Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2019)
NEWS Wednesday, January 30, 2019 HerMIsTOnHeraLd.COM • A7 Local economy scores with AAU tourney By TAMMY MALGESINI COMMUNITY EDITOR AAU youth basketball coaches weren’t the only ones going to their benches during the 16th annual Best of the West tournament. With an estimated influx of 4,000 people in Hermis- ton over the weekend, area businesses changed their regular game plans to help accommodate lodging and meal options for teams. “When we have these teams coming in, we will bring in some extra house- keepers,” said Ryan Lynch, general manager of Com- fort Inn & Suites. “We give them a pretty good rate and we’ll change our breakfast hours if they have morning games.” Hermiston High School athletic director Larry Usher, who helps coordinate the event with the Hermis- ton Youth Basketball Club, said the Jan. 26-27 tourna- ment featured 119 teams. In addition to duffle bags and basketball shoes, people coming to town open their wallets, he said. Although a specific eco- nomic impact study hasn’t been conducted on the Hermiston Youth Basketball Club tournaments, Usher said similar cities have esti- mated an average of $100 is spent per person. “I think that’s a very con- servative number,” Usher said. “With at least one night in a hotel, 5-7 meals, a tank of gas and snacks — that adds up in a hurry.” Usher said in addition to local teams, people travel from the Tri-Cities, Seattle, Portland, Yakima, Seattle, Spokane and Idaho, including 20 teams from the Boise area. The infrastructure, includ- ing adequate hotel space and restaurants, is important to the success of the tournament, Usher said. Although they haven’t outgrown available hotel space, he said locals do feel the impact during tourna- ment weekends. Good Shepherd sets goal at 5 million steps By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN STAFF WRITER staff photo by Kathy aney/east Oregonian Teams from Boise, Idaho, and Richland, Washington, battle it out Saturday in the Sunset Elementary School gymnasium. The teams came to town for the Best of the West AAU basketball tournament, which used gyms in Hermiston, Echo and Stanfield and brought an estimated 4,000 people and a $400,000 boost to the local economy. “I think the word is out when it’s tournament week- end, don’t go out to lunch or dinner,” Usher said. “It will be hard to find a table.” While some teams were left scrambling to find a restaurant to accommodate a large group for a Satur- day night team dinner, oth- ers planned ahead. Shortly after lunch, the Southeast Boise team placed an order for more than a dozen pizzas from Ye Olde Pizza Shoppe, said Nicole Roldan. “The pizza place was really busy but because we called so early, we didn’t have to wait,” she said. Members of the Idaho Elite teams were scattered at several different hotels, said Blaine and Dusty Mori- arty. The Boise couple and their two sons, Parker, 11, and Cooper, 8, booked a room about a month ago at Oxford Suites. While Cooper gave it a “thumbs up” for the swim- ming pool, Dusty was impressed with the hotel scheduling extra help to assist with the compli- mentary breakfast. “The tournament people do a good job of letting the town know,” Blaine said. “The town appeared ready for all the teams.” Kelly Schwirse, who’s in charge of marketing and communications with the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce, forwarded an email to its membership that the weekend tournament was the biggest yet. The Hermiston Youth Basketball Club hosts four, with the final one — For the Love of the Game — scheduled for Feb. 9-10. The Moriartys said the weekend would likely cost their family about $500- $600 — including lodg- ing, meals, gas and snacks. Roldan, whose daughter plays on the Southeast Boise team, estimated her week- end costs at around $500. In October, Robin Evans, the Southeast Boise coach, reserved rooms for the team at the Holiday Inn Express. Selling points, she said, included a complimentary breakfast and swimming pool. “Also, it’s centrally located with the games and restaurants,” she said. Roldan said they heard about the Hermiston tour- nament from other Boi- se-area teams. In addition to a shorter driving distance than going to Portland, she It’s time to GET OUT and GO! $ said the gymnasiums were more conveniently located. “The schools and their facilities are amazing,” Blaine Moriarty added. Also, Usher said little things like having food ven- dors outside a couple of the schools and onsite custom printing of tournament gear are added touches that peo- ple like. Anna