NEWS
BlueMountainEagle.com
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
A3
New county economic leader takes the reins
Field promoted
to fill director
position
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Allison Field is the new
Grant County economic
development director.
“I am enthusiastic about
the progress that Grant County
is making and look forward to
providing continued support
to local businesses and work-
ing with community partners
to strengthen our economy
and encourage community
development efforts,” she
told the Eagle.
Field grew up in a little
town on Puget Sound and
attended Oregon State Uni-
versity, where she earned
a bachelor’s in natural
resources. She worked for
the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife as a big-
horn sheep technician at
Hell’s Canyon and a wolf
technician out of La Grande.
She also taught school in
China and worked as a fish
monitoring technician for
the Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs. She started
working at the county eco-
nomic development office in
December 2017 under Sally
Bartlett.
“The Grant County Eco-
nomic Development Office
provides business assistance
to retain existing businesses,
encourage
entrepreneur-
ship and attract new busi-
ness so that Grant County
has a strong economy, thriv-
ing communities and broadly
shared prosperity,” she said.
Field provides techni-
cal assistance to community
members, local government
officials and agencies, and
assists individuals with busi-
ness development, business
plans and grant writing.
Marketing for businesses
is an important task for the
office, which can include
Economic development coordinator
leaves post after 11-plus years
Bartlett will serve
as Burns Paiute
Tribe general
manager
An important project the
office worked on was devel-
oping a new website for the
county, which could be online
this month.
“Sally has done a great job
laying down the foundation,”
she said. “I will continue
building on her foundation.”
The Grant County Eco-
nomic Development Office is
in an office in the L Building
on East Main Street in John
Day and can be reached at
541-575-1555.
social media, rebranding,
logos, signs, banners and
business cards. People fre-
quently bring new projects or
ideas to the office.
Part of her busy sched-
ule goes to meetings with
state and city organizations,
community leaders, business
owners and other groups or
individuals.
“We have a lot going on,”
she said, adding that advertis-
ing for a part-time specialist
is underway.
Ford Family Foundation
awards $300,000 for
community building
in Harney County
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
After 11-plus years as
the Grant County economic
development
coordinator,
Sally Bartlett has left to take a
job as the general manager of
the Burns Paiute Tribe start-
ing Feb. 1.
“The job is similar to a
city manager’s,” she told the
Eagle. “I’m looking forward
to the position. It’s a new
adventure for me and a new
opportunity.”
Grant County Judge Scott
Myers noted that he has
worked with four to five eco-
nomic development coor-
dinators over the past 18
years and was on the inter-
view committee that recom-
mended Bartlett being hired.
“She has a wealth of expe-
rience in grant writing and
has been a stellar employee,”
Myers said. “We may keep
her on contract to track out
Title III dollars in the future.
She will be missed.”
Allison Field, who has
been working part-time with
Bartlett in the economic
development office, was cho-
sen to replace Bartlett at that
position.
Bartlett was hired by
the county in November
2007, about three months
after Steve Dahl stepped
down as economic develop-
ment coordinator. She came
from Boise, Idaho, where
she had been the child nutri-
tion programs coordinator
for the state Department of
Education.
At the time of her hiring,
not only was the county fac-
ing severe economic condi-
tions but the county govern-
ment had lost federal timber
payments and local busi-
nesses contributed funding
to maintain the coordinator
position.
About 10 months later,
Bartlett announced new web-
sites for both the county and
the Grant County Chamber
of Commerce. Bartlett con-
tinued to promote internet
connectivity — she served
on the committee that is cur-
rently overseeing a new web-
site for the county.
“Sally has been a great
asset to the county and a
wonderful resource,” Cham-
ber office manager Tammy
Bremner said. “She has been
my ‘go to’ person for so
many things. I will miss her
very much, and I wish her the
very best in her new job.”
Bartlett carried her interest
in nutrition with her to Grant
County, helping to organize
hunger assessment surveys
in 2008 and 2010. She also
played an instrumental role in
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Sally Bartlett, left, has taken a new job after more than 11 years with Grant County. Allison
Field, right, is the new economic development coordinator.
getting the local farmers mar-
ket and community garden
started in 2010 and 2011, for-
mer Chamber president Jerry
Franklin said.
