NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Liberty Quartet performs at
Hermiston Nazarene Church
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Brandon Artz, the director the of Hermiston Parks and Recreation Department, moves some of
his possessions into his new offi ce Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.
Familiar face accepts
Parks and Rec director job
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
The new Hermiston
Parks and Recreation direc-
tor did not have far to move
his possessions from his old
offi ce to his new one next
door. On Monday, Nov. 15,
Brandon Artz took a step
up from his role as interim
director to enjoy his fi rst day
as the regular director.
Artz had been the interim
director for more than two
months, as he covered for
Larry Fetter, who left the
parks director position when
he recently retired.
“I’m excited to get
started,” he said.
Artz, who said he
expected
an
offi cial
announcement later in the
day, explained Hermiston
City Manager Byron Smith
and a hiring panel made
their decision late last week.
Smith affi rmed the new hire
in a memo to city employees.
“I feel confi dent that he
will do a very good job and
be an asset to the city for a
long time,” the memo states.
A press release on Nov.
15 quotes the city manag-
er’s belief in Artz’s “vision,
energy and leadership” and
describes him as “a major
asset to the community.”
Artz said the fi rst “big
project” for him is a ground-
breaking for the Teen
Adventure Park, a skate
park across from Hermis-
ton’s police and fi re station.
He also was working on
placing a large Christmas
tree in downtown Hermis-
ton for the holidays.
Artz is a graduate of
the University of Idaho,
he obtained a bachelor’s
of arts in exercise science
and health and a master’s
degree in movement and
leisure sciences. While
studying for these degrees,
he played football and then
worked as a U of I assis-
tant coach. He followed up
this experience with more
than two years of work as
a recreation coordinator in
McMinnville. Other work
includes two years as a rec-
reation specialist in Van-
couver, Washington.
He said his experience in
diff erent positions has given
him insights into diff erent
sides to which he must be
attuned. As a parks and rec
director, he serves athletes
and nonathletes, alike, he
said, and he expressed the
feeling that he could do this.
He came to Hermiston
to work as the recreation
supervisor, under Fetter.
Working for more than four
years in the department, Artz
obtained mentorship from
the previous director as Fet-
ter approached retirement,
Artz said.
“I got to oversee all of the
recreation here in the depart-
ment, and then also see what
(Fetter) was doing in park
development on the higher
end of things,” he said. “It
got me ready for this posi-
tion. He retired in Septem-
ber, and now we’re off to the
races.”
According to the city’s
press release on Artz’s new
role, Hermiston has “15
parks that cover more than
100 acres, 10 miles of trails,
and a community center that
hosts more than 200,000
event and program partici-
pants annually.”
Umatilla County restaurants can
apply for some pandemic relief
Hermiston Herald
Restaurants in Umatilla
County enduring the eco-
nomic eff ects of the coro-
navirus pandemic can apply
for some fi nancial help.
Gail Nelson, Umatilla
County economic develop-
ment and tourism coordi-
nator, announced in a press
release her department has
established the COVID-
19 Restaurant Relief Grant
to provide one-time, short-
term fi nancial support to
restaurants impacted by the
pandemic.
These funds are CARES
Act funds passed down from
the federal government to
the state of Oregon and now
to Umatilla County to help
restaurants.
“The purpose of these
grants is to provide some
additional relief to restau-
rants that were forced to
cease indoor operations and
provide take-out or out-
door seating only during the
‘Extreme’ category ranking
period,” Umatilla County
Commissioner John Shafer
stated in the press release.
Oregon has passed along
$100,000 to Umatilla County
to disburse to restaurants in
grants of $5,000. Applica-
tions are available now, and
the window to apply closes
Nov. 29 at 9 a.m.
“Grant recipients will
be selected through lot-
tery drawing,” according to
the press release. “Checks
processed and distributed
before the end of the calen-
dar year.”
To qualify for the grant,
a restaurant must have its
headquarters in Umatilla
County and operating within
the county; employ 25 or
fewer full time equivalent
employees; and must have
been in business and operat-
ing prior to March 1, 2020.
The county will accept
only one application per
business entity, and non-
profi t organizations are not
eligible.
To apply, go to www.
umatillacounty.net/grants
and click on the Restaurant
Relief Grant button on the
website’s home page. Com-
plete and submit the appli-
cation online. If you do not
have computer access, you
can pick up a paper appli-
cation at each community’s
city hall and return the com-
pleted application to that city
hall by the Nov. 29 deadline.
The drawing for the
grants will be on Nov. 30.
The county will notify
successful grant applicants
via email and ask them to
submit a completed W9
form before mailing grant
award checks.
Email questions about the
program to grants@umatil-
lacounty.net.
Hermiston Church of the Nazarene/Contributed Photo
Paul W. Ellis, Will Arasmith, Philip Batton and Royce Mitchell of the Liberty Quartet perform
Sunday evening, Nov. 14, 2021, at Hermiston Nazarene Church, 1520 W. Orchard Ave.
Umatilla Chamber of Commerce
hires new executive director
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Annette Greiner is the
new executive director for
the Umatilla Chamber of
Commerce & Visitor Cen-
ter. She started Nov. 1, after
a job interview from the
chamber board.
Greiner is an Oregon
State University graduate
with a bachelor’s degree in
agricultural business man-
agement and resource eco-
nomics. A recent cham-
ber press release stated she
comes from “a long lineage
of family-owned farms and
ranches in Eastern Ore-
gon.” Her recent employ-
ment includes work at Two
Rivers Correctional Institu-
tion, she said, and she has
a background in healthcare
management.
“I was just waiting
for the right opportunity,
and here I am,” she said
of her new position at the
chamber.
Now the director, she
said her fi rst plan is to
become acquainted with
local business people and
ask people, face-to-face,
what they need and what
she can help with. For
instance, she can direct
people toward city and
county grant opportunities,
she said.
A self-described on-and-
off resident of the Uma-
tilla/Hermiston area for the
last 25 years, Greiner said
she has seen a lot of local
change. Umatilla’s Main
Street, in particular, has
experienced great growth,
she said.
“Not only with their
Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald
Annette Greiner, the new executive director for the Umatilla
Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, is pictured Friday
Nov. 12, 2021.
sidewalks and light poles,
but with all the new busi-
nesses in town,” she said.
“I just hope, down the line,
there can be more diverse
commerce.”
She said she envisions
a future for Umatilla in
which the town’s residents
can do more of their shop-
ping close to home.
“It’s nice when you can
go downtown and get the
things that you need, from
local folks,” she said.
What’s more, she said,
she would like to help
make Umatilla a destina-
tion for people out of town.
She said she wants outsid-
ers to know, “Umatilla is
not just a county — it’s a
town.”
Mark Ribich, chamber
board president, said he is
pleased with Greiner and
her hiring. He said she has
strong organizational skills
that will help the chamber
and local businesses “get to
a better place.”
As the executive direc-
tor, Greiner will manage
the chamber and over-
see the visitor center, Rib-
ich said, and her primary
responsibilities will be
off ering support to member
businesses, providing them
with resources they need.
The chamber, Rib-
ich said, will be transi-
tioning into something
a bit diff erent, where it
will be focusing on some-
thing other than distribut-
ing masks, hand sanitizer
and new guidelines related
to the pandemic. It will be
coordinating other activi-
ties, and he said he thinks
Greiner is the right person
for the job.
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