A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017
FROM PAGE A1
BIEREN:
continued from Page A1
ate medical care but died
before he could be medical-
ly evacuated.
Saturday’s service was
packed with Bieren’s fam-
ily and friends, some of
whom got up at the end of
the service to share mem-
ories about him.
Tracy Finck, Bieren’s
mother, recalled her close
relationship with her son.
“Austin and I talked all
the time,” she said. “If he
was down, I’d send him
quotes. I just wanted to
make sure he was happy.”
Finck read out a list of
the medals and honors her
son received during his
service, and spoke about
how proud he was to serve
in the military.
“He was an amazing
young man,” she said. “He
always put his best foot
forward. I can’t be proud-
er of who he was or who
he became.”
LEADERSHIP:
continued from Page A1
Leadership Hermiston
is a 10-month program put
on by the Greater Hermis-
ton Area Chamber of Com-
merce, designed to give
participants an opportuni-
ty to network and become
familiar with Hermiston’s
resources. (This reporter is
a member of the 2016-2018
class). They spend the first
Tuesday of each month
delving into a different
topic, and April’s was state
government.
Vanessa Zamudio, a
workforce consultant for the
Oregon Human Develop-
ment Corporation, said she
signed up for Leadership
Hermiston on the advice of
a friend who had recently
completed the course.
“She said it would be a
good opportunity for me to
get out in the community
and learn about difference
aspects in the community,”
Zamudio said.
$
STAFF PHOTO BY JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
Austin Bieren’s grandmother speaks about him during the airman’s memorial service
Saturday at Umatilla High School.
Mike Mosher, Bie-
ren’s high school football
coach, spoke about his for-
mer student and friend’s
competitive nature and
mischievous personality.
She said she has learned
about new resources and
made connections with new
people, all of which she can
pass on to clients and part-
ners in her job. Tours the
group has taken so far this
year have included farms,
food processing plants, the
fire station, police station,
courthouse, armory, hos-
pital, schools, community
college, media outlets, the
Agape House, Warming
Station, Department of Hu-
man Services and Two Riv-
ers Correctional Institution.
“I think this has been my
favorite day so far,” Zamu-
dio said of the capitol visit.
“I never knew you could
just come and watch as a
member of the public.”
Cyndie Hobart, custom-
er care manager for Eastern
Oregon Telecom, said she
likes Leadership Hermis-
ton’s “broad spectrum of ex-
posure” to different aspects
of the community, such as
agriculture and education.
She said she also likes get-
ting to know the community
members going through the
program with her.
“I like the mix of in-
dividuals, that they’re all
coming from different per-
spectives,” she said. “Even
if you have to move away,
you’ll have those contacts
in Hermiston. The contacts
you make carry with you.”
Last week’s capitol
trip started April 10 with
team-building
activities
followed by a reception at
the Salem home of Rep.
Greg Smith, where Lead-
ership Hermiston members
mingled with state legisla-
tors, department heads and
lobbyists.
The next day the group
learned from Smith’s leg-
islative assistant, Phillip
Scheuers —a Hermiston
resident — about the be-
hind-the-scenes work that
goes into legislators’ deci-
sions on bills, spoke with
Smith about his role as a
state legislator, met with
Oregon Supreme Court
Justice Jack L. Landau,
learned about the role of
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“As you got to know
him, he opened up,”
Mosher said. “And once
he trusted you, he’d do
anything for you — but
you had to earn his trust.”
Mosher said Bieren
had considered playing
college football, but re-
called when he told his
coach that he’d changed
his mind.
“He said he wanted
to be part of something
greater than himself,
something elite,” Mosher
said. “That’s who he was.”
Bieren’s grandmother
also spoke at the service,
noting that the last time she
spoke to her grandson, he
asked her to pray for him.
“If I live to be 100,
nothing will ever make
me happier than that,” she
said.
Other family members
and friends spoke about
fun times they’d had with
Bieren, and most men-
tioned his penchant for
mischief when he was
younger.
One friend that grew
up with Bieren recalled
with a laugh the time they
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL
Rep. Greg Smith, right, speaks with members of Leadership
Hermiston on the House of Representatives floor.
department heads from
Business Oregon director
Chris Harder, spoke to a
panel of lobbyists repre-
senting Eastern Oregon is-
sues, watched portions of
the House and Senate floor
sessions, spoke with House
Minority Leader Mike Mc-
Lane and Speaker of the
House Tina Kotek, spoke
with Sen. Bill Hansell,
met Gov. Kate Brown and
toured the capitol building.
Fran Rice, facilitator of
Leadership Hermiston and
an alumni of Class 13, said
the Salem trip is a “once-in-
a-lifetime opportunity” for
class members.
“It’s an amazing thing to
say, ‘I know who Mike Mc-
Lane is. I’ve met the gover-
nor,’” she said.
Rice said Leadership
Hermiston is always evolv-
ing in an effort to give par-
ticipants more tools for im-
proving their community.
“I think the purpose of
torched a bale of hay with
fireworks — but all noted
how responsible Bieren
grew up to be.
“I got to see a trouble-
maker turn into a hero,
and I couldn’t ask for a
better friend,” she said.
Bieren’s family also
put together a slide show,
which showcased Bieren’s
happy times. The slide
show highlighted Bieren’s
love of sports, his adora-
tion of his nephew Jaren,
whom his mother called
“his pride and joy,” and
his love for his wife, Ra-
chel.
At the end of the cer-
emony, Cameron Smith,
director of the Oregon De-
partment of Veteran’s Af-
fairs, presented Bieren’s
mother, his wife, his sis-
ter Brianne and his father
John with flags to honor
Bieren.
–——
Contact Jayati Ra-
makrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
hermistonherald.com
Leadership Hermiston is to
strengthen our city through
relationships, knowledge of
the city and to build skills
for working together,” she
said.
Each Leadership Herm-
iston class must also com-
plete a community project
before their graduation in
June. Past projects have
ranged from planting 7,000
trees in the Oxbow site to
putting together totes of
supplies for children taken
from their homes by DHS.
Rice said support for the
projects always open class
members’ eyes to “the big
heart of the community.”
This year’s class is work-
ing to raise $5,000 for a set
of matching metal bench-
es, garbage can and kiosk
at Butte Park near the foot
of the Hermiston Butte.
Donations for the project
can be made to the Greater
Hermiston Area Chamber
of Commerce.
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
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