of an overburdened Foster Care system, improving school readiness and literacy, lowering parents’ unemploy- ment rates, and decreasing fam- ily emergency room use. For more information, call 541-942-4835 or visit www. familyreliefnursery.org Cottage Grove Business Challenge Kickoff Event rescheduled for March 13 The Cottage Grove Business Challenge’s Kickoff Network- ing Event was one of the many cancelled events due to last week’s major snow storm. The challenge team, com- prised of the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce, Cottage Grove Community Development Corporation, Lane Small Business Devel- opment Center and Brunneis, Pacific Northwest Produc- tions, determined that the ar- ea’s need for successful busi- nesses, not to mention the $10,000 in prizes, is important enough to reschedule it’s Kick- off Networking Event. This business growth fo- cused event is being held in an effort to generate more interest in the Cottage Grove Business Challenge. All interested parties includ- ing entrepreneurs, investors, sponsors and business leaders are encouraged to attend the kickoff networking event. The event will be held Wednesday, March 13, at the Brewstation, located at 106 S. Sixth St. in Cottage Grove. Challenge participants are invited to attend the four-part ‘Your Business Plan Acceler- ator’ course hosted by Lane Community College. Courses will begin Wednesday, March 20, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., at Lane Community College– Cottage Grove, located at 1275 River Rd. This course is free of charge to challenge participants, who are highly encouraged to at- tend this incredibly valuable educational opportunity. For participants unable to attend the four-part course, there will be a two-hour Satur- day seminar available, March 16, from 10 a.m. to noon at Lane Community College– Cottage Grove. This will be a condensed WE HAVE ICE MELT! 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