Francis of AJ’s Printed Apparel had stations set up at the high school and Armand Larive Mid- dle School. In addition to T-shirts, sweatshirts and dri- fit long-sleeved shirts with tournament logos, people could have their names and uniform numbers added. Francis, who launched her business in 1996, gives a percentage of her sales to the Hermiston Youth Bas- ketball Club. Also, Usher said she prints up special shirts for the winning team and the second place team. The tournament logo gear, Usher said, is a great way to pro- mote and market the event. “The tournament is a great opportunity for our community,” Francis said. “It’s great to see that many people in town. It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it.” There’s strength in numbers, and Good Shep- herd Medical Center is hoping to capitalize on that idea as they encour- age community members to join them in a national exercise challenge. The hospital’s Educa- tion Department has cre- ated a team for the “Billion Steps Challenge,” an effort by the American Public Health Association to get participants to collectively walk one billion steps. The challenge started at the beginning of 2019, and participants have until April 7 to join the “Herm- iston Walks” team. Jaime Crowell, the hos- pital’s Community Health Educator, said so far there are 3,000 participants nationwide, which have so far reached 300 mil- lion steps. But only five people have signed up for the Hermiston team. The Hermiston team’s goal is to collectively walk 5 mil- lion steps by the end of the challenge. “If you break that down to 10,000 steps a day, that’s only 50 people that need to do that many steps, for 10 days,” Crowell said. “And we have way more than 10 days left.” But more than reaching the goal, Crowell said the point of the challenge is to get people exercising. “It’s to show that physi- cal activity can be fun, and a good way to jumpstart physical activity is through competition or doing a challenge,” she said. She encouraged fam- ilies to make their own goals, or compete with each other to reach a cer- tain number of steps. Participants can sign up for the challenge by creat- ing a Movespring account, where they can sync their SIGN UP Hermiston Walks Go to https://link.moves- pring.com/join Go to “sign up now” enter the organization code: aPHa2019 scroll down and click on “join team” search for the team name “Hermiston Walks.” device to track their steps. They can also manually enter their steps, or enter the distance they walked or ran. She said although the team is named “Hermis- ton Walks,” it’s open to anyone in the surrounding areas, too. In a few months, Crow- ell said the hospital hopes to debut another tool that they hope will encourage people to walk more — the Northeast Oregon Pre- scription Trails website. The website, modeled after a program in New Mex- ico, will have a catalog of local parks and trails, with photos, descriptions of the trails, and things users need to be aware of, like acces- sibility for wheelchairs. “Doctors, dentists, even veterinarians can write prescriptions for exercise as part of management of chronic diseases,” Crow- ell said. “Exercise has been proven to be as effective if not more in prevention of diseases.” She said that she hopes the tools will help the com- munity shift toward relying on exercise as a sustainable way to improve health. Crowell said there are other ways people can learn to form healthy hab- its if they need some extra help. The hospital has free classes, like a physical activity class, and a “jump- start weight loss through exercise” class. COMING FEBRUARY 13 Get up to BACK 3,500 CASH on select TOYOTA 4X4 & AWD models. Wednesday East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald AWD 2018 $ Exclusively in the BACK 3,500 CASH LEASE A NEW 2019 TRD LEASE A NEW 2019 Off-Road Double Cab Excludes TRD Pro LE $ 279 mo. 36 mos. $ 0 Security Deposit 4X4 $ 3,349 Due at Signing $ 299 mo. 36 mos. $ 0 Security Deposit AWD $ 3,299 Due at Signing LEASE A NEW 2019 Double Cab SR5 Excludes TRD Pro 2019 1.9 % 60 APR mos. 4X4 $ 399 mo. 36 mos. $ 0 Security Deposit $ 2,599 Due at Signing AWD Your weekly guide to onscreen listings for movies, sports, entertainment, TV series and much more! To advertise, contact our Media Sales Department PENDLETON OFFICE: 1.800.522.0255 HERMISTON OFFICE: 541.567.6457 BuyAToyota.com Every new Toyota comes with All financing on approved credit through TFS. All vehicles subject to prior sale. All prices plus tax and title. Dealer doc fees vary by dealer. Offers end 2/4/19. For more details call 1-888-21-TOYOTA.