“Sally is very knowledge-
able, well liked, productive
and well respected around the
state,” he said. “She’s always
had the county’s interests at
heart.”
Through the years, Bartlett
promoted business classes
through the county’s Small
Business Management Pro-
gram, workforce training for
local businesses and grants
for value-added agricultural
companies in the county.
In her time in the office,
Bartlett helped about 100
individuals develop their
business plans. Many small
businesses and micro-busi-
nesses didn’t have anyone
else to turn to for assistance,
she explained.
Impacts from the Great
Recession hit Grant County
hard in 2009, and federal
stimulus money was applied
to several economic develop-
ment projects, she said.
One was promoting the
John Day Industrial Park
near the airport. Bartlett said
high land costs and limited
suitable locations along the
I-5 corridor will eventually
drive business developers to
rural places like John Day
and its industrial park.
Rick Minster, at that time
the local business develop-
ment officer for the Oregon
Economic and Community
Development Department,
worked with Bartlett on
promoting the industrial
park and other ideas. More
recently, Bartlett assisted
Minster in applying for a
grant to help fund a new
office and shelter for the
Heart of Grant County.
“Sally always had the best
interests of Grant County at
heart and served the citizens
of Grant County very profes-
sionally,” Minster said.
Bartlett promoted the
Grant County Enterprise
Zone as a way to generate
jobs and business. In 2011,
she assisted seven entre-
preneurs establish business
plans through the Grant
County Resource Action
Team (GREAT).
Her
office
periodi-
cally produced a 20-page
newsletter on local eco-
nomic development proj-
ects called “The Percolator,
Grant County Business and
Industry News,” which was
inserted in the Blue Moun-
tain Eagle.
She also worked with
Irene Jerome and Eloise
Boren to develop a detailed
and very popular tourist map
in anticipation of the 2017
eclipse event. Her office paid
for the map, she said.
At one time, Bartlett
was an appointee on at least
15 boards, including the
South East Area Commis-
sion on Transportation and
the Greater Eastern Oregon
Development Corporation.
She said most of her work
took place in the background
and was less visible.
“Sally’s done great in
everything she’s done,” Lisa
Weigum said. “She’s helped
so many organizations.”
Collaboration is the
established way of doing
business
and
build-
ing community in Har-
ney County, and The
Ford Family Founda-
tion is supporting this
culture through a three-
year, $300,000 com-
munity building grant
awarded to High Desert
Partnership.
The High Desert Part-
nership, a communi-
ty-based
organization
committed to strengthen-
ing the communities of
Harney County through
collaboration, will use
this funding to continue
to support several col-
laborative efforts in Har-
ney County, according to
a press release from the
group.
“This grant award
reflects years of hard
work by a diverse group
of folks that work tire-
lessly to solve complex
social, economic and eco-
logical issues facing Har-
ney County,” said Brenda
Smith, High Desert Part-
nership executive direc-
tor, in the release. “We’re
incredibly thankful to
The Ford Family Foun-
dation for their support of
Harney County’s brand of
collaboration to continue
OREGON CAPITAL
INSIDER
building a strong, resil-
ient community.”
This grant will enable
High Desert Partnership
to continue to effectively
support several collabo-
rative efforts: the Harney
Basin Wetlands Initiative,
the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge Com-
prehensive Conservation
Plan, the Harney County
Restoration Collabora-
tive, the Harney County
Wildfire Collaborative,
the business develop-
ment initiative BizHar-
ney and the youth initia-
tive Youth Changing The
Community.
These
collaborative
groups all have a track
record and experienced
success in communi-
ty-wide involvement and
in solving difficult issues
in Harney County.
High Desert Partner-
ship has a communi-
ty-centered approach to
improving the lives of
Harney County residents
using and supporting
collaboration for youth
empowerment, economic
opportunities and ecolog-
ical improvements.
This approach directly
aligns with The Ford Fam-
ily Foundation’s mission
for developing successful
citizens and building vital
rural communities.
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